Page 98 of The Match Faker

‘What about you? It’s my fault for leaving my jacket at the office.’

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been on a Tube, but I remember them being hotter than an oven. I’m not giving you my jacket to be a gentleman, it’s just so I won’t overheat when we get in the carriage,’ I smirked.

‘In that case, I’ll accept.’ She smiled and my chest expanded. ‘Come on, we better cross.’

Mia took my hand and my heart raced. Travelling on the Tube during rush hour would rank high on the list of most people’s least favourite things to do, but as she led the way to the station, adrenaline rushed through me.

‘I’m guessing you don’t have an Oyster card?’ she asked as we walked towards the entrance.

‘Correct.’

Mia slid her hand out of mine and I instantly missed the feel of her soft skin.

‘Use my debit card.’ She reached in her handbag and gave it to me.

‘I can’t let you—’

‘I know I’m hard up, but I don’t think a few pounds is going to make a big difference. Just tap it on the yellow reader.’

Mia went ahead, breezing through the ticket barriers, and I followed.

As we got onto the escalators, I nervously looked to my right and then my left, paranoid that someone might recognise me.

‘Relax.’ Mia turned around from where she stood on the step below. ‘And if you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, keep to the right of the escalator so people can walk down on the left.’

Unsurprisingly, when we got to the platform it was packed. We had to wait for two Tubes to pass before we eventually squeezed on, and luckily by that point we were at the front and were able to snag two seats.

Just like Mia predicted, everyone’s eyes were fixated on their phone screens, books or newspapers and I felt like an egomaniac for even thinking that anyone would have the slightest interest in me.

The driver announced that the next stop was Charing Cross and as the people in front of us moved towards the exit, I had a clearer view of the passengers sitting directly opposite.

A woman in her twenties caught my gaze. Her eyes widened.

Uh-oh.

‘Oh my God!’ she shouted, reaching for her phone. ‘Are you…? Can’t be! Are you Liam Stone?’ She held up her mobile.

‘Smile,’ Mia whispered in my ear.

I quickly engaged my brain in time before the woman snapped away.

‘Yeah,’ I answered.

‘Oh my God, oh my God!’ She fanned herself. ‘I can’t believe it’s you!’

The other passengers turned to see what all the commotion was. And of course, the train chose that exact moment to stop in the tunnel.

There was nowhere we could go and nothing I could do, so I decided to roll with it. I was sure they were harmless.

I smiled and nodded in acknowledgement to the people staring.

‘What you doing on the Tube, bruv?’ a guy called out.

‘Just trying to get from A to B, like you, mate.’

‘Respect.’ He extended his arm, greeting me with a fist bump. ‘If I had your money, there’s no way you’d catch me on this.’

‘Can I have a selfie?’ another woman across the carriage piped up.

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