He playfully tugs on my ponytail. “Brat.”

With that, he walks out the door.

Chapter 23

Cole

I’m two feet from my car when I hear the front door open behind me.

“Hang on a minute, young man.”

Not quite the sultry southern twang I was hoping for.

Then again, maybe he came out here to apologize. The guy was a goddamn prick during dinner. I’d have more respect for the dude if he’d just come right out and told me I’m not good enough for his daughter.

Hell, I’d be the first one to agree.

I turn around. “Yeah?”

He holds up my varsity jacket. “You left this on the back of your chair.”

I take it from him. “Thanks.”

He folds his arms across his chest. “Got a minute?”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we were about to have a duel.

Despite the bad feeling I have brewing in my gut about this impending conversation, I accept. “Sure.”

Chapter 24

Sawyer

“Are you sure you’re not playing an April fool’s joke on us?” Mama questions as I head up the staircase.

“It’s November,” I remind her.

“I know that. I guess I’m just trying to understand…” Her voice trails off, but she doesn’t need to finish that sentence.

Why would Cole date someone like me?

“Did it ever occur to you that not every guy wants a cheerleader or pageant queen?”

Offended, she wrings the dishtowel in her hands. “I just don’t want you to get your heart broken is all. Guys like Cole, they don’t…” Her voice trails off for the second time.

Want girls like me.

“I have homework to do.”

She shuffles her feet. “Maybe when you’re done, you can go to the gym.”

The woman has been pushing me to go to the gym ever since I was twelve.

Truth be told, there are times I lie to appease her and drive to McDonald’s instead.

“If I’m not too tired after, I will.”

Her face lights up. “Good.” The smile she gives me is genuine. “Maybe you dating this boy will motivate you to eat right and work out more—”

“Can you stop, Mama?”

She shrugs innocently. “Stop what?”

Treating me like I’m not good enough.

Ignoring her, I jog up the staircase.

“Excuse me. I wasn’t done talking to you, young lady.”

“Sorry. Just wanted to get some exercise in.”

“I’m not trying to be harsh, Sawyer Grace. But the fact of the matter is—guys that gorgeous and popular don’t date girls who are overweight. You need to start taking better care of yourself before he wanders off with someone more—”

The sound of my bedroom door slamming drowns out the rest of her sentence.

Fishing around in my backpack, I find the bottle of Adderall along with a water bottle and shove a pill in my mouth.

And that’s when I hear it.

“I know what boys like you are really after,” my father shouts.

Oh, fuck.

Dipping low, I move closer to my open window.

“I’m not after anything,” Cole argues. “Is it a crime to want to date your daughter?”

“Come on. Do you think I was born yesterday?”

Cole starts to say something, but my father cuts him off. “You come here with your fancy expensive car, your varsity jacket, your flowers, and your cocky attitude, and expect everyone to eat out of the palm of your hand. You might have my wife and daughter fooled.” He pounds on his chest. “but you ain’t fooling me. A guy like you doesn’t date a girl like Sawyer because he actually likes her.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Cole bites out.

“Don’t play dumb. You know damn well what it means. Football players chase pretty cheerleaders…not the smart, fat girls who focus on their studies and keep to themselves.” He jabs a finger in the air. “Stay the hell away from my daughter.”

My heart sinks. I expected this from my mother…but my father?

He always told me I was perfect and beautiful.

Tears well in my eyes. If the man who’s supposed to love me the most in this world secretly feels like I’m so unattractive it makes me unlovable…the rest of the universe must be utterly repulsed by me.

God, I am so tired of being the fat girl.

So tired of feeling like I don’t belong.

So tired of people only seeing one thing when they look at me.

“You know,” Cole grits through his teeth. “I’m getting really tired of people acting like Sawyer dating me is some kind of prize she’s not worthy of when it’s the other way around.”

Walking backward, he heads for his car. “You’re right, though, Mr. Church. Sawyer is all those things you said before, and then some…but that’s exactly why I like her so much. Unlike everyone else, she doesn’t pretend to be someone she’s not.” He laughs, but there’s no humor. “It’s a damn shame you and your wife can’t appreciate the incredible person you brought into the world for everything she is instead of everything she isn’t.” His tongue finds his cheek. “Lucky for me, I don’t have that problem.”

Daddy’s speechless.

So am I.

Opening his car door, Cole slides into the seat and rolls his window down. “Oh, and for the record, sir. No one—not even God—can keep me away from your daughter, so I suggest you get used to me.”

The stunned look on Daddy’s face as he drives off is something I’ll never forget.

Never in a million years did I think Cole Covington would come to my defense.

No, what he did was more than that.

He sees me. Flaws and all.

We come from two different worlds and half the time, we don’t even get along, but for one solitary moment…he was able to perceive and value me in a way no one else has ever been able to.

With shaky fingers, I pick up my cell phone.

Sawyer: I’ll do it.

His incoming text is almost immediate.

Cole: For real?

Sawyer: No. For fake, remember?

Cole: Why the sudden change of heart, Church?

Sawyer: Does it really matter, Covington?

Cole: Well, when you put it that way. No.

Another text follows that one.

Cole: Thanks for helping me out. TTYL.

He makes it sound like I loaned him study notes.

Sawyer: Wait a minute.

Given I had feelings for him in the past, it’s safe to say fake dating could pose a potential problem for me.

I need to figure out a way to protect myself.

Cole: What’s up?

Sawyer: I think we should set some ground rules.

I watch the dots on my phone appear and disappear before appearing again.

Cole: What kind of ground rules?

Pondering, I chew on my thumbnail. I want to be smart about this, but I also have to complete my essay.