I saw how Maoi's eyes widened when Blaise formally introduced me to her. And it surprised her more when Blaise slid his arms into my hands and then entwined them together.
I am not stupid. For whatever reason he has, I know that he's purposely doing this to show her ex our sweetness. So, even though this really pisses me off, I just let him do what he wants. Anyway, this is my punishment for trusting my ex too much. I should just think of it this way since this is just for a month, and I'm sure that we're not going to see each other every day since we are not a true couple in the first place.
"Do you want anything?" he asked sweetly to me, and we even read the menu together, although I can't really focus on the words because I am distracted by the way his skin is brushing against mine.
Eventually, I was able to order a slice of blueberry cheesecake, and Blaise did the same. Maoi, on the other hand, is just looking intently at us, so I smiled at her.
"So, since when did the two of you become official? Quite fast, huh, Blaise," Maoi started. Blaise just smirked slightly at that.
"She said yes to me yesterday," he then answered. At first, I was wondering why he said that until it hit me. Well, I just found out yesterday that Maven is cheating on me, so technically, if we are to follow the deal, we really started yesterday too, officially.
What a good fucking start!
"Blaise here told me a lot of things about you, Arya," Maoi then told me. I was about to answer that, but our order just arrived on time, so my attention was averted to it. Once I had made sure that Blaise and I both had our cakes, I looked back at Maoi.
"I wonder what he said about me.
"He said that he fell in love with you the first time he saw you play volleyball."
I looked at Blaise upon hearing that. I know deep down in my heart that it isn't true, but I don't know why I feel bizarrely happy at that, although I am not really sure if he has already indeed watched me play or if he just used the fact that I am a volleyball player for his benefit.
"Oh, haha. Yes, he also told me that before," I answered, getting back to the game.
"Maybe some other time we can play?" she asked afterwards. I raised a brow at that.
"Oh, you play too?" I asked curiously while I urged myself to remember if I had seen her somewhere already playing for a school.
She shook her head. "Uhm, no. But I have friends who do. Maybe we can meet you and Blaise there."
I looked at Blaise again, whose face is just neutral. I am not an expert at guessing a person's mood, but I know for certain that he doesn't like the way this conversation is going.
"I want to thank you for that, Maoi; however, I guess it would be much better to ask Blaise here about that because he's a bit territorial when it comes to my attention. And I don't know, maybe he's planning something for the two of us since we just became a thing yesterday," I said, playing it safe.
"Thanks for that, Maoi, but maybe we can compromise one of these days. We can't just do it anytime now or sooner because I want to spend my time with my girlfriend alone," Blaise said with authority. He even put an arm around my shoulder again, and then he kissed me on the cheek.
Maoi plastered a fake smile on her face. "Okay, no problem."
***
"You're rude," I said when it was just the two of us because Maoi had already left. According to her, she has somewhere else to go, yet I know otherwise. I know she just can't take seeing me and Blaise together. Somehow, I could see myself in her when I caught Maven yesterday. The face of hurt
He acted like he didn't hear me. I just rolled my eyes and called a waiter for another cake, but this time I had already ordered two slices. I did not expect it to be good.
"Hey, did you hear me? I said you're rude!" I told him again. This time, he looked at me with one of his brows raised.
"Why did you say so?"
"She obviously still has feelings for you. So, what is that antic of yours that it seems you're purposely making her jealous? You're a sadist!" I said in disbelief because just remembering what I witnessed last time really pissed me off.
"Ygritte to Jon Snow. You—"
"Know nothing." I cut him off, then rolled my eyes. I wanted to ask if he's also a fan of Game of Thrones like me, but I decided otherwise since, as of this moment, it didn't matter.
He didn't say anything further. He just resumed eating while my new order just arrived, so I started eating too.
"So, what are the rules of the game, by the way? And before I forget, congratulations for winning our deal," I said, changing our topic because if we are still going to talk about his ex, I am sure that I won't really gain much from him. Maybe one of these days I'll just ask him why the two of them broke up. The way I saw it last time, Maoi is obviously still into him, so it's more likely he's the one who called it quits. I wonder what his reason could be.
He smirked at that and said, "I told you so."
"But I am really curious: how did you find out about it?" I asked. How has someone from Herondale High managed to discover that my boyfriend is cheating on me?
"I've been seeing them everywhere for quite some time now, usually at the bar. I didn't know that he was your boyfriend until the commentator from the game yesterday said that you are that Maven's girlfriend. Someone told me that you've been together for a long time already and everyone knows you're a thing, so more likely, you're the legal one," he explained. He watched the game yesterday. I wanted him to tell me more about it, but I shut my mouth instead.
Does he know anyone from my team, or is it just a coincidence that he was there? It could also be that maybe their school has a game after ours.
"To be honest, I did not originally intend to have a deal with you, but I saw how you couldn't be swayed last time. I just really wanted to tell you that your boyfriend is cheating on you and leave you alone, but then last minute, I thought why not have a deal with you since I also need someone who will pose as my girlfriend?" he said.
"You could've asked me for money, you know. It won't benefit you much if I am your girlfriend." I teased him because I do not want to talk about us anymore. Yes, I am successful at holding back my emotions in front of others about our relationship, but that doesn't mean that it's normal for me to already talk about it. I'm still irked by what Maven did to me. I hate him for making me think that cheating on me seems like the easiest thing to do.
He looked at me with a smirk. "Money is not my problem these days, Arya. Especially these days," he said.