Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Blake groans. “Seriously? How did we go from friends to fake boyfriends to Romeo and Juliet in such a short span?”
I lift my hand. “I call dibs on Juliet.”
“They’re going to tell us we have to stop seeing each other.”
“Yep.” I reach for his hand and intertwine our fingers. “But hey, it was going to happen anyway.”
“We don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“I don’t want it to end here. It feels like we only just got started. I was looking forward to more of last night.” Blake leans in, his hot breath landing on my ear as he says, “And doing all those things you promised.”
I have to squash down my growing erection, but damn it. I wanted it too.
“The only way to keep this going would be to do it in secret and take extreme measures so we don’t get caught. I don’t know if I want to deal with that. I’ve avoided it for my entire career and don’t want to start now.”
Blake huffs a humorless laugh. “That’s kind of ironic because it feels like that’s all I’ve ever done. Our original Eleven contracts had stipulations that if we were ever in a relationship, we had to be discreet and never confirm it publicly unless it was serious and we were getting married. We always needed to appear available to our fans.”
I sigh. “Do you ever feel like it’s … not worth it?”
“Many times.”
“Ever thought of quitting?”
“Not once.”
“Why do we do this to ourselves?”
“We’re conceited and will do anything to have our egos stroked because it’s addictive.”
I slump. “Well, shit. I’ve never heard a truer statement. You know, it has never been like this for me. Before Ben, I was a mid-list to low-level celebrity that had a small fan base, and it was all so easy. If I got invited to the Golden Globes, I felt like I’d won the lottery. When Ben wanted me for his movies, I thought this is it. This is all where it’s going to change. And it did. But …”
“Not how you were expecting? The more famous you are, the more problems you have.”
“I’m not sure if it’s worth it,” I admit. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it to myself, let alone to someone else. “I was happier when I was only kinda sorta famous.”
“What do you want to do?” Blake asks, and I really wish he wouldn’t put it on me.
“The guy I was ten years ago would’ve said fuck the system, let’s do whatever the hell we want—”
“Can you be that guy, please? I don’t … I’m not ready to stop.”
“Neither am I.”
Blake turns and throws his legs over my lap and wraps his arms around my neck. “Then we don’t listen to what they have to say. We keep—”
“Blake,” I whine and lower my forehead to his. “You really have to think about what you’re giving up for a few weeks of sex. Don’t get me wrong, it would be superhot, holy shit the world could end and I’d die a happy man type sex, but that’s all it will be. Is risking everything for that worth it?”
Instead of answering me, Blake leans forward and presses his mouth to mine. His lips are soft, but the kiss is confident, and I guess this is my answer.
We’re broken apart by the door to Blake’s trailer opening and both of our teams stepping through.
It’s crowded, and even though that should be a big enough sign—that it will take a team of people to cover this whole thing up—with one kiss I know we’re going to defy them anyway.
“What did you all come up with?” I ask.
Arianna speaks for them all. “You two being together is career suicide.”
I slowly pull myself away from Blake and gently move his legs off my lap. “Then what’s the story we’re running with?”
“The truth,” Arianna says. “That you two are friends. Jordan, you’ve been helping Blake come to terms with his sexuality, but that is all. Nothing more, nothing less. You’re doing this movie together, but there is absolutely nothing going on. You won’t be seen out together. You won’t go to any more gay bars together, and for fuck’s sake, stop kissing in public.”
I raise my hand. “In our defense, the photo that leaked of us kissing was us doing our job. Are you saying we have to stop doing that too?”
She scowls. “Stop showing affection in public. Better?”
Nope.
“I don’t like this,” Blake says. “I shouldn’t have to stop seeing Jordan because the public says I have to.”
He says that as if we were really, truly dating when we were anything but. Our whole friendship has been about one stupid bet or another. I don’t want to stop either, but I think this is the right move.
To save our careers, we need to go into stealth mode.