10. Wes

TEN

"Okay, don't be nervous."

It's been a week since Nora and I sat down with Connor, Archer, Cat, and Elle and told them our plan of action. After a lot of shouting questions we did not have the answers to, Nora and I reconvened and tried to think of a better plan.

According to Nora, fake dating isn't easy, but she's got a set of rules, which she will explain to me before our first date today. Honestly, I'm still shocked that she even agreed to this. I'm not really expecting this to work, but from the sad look in my mom's eye when I saw her last weekend and the frustration with the team after we lost the game on Tuesday, I know I have to make this work somehow.

Fake dating Nora should be a piece of cake. She might act like she's hard work, but I watch her like she's my favourite movie. I've been watching her for years. I might not have her for real, but I can boyfriend the shit out of her. I've already taken some initiative and posted some pictures of us that we've taken over the years with some slightly cringe captions. She's going to love it.

"I'm not nervous," I say, pushing myself off the stool at the breakfast bar as Connor and Archer coo at me like I'm a baby.

"It's like prepping a kid for their first day of school," Archer says, taking a sip of his black coffee.

I roll my eyes. "If you have a daddy kink, just say that, Elliot."

He just flips me the bird, and Connor rounds the island, standing in front of me as he inspects my outfit. Nora didn't give me any instructions as to what I should wear, so I settled on some casual black jeans and a blue shirt I thrifted a while ago.

"How does it feel, big guy?" Connor asks, clasping my shoulder. "I don't think I've ever seen you go on a date."

"Yeah, when you're not busy fucking your way through the female population at Drayton," Archer adds. I shoot him a look as I shrug off Connor's hand, straightening out my shirt.

"I'll have you both know that I've not slept with another girl in months." I hold my head high.

"That explains why you've been so uptight," Archer grumbles.

"Hey, I am not uptight. If anyone is uptight, it's you, Elliot, so shut your pie-hole. I'm the opposite of uptight. I'm… Down-loose," I ramble, the words rushing out of me before I can stop them. Jesus Christ. I'm a mess. This might be my breaking point.

They both burst into laughter, and Connor shakes his head at me. "Have you taken something?"

"No. Maybe I am a little nervous," I admit. Connor's eyes widen as if this is complete news to him. "Come on. Your sister might be my best friend, but she's terrifying. If I fuck this up for her, I can kiss my balls goodbye."

"Damn right, you will," Connor agrees. An unknown look washes over his face as he steps closer to me, all the laughter and smiles from before disappearing. "I swear on everything holy, Wes if you do anything to hurt my sister – and I do mean –anything you can say bye to more than just your balls. I love you, man, but I will kill for her. Even if that person happens to be you. Understood?"

I swallow at the force in his voice. "Yes, boss."

An eerie smile spreads across his face as if he didn't just threaten to kill me. He steps back, gesturing to the door. "Now go before Nora kills you for being late."

I scoff, grabbing my jacket from the chair. "Oh, please. She loves me too much," I shout over my shoulder before I run out the door, a little faster than I'd like to admit.

I don't even getto Nora's door before she swings it open, pulls me in, and pushes me against the door. Honestly, this view isn't too bad.

"You absolute idiot! I'm going to kill you!"

Whoa. Way too much anger in such a small person. And what is with everyone throwing the K-word today? Does no one understand how harmful these things are? I'm only human, after all.

She gives me one solid punch to the stomach. I don't flinch. "What have I done now?" I ask, politely removing her hands from me. I try to keep my voice calm to level out her hysterical screaming.

"You've already posted fifteen pictures of us online, you fool!"

Ohhh. That whole thing.

I slide into the stool in the kitchen. "Oh, I'm sorry. I want people to see our beautiful faces."

"You're not supposed to do that without asking me!"

"Well, maybe if you had told me some rules, I wouldn't have done it," I argue. God, it is so hard not to laugh right now. She looks so angry while looking downright adorable at the same time.

"Sorry, I've been busy trying to get my job back and not feel like I'm going nowhere with my life," she shouts back. I just blink at her. "Do you not know the art of soft launching?"

"Clearly not if you're screaming at me!"

"You're supposed to post subtle photos over a few months, or weeks at least," she explains, her voice slightly calming down.

"Right… So what I've done is a hard launch?"

Her eyes flicker. "Exactly."

"There is nothing wrong with things being hard, sunshine. If you get what I–" She punches me in the shoulder. "Right, okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I should have asked, but if you want me to remove them, I will. Are we cool?"

She takes a deep breath. "We're cool. I didn't mean to freak out on you. I'm just–"

"I get it," I say, gesturing at her to sit beside me on the stool. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

She nods. "First order of business are rules," she explains, pulling out her phone.

I groan.

"You should consider yourself lucky. I managed to boil down a thirteen-point list to three," she says. "One, I'm okay with anything up to second base in public or to post online if you are." I nod because that's the only thing I can do. Going to second base with Nora is a fucking dream come true, no matter how fake. "No telling anyone this is fake. The only people that are allowed to know are the people we live with, which means not telling your little buddies on the team."

I bump my shoulder into hers. "And you can't tell Kiara."

She swallows. "I won't. And three, under no circumstances do we try to make this more real than it is. This is a show. An act. A game. We're just friends, Wesley, and we're always going to be just that. Understood?"

Just friends.

I have never hated two words put together as much as those.

"Yes, ma'am," I agree reluctantly, saluting her. She rolls her eyes, and my heart does a weird flip thing. "God, I love it when you go all-teacher mode on me."

"Did you not listen to anything I just said?" Her eyes narrow, those beautiful brown eyes shining.

"Sunshine, I have been hitting on you since I knew how to. Don't try to act like that's new," I say. Flirting with Nora has been my favorite pastime for years. She might not reciprocate it, but it doesn't mean I can't have fun with her. She just blinks at me. "So, what are we telling people? Are we just fucking, or is it serious?"

She turns from me, slipping out of the chair to collect her tote bag and jacket from the couch. The summer dress she's wearing distracts me for a second. Jesus, those fucking legs. That fucking pink color against her slightly tanned skin. Her chestnut hair has that natural waviness in it as she pinned half of it up in a ribbon, the other half flowing loose. She's so fucking pretty. Like, insanely.

"It's serious," she answers finally.

"Right," I say, "But, like, how serious?"

"Serious enough," she answers.

"Okay," I say, nodding. "Oh, and back to the sex thing. How good are we saying it is on a scale of one to ten? Are you walking around with your legs wobbling, or what?"

"It's fine," she says, her back still to me as she packs and unpacks her bag.

"Whoa, Sunshine. Sex with me is not just fine. And I think you're forgetting what I've seen you look during a walk of shame. I doubt Ryan hardly ever pulled his weight, so you're clearly not too bad in the sack," I mutter. Even with all my teasing, I don't get so much as a sigh out of her. I slip out of the chair, making my way towards her. "Okay, what's wrong? You've let me talk for too long, and I'm starting to get sick of my own voice."

She scoffs. "That's literally impossible."

I reach her and slip my hand around her waist, swiftly turning her around and pulling her into me. Her eyes widen as she takes me in, her hands landing on my chest. My name leaves her lips in the softest pleading tone I have ever heard, and I'm this close to already scraping all the rules and kissing the shit out of her.

"What's going on?" I ask gently.

Her slightly panicked eyes meet mine. "Nothing," she whispers. I tilt my head to the side, and her shoulders relax. "I just… I need you to take this seriously, okay? As much as I want to get back at Ryan, this could also help my image at school, and if you keep playing these games and messing with me, it's going to ruin it before it even starts."

"We've got this figured out," I say confidently. "My parents are going to back off on me, and I might be able to help the team. You're going to give Ryan a taste of his own medicine, and you're going to crush the show." She nods, swallowing. I lean down, pressing my forehead against hers. "We're a power couple."

She laughs. "What?"

"Me and you, Nora? A power. Fucking. Couple."

She shakes her head, still laughing. "I hate that I think you're kinda right. Or, well, more like I need you to be right so I don't lose my mind."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I mock, stepping away from her. "Just hold my hand and tell me how much you love me so we can get on with this already."