“Basically,” Lucy says to Veronica, in the most innocent tone, “everything that happened on that show that seemed like a disaster at the time was the best thing that ever happened to me.” She looks at me with those amazing blue eyes. “Right, babe?”
I nod, mesmerized, confused about who’s the actor here. “Right.”
Something comes over me. I don’t know if it’s wanting to protect Lucy from this girl or the memory of the way she felt in my arms while we listened to the band. I pull her close and hold her eye, my heart pounding so hard I’m sure everyone can hear it. I lean down and brush my lips against hers, feeling the soft plumpness of her mouth. I don’t know what to expect. A slap, maybe? But it’s not for her to kiss me back, lips moving gracefully against mine. Her fingers curl into my hand and blood rushes to my ears and with my free hand, I reach for her face and—
She pulls back, ending the kiss.
“That’s amazing,” Veronica says, jaw slightly dropped, looking more annoyed that anything else. “I’m so happy you found each other.”
Reese and Lilliana have been quiet, I think taking in the whole scene. Reese studies the two of us for a moment and then looks down at her phone. “Oh, wow, our car’s here.”
Lilliana taps my shoulder. “See you at work.”
“Yep.”
“Come on, V,” Devin says. “We should go.”
Veronica looks a little lost, seemingly confused by my admission about Lucy and then the kiss we shared. She recovers quickly though, and says, “It was good to see you, Lucy and amazing to meet you, Dean. You guys make a cute couple.”
“You too,” I say, pulling Lucy closer.
“Bye, Veronica.”
We watch them walk off and once they’re out of view, I release my grip on her and without talking we head back to the car. Along with the anger I feel over Veronica’s toxic behavior, a sense of awkwardness builds between us and I don’t know if it’s from me kissing her like that or just the whole scene. I hand the valet my ticket and as we wait I say, “I’m sorry if I was out of line. That girl…”
“Is the worst. I know. I’ve had to deal with her for a long time.” She laughs shakily, her hands twisting in her lap. “You sure found a way to make her shut up, right?”
“She’s unbelievable.”
“Eh, now you know what it’s like to be Lucy Harrington. The dark side of fame. The bigger question is if we were convincing? She’s naturally suspicious.” She gives me a grin. “Good thing you’re an actor, right?”
I force a smile. “Yeah, right.”
She still looks a little shaky and my biggest desire is to comfort her, but I’ve already mixed up the lines between us tonight. My mind is scrambled and my skin itches. What started out as something work-related is slowly morphing into something else—at least, for me.
“You know,” she says as the car pulls up, “seeing Veronica just puts it all in perspective. You’ve got the right idea, Dean. Focus on the work, develop a tough skin. Two months ago, I would have crumbled, seeing her. It’s one reason things fell apart for me. I hid after the show. Completely hid. I didn’t want to face her and her minions at school, so I refused to go back. But not tonight. She went running with her tail between her legs.” She smiles. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”
The valet opens the door and cuts me off so I can’t help her inside. I walk around to the driver’s side and get inside, blasted with her scent. We’re both quiet as I drive home and I’m compelled to speak—to mention what happened between us. It’s not that I’m embarrassed or have regrets. I’m left with the sinking feeling maybe things will never be the same between us again.
I pull in her driveway, the words caught in my throat. I want to say something but she looks over at me, beating me to it.
“Thank you for a wonderful night,” she says, door already open. “It was really fun.”
“It was,” I agree. “Look, I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize, Dean.” She’s standing by the car. “If anything, I owe you a thanks. We agreed to support one another during this arrangement and you went above and beyond. I just hope it doesn’t get out of hand.”
I nod, still wanting to say something else, something more, but she’s right. We walked into this night knowing our arrangement. We both did our jobs.
“Good night,” she says, stepping back.
“Night, Luce,” I say. She slams the door and I watch her from the truck as she walks to the house. There’s a tug to go with her, walk her to the door, but I know that’s not what she wants.
The problem is that after that kiss? I no longer know what I want.
23
Lucy
The incessant buzzing of my phone wakes me the day after the concert. The messages are from different people. Finley. Jennifer. Maya, who I’m not sure why she can’t just walk to my room instead of texting me. I roll over on my back and start reading.
F: What. Is. Happening????
J: Girl! Answer the phone!
M: Are you up yet?
M: Now?
M: Now???
There’s a link attached to the last text from Maya. I click it and it takes me straight to a gossip site.
We’d heard the rumors that our favorite shirtless hunk on Avondale, Dean Turner, was seeing someone and last night we got confirmation, Lucy Harrington, from The Next Big Model. These two made no effort to hide their affection at the Wayback concert at the Ocean Grove Amphitheater.
“They shared a romantic dinner and a lot of sweet smiles,” one source who saw them says. “They cuddled up during the show and looked completely smitten.”
Lucy’s still sporting a much shorter hairstyle after her dramatic makeover on TNBM and it’s our understanding she’ll be in the next cycle of the show, Redemption. Sounds exciting!
These two seem like a match made in industry heaven. Two up-and-coming stars finding love and fame together!
There are images attached. The paparazzi photos as well as one of us watching the concert, Dean’s arm around my shoulder and another that…well, takes my breath away. Someone caught us right in the moment Dean gave me a toe-curling kiss. A kiss that was sweet and innocent and just to make Veronica mad.
A kiss that sent a jolt of electricity down my limbs.
A kiss that makes me question everything about our relationship.
And something else that I didn’t tell him last night. It was my first kiss.
I set up a group text and send it to the girls—I’m going to need coffee, pancakes, and three opinions to figure this one out.
Finley stares at me from across the table. A half-eaten stack of Davie’s chocolate chip pancakes sits abandoned in front of her. “She didn’t.”
“Oh yeah,” I say, “She definitely did.”
“I want to say I can’t believe it. But I do. You know how she was with Chase.”
Oh yeah. Veronica had her sights set on Finley’s boyfriend Chase before they got together. His rejection of her didn’t go well.
“Who is this girl?” Jennifer asks, as she chews on a crispy piece of bacon.
“The resident mean girl at The Academy. Beautiful. Rich. Entitled. She’s not used to hearing the word 'no.'”
I nod. “It’s not like I expected her to be civil. Me flaming out of TNBM was probably the best moment of her life. What I didn’t anticipate—”
“Was Dean defending you? Kissing you? Making it seem like he’s your boyfriend?”
I swallow a sip of coffee. “Yep. All of that.”
Maya, who has been usually quiet, makes a humming sound. I glance over.
“What?”
She leans back in her seat. “You know how I feel about how I think he feels.”
Jennifer blinks. “Wait, what?”
“He likes her,” Maya confirms. “It was totally obvious when he picked her up last night.”
“Not true,” I say.
“Oh, he likes her,” Jennifer agrees. “Ever since he came into Pie Who
le and saw her, he’s been sniffing around.”
I hold up my hands to stop them. “The one thing Dean proved last night is that he’s an amazing actor. He convinced everyone that he fell for me months ago and that we’re madly in love.”
I don’t tell them that he even if he didn’t mean it, he convinced my heart, too. My heart, but not my mind. Although that organ is trying hard to play tricks on me.
“I don’t know, Luce, I know he’s an actor but there’s something to be said for raw chemistry, and you two have it,” Jennifer says.
“Even if that’s true, which it’s not, neither of us are in any kind of place for a relationship. I’m not dragging anyone into my situation with the show coming up and he’s super busy at work.” I check the time. “Speaking of work. I have to go into the Next Big Model studio today.”
“Really?” Finley asks. “What for?”
“Contract stuff and logistics.”
“So you’re really doing it?” Jennifer asks.
“Yep, I am.”
“And you feel ready?”
“I feel more ready than I did two weeks ago, does that count?” And I know why. Hanging out with Dean has really helped me with my confidence. It’s hard to feel bad about myself around him. Especially after last night, even if it was fake.
“You’re going to kill it this time,” Maya says.
I’m not so sure about that, but I’m ready to give it a shot.
It’s weird being back at the studio where The Next Big Model is filmed. It’s located about thirty miles away from Ocean Grove in a giant warehouse on the outskirts of the desert. I pull my car up into the lot and get out, feeling a flurry of butterflies in my stomach. I remind myself that this is the redemptions season. I’m not the only one here with baggage.
For years, I’ve been obsessed with this show. I know every contestant’s name, their backstory, and all the details I could find. I have no doubt they know the same about me. I walk in the front door and check in before being told to head to the waiting room. That’s where I see my competition and yeah, they see me.
There’s Sami, the model who had to check herself out of the hospital for a photoshoot, sitting in the chair closest to the door. I also see Tiffany and Bridget, girls who were both kicked off for not being “fun” enough, whatever that means. I see Angie, a small Korean girl that came in second place during season four, and Rebecca, who was asked to leave because questionable photos came out from her past. Everyone here has a story. Everyone here wants redemption.
For the first time in a long while, I feel oddly comfortable.
“Lucy, right?” Angie says when I take a seat near her.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I heard you were coming back. Nervous?”
“A little,” I say. “What about you?”
“I guess I feel like I have something to prove.”
I smile. “I know the feeling.”
“For what it’s worth, I think your hair looks really good that way.”
I touch it like always, slipping the longer part behind my ear. “Thanks. You know, it wasn’t really about the hair.”
“I know. This place kind of messes with your head, but—”
“It’s a dream. I get it. I know it.”
The door opens and an assistant sticks her head out. “Lucy, come on back.”
“Talk to you later,” I say, feeling a little calmer.
The rest of the day is a blur of paperwork and photoshoots. The former is boring and tedious. The latter fun—it’s the part I miss. The dressing up and dramatic makeup, posing. It takes me a bit to warm up; there’s no doubt I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. It doesn’t, and I remember all the things I’ve talked about with Dean, how rejection isn’t the end of the world and the simple fact that I’ve already lost everything means there’s nothing left they can take.
With that on my mind, I settle in and it feels good to be in front of the camera again.
24
Dean
Even though my call time the next day is a little later than usual, 7 a.m., my sister shows up in my bathroom doorway half asleep, holding out her phone.
“So I guess it was a date after all.”
I squint at the phone while my toothbrush hangs out of my mouth. Emily shoves it closer. It’s a picture of me and Lucy at the concert, cuddling.
I turn to the sink and spit, then rinse out my mouth.
“She was cold, that’s all.”
“Dude, I’m thirteen, even I know that’s lame.” She scrolls up the page. “There’s also a picture of you kissing her.”
I frown and take the phone from her. Sure enough, there’s a photo of me and Lucy kissing. We do look pretty “together".
“You know better than to believe these garbage sites.”
“I do,” she says, rubbing her eyes. “But I have alerts on you just to see what’s being said, and I had sixty notifications this morning.”
Sixty? Well, that spread like wildfire.
“And as much as you want to claim you’re not into Lucy, I’m not sure the gossip sites have it wrong.”
I check the time. “I’ve got to go, Em.”
She follows me out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. I grab my backpack and sling it over my shoulder. She blocks my doorway. “Would it be so bad if you did like her?”
Would it? I’d been asking myself that since the night before. After I dropped her off, the cab of my truck still smelled like her. I couldn’t stop replaying how she felt leaning against my chest, how soft her hands are, and the way she looked when I defended her in front of Veronica.
I definitely couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss.
Then I remembered (again) that we’re both in this for a reason. It’s not real. It’s an arrangement and we’re both good at masking our emotions and playing a part.
I reach for Emily’s head and ruffle her already-ruffled hair. “I can’t be late,” I say, “but this stuff with me and Lucy is just part of the job. That’s all.”
I hate how crestfallen she seems when I say it.
And I hate how much my heart aches, too.
“You know how this is going to end, right?”
“What I know is that this is wrong.”
“Why is it wrong? This thing between us…it’s the most real I’ve ever felt.” I touch Reese’s fingertips. They’re cold. She looks up at me with complete and utter want.
Her ridiculously long eyelashes bat and she confesses, “I’m afraid if we do this, if I fall for you, I’m going to drown.”
I place a finger under her chin, tilting it upward. “Then we’ll drown together.”
Our foreheads touch, then our noses, and after a well-timed beat I pull her into a kiss that goes on a bit longer than I’m comfortable.
“Cut!”
“Good work!”
We break apart quickly and the camera is still three inches away. I rub the back of my neck, feeling awkward. Reese smiles and touches my arm. “You did great.”
“Is it always this awkward?” I ask, hoping she felt it, too. I’ve done a lot of acting but this is my first time venturing into on-screen kissing. It’s just…weird. Technical.
“It gets better, but there’s a reason so many couples on a show start dating in real life.” We walk off the set. A few people tell us how well we did with the scene. Her statement doesn’t really make me feel better and she must realize it.
“Hey, listen,” she says, “I know you’re new at this and everything. Lucy’s okay with it right?”
“With us kissing on screen?” I shake my head. “Yeah I don’t think that’s a problem.”
“Good.” She seems relieved. “I figured since she’s a model and everything, 'acting' for the camera should make sense. I just don’t want anything to come between you guys now that you’re public. You’re pretty cute together.”
“Ah.” I raise my eyebrows. “I assume you saw the pictures from last night.”
“Oh yea
h.” She smiles and one of the assistants calls her over.
I head over to the food tent to grab a coffee. There are a few others grabbing a meal or a snack, but I’m surprised to see Andrew Xavier filling up his mug.
“Hey man,” he says, raising his cup. Andrew is a legend. Started in the business at age five, made it on the kid shows, then on to Disney movies. This is his first show on a regular network and there’s no doubt he’s half the reason it’s a hit. “I saw your workout video. That was a killer.”
I may have originally been hired for my looks and physique, but Andrew is the guy we all aspire to be. He’s ripped.
“You saw it?”
“Yeah, my manager forwarded it to me. You’re going to show me how to do that set. I think it would be a good addition to my workout.”
I smile. “Sure, I’d be happy to.”
Our interactions have been limited to me standing in the background behind him in a few locker room scenes or out of the field as an extra. But he has the reputation of being a nice, welcoming guy and I’m seeing that it’s true.
He screws on the cap to his coffee. “Look, I also saw the pictures of you and that girl last night—the model?”
I fill my cup. “Lucy Harrington.”
“Right. Lucy,” he says. “You’re new at this business and I just want to offer you some friendly advice. Be careful with the media and revealing too much about your relationships, okay? If she’s really important to you, you’re going to have to take care of her.”
I open my mouth and almost tell him the truth, that she’s not my girl and Lucy can take care of herself, but I don’t. I just nod and say, “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He grins, flashing his trademark dimples, and holds out his fist for me to bump. “Awesome. Don’t forget that workout set.”
“I won’t."
He walks off and I take a sip of my coffee, feeling like I’ve entered an alternate universe. I hear what Andrew is saying about the social media accounts but so far, Lucy’s plan has worked like a charm. I don’t see either of us giving it up any time soon.
Lucy and The Love Pact: Young Adult Fake Romance (Love in Ocean Grove Book 2) Page 10