Page 138 of Faking the Goal

Which is weird enough on its own, but coming from Kentaro, it's practically alarming.

His expression shifts as he seems to realize it too. He clears his throat, straightens slightly, and whatever escaped a second ago gets shoved right back behind the usual Kentaro Azuma composure.

"Really?" he repeats, this time in his normal, carefully controlled voice.

I narrow my eyes.

That was suspicious.

"Yeah..." I say, still watching him. "But before we do this, we need some ground rules."

"Sure. Ground rules are probably smart."

He steps around me until he's standing directly in front of me, while I lean back against the bookshelf and fold my arms.

"First, if we're going to convince anyone this relationship is real, PDA isn't optional. Holding hands, hugging, kissing, touching each other..." I wave between us. "Basically, we need to be so nauseatingly sweet that even complete strangers look at us and think we're soulmates."

"Consider it done."

"Second, we need to be seen together. A lot. Nothing says madly in love quite like constantly invading each other's personal space." I start counting on my fingers. "That means showing up for each other's stuff. Your games are easy because I'm already at pretty much every home game anyway. But you'll also have to come to parties with me. Clubs too."

His mouth opens.

I immediately press my index finger against his lips.

"That one's non-negotiable."

His eyes drop briefly to my finger before lifting back to mine.

"And before you start complaining, relax. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't exactly been painting the town red lately. Last week was the first time I'd gone out in almost two months."

His brows lift.

The surprise on his face would almost be funny if it weren't immediately followed by the slightest flash of guilt.

Yeah.

You judgmental prick.

I pull my finger away. "We probably only need to make an appearance at a few parties anyway. Enough that people actually see us together outside school and hockey."

He nods. "Done."

"Third, no dating or flirting with anyone else. Fake relationship, real exclusivity. Otherwise, this entire thing falls apart the second somebody sees one of us making out with someone who isn't the person we're supposedly madly in love with."

"Done."

"And lastly..." I give him a stern look. "Under absolutely no circumstances do we catch feelings. That one is probably the most important."

Kentaro doesn't answer right away. A slow smirk pulls at one corner of his mouth instead as he takes a few steps toward me.

"Is that one non-negotiable too?"

His gaze drifts over my face and comes back to mine, slow enough to send heat crawling up my neck.

"Ye—yeah."

My brows pull together at the stupid little stumble in my voice.