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My heart fluttered, but I was already properly awake and decided to tease Alex instead. “Did you book it or Lauren?”
“Look, there is only one person that can stand talking on the phone with people and you know that’s Lauren, so why even ask?” He feigned annoyance.
At first the photoshoot felt awkward. We posed stiffly, unsure of how to act in front of the camera. Given that we talked to a camera for a living now it was lowkey pathetic. The photographer had to step in and actually start posing us. Alex's teasing made me even more high-strung.
“Would you be okay with a few pictures of us kissing?” Alex whispered.
My answer was to kiss him without warning. In that same moment the camera flashed.
“I want that picture!” I shouted as we pulled apart, making Alex chuckle before he dove in to really kiss me.
This kiss was not one for the camera, it was one for the bedroom. I was heaving for air by the end of it.
“Good. GOOD!” I heard the photographer say and then when we pulled away, I saw him wave his hand in the air to go again.
Alex’s hand wrapped around my waist and the other one tilted my chin up. “Do you trust me?” He asked.
“I guess,” I whispered back.
“Then follow my lead.”
He leaned me back and pressed his lips to mine as the flash of the photographer’s camera went off a couple of more times.
When we pulled apart his eyes flicked between my own. “I love you too.” The camera flashed. “I knew I was in love with you from the moment I first kissed you, but I knew it would scare you if I said it back then. I’ve been waiting for the right time. It isn’t fair you beat me to it this morning, though,” he teased. “I had it all planned out.”
The camera flashed again. Tears were welling up in my eyes and Alex cupped my face with both of his hands and wiped them away with his thumbs.
“You and your surprises,” I whispered, not trusting that my voice wouldn’t crack. “I love you, Alex.”
“I know,” Alex smiled. “And I love you too, Em.”
Then music started playing and the photographer pantomimed for us to pretend to dance. We tried our best but we were both terrible at it, on top of me being quite emotional from Alex’s words. By the end of it, my cheeks were twitching from smiling too much both at how ridiculous me and Alex were and from the realization that he had been in love with me all this time as well.
As we were leaving the studio the photographer told me that we would get the raw pictures that night and the edited ones in a month’s time.
After the photoshoot we went back to the hotel to change into comfortable clothes and then headed to the convention. As we were walking inside, I saw a painfully familiar figure stalking towards us.
“Hi,OracleMyth. Nice to meet you,” he stared me down. “Alex mentioned you’re here with him and I wanted to introduce myself.”
“How dare you?” My mouth was moving of its own accord.
Alex immediately took my hand and interlaced our fingers and squeezed hard. “What’s going on? Do you know each other?”
“Yeah—” Michael started to say, but I spoke up louder.
“That’s my ex who broke up with me for being shit at NLA.”
“Did you use that sob story to get him to coach you? Pathetic.”
Alex stepped between me and Michael. “You don’t get to talk to her. You don’t get to look at her again, do you understand? If you try to follow us, I will have you thrown out of the convention.”
“Is she your girlfriend, Alex? What are you getting worked up about? Can’t your buddy have a normal conversation with his ex?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. You’re making my girlfrienduncomfortable and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave us alone. And you’re not mybuddy.”
Michael shot Alex a look that could kill and walked away without another word.
I was screaming on the inside because Alex just told someone we were dating, and on top of that it was my ex who was the super spiteful type. But I tried to push that to the back of my mind as Alex pulled me through the crowd. My heart was still beating in my chest and my hands were numb and cold. Did Alex and Michael know each other? What was going on?
