"We are at Taylor Swift's party?!"
It's not exactly a secret of how much you respect her as a writer and singer in general. Your viewers definitely got the hint with how often you mentioned her in your videos.
"Didn't know you were a fan," Ariana said as the both of you exited her car. She handed her keys to the valet service before taking your arm. You found yourself standing in line to get ushered into the venue Taylor had rented out. It was a rooftop bar in an upscale hotel you had never been to. You could already hear music playing behind the doors, making you uncharacteristically enthusiastic about joining the fun.
"Who isn't?" You tried to play it cool, but the excited smile carved on your face betrayed your true emotions. Who cares if you were a fake girlfriend when the experiences Ariana was giving you were very real? Are you going to finally meet Taylor Swift in real life?
Ariana huffed under her breath, "...never acted... meet me."
You were smart enough to connect the dots. "I was your interviewer back then so I had to act professionally."
"Still," Her lips drew into a pout, "You are much more enthusiastic to see Taylor."
"But she's not the one I bought presents for," You pointed out matter-of-factly.
A smile slowly crept onto her face, one that she tried to hide by ducking her head, walking slightly faster till she was in front of you. You followed closely behind, not wanting to lose her in the crowd swallowing around the both of you. You managed to keep her in your vision, watching her greet people she knew. You recognised some of them from seeing them on silver screens or hearing them on the radio. She doesn't forget to introduce you to them, a gesture you appreciated.
Finally, you met the host herself, who was every bit as wonderful and enchanting as you had expected. Ariana left you to talk to her in private, but not without a goodbye kiss on your cheek.
After you regained your composure, you exchanged banters with your role model and inquired about her works until a woman with a notepad, whom you assumed was her assistant, required her attention.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, I'm sorry to cut this short." Taylor smiled and shook your hand. "Besides, I think you have someone waiting for you too."
You followed Taylor's gaze and found Ariana leaning against a wall with a drink in her hand. "No worries, I'm more than happy to have the opportunity to meet you."
"Thank you. Enjoy the party."
You thanked her as she left, and you went towards Ariana. Her back was facing you, so she didn't notice you as you walked across the room. However, before you could reach her and get her attention, someone else beat you to it.
You slowed down to observe their interactions, wondering if you should give Ariana privacy. It was subtle, but you caught the wobbly step she took away from the guy. That was your cue to rush to her side.
"Excuse me," You snaked your hands around Ariana's waist to steady her.
Genuine relief flooded Ariana's eyes when they met yours. "Baby!" She exclaimed, her arm wrapping behind your neck to pull you in for a hug.
"Who's that?" You whispered into her ears once you moved out from his earshot.
You felt Ariana tighten her hands. "A friend of my ex."
You took a quick side glance at him and saw the disbelief on his face. "We need to act don't we?" You asked, pulling her closer, putting a distance between him and the both of you.
Ariana's hair shifted against your cheeks as she nodded, "They think it's a phase."
Nothing annoyed you more than that notion. You racked your brain to come up with something to disprove that. Anything to get her ex to take the hint and back off.
Luckily, time was on your side.
"Let the countdown begin!" Someone shouted loudly. You looked around as voices joined each other simultaneously.
"Ten... Nine... Eight..."
Your gaze fell on Ariana and she sensed it, returning it.
"Six... Five... Four..."
"May I?" You asked her softly, bringing your hands upwards to cup her face. You saw realization flash across her eyes and her breath hitched.
"Yes."
With her permission, you leaned closer as her eyes closed, until your mouth pressed gently against hers.
"One!"
Suddenly, there was nothing but silence, as though you entered a vacuum. Then, like the Big Bang, all your senses become hyper-focused and you feel everything at once. The taste of gloss and liquor, the heady floral smell of her perfume, and the warmth of her breath.
You realized that the alcohol tasted different on her lips, far sweeter and intoxicating.
You don't even know how you managed to pull away but when you did, he wasn't there anymore. Thank god. You let out a sigh but it was cut off when Ariana gently grabbed the lapels of your jacket.
You studied her hooded eyes, darkened and dilated, drifting downwards. And it quickly occurred to you that she was staring at your lips while licking her own.
The air around you changes - thicker, hotter - harder for you to breathe without outright gulping.
Then you remembered the contract.
And you know that this is the hardest thing you have done and will ever do, defying the very law of nature. You barely stop yourself from falling over the edge, from giving in, and let it become something you might both regret.
Moving your head away slowly, you watched Ariana's half-lidded eyes widen in confusion (and in wishful thinking, disappointment).
"I broke a rule, we have to end it."
Ariana's face fell, looking at you with hurt in her eyes and you want nothing more for them to be your own. You know you were unintentionally harsh, but that's how you are when you have to protect yourself emotionally.
"Oh," Ariana sighed in reluctant agreement after a long while. Her hands moved away from you to hold herself and you hated yourself for making her feel this way.
"It's not that I want to...I-" You stuttered, "He got the message. So there's no reason to continue... both the fake dating and the kissing."
"What if I want to kiss you?"
What?
You stared at her in shock. The way she shifted her feet around unsteadily told you everything you needed to know.
"You're drunk."
"Doesn't make it any less true." She retorted.
You stood there awkwardly, not really sure what to do. It was not every day someone wanted to kiss you, much less someone like Ariana. So what's stopping you?
You grimaced as a flashback of your ex came to mind. All you wanted to do was change the topic and get out of this situation. "I'll drive you home."
Thankfully, Ariana doesn't push you further. "That's not needed," she pulled out something from her pocket which you identified as a hotel key card, "Taylor got us rooms for the night."
This was an invitation if you ever heard one. You asked anyway, not wanting to assume anything. "We're staying?"
"If you want to." You didn't miss the hope shining in her eyes, despite an attempt at nonchalance.
"I do. I owe you an explanation and it's easier to tell you face to face." That seemed to make her less dejected, reducing your guilt and panic. "Let's talk when we're both more... sober."
While you had not drunk a single drop, you were intoxicated by something else entirely. Which was why you kept your distance during the ride in the elevator, walking down the hallway, and even sitting down on the sofa. You only gave in to Ariana's insistence to share the bed, unable to argue with her "you chose to stay, so stay".
-
The sun rose faster than expected. However, so did Ariana. You found her staring at you the moment you opened your eyes. She seemed slightly embarrassed to be caught, averting her eyes away.
"Good morning." You said, breaking the silence. You sat up as Ariana replied with a "morning", the both of you stretching the sleep away. "Are you hungover?"
"A little, I didn't drink that much yesterday."
"Let's get some breakfast then."
Ariana agreed with your suggestion. The both of you took advantage of room service and got a little of everything. You savoured the food together when it arrived.
"So..." You said in unison. She gestured for you to go first.
"It's your turn to ask me a question anyway since I asked you the last time we played 21 questions."
It still surprises you how good Ariana's memory was. "Why did you want to kiss me?" You went straight to the point. You observed the way she bit the inside of her cheeks as she came up with her answer.
"Because I want to," She said simply. When she saw you raising your eyebrows at her, she elaborated. "It's been a while since I..."
"Kissed someone?" You suggested.
"Yeah. I miss that," Ariana paused before continuing, "and I miss having sex."
While you know how sexual she could be, as heard from her songs, her directness still made you blush. "Right. So what do you propose?"
Ariana shook her head, "That's two questions, let me ask you one first."
"Okay."
"Why didn't you want to kiss me?" Ariana leaned in closer to you, the bedsheets ruffling around her as she moved. Curiosity was growing in her eyes and you knew you couldn't put it off any longer.
"Remember what I told you about my ex?" You continued when Ariana nodded, "Me kissing you reminded me of how we started."
Ariana's eyes widened in realization. "I'm sorry, I must have put you in an uncomfortable spot."
"It's okay, you didn't know the whole story anyway. So that was why I didn't want to kiss you. Not when you're drunk." You looked down. "I don't want to become a bad idea."
You felt Ariana hugging you before you could register her doing so. "You won't ever be." She whispered.
"So I'm guessing you're looking for something more than fake dating?"
"Yeah," She replied.
"Real dating?" You asked cautiously to clarify what she really wanted.
"Not exactly..." You heard her sigh as she pulled away from you. You caught her wringing her hands. You took them in yours to soothe her skin.
"What is it?"
You kept quiet the entire time she told you about her past lovers. It was not as though you were completely unaware of her love life due to entertainment news and social media's algorithm. But you never knew the personal details until now.
"I don't think I'm looking for a relationship right now."
"I understand." You said after she was done spilling her heart out. You wiped away a tear falling from her eye. "If it makes you feel any better, my ex claimed to be straight after dating me and got back with her ex-boyfriend after we broke up."
"What a bitch."
You laughed at her unexpected comment, and Ariana smiled a little as she sniffled. "Olivia said the same thing."
"Seems like we have something in common."
You hummed in agreement, giving yourself a mental pat on the back for successfully making her feel better. "So a friend-with-benefits situation?"
She made a small noise. "Something easy and safe."
While it wasn't how you imagined getting propositioned, it's kinda perfect now that you think about it. It was with someone you trusted, not some stranger you couldn't be physically vulnerable with.
"I can get behind that. Olivia always spoke highly about casual relationships so I might as well give it a try." It's not like you had anyone lining up at your doorstep asking for your hand. Even if there was, none would be better than her.
"I think I'm starting to like your friend."
"That's great. It's nice to know my two favourite people are cool with each other. By the way, can I tell her about... our situation? I don't really want to lie to her further. Besides, she might give me advice on how to approach this properly."
"Yeah, no, of course. I'm sorry for making you lie in the first place."
"So...how should we do this?"