Chapter Eight - Kayla
Kayla
”Your—excuse me, what?” He freezes in his step and looks at me with a confused wrinkle between his eyebrows, lips set in a tight line and a muscle in his jaw ticking.
”Fuck buddy,” I repeat slowly, enunciating each of the syllables as I brush my hair behind my ear before crossing my arms in front of my chest and looking at him defiantly. ”Friend with benefits, whatever you want to call it. Do I need to explain the concept to you?”
”No, thank you,” he grits out, a muscle in his jaw twitching, and resumes his pacing. ”What exactly did you tell him?”
”That we”re not fucking for the next three months, and if we meet, it has to remain PG.” I shrug. ”Why?” I raise my eyebrow at him.
Oh, he better not be one of those people who look down on women for having friends with benefits. If I hear one wrong word about my arrangement with Josh, I’m done.
It’s bad enough that I’m looking at three sexless months, because I’m not touching Asher with a ten-foot pole.
”You better not meet him at all.” He points at me with his index finger—how rude—and his voice is strained like he”s talking without moving his jaw. “It wouldn’t look good on either of us.”
”I just want to remind you about the ”fake” in ”fake boyfriend.”” I chuckle and get up to move to my couch.
It’s much more comfortable for a conversation like this. He changes his pacing route to the front of the couch as looks at me with angry wrinkles between his eyebrows.
Oh, how I like seeing him riled up. Payback’s a bitch. ”Josh is my friend and we sometimes scratch each other”s itches. I”m afraid you”ll have to get used to him, because I’m not about to stop being friends with him for this little game.”
”Yeah, I don”t like that.”
”Sucks to be you then.” I shrug and reach for a pillow to hug to my chest and hide my lower face behind.
Oh, he does not like that. And I”m starting to realize why he”s this insufferable; it”s really fun to make him this angry. I should do that more often. Maybe that’s going to make the next three months more bearable.
”Anything else we need to settle on?” His shoulders sag and he exhales a deep breath.
”I think that”s it for now,” he admits and sits down next to me with a sigh. The couch moves under me as he folds his giant frame onto it. ”We still need a story to tell everyone. How did we become a couple, Sweetheart?”
”I”d say let”s keep it as close to the truth as possible,” I propose, ignoring the nickname and rub my hand over my face, exhaustion suddenly washing over me. ”We met by chance in the stadium, you apologized and groveled and as we talked it out, we fell madly in love.”
”Like Luca and Millie,” he says slowly, and I nod, hiding a yawn behind the pillow.
”Exactly like Luca and Millie.” I sigh softly and close my eyes for a moment. ”You saw me and immediately fell in love. But I was still angry and made you work for it.”
”Not very long, though,” he interjects, making me chuckle. “We have to keep the timeline somewhat realistic.”
”Alright, alright.” I bite my lip to stop another yawn. ”So, no one will know except us?” I glance at him from the corner of my eye.
It feels like such a big secret. Way too big for two people. But who else would I tell apart from Millie who can never learn of it?
”No one except us,” he confirms, and I nod solemnly, flexing my fingers into the soft fabric of my pillow.
Why am I already starting to regret this?
Well, no time for hesitation. We have to confirm our relationship somehow, so I walk over to the pretty bouquet he brought me.
”Come over here and give me your hand,” I demand and hold out my own, wiggling my fingers to signal him to get his ass over here.
Tilting his head, he eyes me for a second, then does as I ask, groaning as he gets up from his admittedly not very comfortable looking position on my couch.
Once he’s next to me, I take his hand and lacing our fingers together, then put them in front of the flowers and open the camera app on my phone.
”What are you doing?”
”We need to release our own, official statement and need a proper picture,” I tell him and roll my eyes. ”Duh.”
”Sorry for not knowing the proper social media etiquette,” he teases and nudges me with his shoulder, relaxing his hand.
Suddenly, I”m acutely aware of how close he”s standing. And even more acutely aware of how hot I find men who are a good bit taller than me.
Oh no.
Down, girl. This whole thing is fake. Nothing is happening, nothing at all. This is not one of my romance novels.
I take a deep breath, but that’s a mistake because now I know that he smells like a forest by the ocean. All fresh and woody.
I quickly take the photo, trying out a few different angles, then drop his hand like it”s a hot potato.
”Guess it”s time to let you guys know that I”m taken,” Asher reads aloud over my shoulder as I prepare the social media post. ”What”s that sign?”
”It”s a heart made with two hands,” I grumble and hit ”Post” before I can change my mind.
”It”s official, Sweetheart,” he says in a teasing sing-song voice, and I can feel him shaking with laughter behind me.
”Don”t ”Sweetheart” me.”
”Sooo, how”s it going with your boyfriend?” Millie asks curiously, nudging me with her shoulder and eyebrows wiggling suggestively as we walk through the backstage labyrinth of the stadium. It has already been a few days since our ”relationship” was made public and I confirmed it on my socials.
And life has been crazy since then.
I don”t look at social media a lot, but morbid curiosity is getting the better of me this time around, because it is just so different from any time it happened before. The buzz around our relationship is so much more intense than with any other boyfriend either of us ever had.
Thank God the media hasn”t found out where Millie and I currently stay.
According to Asher, his parents are flocked by the paparazzi wherever they go at whatever time. Both of them are moving with at least two security guys by their side and his mother even has a whole group stationed at her shop that keep paparazzi out and help customers get inside.
A crowd of those fucking vultures has even gathered in front of the stadium entrance. One of them almost jumped in front of our car when we came here this morning. I get wanting a picture, but I don’t get risking your life for it. No job deserves that.
Naroa has gotten our driver another car, one that”s tinted so dark I can barely see outside, and with a glass panel between the backseats and driver with a tint just as strong. It was so dark in there I almost fell asleep.
Anyways, the paparazzi stood no chance of catching a picture of either of us.
Inconveniencing all the celebrities who are involved with the match and need to deal with them as well doesn’t feel great, though. Nobody has complained to me yet, but I feel guilty that they’re affected nonetheless.
”It”s . . . going,” I admit and hide a yawn behind my hand. I overslept and didn”t manage to make myself a coffee before leaving for the stadium today. And with what”s going on, there was no way our driver would make a detour to get some drive-through coffee. I am absolutely missing my caffeine. ”How about you and Loverboy? I heard you two went on another date.” I shoot her a wink.
”Yes, we did!” Her whole face lights up as she starts to tell me about it. Apparently, they went out to do . . . pottery? That”s an interesting date idea, I guess.
You couldn’t catch me in a fifty-meter radius to dirt, but it sounds like an activity that’s right up her alley.
”And then we went back to my place,” she adds, her whole face glowing in a striking red. I freeze and a wide grin starts to slowly make its way to my face.
”Shut up! On your first date?” I ask her teasingly and nudge her shoulder with mine, my grin almost splitting my face in two. “When did you become such a baaaad girl?”
”Oh shush,” she giggles and covers my mouth with her hand to shut me up, looking around nervously as if she’s scared someone heard me. I lick her palm, making her pull her hand away quickly and wiping it on my sweater.
”Good for you, girl,” I tell her with a giggle, and she rolls her eyes.
“You’re disgusting, Kayla,” she whines but amusement is tugging at the corners of her mouth.
I have to admit, I”m kind of jealous. Not of Luca, oh hell to the fuck no. Those two are perfect for each other and he’s not my type at all.
But I”m horny. Really. Goddamn. Horny.
It has been over two weeks already since I saw Josh and while we definitely had an amazing time, the itch he scratched is back with a vengeance, like an annoying mosquito bite.
Now that this whole fake dating thing is going on, there”s no chance I”m going to get a good fuck, though.
Well, at least my trusty silicone friends can give me some amazing orgasms. But it’s just not the same.
I shouldn’t have given in to this whole thing, especially the exclusivity part.
Josh was surprised when I messaged him, thinking it was a prank. Then he saw the news and messaged me a ”Congratulations” along with the offer for a threesome.
That”s when I learned he”s bi and apparently a big fan of Asher. To quote Josh, ‘he’s the star of my spank bank,’ which is information I never wanted to have, but alas, now it’s seared into my brain.
I can’t begin to imagine how awkward that would be. Fuck buddy and fake boyfriend, together in a threesome?
Definitely food for my imagination, but in reality, one of them would probably end up in a ditch with his throat sliced open.
I thanked Josh but rejected his proposal immediately, warranting him to send me a crying face emoji. What an idiot.
”There you are,” Naroa suddenly appears in front of us. She doesn’t meet my eyes and she also never mentioned our call.
In fact, she hasn’t talked to me about Asher at all, which is great but also a bit suspicious.
”Mike is waiting for you outside. You”re going through your choreography on the field today to get a better understanding of the size of your stage.”
”Alright,” we say in unison and turn on our heels to change directions from toward the dance studio to the field.
I stop in my tracks when I realize the guys are training outside as well and swallow an annoyed groan. I”m not even sure what they are doing, but it involves throwing a football and running.
For a moment, Millie and I freeze, watching them appreciatively.
My eyes are immediately drawn to Asher and I hate myself for it. He’s running over the field, shorts revealing his muscular thighs and his bicep almost bursting the snug sleeves of his shirt.
His long hair is in a bun that sits surprisingly well considering how much he”s moving. I would have already lost my hair tie, I just know it. Fuck him and his long, luscious and healthy hair.
I lift my arms to gather my own at my neck, twisting it around a hair tie until it”s in a secure, low ponytail as I turn around and walk over to where Mike is waiting for us.
He”s been our dance instructor since forever and even though he regularly tortures us, I really like him. He”s one of the few people in the industry who are not afraid to tell us when we”re fucking up, which I appreciate.
Because if he didn”t, we”d make a fool of ourselves in front of our audience and I can”t have that. It also keeps us humble. I can’t imagine having only yes-men and -women around me; that sounds like such a horrible prospect. It’s more common in the entertainment industry than one would think, though.
I know Millie hates dancing, but Mike is even patient enough to get her to a point where she doesn”t look like she hates dancing. And that takes some serious skill.
”Good morning, you two,” he greets us and cocks his hip. ”I”d love to get started but I did not expect half of the field to be taken today,” he grumbles and rolls his eyes. ”But we”ll make do. You need to practice taking the whole space, not only what we have available in the studio.”
Millie giggles beside me and even I grin. Mike has already mapped out where everything is going to be with barely visible chalk on the ground: the stage, our way to the stage, the cameras. Then he hands us headphones, pulls us after him to our starting points and then begins counting down for us to start the choreography.
Mike really wasn”t kidding. Doing our whole routine out here is so much more exhausting than doing it in the studio. Granted, the studio is maybe a third of the whole stage and it has air conditioning, but I vastly underestimated just how different it would be to practice on the full-size stage.
After our second run-through, I”m out of breath and sweating like a pig, and Millie is already lying on the ground, her torso heaving as she”s trying to catch her breath.
”Mercy,” she begs Mike between heaving breaths, but he only chuckles at our antics.
”Looks like we need to add more cardio to your training plan.”
I bow down to reach for my empty water bottle and throw it into his general direction. I can”t even manage to turn around to look at him; I just chuck it where I think his voice is coming from.
”Love you too, Kayla.” He laughs and I raise my middle finger at him. Good thing that he”s a good sport about foolery like this. Phones are the only thing where he draws the line.
”You do it three times back to back,” Millie gasps and reaches for another water bottle. “Then we’ll talk.”
“Right, Mike. Show us how it’s done,” I tease him, making him shake his head.
”Why would I? I”m not the one who has to perform it in front of millions of people,” Mike retorts with a chuckle. ”Catch a quick break, you two, I”ll get you some more water.”
I groan as soon as he”s out of earshot. ”Does that mean what I think it does? We have to do it again?”
”I fear so,” Millie grumbles and rolls on the ground until she”s lying on her stomach, looking towards the guys. ”Careful, boyfriend approaching.”
She continues to roll somewhere, giggling to herself, and I wonder what the hell is going on with her. Is she delusional? A heatstroke? Didn’t sleep enough? On drugs? The only other time I”ve heard her giggle this much is when she”s drunk. And I doubt she had a cocktail before our training.
”Hi, Sweetheart.”
I stiffen, all of my muscles tensing, before I whirl around and shoot Asher a glare.
No matter how often I tell him, he just won”t fucking stop using that godawful nickname. If it were just the nickname, fine, but he says it in such an overly affectionate way that it makes my toenails curl and the hair on my neck stand up. I hate it.
”Hi, Honey,” I retort, forcing myself to sound like I’m happy to see him. Let’s see how he likes a stupid nickname. Honey is the first one that sprung to mind; maybe I’ll find an even better one soon.
He flinches at either the nickname or the barely concealed note of disdain in my voice. I cross my arms in front of my chest, feeling Millie”s eyes on me as she watches the two of us interact. Relax, Kayla. She’s supposed to believe this.
To my surprise, Asher throws his arm around my shoulders and leans down. To my even bigger surprise, he brushes his lips against my cheek. I freeze, all muscles tense like I”ve caught a look at Medusa, as his beard scratches my face.
What the actual fuck? Kissing was definitely not part of our rules. Not cheeks, not lips, not anywhere.
When he lets go of me, I subtly wipe my face, digging my elbow deep into his ribs. I can’t believe it. What the fuck does he think he”s doing?
Oh, how I wish I could curse him out. He’s playing with fire, and I have the urge to spew a raging flame his way. But I can”t or our cover will blow. Judging by the smirk on that fucker’s face, he is very aware of that fact.
”Let go of me.” I push him off, trying to sound teasing. ”You”re sweaty.”
”So are you.” He shrugs and tightens his hold around my shoulders, pulling me against him, right into his armpit sweat. Ew.
With an energetic shove, I push his arm off me and take a step back.
”You two behave like you”ve been together for years already.” Millie giggles, and as much as I love her, it grates on my nerves. “Like an old, married couple.”
”Do you mind if I borrow her for a minute?” Asher asks her, grinning when Millie motions for him to go right ahead with a dismissive hand gesture.
”Hello?” I call out and wave at them. “I”m right here. How about asking me instead?” I point at myself but both of them ignore me.
Asher pulls me with him with a soft yet firm grip on my upper arm until we”re out of earshot.
”Don”t fucking do that again,” I hiss at Asher, but he only rolls his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching as if they want to twist into a grin.
”You”re supposed to be my girlfriend, get used to some light PDA. I’m an actor, I have no intention of doing this half-assed. We have to make this believable, Sweetheart.” He chuckles and my fingers are itching with the urge to make him eat his words.
”One day, I am going to make you regret calling me that,” I promise him, crossing my arms in front of my chest. ”Fine. But at least shave. I have no use for beard scratches on my face.”
He laughs lowly and rubs his hand over his scruff. ”Maybe.”
Did I mention that Asher is an insufferable dickhead? I’m too exhausted to continue arguing, though. If he doesn’t shave it off, I’ll break into his apartment and do it for him when he’s asleep. Well, maybe not quite, but I’ll come up with something.
”So, what did you want?” I ask him, accompanied by a sigh. There better be a reason he came over and started pestering me while I was working.
”Van is asking for a planned paparazzi walk,” he admits with a sheepish smile and blinking wide puppy eyes. ”I don”t know what exactly for, maybe he got me some sponsors, but he wants us to meet at a restaurant this evening.”
My jaw clenches and I shift my weight to my other foot. ”Maybe next time your precious Van can call me and check if I even have time for something like that. I’m a busy woman,” I can’t help but point out before conceding. “Is your security equipped for a stunt like that or should I call mine?”
”I think mine’s got it covered,” he says with a chuckle, and I lower my gaze to the ground. I really don’t want to deal with a horde of paparazzi again so soon.
Just how am I always lucky enough to land in situations like these?
”Alright,” I say and lift my gaze. ”Send me a picture of your outfit as soon as you”re home if it’s sponsored. I”ll coordinate.”
”That seems a bit over the top,” he says and tilts his head. I lick my tongue and look at him disapprovingly.
”If I”m a part of ”America”s Dream couple,”” I say and lift my fingers to put our unofficial title into air quotes. ”Then we better look the part. I”m not going all dressed up if you”re coming in jogging pants.”
”No jogging pants,” he promises with a chuckle, but I shake my head.
”I don”t care. Send me a picture and I”ll find an outfit that will look good next to it. If you don’t want to do this half-assed and I need to let PDA happen, you’re going to have to deal with pretending to have a fashion sense during this whole ordeal.”
”Aye, aye, captain,” he says with a mock salute and straightens his back. ”Now look like you”ve enjoyed our conversation while we walk back. Millie is looking at us suspiciously already.”
I groan and force a smile onto my face before I turn around. After taking three steps, his sweaty arm is over my shoulders again as he brings me back to where Millie is still lying on the ground.
But instead of in our direction, she is now dreamily looking at Luca, who is currently throwing a football rather shakily at one of the Walker brothers.
”See you later, Sweetheart,” Asher says with a grin on his lips before pressing them against my temple. Then he jogs off, back to the players.
I look after him, my blood boiling. What a fucking asshole. What a—
”Here”s your water.” Mike hands me an ice-cold bottle, tearing my thoughts away from all the curses I”m conjuring up in my head. ”Whoa, what”s got you looking like Godzilla about to laser off a city?”
”Nothing,” I grumble and force the resting bitch expression off my face. When I look up at him again, I”m hopeful I’ve schooled my face to a more neutral one. ”Everything is fine.”