16. Parker

CHAPTER 16

Parker

A udrey nudged me as we stood off to the side, watching the ensemble rehearse on the stage. “How are you holding up?” The three seniors she was friends with—Laura, Mari, and Florence— were all on stage right now, and we watched them dance.

I ran my fingers through my hair. It wasn’t easy trying to balance practice and rehearsals, but I thought I was doing a decent job. “Okay, I guess. Coach is still pissed at me. I’m surprised he didn’t bench me after finding out.”

She frowned. “But you’re good. Like, really good.”

Letting out a laugh, I shook my head. “I’m alright. I mean, for a midfielder, I’m not bad. But Coach and I have an understanding. Part of the agreement on letting me join the team when I transferred here at the beginning of the year.”

Audrey furrowed her brows. “And that’s… part of why you transferred here? For the team?”

My throat was tight. I hadn’t explained it before, because I didn’t want to admit it. It made me feel like a terrible teammate who had called it quits. The way she looked at me right now was like I could do no wrong in her eyes. I didn’t want that to change. “Later,” I murmured, not sure if I was asking her or telling her.

Mary flitted backstage and found the two of us. “You’re both on!”

“Oh, sorry.” I held out my hand for Audrey. “Shall we?”

We were practicing one of the ending scenes of the musical—the romantic dance after the two main characters were reunited, where they confessed their love for each other. She had on her heels, and I’d quickly found out that rehearsing in sneakers wasn’t the ideal footwear, so I’d gone and gotten dance shoes—though I’d found out they actually called them character shoes. They looked almost like dress shoes, though they were more flexible and a hell of a lot more comfortable.

Pretty soon, we’d be rehearsing in full costume. Each time we went through a scene, we’d added more elements. Props, sets, and backgrounds. Lighting. It was a well-oiled machine.

In a lot of ways, the theater department reminded me of my lacrosse team. Every single person was important. We needed everyone for the show to run or to play the game. No single person was more important than the other. Even Audrey, the lead role, couldn’t do this without the lighting crew or the person running the sound system.

Just like we needed every member of our team to make plays and passes.

I was grateful for my ability to memorize things quickly. It had come in handy with lacrosse plays, and it was here, too. Both with the script and the songs.

There was also something extremely… freeing about it. Because, for once, I didn’t have to worry about anything else. Like I could shut out the outside world and fully immerse myself in this one.

The one where I was the prince who got the girl.

Audrey slipped her arm through mine, her other hand holding her skirt—just like she would once she wore her actual costume. “Let’s go, my Prince.”

God, and wasn’t I just such a sucker that my heart sped up at those words?

Here, with her at my side, it was like I could pretend nothing else was wrong.

“Alright.”

“Don’t step on my foot this time,” Audrey winked.

“One time,” I muttered. “I accidentally stepped on your foot one time.”

Her laugh filled the entire space, lighting me up from the inside out. Then we stepped out onto the stage, gliding effortlessly into our first steps.

At first, I’d struggled to stay on rhythm. Learning the choreography for the entire musical had been a lot, especially when it was all new to me. But practicing had helped, and I was grateful that the weight room for student athletes was empty late at night since had ample open space for me to practice alone.

If anyone ever caught me, I’d deny it, but it was making me better. I felt more confident in my plays during lacrosse practices, too. Maybe because dancing was improving my balance, making me more surefooted.

Whatever the reason, I was having fun.

I spun Audrey, my eyes not leaving her form as she twirled in a perfect circle with her hand in mine before I brought her back into my arms and dipped her.

And then we’d seal it all with a kiss.

True love’s kiss, granting the leads their happily ever after. That was what this musical was all about. The happy ending between the long-lost Princess and the Prince who risked everything to save her and bring her home. They’d met again by chance, but despite all the obstacles, every threat to them being together, they persevered.

I got a sudden flashback to when we were younger, Audrey sitting on the couch next to me in my childhood home. We’d just finished eating quesadillas and watching A Pup Named Scooby Doo, and my mom had asked if we wanted to watch something else before we headed outside to play. Audrey had requested a princess movie.

“ But we always watch those girly movies,” I’d groaned. “I want to watch something else.”

“This one has a dragon, Buddy,” my mom said, pointing to the cover. “The prince even has a sword. What do you think about that?”

Scrunching up my nose, I’d finally agreed. “Okay… But only because he has a sword.”

Even back then, I’d loved dragons, elves, and warriors. Princes, too, some of the time. At least the cool ones who would do anything to save the day. Jumping through fire, fighting off the evil villains, and at the end of the story, they’d always save the princess.

I wanted to be like that, too. To always save the princess from harm.

When I looked at Audrey, she was beaming. She was wearing a little pink romper with ruffles. Though it had strawberry stains from an earlier snack, she didn’t seem to care. “Yay !”

And even though I’d been young, I’d known that I’d agree to whatever dumb princess movie she wanted me to watch because it made her happy.

I ignored all the ways this musical seemed to mirror our own story because no matter what was going on between us, it was fake.

Thankfully, no one around us knew that. So I kissed her like I would if I were her boyfriend. If I was the prince who’d just saved her from an evil dragon.

It was a kiss I was all too happy to take, keeping her lips against mine, coaxing her mouth open with slow, lazy kisses, though all I wanted to do was deepen it for real.

Everyone else reset, except all I could focus on was the violet-eyed beauty in front of me. “Audrey—” I murmured, still holding her close, even when we broke apart. Her lips were pink, shiny, and I wanted to touch them. To run my thumb over her bottom lip.

She giggled. “Parker, you can let go of me now,” she whispered. “We’re all done. No need to keep acting.”

“Who said I was acting?” I said in a low voice against her ear, glad no one was around us for the moment.

Audrey blushed, and I chuckled. “Come on, let’s head out. I gotta get some food before practice.”

“Okay,” she murmured, letting me hold her hand as we headed to the student union to grab a bite to eat. Luckily, neither of us had to change—besides our shoes—so it was easy to put our street shoes on and then grab our bags.

“What were you thinking about earlier?” Audrey nudged me as we walked.

“You remember when we were… oh gosh, what was it, five and six? Maybe six and seven? You used to come over to my house after school was out and we’d watch movies.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Vaguely.”

I laughed. “Do you remember what your favorite one was?”

“The one where the handsome prince saved the day?”

That could have explained a thousand movies, but somehow, I knew we were thinking of the same movie.

“Yeah, Rosie Girl.” I slung an arm around her shoulder, tugging her tight to me. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I just smiled. “That’s the one.”

She hummed. “I hadn’t thought about that in a long time. It’s funny that we ended up doing a musical of it, huh? That we’re starring in it together?”

Funny? It felt a bit like fate. Like we were destined to end up here together, back in the same place.

“At least I don’t have to fight an actual dragon,” I said with a laugh as I wrapped my hands around her waist, pulling her in close to me and resting my forehead against hers.

Audrey bit her lip. “Yeah, that might have been a little harder.” I could hear her breathing change like she was affected by this. By me. “Parker,” she breathed out, standing up on her tiptoes, bringing her lips closer to mine. Like she wanted me to kiss her.

I dropped my head, about to press my lips against hers when—“Audrey!” A voice shouted, coming up behind us on the sidewalk.

My girl groaned, dropping back onto her feet as I let her go. She spun, coming face to face with two girls who I was pretty sure I recognized from her sorority house.

“Hey, guys.” She smiled at them. “What’s up?”

“Peggy and I were just heading to grab something to eat.” The girls barely even paid attention to me, all of their energy focused on their sorority sister. They’re both wearing their letters, Pi Rho Sigma embroidered onto a sweatshirt in flowers, and I curl a hand around her hip.

Peggy nods. “Are you hanging out at the house tonight? I think we’re having a movie night. Suzie and I were just discussing snack options.”

Audrey turns to look at me. “Oh. I don’t know. Parker and I were…”

“It’s okay, sunshine,” I offer. “You can go hang out with the girls. I don’t mind.” I press my face into her hair, inhaling her sweet strawberry scent. “Besides, I have practice later.”

“Alright. But we need food first.” She intertwines her fingers through mine. “See you later.”

I smiled when we resumed our walk, and she poked at my face. “What’s got you smiling like that?”

Her. Because she’d chosen me, and there was no denying the warmth in my chest that I felt from that.

“No reason,” I murmured. But I didn’t let her go. I just kept her next to me, enjoying the idea that, fake or not, she would choose me.

“You’re just full of secrets, aren’t you, Parker Maxwell.”

“Nah, Audrey Rose. I’m an open book, but only for you.” I winked at her, sliding my hand into her back pocket as we kept walking.

She laughed, pinching my side. “We’re not acting anymore, so you don’t need to be so sweet.”

I placed my lips against her ear. “But we’re always acting, aren’t we, sunshine?”

Or maybe it was the opposite. Maybe it was that we were never acting. Fake or not, musical or not, I just wanted to be by her side. To run my fingers through her beautiful, golden locks. To have those pretty eyes on me. To feel her dainty hand in mine, her fingers interwoven with mine. For her scent to surround me daily.

But I had to stop imagining it.

“Right,” Audrey said, giving me a tight smile.

It was a reminder that to her, none of this was real. I needed to remember that.

She took a deep breath. All I could think about was how, before we were interrupted, her lips were almost on mine. How she’d initiated it. Audrey had wanted to kiss me.

That was a good sign. Right? It had to be. If she wanted to kiss me, then maybe she wanted more.

God, I was a fucking idiot. Because I was dreaming about my best friend, my fake relationship, turning into something real.

Even though I knew it would never happen.

I kept dreaming anyway.