Page 54 of The Match Faker

When he said, ‘Let’s get you home,’ he meant dropping me off, not to have sex. Those words were just to help me act in front of the camera.

We were fake-dating. With a heavy emphasis on the fake.

And the sooner my stupid brain understood that, the better.

20

Liam

As Mia slid onto the back seat, her dress moved above her knee. I tried to look away, but couldn’t resist stealing another glance of her smooth skin. What the hell was wrong with me?

I knew she’d look good tonight, but that red dress was fire. Damn.

When I said she looked pretty, I meant it. But the way my cock reacted wasn’t right. This was a fake date. Dick twitching was not allowed.

I thought I’d got my shit under control. But when I took her hand to help her out of the car I realised I was in trouble. Her palm wrapped in mine felt kinda nice. Like when you’ve been out in the cold, you get home and wrap yourself in a warm blanket.

What the fuck? That sounded so damn cheesy.

Liking that feeling wasn’t good, so I’d let her hand go and decided to rest my palm on her back instead to guide her inside the restaurant.

That wasn’t much better, though. My hand almost slipped down to her butt. And don’t even get me started on how good it looked in that dress.

Putting my hand on hers at the table seemed to surprise her. The fact that I liked it was a shock to me too. It felt too comfortable, which was why, as soon as the waiters left, I pulled away. This was a job. I was playing a role. Pure and simple. There couldn’t be any blurred lines.

Easier said than done, though.

Seeing the fried food and not being able to eat it was torture. But it didn’t compare to the temptation of watching Mia devour those prawns.

When she squeezed her eyes shut and groaned with appreciation, I imagined how she’d sound if she experienced a different kind of pleasure.

Telling her to look at me like she wanted to take me home and fuck me was asking for trouble. I knew Mia loved chocolate, so I could’ve said, “Look at me like I’m a giant brownie.” But I said what I said because it was what I was thinking.

Could you blame me? Like I said, she looked hot.

In my defence, she was stroking my chest. And even though I’d asked her to, she was looking at me like… like she did want me.

I’d always remembered her being terrible at acting in drama class, and she wasn’t a good liar. But tonight, she was acing pretending to like me.

But this was Mia. And knowing how much she hated me, that couldn’t be true. All these crazy thoughts had no business being in my head.

‘You can just drop me at the station. I’ll get the train home.’ Mia stared out the window.

‘No way.’ I shook my head. ‘I always make sure my date gets back safely.’

‘I’ll be fine!’

‘Maybe. But it’s late and I’m already a bad sleeper, so I don’t need to be up all night, worrying about whether you made it home or not.’

‘Awww.’ A mischievous grin spread across her face. ‘Would you really worry about me?’

‘Of course, sweetheart.’ I stroked her cheek, then drew my hand back. The privacy screen was up, so I didn’t have to put on a show. ‘You’re my girlfriend. I’m not letting you get the train when I can take you, okay?’

‘Okay,’ she sighed. I pressed the intercom button.

‘Phil, I’d like to drop Mia home first, please.’

‘Yes, boss. What’s the address?’

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