My Secret Mobster Boyfriend

Pride Or Dare

The man was a riddle to Cate. Sometimes he was unreadable and unapproachable. Then, out of nowhere, he could be humorous and easy-going. Now it even seemed like he was flirting with her.

But that is impossible, right?

After all, this was strictly business from both sides. The possibility of falling for each other was ruled out right from the start. There were no hidden intentions so for once she had nothing to fear. Perhaps that was the main reason why she had slowly begun to feel comfortable around him during their street dinner.

Dray's latest joke had led to another moment of awkwardness though, making her question, if she had drawn the right conclusions. To be honest, she still had no idea how his mind worked.

Was he just trying to bring them closer together and make things look real by his suggestive remark?
But why did he stare at me like that?

The brief moment vanished quickly and Dray became less playful afterward as he adjusted his usual poker face.

Cate eventually concluded that his actual intentions didn't matter right now. His moods changed too often to rely on him too much. Therefore it was best not to be too open about herself either. After all, they had agreed on an act, nothing more and nothing less. In not even two months they would bid their farewells and most likely never see each other again. She needed to learn to be professional about it.

Although this date surprisingly turned out to be more entertaining than any blind date she had been on in the past, she needed to keep her head straight. They were only getting closer for the sole purpose of cunning someone. It was nothing personal at all. She needed to engrave this reality into her brain in order to never get confused.

Was this how actors felt when they had to get into character?

For the first time, she realized that, while working together and pretending to be lovers, perhaps some boundaries were bound to become blurry during the time of their deal and. She hated the thought of it and vowed to protect herself against that.

"We should probably write down our family and close friend relationships in some way so the other can memorize it for later. You should include the woman your father wants you to marry, too, just in case we run into her at some point. It would be weird to suddenly meet her and not know who she is. That would make things really inconvenient," Cate tried to be more practical about the whole situation.

Dray's forehead creased at the change in her behavior and she noticed that she came across more reserved and less playful than before. But creating a certain distance between them also made her feel like she was finally back in her safety zone.

"It's not a bad idea. I guess this Yasmin isn't someone who would let go easily and she's probably having a grudge against both of us now. She will definitely try to test us," Dray agreed, choosing not to address the question that was one his mind.

"Why both of us?" Cate wondered. After all, Dray didn't have a connection with Yasmin.

"Oh, just a feeling," he dismissed, thinking back to the article he had released to distract her at the auction. "It's my turn now."

The game had to continue and perhaps his next inquiry would allow him a look behind her newly build up wall. He was quite certain that she wasn't expecting it.

"What is your relationship with the pretty boy who brought you to your hotel room? You were holding onto him pretty tightly for someone who claims to be single, and the fact that you told him that he should have stayed with you sounded pretty wrong in my ears, considering the deal we had just sealed a few hours before."

Dray was curious, even more than he wanted to admit. He wondered if this guy the reason why Cate wanted to become a doctor. Whether he liked it or not, the scene of him steadying her in front of her room had crept its way into his head quite a number of times during the past few days.

Cate's eyes grew big.

"You saw that?" she shrieked in a high voice.

Dray could see her cheeks turning bright red right before she covered her face with the palms of her hand.

"I can't believe this," she mumbled to herself.

"Well, I couldn't either," Dray snorted, not knowing if he should be angry or laugh at the situation, seeing how embarrassed she felt by the mere mention of the night.

"Can we please not talk about it?" she asked pitifully, but, after her reaction just now, he had no intention of letting the issue go. There was obviously more to it.

"No," he simply replied and buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He gave her a long side glance but then fixated his eyes on the alley. He was eagerly waiting for her answer while pretending not to be overly interested.

"It was nothing. He is someone I know and I was a little drunk," Cate tried to talk her way out of it, but, even in her own ears, it sounded not very convincing. By the look Dray was giving her now, she knew right away that this was not enough of an explanation for him to dismiss the topic.

Cate raked her brain about what else to say without actually telling him anything important. She could just say James was her senior at work or call him a family friend. But she was not an idiot. Dray didn't seem like the type of guy who would be satisfied with just this. He would keep digging until she had to tell him of her secret crush – one that had no chance of ever leading to an actual love story.

With self-esteem as big as Mount Everest, the last thing she wanted was to seem even weaker and more pitiful in front of him. She feared he would make use of it by trying to get the upper hand in this acting game.

"In that case, I just choose dare," Cate made up her mind. She didn't have much pride, but the little she had left, she really wanted to keep.

"Fine... " Dray said, sounding slightly disappointed. Something in his gaze reminded her of a hunter targeting his prey.

"It's dare then. I hope you are ready," he spoke in a deep voice and goosebumps inexorably made their way down her whole body.

They had just started this game, but she already felt like she was in way over her head.

___________________

My dear little Mobsters,

I hope you liked this update. What are your thoughts on their date so far?

I hope you and your family members are all safe in times of Coronavirus! *sending virtual hugs to everyone who is affected*

For those of you who are interested in following me on my other social media accounts, please check my profile. I am also part of a writing community that runs a discord server (check my profile). It's really a fun place to be with lots of different things to do like genre-related discussions, sharing art, book-related games, contest news, etc.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported the story by commenting, voting or sharing! I hope you continue to do so in the future. =)

Love,
AK

Let's chat!

Topic: What's your take on pride or dare? Any funny/weird/etc. stories to share?