Page 26 of Faking It For Real

"Well, the longer you play, the more portfolio pieces I get," I explained quickly.

"Ah, of course." Was that disappointment in his voice? Surely not.

"Next item," I continued briskly. "Public appearances. I assume you want me at your games?"

"As many as you can manage," he confirmed. "Especially home games. And team events when possible."

"What about your family events?" I asked. "Would I be expected to meet your parents?"

Ethan's expression tightened almost imperceptibly. "My father doesn't visit often, and when he does, it's usually just to critique my play. I don't think that will be necessary."

"Okay," I said, noting something uncomfortable in his tone. "What about you? Would you be coming to any of my events?"

"Do you have exhibitions or something?"

"There's a student showcase in January," I said. "And sometimes smaller gallery events."

"I can do that," he nodded. "Just give me the dates when you know them."

"Great." I made a note. "Social media presence. We should probably connect online. Post occasional couple-y content."

"Nothing excessive," he stipulated. "I don't want this to look like a sudden personality transplant."

"Agreed. Natural, gradual progression." I tapped my pen against the page. "Which brings us to physical boundaries."

Ethan nearly choked on his coffee. "Excuse me?"

"If we're dating, people will expect certain... physical displays of affection," I said, my cheeks warming despite my clinical tone. "Hand-holding, hugging, maybe occasional kissing. We should establish what's acceptable."

He cleared his throat. "Right. That makes sense."

"I'm comfortable with hand-holding and hugging," I said, focusing intently on my notebook. "And kissing if the situation absolutely requires it. For convincingness."

"Convincingness," he repeated, the hint of a smile in his voice. "Is that a technical term?"

"You know what I mean," I said, looking up to find him watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.

"I do," he agreed. "And those boundaries sound reasonable to me."

"Good." I took another sip of coffee. "Financial arrangements. To be clear, I don't want your money."

"I wasn't going to—"

"I know, but I wanted to make that explicit," I interrupted. "This is an exchange of services, not a transaction."

"Understood," he said solemnly. "I'll cover date expenses when we're out, but that's it."

"Fair enough."

Our pancakes arrived then, towers of fluffy goodness topped with melting chocolate chips and clouds of whipped cream. We both dove in, the serious conversation momentarily paused by the comfort of breakfast food at midnight.

"These are amazing," Ethan said after a few bites.

"Best stress food in town," I agreed. "I've solved many life crises with these pancakes."

"Is that what we're doing now? Solving a crisis?"

"Two crises, technically," I corrected. "Your ex problem and my tuition problem."

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