THE PRACTICE
1019 Words
Elena and Josh walked out of the café together after signing the contract.
Cold December air brushed against Elena’s cheeks, carrying the Christmas smell that always reminded her of family, pressure, and expectations she wasn’t ready for.
She wrapped her coat tighter.
Josh shoved his hands into his pockets.
“So…” Elena said, clearing her throat, “we need to rehearse.”
Josh glanced at her. “Rehearse what?”
“Our story,” she said. “If we’re pretending to be engaged, we need something believable.”
He nodded once. “Alright. What do you have in mind?”
They stopped near her car. Snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky. The morning was quiet.
Elena took a deep breath.
“Okay, let’s start with how we met.”
Josh shrugged. “You can pick. I’m not good at creative stories.”
“Of course you’re not.” She smirked. “You look like a man who thinks romance is a tax.”
“Because it is,” he said without expression.
Elena rolled her eyes. “Okay, we can say we met at a charity event in September.”
Josh blinked. “Charity? Me?”
“What’s wrong with charity?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I just don’t… go to things.”
“Exactly!” she smiled. “That’s why it’s believable. A rare moment. A surprise.”
Josh cracked the smallest smile. “Fine. Charity event.”
Elena took out her phone and typed notes.
“Next: first date.”
Josh’s brows raised. “We’re going that deep?”
“Yes. My mother asks questions like she’s interviewing suspects.”
“Alright,” he sighed. “What was our first date?”
She thought for a moment.
“Pizza.”
Josh stared. “Pizza?”
“Pizza is honest,” she said. “Pizza feels real. Normal. Not dramatic. You don’t look like the type that would take a woman to dinner with ten wine glasses and a harp player.”
Josh let out a small laugh under his breath. “Fair enough.”
Elena typed again.
“Now, how long we’ve been together?”
Josh folded his arms. “You said a few months, right?”
“Yes.”
She typed: Three months.
“Okay,” she said. “Now we practice lines.”
Josh narrowed his eyes. “Lines?”
“Yes. Things you will say when my mom is around. Like… ‘I love taking care of Elena,’ or ‘She means the world to me.’”
He stared at her like she just asked him to perform brain surgery.
“…You want me to say that?”
“Yes!”
“That’s… dramatic.”
“Is it ?,” Elena corrected.
Josh sighed deeply. “Fine. Tell me what exactly to say.”
Elena faced him and lifted her chin.
“Okay. Say: ‘Elena is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.’”
He blinked at her, completely unbothered.
Then he said it.
“Elena is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Her breath caught.
Not because she liked him.
But because the way he said it—smooth, slow, confident—sounded real.
Too real.
She cleared her throat quickly. “Okay, okay, good. Calm down. You’re not auditioning for a Hollywood movie.”
“I was just repeating what you said,” he replied flatly.
“Yes, yes, I know, but still…”
She looked away, cheeks warm.
“Now you try,” Josh said suddenly.
“Me?”
“Yes. Pretend we’re engaged. Say something you’d say to my father if he asked about me.”
Elena swallowed.
She didn’t expect him to flip the script.
She stepped closer, squared her shoulders, and took a breath.
“Okay.”
She looked into his eyes.
“Josh is… dependable. He’s calm. He makes me feel safe.”
Josh didn’t react.
Just watched her quietly.
Then he said, “Good.”
But Elena felt something strange in her chest.
Annoying. Soft. Warm.
She shook it off immediately.
This was PRETEND.
A contract.
A strategy.
Nothing more.
---
The Silent Part
Josh opened her car door for her.
A simple gesture, but unexpected.
“Text me when you want me to meet your mom,” he said.
“I will.”
“And send me the contract digital copy.”
She nodded.
He turned to leave, but she called his name.
“Josh?”
He paused.
She hesitated.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For… agreeing to help me. You barely know me.”
Josh’s expression softened slightly.
“That’s not true.”
Elena frowned. “Huh?”
Josh looked away, adjusting his coat.
“You helped… me back then in school.Remember when your mom brings those pie for you, you never eat them without me."
"Now you are sounding like you were from a beggar. Snap out of it"
But she smiled anyway.
"You don't know what those pie means to me " Josh stared into space as if he was thinking about the pie.
"Oh my God Josh, you are incredible"
"Yeah sure "
They laughed out
“Still. Thank you.” Josh said
---
Later That Day
Back home, Elena sat on her couch with her laptop, reviewing event reports.
Her phone buzzed.
Josh:
‘Tomorrow afternoon is fine. What time should we visit your mother?’
She stared at the message for a long second.
“Oh God,” she breathed. “It’s happening.”
She typed:
‘12pm. I’ll text the address.’
Then she dropped her phone and covered her face with her hands.
“Homegirl,” she said weakly.
“Yes, Elena?”
“Play something for panic.”
Soft music replaced silence.
Elena whispered into her palms,
“If this goes wrong… I’m dead.”
She had no idea…
Her fake fiancé had a secret.
A little boy at home
Who already whispered to Josh the moment he came back,
“Daddy, I saw my mommy yesterday.”
And Josh was beginning to wonder
who's this lady .
- Writer
