Chapter 5 Practice Makes Perfect #3
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because you did."
Orm looked at her.
"You too."
Ling smiled.
"Thank you."
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
The quiet felt different after hours of noise.
Orm looked at her hands.
Then at Ling.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Do you really think this will work?"
Ling considered the question.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because we're not trying to convince everyone of something complicated."
Orm waited.
"We're just giving people something familiar to believe."
"That sounds manipulative."
"It is marketing."
Orm laughed.
"Fair."
Ling smiled.
Then Orm asked,
"Does it bother you?"
"What?"
"People thinking we're together."
Ling was silent for a moment.
"No."
Orm looked surprised.
"Really?"
Ling nodded.
"Does it bother you?"
Orm thought about it.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because people don't know me."
Ling waited.
"They'll decide who I am based on this."
Her voice softened.
"I don't want my career to become a joke."
Ling's expression changed.
"It won't."
"You can't promise that."
"No."
Ling looked directly at her.
"But I can promise you that I won't let this arrangement make you look smaller than you are."
Orm went quiet.
That wasn't what she expected.
"You really mean that?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ling frowned slightly.
"Because you deserve the opportunity."
Orm looked away. She wasn't used to Ling being kind. Not openly. Not without a criticism attached. It made her uncomfortable. Which was ridiculous. She was supposed to dislike Ling. That had been the original plan.
Ling was intimidating.
Critical.
Too confident.
Too composed.
Too irritating.
It was much easier when Orm could simply dislike her.
It was much harder when Ling was sitting beside her, quietly telling her that she deserved to be there.
"Thank you," Orm said.
Ling nodded.
"You're welcome."
?
They were almost ready to leave when P'Cherry came running into the lounge.
"Found you!"
Orm looked up.
"What happened?"
P'Cherry held up her phone.
"Nothing bad."
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
P'Cherry grinned.
"The photographs are already circulating."
Orm groaned.
"Already?"
"It's been less than an hour."
"That's terrifying."
P'Cherry showed them the screen.
There were several posts.
The photographs from the event were spreading rapidly. The one of Ling holding Orm's hand. The one where they were laughing. The one where they were looking at each other.
Orm stared.
"This one."
She pointed.
"Why does that one look like that?"
P'Cherry looked amused.
"Like what?"
"Like..."
Orm stopped.
She couldn't explain it.
The photograph captured something she hadn't noticed in the moment.
Ling was looking at her.
Not at the camera.
Not at the crowd.
At her.
And Orm was looking back.
There was no obvious affection.
Nothing dramatic.
Yet somehow, it looked intimate.
Real.
P'Cherry smiled.
"That's the one people will like."
Orm looked horrified.
"Why?"
"Because nobody believes they're watching a performance."
Orm looked at Ling.
Ling was staring at the photograph too.
"Do you hate it?" Orm asked quietly.
Ling shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
Ling looked at her.
"Because it looks like us."
Orm frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Ling's smile was small.
"I don't know."
And somehow, that answer was worse.
?
The ride back to the office was quiet. P'Cherry sat in the front, discussing schedules with Khun Dew over the phone. Orm sat in the back while Ling sat beside her.
There was plenty of space between them.
At first.
Then the car turned sharply.
Orm shifted.
Her shoulder brushed Ling's.
"Sorry."
"It's fine."
They stayed like that.
Neither moved.
Orm looked out the window.
The city passed in blurred lights.
She could still feel the warmth of Ling's shoulder against hers.
She thought about moving.
She didn't.
That bothered her.
So she finally whispered,
"We're getting too good at this."
Ling looked at her.
"Maybe."
"That's dangerous."
"Why?"
"Because we're supposed to be pretending."
Ling was quiet.
Then she said,
"I remember."
Orm nodded.
"Good."
A few seconds passed.
Then Ling added,
"Do you?"
Orm looked at her.
"What?"
"The rules."
Orm frowned.
"Of course."
Ling smiled faintly.
"Good."
She turned toward the window.
Orm watched her for a moment.
Then she looked away too.
The rules were still there.
Nothing had changed.
No kissing.
No sleeping together.
No unnecessary touching.
No jealousy.
No falling in love.
They were still pretending.
They had to be.
And yet, as the car continued through the city, Orm found herself wondering why pretending had started to feel less like acting and more like learning something neither of them had planned to discover.
She immediately rejected the thought.
No.
Absolutely not.
She wasn't falling for Ling.
That would be ridiculous.
She was simply getting better at the role.
That was all.
At least, that's what she told herself.
And for the moment, she believed it.