Chapter 3
three
. . .
The whole thing was a bad idea. Drew was sure of it from the moment he’d hung up the phone after talking with Javier Rivera and explaining what he needed.
The fact that Javier had figured out immediately what he was looking to accomplish by hiring Rent-A-Boyfriend was a dead giveaway to the fact that everyone else in the world would see right through him once he was seen in public with a man.
“Seriously, this is a good idea,” Jessica had explained as she and Abby had prepared to go out to explore London’s nightlife the evening after they arrived.
“You’ll have your London fling, the press will stop hounding you, the accusations will stop, and we can all go back to the way things should be. ”
She lifted to her toes and smacked a kiss on Drew’s lips that left a lipstick stain.
Drew wiped it away, leftover adrenaline from the call making him jumpy. “You guys go enjoy yourselves,” he said, heading into the flat’s kitchen as Jessica and Abby left. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
It was a weird thing to say since, to be honest, there wasn’t much Drew wouldn’t do.
The press had loved following his escapades since he’d blasted onto the public scene.
It was weird because he should have been going out with his friends and painting the town red.
He loved people, loved dancing and music and mayhem.
He didn’t drink as much as people assumed he did and he definitely didn’t do drugs.
His career was far more important than a temporary high.
And he’d been faithful to Jessica for five years now without questioning it.
Other women just didn’t interest him, not that way, though more than a few had tried to get with him in the last few months.
Under any other circumstances, he would have gone out all night and come home exhausted and slept all day. Maybe it was the jetlag or the fact that there was a table reading for the first episode of Sleuth in the morning, followed by costume fittings and dialect coaching.
Oh, and the quick meeting he’d set up with Javier Rivera to talk about getting him a fake boyfriend.
Drew was so wrapped up in the major deception he was about to pull on the world that he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep.
Luckily for him, jetlag was more powerful than any panic that he was making a decision that could ultimately bite him in the butt and destroy his chance of getting everything he wanted in life.
When he woke to his alarm in the morning, Jessica was sprawled on top of the bed next to him, still dressed from the night before and snoring lightly.
Drew slipped out of bed without disturbing her, hopped into the shower, then dressed and puttered around the small flat without waking either of his friends while waiting for a car to come pick him up.
It felt strange to be more or less alone in a foreign country even though Jessica and Abby were there.
He’d built his life and his career on adapting to whatever situation was thrown his way and committing to each new role he’d played, but no matter what he did as he explored the limited space of the apartment, then headed downstairs when the driver texted he was there, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in over his head.
Something was about to happen, he was sure of it. He just didn’t know what.
The morning passed quickly. Drew shared his ride to the studio with another of the lead actors who had come over from Canada, Rachel Evans.
They spent the trip comparing notes about everything that made the UK different from North America.
The table read went well, too. Drew loved Kurt, the director he’d be working with for the next few weeks, and everyone on the production crew.
He was impressed with Spencer Ellis, a big British star who had never really tried to make it in Hollywood and who would be playing opposite him.
By lunchtime, he was certain the filming experience would be fun and rewarding.
But still the feeling that something was chasing him wouldn’t go away. The last time he’d felt that sort of buzz was when he’d been waiting to hear if he’d booked Cooked. It was the feeling of running headlong at a cliff without knowing whether he would fly or fall once he sped over the edge.
The time finally came for him to head into London for his meeting with Javier, but as soon as he met the tall, gorgeous man with his welcoming eyes and easy manner in the upstairs seating area of an elegant coffee shop, the buzzing feeling inside him became almost unbearable.
“I’m still not convinced this is a great idea,” he told Javier candidly once they’d ordered their coffees and some amazing-looking pastries from the counter downstairs.
“You don’t have to go ahead with anything you don’t want to do, honey,” Javier told him honestly.
Drew gave the man a lopsided smile. He appreciated not being pushed into the whole thing.
He might have worked his way to the top of the industry in record time all on his own, but now that he was there, every day made him feel like someone was pushing him in one direction or another, regardless of what he wanted.
As with his career, Drew was determined to forge his own path and to stand his ground.
“I just want the accusations and rumors to stop,” he confided in Javier.
“My career means everything to me. Acting and filmmaking is all I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember.
Now, finally, I have resources most people never have and opportunities rushing at me. I could do amazing things.”
“As long as something doesn’t come along to ruin it all,” Javier finished his thought.
Drew smiled, relieved that someone understood. “The worst part is not knowing if doing this whole fake boyfriend thing will solve my problems or create new ones.”
Javier hummed as he took a sip of coffee. “Just remember that at the end of the day, it’s easier to tell one truth than a thousand lies.”
Drew straightened a bit and tightened his hands around his coffee cup. “So you think I shouldn’t do this?” He was pretty impressed that the guy who owned the company he was working with would advise him to do something that would mean he’d lose money if it was what was right for Drew.
“I don’t think you should decide anything quickly,” Javier said, resting a hand on the table like he was reaching for Drew. “Meet Lee, talk to him about what’s going on, and see if—” Javier sat straighter as his attention was caught by something behind Drew. “Well, speak of the devil.” He waved.
Drew twisted in his seat, the buzzing reaching a pitch, then stopped breathing as soon as he saw the guy who’d just reached the top of the stairs.
There he was. The man that the entire world would soon believe he was dating.
He was average height and reasonably fit, though nothing that would drive the press wild.
He had reddish-brown hair cut in a not-great style, adorable glasses that were just a touch too big for his face, and a hint of stubble on his square jaw.
As he came closer and greeted Javier with a sweet smile and a, “Hey!”, Drew noticed that he had deep blue eyes that reminded him of the lake where his family had spent summers when he was a kid.
As soon as the guy, Lee, clocked who Drew was, he stopped short, his eyes going wide. His mouth hung open for a second, which had Drew noticing his soft lips.
The man was speechless at the sight of him, but unexpectedly, Drew couldn’t get his thoughts to stand still long enough to grab hold of any of them either.
“Come and have a seat,” Javier said, his expression lit up with excitement. “Now you can see why I wasn’t able to tell you anything over the phone.”
Drew followed Lee with his eyes as he joined them at the round table and took a seat.
He’d been attracted to men before. He wasn’t so insecure in his sexuality that he couldn’t admit a guy was hot when they were objectively hot.
And after spending a huge chunk of last year fully committed to playing a gay character and learning everything he’d needed to know to do his job convincingly, he’d privately come to the conclusion that everyone was a lot more fluid than they generally thought they were.
That still didn’t explain why he couldn’t stop looking at this man Javier had pulled out of a hat to be his fake boyfriend for the press.
“I think I can see why this whole thing is highly confidential,” Lee said, pulling his chair into the table a bit and smiling at Drew, eyes wide with recognition and admiration.
“Lee Cresswell, I’d like you to meet Drew Oberlin,” Javier made the introductions. “Drew, this is Lee Cresswell. He’s worked with us before, and I trust him to be exactly what you need while you’re in London.”
Lee Cresswell. The name sent sparks through Drew. “Wait, I know who you are,” he said, heat rising in his body and a smile spreading across his face.
Lee’s eyes went even wider. “You do? You know who I am?”
“My friend, Abby, loves your books,” Drew explained, leaning into the table and slightly toward Lee.
“She’s in the middle of reading your latest right now, I think.
She always has her nose in a book.” He was babbling a little, but he couldn’t help it.
What were the odds? And why hadn’t Abby told him Lee Cresswell was so cute?
“Wow,” Lee said, blowing the syllable out like he would be laughing if he wasn’t so stunned. “I can’t believe that someone like you actually knows who I am.”
Suddenly, the whole fake boyfriend thing didn’t feel like a colossal risk that could end in disaster.
The edginess that had been following Drew around since they’d landed the day before melted away, and all he saw sitting at the table with him was an attractive guy who had just as many interesting things going for him as he had.
Which could make their fake connection really believable.
Good job, Javier.