Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
I grin up at her. “I knew he’d be great for this. He’s so over the top.”
She flashes me a look. “He is.”
“I’ve already gained followers, and so has he. It’s only been two days, and things are going well.”
“Have you seen him since y’all met up?”
I shake my head as I stand, fixing my jeans at my ankles. “No, we’ve only talked through the boards.”
“Oh, so this wasn’t scripted.”
“Nope,” I say, leaning into my mirror to fix my lip gloss.
“I thought you wrote everything out.”
“I did, but he told me he is unscriptable, so I followed his lead.” I feel her gaze on me, so I side-eye her. “What?”
She shrugs. “This was off the cuff?”
“Yeah.”
Callie’s eyes widen as she shakes her head. “Oh, my love, you’re in trouble.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, that was too easy. It flowed too well.”
I shrug. “It’s easy for us. We’re friends.”
“Cameron, come on. I’ve seen a lot of movies and read a lot of books where the people who are fake dating fall in love, and I feel like you’re forgetting that.”
I scoff. “Please, we have too much history. We’re doing this to help each other. It worked out great. Neither of us is dating anyone, and since we’re both focused on our sports and school, we don’t have to worry about that part of a relationship, ya know? We can just exist in our own worlds until it’s time to exist together, and since it’s easy, this will go beautifully.”
She blinks. “Do you know how dumb you sound right now?”
I laugh. “You’re just a hopeless romantic who is totally in love. This is business—he knows that.”
“Does he?”
“Yes, Callie!”
“Do you?”
“Callie, what the hell?”
She doesn’t seem convinced. “The history is the reason why I think this may get out of hand. You can act like you aren’t attracted to him, but I know you are, and I know you still care for him.”
“Of course I do,” I say simply. “But this being more than it is…? That’s ridiculous. It won’t happen. I’m surprised he even said yes.”
“Are you?”
I bring in my brows, pressing my tongue to my teeth. “Yes.”
“You know I can tell when you’re lying to me—and yourself, for that matter.”
I roll my eyes. “It really is exactly what I proposed, a way to make my final project the best it can be.”
“So, you have ground rules?”
“He asked the same thing. I don’t get that. I feel I’ve been thorough. We date in front of people, that’s it.”
She laughs at me, like, fully laughs with her hands on her belly as she falls back onto my bed. “So, you expect him to be your boyfriend but not reap the benefits?”
I make a face. “Sex isn’t everything.”
“No, but it’s fun, and when you fight, it’s a great way to make up.”
“Why would we be fighting? We have nothing to fight about.”
Her eyes narrow. “Cameron, this is gonna get real messy.”
“It’s not.” I reach for a Post-it and make a note to discuss this with Benson. While I don’t want to involve sex in this project, maybe I can buy him a pocket pussy or something. “I plan to go over it with him.”
“Why did you write ‘pocket pussy’?”
“I’ll buy him one.”
She gives me a dry look. “He wants the real thing.”
“Well, that isn’t happening.”
The last time I slept with him…
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I doubt he wants to sleep with me anyway.”
“And I doubt he likes playing hockey too,” she deadpans.
I throw my fluffy slipper at her, and she laughs as she rolls onto her stomach. “That’s not even on my radar right now. Right now, it’s establishing us and seeing what happens from there.”
Her laugh dies off, and I meet her caring gaze. I have loved this girl since the moment I met her. She is the kindest, most loving, and supportive person I know. We’ve been joined at the hip since freshman year, and I adore her. Soul mates aren’t always of the opposite sex; sometimes you find a soul mate who is meant to be your sister. Callie is that for me. I love her. We’re two halves of one heart. My sister.
“Enjoy this, Cameron,” she urges, her eyes burning into mine. “Enjoy him.”
“Callie,” I warn, but she shakes her head.
“You haven’t dated or been with anyone since him. You are so focused on school, on gymnastics—maybe this is your chance to just enjoy being with someone.”
I shrug. “It’s all for show.”
“But why not enjoy it?”
I look away, picking at invisible lint. “I mean, I will enjoy myself. He’s a cool dude.”
“Yeah, but maybe don’t script it, and let things happen.”
I roll my eyes. “Nothing is going to happen. Like I said, it’s a business transaction. I’m helping him, he’s helping me.”
She blows out a breath, shaking her head as I reach for my purse. “I want you to remember this moment, Cameron White. And in six months when you’re wildly in love with him, I’m gonna ask, ‘What happened to this being a business transaction?’”