I stare back at Asher, a little thrown off by his proposition, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit intrigued.
“That’s it?” I ask him as he blinks at me like he’s in shock. It’s almost as if he didn’t think I would agree to it without wanting some kinds of strings attached.
I’ve known Asher for three years and that’s enough time to figure a person out. I love the guy and he’s one of my closest friends, but I also know how he is. Asher doesn’t do attachments and he doesn’t do relationships. I would be a fool to ever have some unrealistic expectations like that of him.
“You mean you’re considering it?” he asks, his voice hopeful as his eyes widen slightly. “I just need you to come to the wedding with me and play the part so my mom is happy and then when we get back here, we can go back to the way things were before.”
My heart sinks a little at his open admission. I’ve spent the past three years being Asher’s friend, even though there was a small part of me that had always hoped for something more with him. He’s a great guy, but I’ve learned that a relationship is something he isn’t capable of. I can do this for him, even though it might mess with my mind and heart in the process.
“Do you want me to stay for Christmas too?”
Asher’s smile widens and he suddenly appears shy as he nods and shrugs. “It would make things a little easier, but I don’t expect that from you. But if you want to stay, I would love having you. It would help keep everyone off my back.”
“Why are they so persistent you not to be single?” I ask him while I organize my papers in front of me just as our professor strolls into the room. “Don’t they know by now that you’re already tied down to a sport that is more demanding than any woman?”
Asher chuckles. “They know that, but my mom has big plans for all of her children. Ever since she was diagnosed with cancer last year, she’s been persistent that we all get married ASAP and start popping out kids.”
My eyes widen and I stare back at him. “And you’re asking me to be your pretend girlfriend, taking me into a war zone like that?”
Asher laughs again, shaking his head. “She’ll leave you alone about that. She’ll just be surprised and thrilled enough to see that I’m not going to another wedding stag.”
“Fine, fine,” I throw my hands up in defeat, laughing along with my friend, “I’ll go with you and I’ll stay for the holiday. But I need you to promise me something…”
He tilts his head to the side. “If you’re agreeing to save me, I owe you everything. So, I will promise you whatever you need.”
“Promise me you won’t fall in love with me,” I tell him, my voice soft and serious as I stare back at him. Asher falls still for a moment, an eyebrow pulling upward. “After the holiday, we go back to being friends.”
“That won’t be a problem, Syd,” he offers, a smile forming on his lips. “I don’t fall in love, so that’s not even an option.”
“Good,” I tell him, nodding as I attempt to convince myself that Asher is a man of his word. “Because the last thing I need is our friendship getting ruined because of this little arrangement.”
Asher offers his hand to me, shaking it after I slide my palm against his. “You have yourself a deal, Sydney Phillips. I promise I won’t fall in love with you, as long as you pretend to be my fake girlfriend.”
I smile back at him, shaking his hand as the warmth of his skin sends a shiver down my spine. “Deal.”
Our professor begins to start our lecture for the day and Asher pulls his hand away from mine, directing his attention to the front of the class. I try to focus on my classwork, but it’s practically impossible as my mind keeps floating back to Asher’s proposition. It’s actually quite enticing and it’s not like I have anything else going on to keep me occupied.
To be honest, my plans for Christmas break involved binge-watching a lot of shows on Netflix that I haven’t caught up on yet. I know, I know, it sounds pretty damn exhilarating. My parents did invite me to go traveling with them, but since I graduated from high school, it’s become their new thing. And for once, I just wanted to have a normal holiday.
So, I guess I’m going to be normal by going to my fake boyfriend’s brother’s wedding and spending the holiday with his family.
This isn’t going to be awkward at all.
All I have to do is play the part and make it as believable as I can. When I made Asher promise that he wouldn’t fall in love with me, it was partially a joke, but there was also a seriousness behind my words too. The last thing we need is for either of us to go and develop some kind of feelings for the other and complicate everything.
I’ve already been hiding my own feelings for him and forcing myself to keep our friendship as it has always been. I don’t want to ruin what we have, and I know Asher could never give me what I need. Which is exactly why I’ve chosen to ignore those feelings to preserve what we already have. The last thing I need is for him to be the one to develop feelings and not be able to ignore them.
Because our friendship would never survive a blow like that.
Before I realize it, class is over and the other students are already filing out of the room. Asher rises to his feet, rounding the desk as he watches me for a moment. “You all right, Syd?”
My eyes snap to his and I nod, forcing a smile on my face as I shove my things into my bag and rise to my feet. “Yep. I was just zoning out a little bit.”
Asher watches me for a moment, his lips parting before he clamps them shut and he just nods instead. I’m not sure what words were lingering on the tip of his tongue, but I would love to hear them. Anything that could help calm my nerves right now, because I’m about to start second-guessing myself and this situation that I’ve gotten myself in.
“I’ll see you later this afternoon?” he offers as the two of us walk out into the hallway, both turning to go in opposite directions. “Since break starts after the end of this week, maybe we can get together one of these days to the discuss specifics of the trip?”
I swallow nervously. “Sounds perfect!” I throw back to him, my voice sounding completely off. Asher’s eyebrows pull together for a moment before he recovers and waves.
I watch him as he disappears down the hallway and I’m ready for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. Get it together, Sydney. Asher is still your friend and this changes nothing.
If I can convince myself of that, that would be great.
Because this is going to be the longest holiday break of my life.
