I found myself staring at her for an indecent amount of time.
I found her watching me for an indecent amount of time.
Neither of us spoke about it. And there were definitely no moresleepovers. Despite managing to stay on our own sides of the bed that entire night, my body had been far too aware of her half-naked body next to mine. The way her breath evened out as she fell asleep, the soft rustle of sheets when she shifted—I’d noticed every second of it. In the morning, we had been careful not to let our eyes linger too long or our words stray into anything too personal, despite feeling like everything had changed.
I didn’t know if she’d caught my slip-up or just decided to ignore it. Either way, the words “anyone else” played on repeat in my head, and I couldn’t decide if they had been a mistake or something I’d meant without realizingit.
The press had noticed I hadn’t left Matilda’s building that night, which only fueled more speculation about our relationship. Jack had managed to spin the situation with the paparazzi to our advantage. The photos made it clear that the guy had been the one assaulting Matilda, and I hadn’t provoked the altercation.
A few old articles were springing up, referencing my previous mishaps in America, which worried me. I didn’t need the movie producers getting spooked. It was more important than ever that we perform well and I stay out of trouble.
Matilda and I had booked extra hours at a private rink for week five to get back on track. We’d had four weeks of upbeat, fast dances, and while we had nailed the first one, we’d had six weeks to practice it. Now, we only hadone.
I was driving to the rink that morning when Jack almost caused a car crash.
“Do you think you and Matilda should do an on-screen kiss?”
I swerved the car for a brief moment before regaining control.
Lord, send me strength.
“What was that for? Are you OK?” His hands shot forward to the dashboard as his head swung to look atme.
“Am I OK?” I gaped at him. “Are youOK?”
“Don’t give me that look, Luca. You’ve done plenty of on-screen kisses before.”
“Yes, for movies. And do you know why? Because it’s written into a script.”
“Think of this like a script I’m writing for both of you.”
I looked at him in disbelief. “Are you joking?”
“Stop asking me questions; I’m not joking.” Jack started typing something on his phone.
“We arenotkissing.”
“Why not? It would be fantastic media collateral. You’ve both been quiet since week one—paparazzi incident aside—and we need to get you back in the media.”
“Yes, and we can achieve that with extra training and interviews. Not by kissing each other.”
“Give off, dickhead. I’ve seen you staring at each other. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t love an excuse to kiss her. I’d say sleep with her, but that might be pushing it too far on nationalTV.”
“I am not engaging in this conversation.” I gripped the wheel tighter, my knuckles turning white.
“Mate, come on.” He turned in his seat to look at me. “You can admit it; you won’t combust from showing an ounce of interest in the opposite sex.”
“I have had sex since Nancy, you know.”
“With people you barely knew the name of. Matilda’s different, and you knowit.”
“I don’t think you’re the best person to take relationship advice from. How many have you had, exactly?” I turned into the parking lot of the private rink.
“That’s beside the point. Look, kissing her for the show is a win-win. You get to kiss a pretty woman, get some good press to shimmy in front of the producers,andyou can see if you have any chemistry with her without committing.”
“It doesn’t matter if we have chemistry; it won’t go anywhere.” If I got the part inDirty Dancing,any semblance of privacy that I was clinging to would disappear—what had happened the other week at Matilda’s would be 24/7, and I wasn’t willing to put her through the paparazzi’s bullshit. Not only that, but I’d also be away filming for god knows how long, which wouldn’t be the best way to start a new relationship.
I turned the ignition off, searching for an analogy to get it through Jack’s skull. “It’s like smelling the freshly baked doughnuts but not being able to eat them.”
