Page 34 of Heartsmashed
“You killed it,” he said. “Good job.”
Huh.No smartass remark or joke about tripping me? That was what Peter had always said after a competition, even though he’d never come close to edging me out.
Beckett, though, didn’t seem to care he’d come in second, and that threw me.
“You too—” I started before grunts from behind had us both turning around.
“You’re a fucking cheater,” Drew yelled as he and Hudson battled it out at the finish line, both trying to trip each other up, grabbing limbs and blocking each other.
“Consider it payback,” Hudson said. They were covered in mud from head to toe like they’d rolled in it, and over on theelevated platform, Rome was busy declaring himself the real winner because apparently Beckett and I had “worked as a team.”
I was still trying to catch my breath when I felt an awareness at the back of my neck. I turned before I could stop myself and instantly regretted it.
Peter stood exactly where he had before, Alec beside him, but Peter wasn’t looking at the course or any of the stragglers finishing up.
He was looking right at me.
There was something in that look that I recognized immediately. Something I used to respond to. He wasn’t looking at me like he had a boyfriend—or that I did. It had me instinctively straightening and pulling my shoulders back.
God, it shouldn’t matter that he’d watched me take the win. That I was glad he’d seen it.
“Hey,” Beckett said, his voice low as he followed my gaze. “You good?”
I felt guilty all of a sudden, like I’d been caught doing something wrong.
Ridiculous. Beckett was doing a hell of a good job making sure I wasn’t actively falling apart, but all thoughts of crossing the line had been my own, and I needed to remember that.
“I’m fine,” I said, a little too quickly. “Really. Just trying not to pass out before they engrave the trophy.”
He shifted a fraction closer and I could feel the heat of him, grounding me. “Let me know if I need to catch you.”
That did it. I was swooning now, and doing a piss-poor job trying to hide it.
God, Sawyer, get it together.
Fake boyfriend.
Fake boyfriend.
Fake. Boyfriend.
It’d be fantastic if my brain could get the memo before I did something crazy, like fall for the guy.
Shit.
11
SAWYER
EVEN AFTER EVERYONE came over to congratulate me on my win, the adrenaline hadn’t eased up much. There was a shaky, buzzing feeling in my limbs after I’d pushed my body so hard, and that combined with the burn in my lungs and the sweat—and mud—cooling on my skin should’ve been enough to distract me from anything else.
But I’d seen Peter and Alec walking over here with the rest of the crowd, and my ex’s eyes were on me, I could feel it. Still watching. Probably looking for an in to say something, which was why I purposely kept not looking in his direction.
Beside me and Beckett, Hudson was glaring down at the mud covering his body while begrudgingly congratulating Beckett on doing so well.
I got a grunt. I smiled way too big at that.
“I have an idea,” Beckett said, his voice low. “You trust me?”
