The Allure of the Game

f i v e

The sun was shining, the summer air was warm on my skin, New York City was as busy as ever around me, and yet all I could think about on my way to the studio was Alex's proposal from the night before. I still couldn't believe how such a stupid idea could pop up in his head and what on earth led him to believe that I would be the best candidate for his idiotic move.

I had never done a PR stunt, but I'm pretty sure they just didn't work. In Hollywood, entering into a fake relationship only made the public and media jump on the throat of those involved since it was so obvious it wasn't real and, though I had never heard of something like this in the sports world, I was pretty sure the outcome would be the same. It was stupid and it would end up blowing on Alex's face, and I couldn't wait to be in the front row, watching it happen.

I rolled my eyes at the memory of my roommate's words as I parked my car. I couldn't believe he even made dinner to try to convince me. Although I had to admit, it was nice he remembered how much I liked his mom's lasagna. I didn't finish it, but he was right, if it had been any other idea coming out of his mouth, I would've probably agreed after one bite of the food he made. I would never tell Mrs. Prescott, but her son's lasagna was slightly better than the one I remember her making. It was right what I said too, it wasn't my favorite food, it never was, not even close. I only had it at the Prescott's. I just liked the feeling of it; it felt homey, warm. What I imagine it must've felt like if I had a mother who cooked meals for me or at least sat with me through dinner more than five times a year.

I surprised myself when I blurted out my favorite food to Alex. It's not like it was some dark, deep secret or like he'd even care, but I wasn't the type of person who would just tell people random facts about themselves. I was rarely a topic of conversation of mine. But it just came out and by the way his eyes widened just a tiny bit, I could tell he wasn't expecting it either. Again, it wasn't a big deal but it was... Weird.

So far, living with Alex hadn't been as terrible as I thought it would be, mainly because we rarely saw each other. It had almost been a week of it, and it had gone the same every day. As I was walking out the door in the mornings, he was usually just coming back from his morning run; sometimes we'd encounter each other at the door and sometimes in the lobby. We didn't talk, we just barely acknowledged each other with a nod or a stare, sometimes a frown of the lips. One day I had to go in my lunch break back to the apartment to grab my dance toe pads which I had forgotten, to find out that Alex would go back there during his lunch break too, or at least it seemed it was something regular, it's not like he would've told me. At night, it was rare if I even caught a glimpse of him. If he came back before me, he would be in his indoor gym or the pool. If I came back before him, I'd be in my room practicing my sequences. It was almost like I still lived alone.

That's actually why I was so surprised when he asked me to come down for dinner. I had been perfecting a number when I heard the knock on the door and the words that followed and for a moment I actually debated if he was talking to me or maybe someone else was in the penthouse with him, after all, he hadn't spoken to me for three whole days. I didn't blame him, I'd be pretty mad at myself too. When I came out the door to check if it was me he was referring to, he was long gone, and since I heard no more voices, I chose to assume there was no one else there but the two of us and that he wanted to talk to me. A lot of topics of conversation crossed my mind, maybe he was actually gonna kick me out despite everything, maybe he was gonna apologize for forgetting I lived there now and getting at it with a girl on the couch, maybe he wanted me to apologize for my harsh words—which I wouldn't have done—, or, maybe, he even wanted to set more rules. Either way, none prepared me for what ended up coming out of his mouth. I still couldn't believe it.