Chapter Nine

Fallon

“This is crazy.” I threw the few shirts and jeans I had into the laundry basket.

“It’s what we need to do,” Compass replied evenly, as if uprooting my space and cramming it into his was no big deal.

I spun to face him. “We don’t need to stay in the same room to make this work,” I insisted.

He shrugged and grabbed the laundry basket from me. “Having separate rooms when we’re ‘off’ makes sense, but do you really think anyone will believe we’re ‘on’ while staying in separate rooms?” He motioned toward my bathroom. “Grab your stuff from there. I’ll take this to my room. You can sort it all out later. Right now, we just need to be done before the cameras turn on.”

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. Ten minutes. “Which is in ten minutes,” I grumbled and threw my hands up. “This is insane. We’re not ready for this. I thought we had a couple of days before the cameras would be back.”

Compass gave a quick shrug. “We thought we had that much time, babe, but it seems the production crew has other ideas.”

I glared at him. “I only like when you call me babe when you’re being nice. Now you’re just trying to humor me.”

His lips quirked into a smirk. “Why? Gotta get into character, don’t we? This could be our first fight.”

“You’re impossible,” I muttered under my breath and stomped toward the bathroom.

I didn’t have much stuff other than facewash, a few hair ties, and my toothbrush. I swept it all into a bag and grabbed my shampoo and conditioner from the shower. Sharing a room with Compass wasn’t just about appearances; it was inviting a whole new level of awkwardness into my life.

“This is ridiculous,” I mumbled and shoved a bottle of moisturizer I had sitting on the back of the toilet into the bag.

“Talking to yourself already?” Compass’s voice floated in from the other room. “Learning things about you, and we haven’t even started sharing a room yet.”

I poked my head out of the bathroom. “Don’t you have something better to do? Like, I don’t know, moving the rest of my stuff?”

“Relax, Fallon,” he said with a grin. “I’ve got it handled.”

I rolled my eyes and took one more sweep of the bathroom. It wasn’t like I couldn’t run back in here if I forgot something. I emerged from the bathroom, and Compass was lounging against the doorframe with a now-empty laundry basket.

“You’re done already?” I asked.

“It’s a thirty-foot move, Fallon, not thirty miles,” he chuckled.

I shoved the bag of bathroom stuff at him. “Take this, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He took it without protest and turned on his heel.

I followed him to his room, which was now apparently our room.

Compass pushed the door open with his foot and tossed the bag of my bathroom stuff on the bed next to the laundry basket. “Welcome to your new home,” he said and swept an arm out dramatically.

I tried not to focus on the fact that my whole life was in that basket and bag.

I stepped inside and looked around. It was neat—neater than I expected, actually—but it still screamed Compass. His boots were lined up by the door, a few jackets hung on hooks, and a half-empty bottle of whiskey sat on the dresser. There was also a large Harley Davidson flag hanging on the wall above the bed. That was an interesting headboard.

“You can have half of the closet,” he replied easily. “I’ll move my stuff.”

“That’s... considerate of you,” I said slowly. “Though I only need about ten hangers, and I’ll be good.” It was hitting me how I had really abandoned my life when I came here.

“Don’t sound so shocked, babe,” he teased. “I’m a gentleman when I want to be.”

I shot him a look but didn’t bother arguing. Instead, I moved to the closet and started organizing my things.

“You wouldn’t, by chance, know if we can go to my apartment at some point and get more of my things?”

Compass shook his head. “Not going to happen, babe. We’re not sure if Boone and Gibbs’ goons know you are here, and we want to keep it that way. If you go back to your apartment now, I’m sure they will be waiting for you.”

That sucked.

I looked at the measly things I had hung in the closet and remembered the full closet I had back in my apartment. “Maybe we can go to the store again sometime.”

Compass chuckled, and I looked at him over my shoulder.

“Might make for good TV,” he mused.

I moved to the bed and found it impossible not to notice Compass’s chuckle as he leaned casually against the edge of the dresser. His broad shoulders shook slightly with amusement. I tried not to let my nerves show as I stood near the bed and fiddled with the edge of the comforter.

His lips curled into that crooked grin he seemed to rarely use.

That grin. It scrambled my brain and made my stomach do backflips.

I dropped the comforter and turned to the side as I crossed my arms tightly over my chest. “I think I’m going to puke,” I muttered before I could stop myself. I just realized Compass and I were going to have to act like we liked each other, and also… kiss.

Oh, boy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his head snap toward me. “What?”

I waved my hand in front of my face and fanned myself like that would do anything to calm me down. “I might be being a bit dramatic, but it just hit me what we’re about to do. I have to act like we’re together.” My voice cracked on the last word. “Holy guacamole.”

Compass pushed off the dresser before I could take a full breath. He was in front of me and caught my hand mid-wave. His touch was warm, steady—surprisingly reassuring.

“Calm down, babe,” he said softly. His voice was low and grounding.

“Calm down?” I wheezed and tugged my hand free to press it to my forehead. “Compass, you have to act like you like me!”

“I do like you,” he said and chuckled again as if my panic were amusing. “Babe.”

I rolled my eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t get stuck. “I heard you complain about being the one stuck keeping an eye on me, Compass. And now you have to act like you like being in the same room as me. We won’t even get into the fact that you’re going to have to touch me and… other things.”

His head tipped slightly to the side, and for a second, I forgot why I was panicking at all. The way he looked at me—his dark eyes warm, his jawline sharp enough to cut glass—made my pulse stutter. Damn him for being so gorgeous.

“Other things?” he asked softly. His tone was low and teasing.

I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely confused or just enjoying my mortification. “We can’t just say we’re together, Compass. We have to act like it, too.”

He nodded slowly, like he was taking in what I was saying. “I know that, babe.”

But did he really? He’d been uptight about going out in public, and now he was ridiculously laidback about the fact that we were about to be filmed pretending to be a couple. Who was this man?

“Like, kiss,” I blurted out. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been on camera before, let alone had to kiss on camera. Our first kiss is going to be filmed.”

A slow and knowing smirk spread across his face. It was the kind of smirk that made your heart skip a beat even though you knew it shouldn’t. “It doesn’t have to be.”

I frowned, not following. “Um, what?”

He stepped closer, and the space between us shrank. His hand found my waist, and just like that, I couldn’t think straight. His touch wasn’t demanding, but it was firm and steady.

“Our first kiss doesn’t have to be on camera,” he said, his voice low. “We could kiss now. Practice?”

I blinked up at him, and my heart suddenly did somersaults in my chest. “Get it out of the way?” I asked, more to myself than to him.

He nodded, and his gaze locked on mine. “It’ll help us get comfortable with each other. Make it look natural.”

His reasoning was sound, but the way he was looking at me? That wasn’t just about looking natural. I couldn’t stop my eyes from dropping to his lips. They were full and inviting. I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind before. He wasn’t just good-looking; Compass was the kind of ruggedly handsome that could stop traffic. He had that dangerous edge about him, the kind that came from riding motorcycles and living life unapologetically.

“I think that sounds like a good idea,” I whispered, barely able to find my voice. “For the show,” I added.

His expression shifted, and the heat in his eyes turned up a notch. “I’m going to kiss you, Fallon,” he said. His voice was thick with something that made my stomach flip.

I barely nodded before his lips were on mine.

The kiss wasn’t hesitant. There was no awkward fumbling or uncertainty. His other hand slid to my waist, and he pulled me closer until there wasn’t an inch of space left between us. Compass was the kind of man who didn’t do anything halfway, and it showed in the way he kissed me.

I let myself melt into him, and my hands found their way to his chest. His leather cut was cool under my palms and a stark contrast to the heat radiating off him. He smelled like cedarwood and a faint hint of gasoline. I couldn’t help but think it suited him perfectly.

His lips moved against mine with an ease that left me breathless. It was like we’d done this a thousand times before. But we hadn’t, and that made it all the more intoxicating. This wasn’t just practice—it was something else entirely, something neither of us had planned for.

When he finally pulled back, his eyes met mine, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. My heart was pounding so loudly that I was sure he could hear it.

“Well,” he said, his voice rougher than usual, “that was… natural.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me, even as my cheeks burned. “Yeah. Natural.” My voice was shaky, but I managed to meet his gaze.

Compass smirked again. That damn smirk that made my knees feel weaker. “We’re going to be fine, babe.”

Maybe he was right. Or maybe I was in way over my head. Either way, I had a feeling nothing between us was ever going to be the same.