Chapter 5 #2
“You’re completely brushing over the part where I saved you,” he said, sounding almost hurt. But by now, I knew him well enough to see it for the sarcasm it was. I flipped him off and he grinned. “But yes, I did consider that. And based on her reaction, it worked.”
“So now you want to keep making her mad by parading me around as your new girlfriend,” I said flatly.
“Not that I would put it in those terms, exactly…” He trailed off, but when I continued staring at him, he sighed and said, “Yes. Okay? I want to prove to her that I’ve done just as well without her.”
He was clearly very uncomfortable admitting all of that out loud, but strangely, it made me feel better. I hadn’t realized how much it felt like he was just messing with me by stepping up like that until I knew his real reasoning.
“So now she and Landon both think we’re actually together and they’re going to tell everyone else that we’re actually together.”
“Yep.”
“And if we stop now…” I let the sentence trail off, because I already knew where it was going.
“We look like idiots.” Rhys’s answer was immediate this time.
I groaned and tipped my head back against the wall.
“This is ridiculous.” I stared at the ceiling, wondering if there was some alternate version of tonight where I’d simply stayed home and avoided all of this. “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever agreed to.”
“You haven’t agreed yet.” His voice was softer now, and when I looked at him, he wasn’t smiling.
“No.” I straightened and met his gaze. “I haven’t.
And I’m not agreeing to some indefinite fake relationship.
” I pointed at him, making sure he understood that this was not going to become some open-ended arrangement where he could keep dragging me along because he’d gotten himself into a stupid bet. “If I’m doing this, there are rules.”
His mouth twitched. “I figured you would have conditions.”
“First rule: no more surprise kissing.” I held up one finger, and despite myself, my mind flashed back to the feeling of his lips against mine.
I immediately shoved the memory away and focused on the practical part of this, because thinking about the actual kiss was not going to help me make a rational decision.
“Fine.” He nodded without argument, which surprised me enough that I almost forgot my next rule.
“Second: you don’t get to decide we’re dating in front of other people without warning me.” I raised another finger, watching his face carefully to make sure he understood that this one mattered. “If we’re going to lie to everyone, I at least deserve to know what we’re lying about.”
“Fair.” He nodded again, this time with a little more seriousness.
“Third: if either of us wants out, we get out.” I held up my third finger and paused, making sure he was looking at me. “No guilt-tripping, no ‘but we already told everyone,’ no dragging it out because you’re worried about your bet.”
He considered that for a second before nodding. “Agreed.”
“Fourth: this doesn’t affect anything with Sebastian.” The words came out more firmly than the others, because that was the one part of this entire mess I wasn’t willing to compromise on. “Whatever happens between us, you don’t get to use me to mess with my brother.”
His expression changed immediately. “It won’t.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.” There was no hesitation in his answer this time, and something about the certainty in his voice made me believe him. “This has nothing to do with Sebastian.”
I raised my eyebrows. He sighed.
“Okay, it has a little to do with Sebastian, but I’m not going to do anything to you just to get a reaction out of him.”
I studied him for a second before reluctantly nodding.
“And fifth…” I paused, suddenly aware that this last rule felt more important than all the others combined. “This is not real and never will be.”
A strange expression crossed his face. It was gone so quickly that I couldn’t decide whether I’d imagined it, but I still caught the slight tightening around his eyes before he looked away.
“Right,” he said.
“Fake.” I needed to hear him say it.
“Fake.”
“Completely fake.” I held his gaze, almost challenging him to argue.
“Completely.” His voice was quiet, and for a moment neither of us said anything.
I nodded slowly, more to myself than to him.
It was ridiculous. It was probably a terrible idea.
And yet, the alternative seemed worse. Because he was right.
Too many people knew now, and walking back into that party only to announce that everything between us had been an act would make the situation infinitely more embarrassing.
At least if we committed to the lie, we could control what people thought happened next.
“Fine,” I said.
Rhys blinked. “Fine?” His eyebrows lifted, and I could practically see the relief beginning to creep into his expression.
“Fine. I’ll fake date you.” Saying the words aloud made my stomach flip, partly because they sounded completely insane and partly because I knew there was no taking them back now. “But if you make me regret this, I am telling Sebastian you blackmailed me into this and I’ll make sure he kills you.”
His eyebrows rose even higher. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.” I gave him a pointed look, letting the threat hang between us for a beat before dropping my hand. “I’m serious, Rhys.”
He studied me for a second, and then the corner of his mouth lifted. “Deal.”
I exhaled, finally allowing myself to relax a little.
“Okay. So what now?” I glanced toward the door, where the muffled music and voices had become increasingly impossible to ignore. “We’re supposedly dating.”
“Now?” He followed my gaze, then looked back at me. “Now we go back out there.”
My stomach immediately tightened.
“Together?” The word came out before I could stop it, and Rhys gave me a look that was almost amused.
“That’s generally how dating works.”
“Fake dating.”
“Right.” He smiled, but there was something more careful beneath it now, as though he knew we were both stepping into something neither of us really understood yet. “Fake dating.”
He reached for the door, but before he opened it, he glanced back at me.
“Ready?”
I looked at him, then at the doorway, and finally at the party waiting on the other side.
I thought about Kelcey’s expression, Landon’s smirk, the people who had seen us disappear together, and the very real possibility that the second we stepped back into that room, we’d have to start convincing everyone—including ourselves—that this was exactly what we’d intended all along.
“No.”
His smile returned.
“Perfect.”
Then he opened the door, and together, we stepped back into the party.
The hallway spat us back out into the main current of the party, and I braced myself, half-expecting every head to swivel toward us the second we reappeared, some invisible neon sign flashing they were just in the closet over our heads.
Nobody looked twice. The party had moved on without us in the way parties always do, indifferent to whatever had or hadn’t happened three rooms away—the same knot of Crofton guys shoving each other near the stairs, the same girls laughing too hard by the drinks table, the bass thudding along at the exact same tempo, like the last ten minutes of my life had happened in some separate, sealed-off pocket of time that the rest of the house hadn’t been invited into.
I drew in a breath and looked up to Rhys only to find his eyes already on me. I gave a slight dip of my chin as if to say I was ready. And then he slipped his hand into mine, I pasted my best lovesick smile onto my face, and we stepped into the party, ready to fool everyone.