Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 : The Coldest Hug

Audrey stared Logan right in the eyes. Her heart was hammering against her ribs so hard it physically hurt. The freezing wind coming off the dark lake whipped her messy bun around, but she did not blink.

”You cannot cancel my application,” Audrey said. Her voice shook for one single second, but she forced it to stay loud and steady. ”Because we are not fake dating. It is real.”

Logan stared at her. He blinked twice. Then he let out a harsh, incredibly condescending laugh.

”Real?” Logan repeated. He looked from Audrey to Mason, his eyes filled with absolute pity. ”You expect me to believe that? Audrey, look at yourselves. You two look like complete strangers standing in line at a grocery store.”

”We do not,” Audrey argued defensively.

”You are standing exactly three feet apart,” Logan pointed out sharply. ”You have not even held hands. He has not touched you once since you walked outside. You are wearing a giant sweater like a shield. You are a terrible liar, Audrey. You always have been.”

Audrey felt a desperate, cold wave of panic wash over her.

He was not buying it. He was too observant. He was going to ruin her entire academic career, destroy her dream internship, and humiliate her all over again just because his massive ego was bruised.

She had to do something. She had to prove him completely wrong right now, right this very second.

She did not think. Her brain completely shut off. She just moved on pure, unfiltered adrenaline.

Audrey spun around to face Mason.

Mason looked down at her. His eyebrows were raised in slight confusion. He was holding his half-eaten burger in his left hand, looking completely relaxed and unbothered by the screaming match happening in front of him.

Audrey took a very deep breath.

She stepped directly into Mason’s personal space. She reached up, grabbed the collar of his black t-shirt with both hands, and forcefully pulled him down to her exact height.

Mason’s dark eyes went completely wide. He stumbled forward a half step, completely caught off guard by her sudden strength.

Audrey did not kiss him. Kissing was too normal. Kissing could be easily faked.

Instead, she shoved her face directly into the crook of his neck. Then, she wrapped both of her arms tightly around his waist and aggressively shoved her freezing, ice-cold hands straight up the back of his shirt.

Her bare, freezing palms pressed completely flat against his bare, incredibly warm back.

Mason let out a loud, highly undignified gasp.

His entire massive body violently flinched from the sudden, shocking ice-cold contact. His broad shoulders jerked backward. His burger completely slipped out of his hand and fell onto the wooden dock with a sad, wet splat.

”What are you doing?!” Mason choked out. His voice was two octaves higher than normal. He sounded entirely panicked.

”I am warming my hands,” Audrey announced clearly into his collarbone. She did not let go. She pressed her cold fingers harder against his spine. ”My boyfriend is very warm. We do this all the time.”

Mason stood completely frozen in place. His arms hovered awkwardly in the cold air. He looked at Logan over Audrey’s shoulder. His brain was completely short-circuiting. The quiet, shy girl who literally yelled at him for taking his shirt off just an hour ago was currently practically climbing him like a winter tree.

Logan looked absolutely horrified.

It was not a posed, perfect romantic hug. It was messy. It was awkward. It was entirely too comfortable. It was exactly the kind of weird, boundary-less thing actual couples did when they were alone and completely comfortable with each other.

”See?” Audrey said. She turned her head slightly to glare at Logan, keeping her hands firmly planted against Mason’s warm skin. ”We are extremely comfortable with each other. It is very serious. Now leave my journalism funding alone.”

Logan’s perfect, carefully styled face completely crumbled. He looked completely sick to his stomach. His jaw tightened so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek. He could not handle seeing her touch someone else like that. It completely shattered his delusion that she was still waiting for him.

He did not say another word. He did not even try to argue.

Logan just turned around, his shiny shoes slipping slightly on the damp wood, and practically sprinted back up the dock toward the cabin.

The heavy back door slammed shut. Logan was finally gone.

Audrey instantly yanked her hands out from under Mason’s shirt.

She jumped backward so fast she almost tripped over her own feet, putting a massive physical distance between them. Her face was completely bright red. Her chest heaved rapidly.

”I am so sorry,” Audrey yelled. She covered her burning face with her hands. ”I panicked! I completely panicked! He was going to cancel my department funding!”

Mason just stood there. He looked down at the ruined burger on the dock. Then he looked up at Audrey.

He was completely silent for five very long seconds.

Then, a slow, absolutely massive grin spread across his handsome face.

”You have actual ice blocks for hands,” Mason finally said. His voice was full of pure, unfiltered laughter. ”I thought my heart was going to literally stop beating.”

”I said I was sorry!” Audrey groaned. She wanted to jump into the freezing lake and disappear forever. ”I did not know what else to do. If I just kissed you, he would have known it was staged. I had to do something weird!”

”Mission accomplished,” Mason teased. He took a step toward her. He did not look annoyed at all. He looked incredibly impressed. ”You practically assaulted me on a wooden dock. My entire team saw everything.”

Audrey froze. She slowly turned her head toward the water.

Leo and Jackson were treading water near the edge of the dock. Their teeth were chattering from the freezing lake water, but their eyes were incredibly wide.

”That was highly aggressive,” Leo shouted happily, spitting water out of his mouth. ”Good job, Audrey! Keep the captain on his toes!”

”Are you trying to harvest his organs?!” Jackson yelled. ”Because you looked like a tiny green ninja attacking a bear!”

”I am going to my room,” Audrey announced immediately. She turned around and marched up the dock. ”I am never speaking to anyone ever again. I am moving to another country.”

Mason laughed loudly. He jogged up the dock and easily caught up to her. He walked right beside her, his broad shoulder bumping gently against hers.

”You cannot run away now, girlfriend,” Mason said smoothly. ”We are in a very serious relationship. You put your cold hands on my bare back. We are practically married now. We need to buy a house.”

”Shut up, Calloway.”

”I am just saying, if you wanted to touch my muscles, you could have just asked nicely.”

”I am going to push you down the wooden stairs.”

They walked back into the warm cabin. The living room was completely empty. The rest of the team had finally gone outside to join Leo and Jackson in the freezing water.

The only person inside was Coach Miller. He was sitting at the kitchen island, writing heavily on a metal clipboard.

”Calloway,” Coach Miller barked without looking up.

Mason stopped walking. ”Yes, Coach?”

”Get changed,” Coach ordered. ”Film review starts in twenty minutes. I want you breaking down the offensive line from last week’s game for the freshmen.”

”Got it,” Mason said.

He looked down at Audrey. The teasing, playful smile softened just a bit. His warm brown eyes looked at her closely.

”Go study your flashcards,” Mason said quietly. ”You are safe. Logan packed his bags. I saw him driving away when we were walking up the dock. He is gone.”

Audrey felt a massive, overwhelming wave of relief wash over her. The heavy, suffocating weight in her chest finally vanished. Logan was gone. He actually left. Her ridiculous, totally embarrassing stunt had actually worked.

”Okay,” Audrey said. She looked down at her shoes, feeling a little shy again. ”Thank you. For playing along. And sorry about your burger.”

Mason reached out. He gently tugged the edge of her oversized green sweater.

”Anytime, Audrey,” Mason said softly.

He walked away, heading toward the staircase to get ready for film review.

Audrey stood in the living room for a second. She took a deep breath. It was finally over. The rest of the weekend was going to be perfectly peaceful. She could just sit by the window and memorize her journalism notes.

She walked over to the large front window and looked out at the dirt parking lot.

Mason was completely right. Logan’s car was completely gone. The space was empty.

But as Audrey watched, another car slowly pulled into the gravel driveway. It was a bright red, very expensive sports car.

The car parked right next to Mason’s massive black SUV.

The driver side door opened.

Audrey’s stomach completely dropped to the floor.

Stepping out of the bright red car, wearing perfectly styled sunglasses and a very sharp leather jacket, was Zoey Mitchell.

And she was holding a heavy overnight bag.