Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
We finish our sandwiches and make sure to throw our trash in a nearby bin. The only rule on the food stand was that you take care of your trash. It’s unfortunate that even needs to be said, but I’m going to follow the rule.
As we’re walking out, I brush my hand against Spencer’s. He doesn’t take mine, but he doesn’t move away, either.
“Spencer, I owe you an apology.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. I got scared about how real this relationship is, and that fear made me panic. I took it all out on you, which wasn’t fair of me. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset.”
“You have the right to feel how you feel, Leila. And I’m glad we got to do this, but there’s no pressure from me. If you want to continue the fake dating thing, we can do that. I want it to be real, but if that’s not something you can give, I’m okay with that, as long as we can be friends.”
I blink a few times. “What if I want it to be real?”
“Then I’ll be the happiest person ever.”
“I do. I want us to go on real dates. No more of this fake thing.”
“You have no idea how much I wanted to hear you say that. I’m all in, Leila. It may have started as fake, technically, but it never felt that way for me. My feelings for you have been real since the start.”
“That’s true for me, too, which is why I got so scared. I like you more than I probably should.”
“And I like you more than you’ll ever know.”
I blush. “You know, not much has to change between us. We may have said it was fake, but in the world, it was all real. At least to pretty much everyone else.”
“The few people who knew we were faking it will be happy to know we changed our minds.”
“Malia especially. She told me she talked to you. She didn’t want to but felt too bad keeping it a secret. I’m glad she told me, and that she talked to you.”
“I told you, she’s terrible at secrets. I’m glad we’re for real now and don’t have to worry about her or Mason outing us.”
“That’s one of the many perks. Now, what comes next?”
“As you said, we keep doing what we’ve been doing. Are you free tomorrow night? We could have our first official date.”
“Maybe we could do it Friday? I’m going over resumes and setting up interviews all week, so I’ll be too tired to truly enjoy a date.”
“Friday sounds perfect. We can text about the details.”
We reach my car, and Spencer gives me a light kiss before I climb in.
“Drive safe,” he tells me. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“You, too.”
I pull away with a huge smile on my face. Going into today’s date, I didn’t plan on revealing all my feelings, but I’m glad I did.
I can officially call Spencer my boyfriend. For real this time.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Spencer
After all the work we put in on Monday, and the fact that we’re in the home stretch of this movie, my filming schedule is nice and slow right now. It’ll stay like this for another week or two, and then we’ll hit that final few days where I’m on set for like twelve hours a day to get the movie done. I’m not looking forward to that part. It’s the worst part of filming anything, but I can enjoy the free time I have right now.
It’s finally Friday night, which means Leila should be here any minute. We’ve been talking and texting all week, but this is the first time we’ve seen each other in person since we agreed to be a real couple. The nerves have me in overdrive. I’m usually a confident person, but there’s something about Leila that turns me into a nerdy teenage boy, unsure of everything.
To keep myself occupied, I add the finishing touches to the dinner I made for us. The biggest point of contention in our relationship so far has been the big, public dates to clubs. I’m not making that mistake again. Sure, I think we’ll have to do that stuff sometimes, especially because I enjoy it, but I’m not going to torture Leila every time we go on a date.
The doorbell rings, and I throw down the spoon I’d been using to stir the sauce. I wipe my hands and run to the door.
“Hey!” I say with a smile. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Thanks for having me. It smells great in here.”
“It’s just a little something.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to it, but first, are you ready for the big reveal?”
I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”
“The last spare bedroom upstairs. We finished it this morning while you were on set!”
“I had no idea you were here.”