roommates at best

T H I R T E E N

"A fake relationship?? Are you insane??" Zoe exclaimed more like a statement than a question. Honestly, I agreed with her. Matt's plan sounded crazy.

"I just think that maybe it might be good for the album. Get us some extra publicity," Matt shrugged, "I'm always flirting with people's mom's on tik tok and it helps, maybe if Alex starts showing he's a good boyfriend or something... I dunno people might be into it."

I searched Alex's face for any sort of objection. No, I don't think I'd be opposed, but it would definitely make working together and LIVING together a tad awkward, right? I also wasn't a great actor so I wasn't sure how I'd be able to keep it up as an act. I didn't want to put myself through a situation where I would only end up getting hurt.

Buuuut at the same time, if I meant I got to have more nights like the night we had previously, maybe it'd be worth it.

"You know what" Zoe started, as she approached the table again, "I think you might be on to something Matthew." She came around the table to him, grabbed the sides of his head with both hands, and slapped a kiss on top of his bouncy blonde curls.

"I'll be back" she professed, and in a dark blur of long, shiny hair, she was gone.

With her out of the room, the silence began to weigh on me. It was heavy and I realized Alex didn't make any objections to the fake dating scenario. I wanted to bring it up but felt nervous, in case he actually was opposed. Instead I just sat there, staring at the table while my cheeks got hot. It was Matt who broke the silence,

"You two are welcome," he laughed, leaning back in his chair.

"For?" My eyes darted up at him. Alex was still on his phone.

"Now you two can fuck each other in peace-"

"We didn't do that!" Alex and I said in unison, him finally looking up from his phone. I looked back down before our eyes could meet.

"Yeah yeah whatever, say what you want" Matt sighed, "I'm gonna go grab a beer, I'll be back."

He pushed out his chair and sauntered out of the room, letting the door close behind him. I was afraid this would happen, that I'd be alone with Alex. I decided to put my nerves aside and face the situation. Lightly shutting my eyelids, I took in a deep breath. After a slow release, I opened my eyes and looked up at Alex. Clearly he didn't think this was  good plan or he would have said something. While I certainly felt lame because of it, I knew that was life and I'd have to let it go and move on. I was about to open my mouth when he broke the silence.

"I think we should do it."

I blinked. He thought.. what? The confusion must have been clear on my face because he elaborated after laughing at me.

"I think it would be good for the album, add a little relevancy to my image for the time being. Tik tok's been a little slow lately."

I nodded. I didn't have anything to say, I was shocked while taking it all in. He thumbed his hoodie string for a moment, looking like he was debating something on his mind. I felt insecure as he searched my face.

"And honestly," he continued, dropping the string and leaning forward across the table towards me, "you looked so good last night," his eyes flashed down at my lips then back up, "if this is what I have to do to get that again, fuck it."

Just as he was leaning back in his chair, the door flew open.

"Great news!" Zoe exclaimed as Matt followed her, opening his beer.

"Drake just snapped you his new hair cut" Matt said before taking a swig.

Zoe glared at him then turned to me and Alex,

"Boss man likes the idea. Winona, he said he's still on board with you doing your original job, we can just count this a sort of... secondary role."

"Great!" I nodded. I was glad to still have the graphic design position. Living life solely as a celebrity's fake girlfriend would not be for me.

"Now as for you Mr. NoMoney," she started at Alex, "you need to make this look real. Winona is along for the ride but you've really gotta sell it. Take her on dates, call her babe... you can kiss but what happened at the cave isn't exactly necessary, ok?"

Alex laughed as Matt smacked his back again.

The next hour and a half was full of paperwork, explanations, and a quick studio tour. While it was more for me, Alex and Matt followed behind and made small comments here and there. Zoe set me up with an office space and a quick run down of my first project. Once we were finally done, she led us to the front of the room and we said our farewells. Matt was sticking around for a bit, but Alex and I were ready to go. On our way out, Zoe called to us,

"Oh right, one last thing you two!" We stopped to turn to her, "remember not only are you coworkers, but you two are roommates as well. Please promise me you'll keep it in your pants."

Immediately I could feel my face burst into flames, i got so hot. I brushed it off as best I could, giving a slight chuckle and thanking her for the advice. Alex smirked and nodded, with a quick "sure thing Zoe" before leading me out the door.

As we walked to the car, I suddenly felt a hand rest over my back pocket. He held it there as we approached the car.

"You know" he spoke, while grabbing my ass, "poor Zoe is going to be really disappointed."

My brow furrowed. I had an idea, but was not so sure what he was talking about.

Because you're grabbing my ass? I thought.

"Why?" I asked instead.

"Because" his demeanor was so calm as he opened my door for me. I climbed in and he stood there, leaning on the door while finishing his thought,

"I'm bad at keeping promises."

He winked at me, and shut the door.