Chapter 18 Drew #2
“It’s what I wanted to do, I just … couldn’t.”
Drew studied her for a moment. Noticed the way she held his gaze without flinching, even when she couldn’t finish putting her explanations into words.
“I understand,” he said. They’d both been in a vulnerable place that night. “So, if your friends or teammates ask, is this a casual situationship, the start of a long-distance relationship, or are we in love?”
“In love? That feels like a bit of a stretch,” she said, teasing him. “Didn’t you lie about being in love with your ex? I’m not sure you’d fall for me that fast.”
Drew cringed, remembering just how much he’d divulged that night.
“Can we impose a no-bringing-up-rooftop-confessions rule?” he asked, uneasy.
“No takebacks.” She smiled.
“Damn,” he said in mock defeat. “So, what you’re saying is that given my track record, I couldn’t possibly fall in love with you?”
“Given my track record, you definitely could.”
“So, to make it believable, in our story, I have to be the one who says ‘I love you’ first.”
“Why?”
“Because if I told you I love you first, I would mean it,” he said plainly. She rolled her eyes, seeing right through him.
“I bet you tell all your fake girlfriends that.”
“Just my favorites.”
“Right, we need some ground rules,” she said, trying to put an end to the flirtation. “Rule number one. We’re both busy, so we only have to commit to three fake dates on my end and three photo ops on yours.” Drew nodded. They felt like reasonable terms.
“Rule number two. We need an expiration date,” he said. “At the end of the Olympics, I’m flying back to Wisconsin, and you’re flying back to London. But we should decide on a clear end point to stop things from getting complicated.”
“How about we start tomorrow and end things on the day of my final match?” she suggested.
“And when’s that?”
“It could be a preliminary game in a couple of days, or the finals. Either way, less than two weeks.”
He nodded. That was long enough for him to get all the photos he needed, but not long enough for them to get too attached.
“And rule number three,” she said, serious for a moment. “We’ve got to be honest with each other. You don’t have to tell me anything else about your life. In fact, we shared enough on the roof. But whatever happens next, all honesty, no judgment.”
“I can’t help but be honest around you,” he admitted.
But before things could get too earnest, Ari spotted something out of the corner of her eye that made her smile drop.
Drew turned his head around to see what she was looking at.
A crowd of people in Team GB uniforms had just walked in.
It was a mixture of men and women with the easy rapport of people who’d known each other for years.
But at the center of them was Harrison, Ari’s ex-boyfriend.
When Drew turned back to face Ari, she looked exhausted, so he instinctively reached his hand across the table.
She took it and their fingers intertwined. It felt strange but familiar.
He watched as Ari tracked Harrison from the front door and through the canteen.
Harrison was making his way to their table.
As he approached, he flashed Ari a smile and raised an eyebrow at Drew.
He opened his mouth as if to say something but then shut it as he noticed their hands on the table.
His easygoing demeanor disappeared for a second.
But he picked it up as fast as he’d put it down, then carried on walking.
Ari relaxed once he was out of sight, but she didn’t let go of Drew’s hand. They lingered in silence for a moment.
“That’s another thing,” she said. “Rule number four. PDA.”
He nodded. They were practically strangers, after all.
“Is this okay?” he asked, looking down at their hands.
“It’s perfect.… I mean, it’s fine. It works,” she said, tripping over her words before letting go. She took a long sip of her smoothie, sat up in her chair, and spoke with an air of formality.
“Holding hands, kissing on the cheek, that’s all fair game,” she said. He nodded and typed that into his phone. “But kissing on the lips?” she pondered.
“We probably shouldn’t—”
“Only in emergencies,” she said.
There was a moment of silence as they compared their responses. Then Drew spoke up.
“So, by emergencies, you mean life-or-death situations, right? Like resuscitation?”
“Life-and-death situations, but also … fake boyfriend girlfriend emergencies.”
“And what is a fake boyfriend girlfriend emergency?” he teased, watching her face scrunch up in concentration.
“I’m not sure,” she said as she glanced down at his notes. “We’ll … cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Right, I’ll be on standby,” he said, adding a final bullet point to his list. When he put his phone down, she was looking over at him. “Anything else?” he asked, noting the slight concern in her expression. She paused for a moment and then shrugged.
“We’ve just got to do everything we can to make sure nobody gets hurt and this doesn’t become a complicated mess.”
“Noted.”
“So, we’re on the same page?” she asked. “Two weeks of fake dates in exchange for a two-week, exclusive photo diary.”
“Deal,” he said with a nod. “But aren’t you forgetting the most important rule?” he asked, his lips curving up.
“What?” she asked, as if she had no idea what he was alluding to. So, he leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“Rule number five. Don’t fall in love with me,” he whispered.
She smiled and shook her head.
“I think you’re the one in danger.”