Samantha
It'd been a week since my spontaneous, earth-shattering, sexy hot make out with Ashton. And boy, did I wish to rip my head off and throw it in the ocean to forget it ever happened.
STUPID. STUPID. STUPIDO. I wish I knew how to say it in every language just to get it out of my system. I wish my body would twist like a towel and squeeze every feeling out of that night. Ugh.
For once in my life I wanted to be bold. To be that girl. The ones with the moves? Ha. God was like no, you imbecile. Go back to your blanket and Fruits Basket, you dumb fuck.
God probably wouldn't say that, but he was definitely mocking me from up there.
The only remedy to get that night off my mind was ironically facing the bigger disaster. Stacy wanted me out. So I lingered at Starbucks every day after work to avoid running into her. She didn't even care that Kevin's roommate never responded to any of my calls or messages.
At least Kevin was nice. He suggested I join their engagement party in Malibu on Saturday and mingle with their influencer friends to see if one of them was looking for a roommate.
I had come prepared. In the influencer world, aesthetics were like a resume. So I was wearing a two hundred dollar summer dress. It was mint green with white flowers all over it, which matched the hair clip I'd pinned behind my ear.
Stacy had made an arrangement with Malibu Safari to get a free tour in exchange for her guests to promote the business. I didn't have an impressive following to make a difference, but I'd be lucky to make friends with one of them. I just needed a chance.
"Your tag's showing," Stacy pointed out, climbing into the open-top land rover.
Crap. I felt the sharp edge of the price tag over my shoulder and tucked it back into the dress. Hopefully no one saw that...
I slumped into the last seat, and tried not to feel like a loner on a high school field trip, but that's exactly what it felt like. Everyone around me settled into a clique, catching up on what they've been up to like long-time friends. My hands itched to toy with the bunny in my purse.
The tour-guide cheered into the microphone and we rolled through the hills to meet the exotic animals. Everyone's selfie-sticks wobbled, but they stayed unbothered. How were they so natural? Each one spoke like a talk show host, exciting their followers. I tried to blend in and filmed a video of myself too, but it was awful.
"Sam! How's the mingling going?" Kevin twisted in his seat half an hour later, his forehead beaded with sweat. "Any luck yet with the roommate hunt?"
"No?" I looked left and right without moving my head. "No one's talking to each other."
"Make the first move, don't be shy? You gotta show a little more confidence."
Oh, that was so helpful. Immediately, I stopped feeling insecure and became Super Woman.
"Rafaaa?" Stacy called out to the blonde laughing with her tomboy friends. "Hey, Rafaaa? Hey. Do you need an extra roommate?"
"No? Not at all." She scowled.
What was I, Stacy's unwanted pet put up for adoption? It was beyond humiliating to be this powerless. The least I could do was save a sliver of my dignity and speak for myself.
"What kind of content do you make?" I asked the girl sitting next to me. She was poking her cheek with a kissy face, holding a Hello Kitty phone case in one hand.
"Who? Me?" Her eyes crinkled with a smile. "Oh. I do everything related to boba drinks."
She was nice. Maybe she could like me.
"That's cool! I love boba. I'm trying to make lifestyle content. You know? A day-to-day routine with healthy habits and pleasing aesthetics."
"Oh, that's nice! It's a very popular niche." She nodded. "Competitive too."
"Right? It's so competitive. But those who make it have brands chasing after them. Like hotels offering luxury rooms and makeup brands with all-inclusive experiences."
"Oh, yeah. But it's really hard, just getting noticed sometimes can take years." She glanced at the round man beside her. "I couldn't do it without my hubby's help."
"You're married!" I tried to keep my voice positive.
She gave a proud nod.
"I guess it's stupid to ask if you're looking for a roommate?" I grimaced.
Her smile fell. "Oh, yeah, hun. I'm sorry."
I sighed, fidgeting with the brown straps of my purse.
Who else could I ask here? The guy in front of me with piercings and thick brows looked like he threw kittens off the roof. He even glared when he noticed me staring. People weren't blind. They saw me sitting alone. They just chose to ignore it.
"And to your right you'll see Daisyyy, our oldest giraaaffe!" The tour-guide sang through the speakers. "Daisy steals veggies and giraffes the other animals crazyyy. Ha ha ha."
The land-rover stopped and the group descended down a hill where wine and finger-foods awaited on oak barrels. I was partially numb on edibles, so the wine was just a prop in my hand for pictures. Except I didn't get to be in any. The group was already huddled in front of the tour-guide's iPhone. I was just standing next to him and watching.
They all smiled with theirs arms around each other. It made my throat clench for missing out. What did it feel like to be wanted? What did it feel like to laugh like them and... just be?
Their voices muted behind me as I walked up to the fence. Wind brushed the soft grass over my bare ankles, and white butterflies fluttered over the grassy field. I took out a baby carrot from my purse and held it through one of the wire holes.
"Would you like some? An itsy bitsy carrot? A crunchy, healthy snack for you this fine afternoon?"
Daisy, the giraffe, must've been used to people feeding her, because she didn't hesitate to lower her neck toward me. My eyes widened. I held the carrot on the tips of my fingers, praying she wouldn't chomp my hand off. Then her purple tongue swirled out like a snake, wrapped around the carrot, slobbering her saliva all over me.
I made a childlike noise mixed with disgust and excitement.
"OH MY GOD, I LOVE GIRAFFES." Stacy cried out behind me. "Can we take a photo with her?"
Everyone shifted to where I was, posing in front of the fence as the tour-guide squatted into a position. I slowly backed away. Again.
"Sam! Come take a picture. Why are you standing there?" Kevin waved me over as Stacy hopped on his back. The other couples mirrored similar poses. "Come on!"
"No, it's fine! Don't worry." I hugged myself.
"Come! You're missing out!" They yelled over each other and smiled at me. A minute ago I was invisible, now every single one of them was pressuring me as if I was ruining the moment.
This fake niceness hurt a thousand times more.
"Please, I'm okay." My vision blurred with pathetic tears. I was such a sad loser.
"Tsk. You were here first." Ashton out of nowhere stepped in front of me, his expression annoyed.
My heart stopped beating. "What the—"
"Hi, how you doing?" He kissed my cheek.
Wait, was this real—
Suddenly he kneeled right behind me, grabbed my hips in his hands and pushed me down on his shoulder, then he stood up straight.
"OH MY GOD!" That's it. This is how I died. "Put me down!"
People laughed. The ground below me wobbled, the rocks just waiting for my skull. I was going to face-plant on one of them and bleed out. This was too high. Too freakin' damn high.
"Daisy's coming for that carrot!" The tour guide cheered behind his iPhone.
"Hurry up!" Ashton adjusted his footing while I clung onto his face, screaming my head off.
"Oop, she's saying hello!"
It all happened too fast. One moment, I was pleading, next I froze when a giant brown face lowered to my eye-level. We made eye-contact. NEVER in my life had I seen such a monster. The eyes popping out on each side. The bony face pushing out from every direction. It was like a furry Frankenstein staring into my soul inches away from my face.
My shrill exploded across the ranch like a bomb, piercing every living creature's eardrum.
As if that wasn't enough, I fell off Ashton's shoulder and was about to meet my death, but he caught me in his arms. Bridal style, which maybe looked heroic, but man, did it hurt like hell.
Claps and cheers erupted around us. Ashton flashed me a Prince Charming smile. Meanwhile, I gawked at him with every hair on my body sticking up and my soul detached forever.
"You're okay, I got you." He put me down and held onto my waist, then laughed at how my legs kept shaking. "You want some wine?"
"W-wine? WHY would I want that right now?"
"Because we're at a vineyard."
"Eeey, you made it." Kevin approached us with not-so-happy Stacy.
"Hi, are you here to celebrate my engagement?" She widened her eyes.
"No? I'm here for her." Ashton tipped his chin at me, his hand on my back. "'Sup, Kevin."
"Sorry, Sam..." Kevin chuckled. "I heard you two met already."
Wait. What? I backed away and furrowed my brows at Ash. "What does he mean?"
A part of me pieced it together, but I didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be. No way. No way!
"Bro, she's already freaked out enough, don't you see? Shut up. Let me explain. " Ashton brought his arm back around me. "Come on."
I let him take me up the hill where his black BMW was parked behind the land-rover. My brain wasn't functioning right. I should've put up a fight, but my tongue was too tied.
Ashton opened his car door and pulled out an arrangement of pink roses, one of those super expensive brands with a calligraphed name and a shiny ribbon tied around a round black box.
"This is for you." He handed me the gazillion roses.
"Jesus—" My knees nearly gave out from their weight. "W-what for?"
"To apologize." He tossed his palm toward Kevin, his expression exhausted. "I didn't know you were Stacy's roommate. I freaked out."
My mouth opened and closed like a fish. Oh God. I'd blurted out her name when we were kissing, then tried to calm him down from smoking too much pot, but he was in shock over a different reason. He was supposed to be my roommate?
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know." He grimaced.
"Okay..." The memory of him barely showing interest in my number replayed like a sad song. What did he want now? I stared at the roses, overwhelmed from their scent.
"I want to talk." He took them back and opened the passenger door. "But let's get out of here first. Everyone's watching. It's getting on my nerves."
He was right. Stacy was whispering behind her hand, her eyes amused like I was some inside joke. It was so pathetic how stuck I felt. What was worse? Going back to a party where nobody wanted me or be vulnerable with a guy who was casually hot and cold?
"I don't want to go anywhere." I got in and folded my hands. "We can talk just for a few minutes."
"Fine." He shut my door and walked around, placing the flowers in the back seat before slumping into the driver's seat. He blasted the air conditioner to the highest setting.
I lowered it to a less violent temperature.
"I didn't want to hide the truth from you, and I felt really bad for ignoring your calls." He stared at the steering wheel with a distant gaze. "But I didn't want to reach out until your living situation was fixed. I told Kevin to help you find a new place, and then I was going to call you after."
I scoffed. He thought I was just going to sit and wait? "What does one have to do with the other? What, you thought I was going to beg you to let me live with you? Don't worry, you're not stuck with me."
"Actually, I'm here, because I want you to move in with me," he said as if he was discussing the weather. "I know it'll be awkward a little bit in the beginning, but that's not important right now. I think we should focus on you having a normal place, then do what you need to do."
"Huh?" I scowled. He spoke as if we had known each other for years and he was trying to help. "Why in the world would you do that for me?"
He shrugged. "Why not? Kevin's moving out, so I have an available room. Plus I'm not home most of the time, so no one will bother you."
There had to be a catch. Nobody was kind enough to do this for me. What had I done to deserve it?
"I don't want pity..."
He rolled his eyes. "Bro, no one's pitying you. What do you think you are, a broken animal? Calm down, everyone goes through a rough patch."
Someone knocked on my window. I jolted to see the tour-guide behind the glass. He was yelling with an ear-to-ear grin, but his words came out all muffled. Ashton sighed, rolling the window down.
"Sorry to interrupt guys. I was just wondering if you'd be interested in taking more photos around the ranch? You know, as a couple?"
"What?" I squinted.
"The boomerang video of you falling in his arms is blowing up." He played the clip on his phone, which replayed over and over. "The engagement rate is higher than it's ever—"
"Do you not see we're in the middle of something more important?" Ashton snapped. "Go ask one of those monkeys, I'm sure they'll dance for you. Bye." He started to roll the window up.
"Wait!" I jerked the car open and sprung out in front of the tour-guide. "I'm an influencer. Would you be okay with just taking pictures of me?" I pointed at Ash over my shoulder. "We're not together. I don't even know him."
My eyes were wide with hope. I'd never been offered a photoshoot before. This would be a huge opportunity to give my career a kick start.
"Oh..." He forced an apologetic smile. "Um, I'm afraid it won't be the same if he's not in it."
Another arrow struck me with rejection. How was I standing at this point?
"Don't listen to her, she's lying." Ashton got out of the car. "Every time she's mad, she acts like she doesn't know me." He smacked his hand on top of my head. "Can you behave yourself a little bit? This nice gentleman wants to take pictures of us together, not alone."
"What are you doing?" I peeled away from him.
The tour-guide backed away. "I'll uh, I'll just let you two sort it out. My bad."
"Are you nuts?" I blew up at Ashton. "Look, I get that this is all stupid to you. You think it's just for fun or its for likes. But it's more than that, okay? People make a living off of this. I want to make a living off of this. You're just treating it like a joke, it's so disrespectful—"
"Okay, relax..." He lifted his palms. "That's why I was trying to help."
"Help how? By lying that we're together?"
"So?" He threw a scowl over my shoulder. "You think they don't lie? They don't care what's real. All they want is to be under the spotlight and make the most money. If you need a couple of pictures, why not just do it? It's no big deal."
"It is a big deal. I can't have a boyfriend for one day then go back to being single. That's not how it works? There's a huge thing called content consistency. This isn't going to help."
"Okay, so we'll do it for more than a day." He shrugged. "Let's live together and you'll take as many pictures as you need."
"Why would you put up with something like that?" Was he dropped on his head as a baby?
"Who said I'm putting up with anything?" He smiled. "Maybe I'll enjoy it so much, I'll quiet bartending and become an influencer too."
Against my own will, I chuckled at his stupidity.
"Look, let's just give it a try." There was a pleading tone in his voice, which caught me by surprise. He looked at me like he was scared I'd say no. "Maybe it won't work, or maybe it will. Either way, we have nothing to lose."
"Ashton, I can't even afford to live in your cupboards. Your apartment is too expensive."
"No, it's not? It's a rotting piece of shit. The laundry machines don't work. The water pressure is weak. And there's a ten-dollar gym up the street where all the homeless people shower."
"Wow, that for sure sells it."
"Look at the bright side. If this doesn't work, your next home will be a two minute walk."
I rolled my eyes, laughing through my nose. What a freakin' jerk...
"But seriously, don't worry about money." He smiled as if it was silly to even think about it. "When you get rich, you'll pay me back. Until the last penny, you got it? I'm going to count. I'm not living with a freeloader."
"This is crazy..." I cupped my burning cheek.
Living with him? Really? I'd have to be stupid to think it would work given how we met, given how attached I'd become, given how annoyingly charming he was. But where else would I go?
Besides, because of him I was just offered my first photoshoot. People liked me with him.
"You do realize we'd have to pretend to be together, right?" I asked. "You'd have to act like my fake boyfriend? We barely know each other."
"Well, we're going to live together. I can't think of a faster way to get to know someone." His tone didn't clarify whether he was looking forward to that or not.
I wasn't sure myself. There'd be no escape from awkwardness, no privacy if we had an argument. He'd be the first thing I saw in the mornings and the last one at nights. Surely, we'd keep things strictly professional. It'd be beyond dangerous not to. Besides, like he said, this might not even work. At least I'd have extra time to hatch another plan or find a different roommate.
"There would have to be a deadline," I said. "Two months. If we get any offers for branded partnerships, we keep going. But if by the end of two months, we see no success, we end it."
"Deal."
"It'll be really hard." I raised my eyebrows. "Social media takes a lot, a lot, a lot of work."
"Tsk, okay." He stepped closer until the smell of his earthy, spicy cologne surrounded me. "I'm sure I can manage a couple of pictures."
Oh, he was going to eat those words. He had no idea how wrong he was. It made me smirk.
He took it the wrong way and put his hands around my waist. "So...should we go pack your stuff?"
"Back off." I put my hand up like a stop sign. "In case it wasn't completely clear, we're not going to be anything more than two civil, regular, platonic roommates. Nothing more."
"And a fake couple," he said with a cheeky smile, opening my car door.
"And nothing more." I lowered into the seat.
"Ну, это мы еще посмотрим..." he caught me shooting daggers at him. "I said I agree!"
~A/N~
Let the fun begin, hehehe. How long do you think Ashton can last until he goes for her again?