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TAKODA AND I fell into a strange rhythm over the next few days.
The air between us wasn't completely clear yet—something still crackled in it, somewhat electric—but it was considerably lighter, and when May told us during our next meeting that she wanted us to use my sister's show to promote our "relationship," I didn't protest. Instead, I stayed back and insisted we came up with a plot surrounding how the relationship would be. He wanted something semi-private, when the part of me that was still salty about the reaction of Coco's fans wanted to shove it in their faces the moment I got the chance, but we ended up agreeing on three things.
No excessive displays of affection or excessive flaunting of each other. No change in our social media or Coco Says presence to avoid suspicion. Forgetting that we were this close to agreeing to be casual sex buddies—in quieter language.
When he came over with Lulu on Friday evening, straight from the studio, just a few minutes after my parents left for date night, I hugged him at the door, only realizing then, when his warmth engulfed me, how long it'd been since we last hugged.
"We have the house to ourselves. Let's get up to some mischief," I joked as I led him to the living room, for the sake of the cameras.
"What's your definition of mischief?" he asked as he stepped closer to me from behind, placing his free hand on one side of my waist and leaning down to place a kiss on a spot below my ear. The gesture surprised me, but I tried to act like I was used to him touching me and being so close.
"Vandalism, breaking and entering, etcetera."
"Boo, you're very uncreative."
I playfully elbowed him, and he laughed, before calling out to Lulu to remind her that she'd forgotten about her treats. She ignored him.
He took off his shoes the moment we got to the living room and placed his head in my lap, lying stomach-down and briefly pressing his face into my stomach as he complained about a headache, and instinctively, I ran my fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp at intervals. I asked him about work, then we talked about the most random things until he got too tired to keep up. I lured Lulu over at one point and took a photo of her when she tried to nip at my socks.
The next afternoon, he posted a bunch of photos—the first one was of some of his crew members sharing a good laugh in the studio, the second was of two takeout bags and a doggie one on the passenger seat of his car, the third a stylishly blurry photo of palm trees through his windshield, with someone's phone open to Spotify at the edge of the shot, and the fourth was of Coco standing in front of a building in baggy jeans and an artistic osmosis crop top, leaning towards the camera with a close-lipped smile, her eyes half-closed and her right hand covering a part of her face in the victory sign—with just one caption: Lately.
vacation to the bahamas when? Coco had commented.
I just got back from vacation, what are you talking about? he'd replied.
