Page 52 of Once Upon a Fake Date

And I couldn’t have him like that.

“Where are you headed next?” I asked her, wanting to change the subject.

Sutton flicked her dark hair back. “I have a pastry class in Carthay Hall.” She pointed at the culinary building. “What about you?”

“Rehearsals,” I said, looking towards Grimm Center, the home of our theater department. My classes were over for the day, and I’d grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading to the four-hour practice.

In the past, I’d often forgotten to eat on long days like this, being so busy flitting from one thing to the next, but there was something about Parker’s presence that made it easier. Maybe it was the way he was always checking in on me. Bringing me food, snacks I’d loved back when we were kids, or going to dinner with me.

It was a small gesture, but it meant so much to me.

“Oooh. I heard the other lead in the musical is your new boyfriend.”

“Yeah.” I blushed.

She turned to me, raising one dark eyebrow. “You met on Halloween, right?”

“Oh. No. We actually met when we were small. Parker and I grew up on the same street until he moved away. We lost contact for a few years, but he was my best friend when we were younger. We ran into each other again at Halloween and, well…”

“That’s adorable, Audrey,” Sutton said, squeezing my shoulder.

“No more adorable than you meeting Forest on your first day of college orientation,” I mumbled.

They had the perfect fairytale beginning, and I was envious of how easy their relationship was. It was obvious spending any time with them how much they loved each other.

Sutton smiled. “Yeah, I’m pretty lucky.” The path forked to where we each needed to go, and I pulled my friend into a hug before we said our goodbyes.

Her words stayed with me as I headed into the rehearsal room.

I wanted that for myself. To love, and to be loved in return.

Maybe one day, I’d find it.

CHAPTER 16

Parker

Audrey nudged me as we stood off to the side, watching the ensemble rehearse on the stage. “How are you holding up?” The three seniors she was friends with—Laura, Mari, and Florence— were all on stage right now, and we watched them dance.

I ran my fingers through my hair. It wasn’t easy trying to balance practice and rehearsals, but I thought I was doing a decent job. “Okay, I guess. Coach is still pissed at me. I’m surprised he didn’t bench me after finding out.”

She frowned. “But you’re good. Like,reallygood.”

Letting out a laugh, I shook my head. “I’m alright. I mean, for a midfielder, I’m not bad. But Coach and I have an understanding. Part of the agreement on letting me join the team when I transferred here at the beginning of the year.”

Audrey furrowed her brows. “And that’s… part of why you transferred here? For the team?”

My throat was tight. I hadn’t explained it before, because I didn’t want to admit it. It made me feel like a terrible teammate who had called it quits. The way she looked at me right now was like I could do no wrong in her eyes. I didn’t want that to change. “Later,” I murmured, not sure if I was asking her or telling her.

Mary flitted backstage and found the two of us. “You’re both on!”

“Oh, sorry.” I held out my hand for Audrey. “Shall we?”

We were practicing one of the ending scenes of the musical—the romantic dance after the two main characters were reunited, where they confessed their love for each other. She had on her heels, and I’d quickly found out that rehearsing in sneakers wasn’t the ideal footwear, so I’d gone and gotten dance shoes—though I’d found out they actually called them character shoes. They looked almost like dress shoes, though they were more flexible and a hell of a lot more comfortable.

Pretty soon, we’d be rehearsing in full costume. Each time we went through a scene, we’d added more elements. Props, sets, and backgrounds. Lighting. It was a well-oiled machine.

In a lot of ways, the theater department reminded me of my lacrosse team. Every single person was important. We needed everyone for the show to run or to play the game. No single person was more important than the other. Even Audrey, the lead role, couldn’t do this without the lighting crew or the person running the sound system.

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