Don’t miss today’s Teaser Tuesday from Winging It by Cate Cameron, which releases on Monday, May 16, 2016!
That was when we heard someone jogging up behind us and both turned to see Scott, big smile on his face, slowing down and stepping right between us. Obviously we were supposed to keep walking, with him in the middle. “Tobe,” he said with a nod, and then he turned to me and his smile was dazzling. “Natalie. I really like your hair today—I had no idea it was so long.”
My boring brown hair was pulled back in its usual ponytail, but maybe it was a bit straighter than usual? Or maybe he was actually looking at me for a change.
“Oh,” I said, and I reached back like I was checking to see if it had mysteriously grown longer. “Thanks. I, uh…it’s a new conditioner.” Which wasn’t true, but at least it was something to say.
Scott dropped half a step back and lifted the end of my ponytail up to his nose, and then took a big whiff. “Nice,” he said, and his eyes closed for a moment in appreciation. “Smells fantastic.”
The plan was working! Scott had noticed me, Scott had talked to me, Scott had smelled my hair and then said nice things. Toby didn’t look too impressed, but he never would be, not when his cousin was involved.
By the time we made it to the school, we were in the middle of a good-size crowd. Toby was a Raider, Scott was gorgeous and charming and a novelty, and me? I was nobody, really, but I was with them, so I could tell people were paying more attention to me than usual. And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t feel pretty good. Not the throw-your-arms-in-the-air-and-smash-into-your-teammates-with-joy kind of good I’d felt after scoring an important goal, but…good for the new Nat, at least.
So I was coasting along pretty happily until I looked into the caf and saw Dawn, sitting with the gang of friends she’d made since she and Toby broke up. They were mostly busy with their own conversations, but Dawn was staring right at Toby and me. She looked confused at first and then frowned suspiciously.
Damn. I hadn’t really thought about Dawn, and I didn’t want to have a big conversation with her there, in front of everybody. “I’ve got to go to my locker,” I said quickly, more to Scott than anyone else. Then I remembered who I was supposed to be focusing on and half turned. “I’ll see you in gym,” I told Toby. “We’re doing volleyball today, right?”
He just nodded. I was pretty sure he’d noticed Dawn, too, and I really had no idea what that meant. I’d never heard either of them bad-mouth the other, and they’d both said the breakup was mutual, but it still must be weird for them to see each other. And probably even weirder for Dawn to see Toby and me together.
Not that we were being super obvious. Like, we weren’t holding hands or anything, and I eased through the crowd and headed down the hall without even thinking about giving him a kiss good-bye. So Dawn didn’t know anything. Nobody but Scott had seen any real evidence, so far.
I flashed back to Toby’s offer to call the whole thing off. I could get the trophy back, Dawn wouldn’t be upset, and this whole plan could just go away. The problem was, the plan was working. Scott had noticed my hair. He’d smelled my hair, and in a good way. I wasn’t going to keep going on the way I had been, with a hockey-shaped hole in my life and nothing to fill it. Scott was the future, the path to the new me. I had to stick with the plan.
By the time I’d gotten changed and made it to the gym, Toby was already there, standing with a couple other Raiders. Chris Winslow’s face always showed every emotion he’d ever even thought about maybe feeling, and right then it was a mix of surprise and suspicion, almost the same as Dawn’s had been in the cafeteria.
I was telling myself not to be self-centered and trying to think of all the other things they could be talking about that would put that expression on Winslow’s face, but then they noticed me come in and suddenly got quiet.
About Winging It:
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains adult language, ice-melting kisses, and a swoon-worthy hero. This fake relationship romance will have you wishing for a hockey player of your own…
Natalie West and Toby Cooper were best friends growing up, on and off the ice. But when Toby’s hockey career took off, their friendship was left behind. Now Natalie has a crazy plan to land her crush—Toby’s biggest rival—and she needs Toby’s help to pull it off.
When Nat asks Toby to be her fake boyfriend, he can’t say no. Not when it means getting his best friend back. Natalie is all grown up now, and spending time with her—even when it’s just playing hockey together—stirs up a lot of feelings, old and new. Suddenly pretending to be interested in her isn’t hard at all…if only she wanted him and not enemy.
Hockey tore them apart. Can it put them back together?
Want to read more? Pre-order Winging It (Corrigan Falls Raiders, #3) now:
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