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"Too bad."
"Is it? I don't have a guestroom."
"Are you saying your apartment isn't big enough for one?" I challenge.
He sucks in a breath, charged for another attack, before his lips clamp shut, letting pride get the best of him. "Fine." Nodding toward the notebook, he exhales heavily. "Let's just get through the rest of this garbage..."
"No lovey-dovey social media posts—yuck," he mumbles to himself. "Who does she think I am?"
Flipping to the next page, a quiet laugh escapes him. "No handholding." A knot twists in my stomach, but I let his mumbles continue, something along the lines of yeah fucking right, has she ever dated before?
No, I most definitely don't say. No, I have not.
"No heated intimacy?" He rolls his eyes. "It's called sex, Jules.
I ignore the burn creeping up my neck. "A lawyer wouldn't write that word on a contract."
That word? I kick myself. Seriously?
He gives me a knowing smirk, before returning to my rules. "No falling in love." All the humor slides off his tongue, leaving behind not a single witty remark. Only a confused glance, that I'd say, if I didn't know any better, looks rather forced. "Now that's unnecessary."
My heart sinks—but only a centimeter.
I laugh awkwardly. "I'm just covering our bases."
"No need. Men like me don't fall in love." The word sounds foreign yet definitive on his tongue, sparking a sudden sadness within me. Not for me, of course. For Hayden. But maybe I'm too quick to pity, not having been in love myself.
Not true love, anyway.
After at least twenty more minutes of bickering, confusing innuendos, sideward glances, successfully convincing Rylee to cover for my long lunch break, debating which rules to keep, and going back and forth on whether to call a lawyer, I compromised yet again.
Hayden looks over the single piece of college-ruled paper with a permanent scowl. My makeshift contract may be amateur, but it only needs his signature across the dotted line to become legally binding.
FAKE DATING TERMS & AGREEMENTS
Party 1: Hayden Kingston
Party 2: Juliana Brooks
Both parties will entertain a fake relationship, for the benefit of Party 1, until Party 2's indie game, Cosmic Kitty Defense, is showcased at DreamScape with the help of Party 1's familial connections.
GROUND RULES:
Both parties agree to...
1) Act as a couple around Party 1's friends and family.
2) Keep this a secret from Jeremy Brooks.
3) Not post about the other on social media.
4) Share a residence.
5) Not throw a party or use illegal substances in the shared residence.
6) Sleep in separate beds. Always.
7) Remain romantically exclusive.
