Page 34 of Once Upon a Fake Date

Looking so sweet in her pink corduroy overall dress that she’d paired with a white turtleneck and tall, tan boots. Her legs were a million fucking miles long, and I wasn’t even sure she knew how hot those boots were.

I pulled at the hoodie around my neck, fanning myself with the fabric.

“Parker.”

“Hm?” Her sweet strawberry smell filled my lungs, overriding any sense or thought.

Oh. She’d asked me something. “Sorry, what?”

“What do you think of the script?” Audrey inclined her head to the side. I’d had it for almost a week now after officially being announced to be taking over the role.

I leaned back in my chair, the script in question sitting on my desk. I’d read it three times already and was still stuck on one specific detail.

“We have to kiss,” I said instead of commenting on the storyline. “In the second act, we…” Our characters were romantically intertwined, so why had I not considered this before accepting the role?

Audrey nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes. “Uh-huh.”

I hummed. “We’re pretending to date. Which means we should be comfortable kissing each other.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her soft, full pink lips. She was wearing her usual sparkly lip gloss. I wondered if it would taste like strawberries and cotton candy, sweet like the way she smelled.

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she responded, “Yeah.”

“So we should, um, you know… practice.”

“What?” Audrey’s brows raised.

I could feel my cheeks growing warm. God, why was this so embarrassing? “If everyone thinks we’re dating,won’t it be weird if the first time we kiss is on stage at rehearsals? We need to look like we know what we’re doing.”

She fidgeted with the pink scrunchie on her wrist. One she always wore. “Yeah, but?—”

“Rosie.” I tugged on one of her blonde curls. “It’s just fake, right?”

She sat up on the bed, nibbling on her lower lip. “Yeah, I guess,” Audrey sighed, her body relaxing slightly. “Okay. Let’s… practice.” She ran her tongue over her lips like she was moistening them, and I held back a groan. “Just like rehearsals.”

Standing up from my desk, I joined her on the bed, and she backed up till she was against the wall. I placed a palm on either side of her on the mattress. Caging her in. My heart was thundering in my chest, and I hoped she couldn’t hear it.

My finger hooked under her chin, bringing her eyes up to meet mine. “You good?”

“Y-yeah.” Her voice was breathless. “Let’s just do this. Get it over with.”

Dipping my head low, I brushed my lips against her ear. “First of all, we’re not justgetting it over with,Rosie Girl. Okay?”

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she nodded.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Okay.” The word was a tiny whisper, but it was all the permission I needed.

I pressed my lips against hers, just a slight brush, and Audrey closed her eyes, tilting her chin just an inch as if in invitation.

“Parker…” My name slipped from her lips, breathless.

Yes,I thought, brushing my lips over hers again. The lightest of touches. The ghost of a kiss. Just enough to leave us both wanting more.

Her hands wound around my neck, her fingers combing through the back of my hair. And then I didn’t hold back, coaxing her mouth open with mine, devouring her with open-mouthed kisses and taking what wasmine.Like all along, she’d just been waiting for me to find her.

Audrey might not have been my first kiss, butdamn.I wanted her to be my last.

I was right. She tasted sweet, and I didn’t even care that her lip gloss was probably on my lips, too.

---