Page 46 of Red Queen
“I can see something’s bothering you, Teo.” My voice softens, trying to lure him out of his shell. If we won’t get along, this whole thing is going to feel like torture, and I swear I’m trying my best. But he’s impossible.
“I’m fine. I just wasn’t in the mood for a fake date right now, however sexy my date is.” I would take it as a compliment if his comment didn't sound mocking.
“Do you really have to mess up our every interaction? It wasn’t my idea to go out, but you definitely need this more than me, so I would appreciate it if you'd at least try to make it work.”I raise my voice slightly as annoyance takes over me. But as always, it’s like I’m talking to a wall.
“Mess up? You’re the one having unrealistic expectations of this fake relationship. You accepted the deal, and hell, you get paid for it awfully well. So I’m sorry I’m not pretending that I like you when we’re out of the camera’s sight.” He fights back, and I just scoff at his reply. I can’t believe that he once again made a good night turn into a sour one. I didn’t put on this dress for this grumpy ass.
The rest of the ride goes by in silence, both of us stubbornly standing by our points. He calls this groveling? Let’s see how well his image will do if I act less affectionate around him. We arrive at a fancy restaurant not so long after, and I shiver at the chilly weather as we head towards the entrance.
“Hi. Table for two, name’s Acosta,” he says with a deep voice, the hostess looking him up and down, then checks the list of reservations.
“Right this way, please.” We follow them upstairs, then she leads us to a table set on the balcony.
It’s slightly separated from the rest of the restaurant, but it’s still close, so people can see us. We’re close enough that paparazzi can take pictures of us. Great choice, Vickie and Clover.
“Here are the menus. What would you like for drinks?” A waitress comes up to us, asking with a smile, looking at me.
“Can we get a bottle of red wine, please? Strongest one. Thank you.” I smile back and then start inspecting the menu, ignoring Mateo’s piercing look at my choice of drink. Up your ass, pendejo. You made me mad, so now suffer the consequences.
“Just water, please. Two.” She nods, then goes to another table.
“Just say it. What did I do now?” I ask with an annoyed tone. This man’s dancing on my nerves.
“Do you always drink this much?” he asks, and my eyes widen. He acts like I’m an alcoholic or something.
“Only if my fake boyfriend can’t let me live in peace.” I shoot back, not letting him have the last word. I have a better question: does he really have to act like this all the time?
30
ROSA
The date went worse than I imagined it would. We tried to pose for some photos, tried hiding our annoyance at each other, but it was almost impossible. He made some comments, and I obviously could not let him get away with it, so I snapped back every time.
I’m hoping the paparazzi only took pictures of us when we were pretending to laugh, and when I shoved my hand toward his mouth to make it look like he was kissing it.
I don’t know what’s gotten into him in the past couple of days. At first, I thought it was because he’s angry and disappointed that he can’t drive for a whole while, but now I’m starting to think there’s more to it.
He was a pain in the ass before, too, but not this much. Now it feels like he’s constantly picking fights on purpose, trying to rile me up for whatever stupid reason.
“Would you please be so kind and share why you’re so angry with me nowadays?” I’m the first to break the silence in the car. I’ve only had three relationships so far, and all three men lacked communicative skills, so after the last one, I’ve decided I’m not letting a relationship die because of miscommunication.
“There’s nothing new to share, okay? You know about everything. I have a scandal going on, I could be investigated for it, I broke my wrist and can’t drive for at least 10 whole weeks, and on top of that, they’re paying a woman to be my girlfriend! Imagine how good that feels, that no one in their right mind would want to date me if it wouldn’t come with a paycheck!” He almost shouts, his walls finally crumbling. At least he’s being honest now. Little does he know that I’m not in this for the money.
The first check came yesterday, and they paid this and next week together. I went and cashed it right away, but instead of spending it, I opened a bank account for it.
When I convinced Mateo and his team to change the $2k to $5k, I knew there was no way I could spend that. I mean, I could, but I don’t want to. I’d rather put it away and save it for a bigger thing.
I’ve always wanted to travel, and there are so many beautiful places I haven’t seen yet. So instead of spending it, I’m trying to live off my real job and save this money. It might sound a little optimistic in this world, but it helps that the teams are paying for the flights and the hotels for the races.
“I know it’s tough times for you now. But I’m not here to make this harder, okay? We’ve got off on the wrong foot but… We can still make up for it.” For a moment, his eyes soften at my words, but then his reply boils my blood again.
“You mean you have to make it up to me. You lied.”
“Don’t start this again, Mateo. You know you’re not right. You even agreed you’ll grovel, what happened to that?”
“I only said that so you’ll agree and sign the contract. Trust me, I have no intention of making up with you if you won’t apologize first,” he snaps back, and my mouth falls open. I have the urge to slap him again.
“Remember that you’re in bigger need of this fake relationship, and as you said, no one in their right mind would date you out of their free will, so I advise you to stop saying bullshit like this to me.” I try to stay calm and not scream in his face. He would deserve it, but what he doesn’t deserve is wasting my energy on him.
