Page 19 of Once Upon a Fake Date

“It was great.” Ella sighed, a dreamy look on her face.

God, it was so unfair that she was getting laid regularly, and I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been kissed. I scrunched up my face, realizing it was probably Duke. Ugh. What I wouldn’t do to forget that his lips had ever touched mine.

Maybe what I needed was a hookup. That would solve my problem, wouldn’t it? Give me my confidence back. I didn’t need to love someone to sleep with them, right?

It seemed like it had worked out for Ella. Even if shewastoeing a line she shouldn’t cross, dating the fraternity president that she’d been paired up with.

Joining her on the porch, I hugged my twin before following her inside, heading upstairs to dump my stuff in the bedroom we used to share. Ever since she’d moved into the presidential suite, I’d had mine to myself.

I had to admit it was a little lonely. But I was making do. At least, I was hoping I’d get used to it. Luckily, Ella was only a floor away from me. It was hard to imagine that one day, I’d go from spending every moment with my twin to hardly seeing her.

Thankfully, we had another year and a half of college left.

“So, what’s the plan for the night?” I asked, dropping my bag onto the floor. Ella sat on the bed that used to be hers, though I’d covered it in plain sheets. Not that anyone slept there. I normally just used it to lay out my outfits. “Do you and Cam have plans?”

She blushed. “I was thinking we could do something, actually. Spend some time together before the semester starts, and we’re both so busy we forget to even eat or sleep.”

“Only you, Ells.” I rolled my eyes, sitting across from her. “There’s no way I could ever forget to sleep.”

Ella laughed. “Are you excited for the semester? The spring musical is creeping up on us.”

I nodded. “It’s a lot of responsibility, but I can’t wait. What about you? How are the costume designs coming?” She’d been working on them over break, taking her sketchbook to the ski lodge and working on them as her boyfriend stared at her like a puppy dog.

It was adorable, really, even if she’d ditched me and spent every night in his bed.

“Good. I still can’t believe of all the proposals submitted they picked mine.”

“I can. Because you’re seriously talented, Ella. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my twin, and we share one hundred percent of our DNA.”

It was my twin’s turn to roll her eyes.

We were identical, down to our blonde hair and height. The only easy way to tell the difference was our hair—I had straight across bangs—and the slight hue variations in our eyes. They were both blue, but mine were a deeper hue that appeared almost violet in some lights.

I collapsed backward on my bed. “Do you ever feel like you’re going to blink, and it’ll all be over?” Staring up at the ceiling, I heard the mattress creak next to me and felt the dip as Ella lay at my side.

We didn’t fit on a twin-sized bed—not well, anyway—but sometimes it felt good to cuddle up next to my sister. Hug her. I didn’t need to tell her how much she meant to me—we both knew it was more than words—but I liked to, anyway.

“It’s going to be weird when we graduate, isn’t it? Then I won’t get to do this with you every day.”

Ella wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”

I turned to face her. “Well, it’s not like I’m going to move in with you and Cameron post-graduation.”

She bit her lip. “I guess not.” I noticed that she didn’t deny that she wanted to live with him. Guess that meant it was serious. “Still. We’ve got time.”

Sighing, I turned over, reaching for my phone but realizing I’d left it in my purse when I’d walked in. Getting up, I went to retrieve it, noticing a bunch of unread texts. My parents—just checking in to make sure I’d arrived safely, and then a few from Parker.

Parker

Welcome back, Rosie Girl.

Hope the drive went well.

What are you doing tonight?

Audrey

Smooth.

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