Inevitable kiss:sealing the contract

Chapter 4.

Maya's POV.

My words were like heavy stones hung on his neck as he froze, dumbfounded. He fisted his hands, jaw clenching. Cold terror radiated from his face.

I shrugged my shoulders, unfazed. He could not breathe, imagining me around his hockey rival, yet he cheated on me several times. Pathetic!

I turned on my heels, not giving him a chance to spill out whatever garbage he had in his stinking, filthy mouth.

By the time I got to my dorm, Elena was already at home, looking so dishevelled like a sewer.

I dropped my bags on the bed and slumped on it, my heart reeling with Nathan's words.

"What's the drama all about this time?" Elena asked, stirring her coffee.

I swallowed and exhaled slowly to hide my emotions. "Nathan is mad at me for getting close to Davies."

She flinched, placing the coffee on the cupboard. "Pathetic! And what did you tell him?"

She tilted her head, a daring eye flashing at me like she would kill me if I dared tell her something stupid.

"I owe him no explanations. I left him in his spot, mad and confused."

Elena released her breath in satisfaction. "Probably the most impressive thing you have said in a long while."

She picked up her coffee and sat on the bed, putting on that subtle smile that hinted to me what she wanted to say.

"Oh, no. It's not what you think. I was just bored and drunk. Nothing serious between me and that rookie." I raised my hands in the air in protest, and she only widened her smile.

" I was about to ask how you got the college golden boy's attention last night."

The gossip between Elena and me went on for the next ten minutes about what really transpired between Davies and me at the party, and when I finally told her about the fake dating idea, she blinked several times, changing position.

"Girl, you are still considering Nathan? That toxic boy doesn't care about how you feel. He has never and obviously never will."

"I can't fake date Davies," I released the breath I never knew I was holding. "He is just directly opposite my spec."

I began to count with my fingers. "He's arrogant. Got a bad reputation. Sinking career. And thinks all the girls want him."

"Girl, that shouldn't be a bother," She shrugged. "After all, it's just a roleplay, and at the end of the day you get your mum's medical bills cleared. You are lucky, Maya."

I scratched the back of my neck, shy to tell Elena about those weird feelings I got whenever Davies' skin touched mine. That unexplainable heart thud whenever he whispered my name. I was scared to crave the wrong Captain, scared to cross the line and taste the raging fire I might not be able to control, my dignity dangling by a thread.

I spent the next three hours with my brain doing the tug of war between the two conflicting decisions, and with Elena's advice, I pulled out the fake dating contract agreement and read through it.

The rules and conditions were satisfying and favorable to me. It was just a public roleplay. Though some of the rules didn't sit well with me, I had no choice, especially when my mum's chances of survival were now on a countdown.

I couldn't decipher if this was a good idea or a bad idea, honestly, but I knew one thing for sure: my mother's medical bills would be handled, and I would get to focus on my studies without doing multiple menial jobs.

Nathan had hurt me severally and fake dating his hockey rival for my mum's medical bills wouldn’t make me bad.

I waited till evening time when the hockey players would be on the training field, and I hopped into a casual short babydoll dress over leggings and went straight to the field before the training began.

Just as I stepped into the hockey arena, I spotted Davies among his teammates as they both laughed over their banter. His sweaty hair plastered half of his face, blue jersey half-tucked, and a stick over his shoulder.

I steepled my fingers, looking in his direction. Maybe he would just notice my presence until one of his friends caught me and notified him.

Davies then rubbed his chin, walking towards me while his teammates bro-whispered and side-commented, teasing him, and it made my blood boil up my heart.

That was exactly what I loathed about the Westbridge hockey players. Their lips were zippers that don't work, and if they eventually got a girl on their bed on Friday, they would broadcast to the whole student by Monday, and that was the main reason I felt I chose the bad path.

But it was too late to turn back. Not after signing the agreement. Not now that Davies was already standing in front of me like my coming had been long anticipated.

"Want to see me practice?" He teased, admirably squinting his eyes.

"You said if I agreed to fake date you, you would pay my mum's medical bills?" I asked, suppressing my pride.

He didn't answer right away. He just looked down at me, scrutinizing every part of my face. "I am always honest with my words. I don't know about you"

I tossed the signed agreement at him, feeling so ashamed of myself. As I looked up at him, I caught another version of his smile—full and genuine.

"Whoa! You signed it," His lips curved upward. Which means you are now my —"

The host blew the whistle, breaking his sentence as hockey teams started to come together for training.

The Dogfang team was in a tight huddle at the far end, all in rhyme Navy jerseys bright against the red. At the front was my boyfriend, Nathan, leading his teammates towards the field.

I gasped; my heart raced.

"You should go now." I turned around to leave, but he grabbed me around my waist gently and spun me around to face him, allowing me to take in the full dimension of his beauty.

"Nathan? Guess you are leaving because of him?"

"No!" I lied, but he could see the truth in my eyes.

"You have signed the fake dating agreement, Maya, but I am not convinced. Why not prove it now, here in the presence of everyone and your boyfriend?"

"How?" My voice shook as I leaned my head a few inches away from him, my heart thudding as Nathan's steps blazed nearer.

" Kiss me!" Davies’s voice laced with authority and I gasped, eyes widened. 

I shook my head in disagreement, not wanting to even think about it, but his hands on my waist yanked me closer to his body. 

"The contract permits public kissing. You have signed it, and the roleplay has begun."

"No, Davies. Please!"

Nathan's eyes grew with rage as he sighted me in Davies's arms, his steps dangerously alarming towards us.

"You signed the contract, Maya. Your mum's medical bills are on the line. Are you going to watch her die for a boy who has cheated on you many times?"

The words stirred anger inside of me, and as the memories of Nathan's betrayal and my mum's medical bill flashed through my mind, I sank my fingers into Davies's damp hair, tiptoed, and our lips touched.