Chapter Two: Playing The Role
1314 Words
By the time they stepped fully into the crowd, people were already staring.
Nora felt it before she even looked up. The shift in the room was small but clear. Conversations slowed. Heads turned. Someone nudged someone else. It spread fast.
Ethan didn’t hesitate.
He moved like this was normal. Like having his hand around her waist and walking her into a party was something he did every day. His grip was firm but not tight, just enough to keep her close.
“Don’t freeze,” he said quietly, his head dipping slightly toward hers.
“I’m not freezing,” Nora muttered.
“You are a little.”
She forced her shoulders to relax. “I’m adjusting.”
“Adjust faster.”
She shot him a look. He didn’t even glance down at her. His focus stayed ahead, calm and steady.
It annoyed her.
And somehow helped at the same time.
“Talk to me,” he added.
“About what?”
“Anything. People are watching.”
She swallowed. “You could’ve warned me you were this bossy.”
A small smile tugged at his mouth. “You said yes.”
“That was a mistake.”
“Too late now.”
They moved deeper into the room, and the whispers got louder. Nora caught pieces of it.
“Wait… is that—”
“No way…”
“When did that happen?”
She kept her head up, even when her chest felt tight again. This wasn’t real. It wasn’t supposed to feel like this.
Ethan’s thumb brushed lightly against her side, a small movement, but it grounded her.
“Relax,” he murmured again.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep needing it.”
Before she could respond, a loud voice cut through the noise.
“Cole! What the hell is this?”
Nora turned her head.
Three guys were walking toward them, all wearing the same kind of amused shock. His teammates. She recognized one of them instantly—the loud one, always joking.
They stopped in front of Ethan, eyes moving between him and Nora.
“Are we seeing things?” one of them asked. “Or did you just show up with—”
“Nora,” Ethan said calmly. “This is Nora.”
“Yeah, we know who she is,” another one said, grinning. “We just didn’t know she was yours.”
Nora’s breath caught slightly at that word.
Yours.
Ethan didn’t react much. “Now you do.”
The guys exchanged looks.
Then the teasing started.
“Since when?”
“How long has this been going on?”
“And you didn’t tell us?”
Nora felt all their attention shift to her now.
It was too much.
She forced a small smile. “It’s… new.”
Ethan glanced at her, just for a second. Like he was checking if she was okay.
She straightened a little.
“I was going to tell you,” he said to them, “but you guys don’t know how to mind your business.”
“That’s because you never give us anything interesting,” one of them shot back.
“This is very interesting.”
Nora let out a soft breath, trying to stay calm. She could do this. It was just acting.
Right?
One of them leaned closer, lowering his voice slightly but not enough. “Is this why you don’t care about your ex anymore?”
Ethan’s expression didn’t change. “Drop it.”
The tone was still calm.
But firmer.
They noticed.
Nora noticed too.
“Damn,” the guy said, raising his hands slightly. “Okay. We get it.”
Another one smirked. “So this is serious, huh?”
Ethan didn’t answer that.
Instead, his hand shifted slightly at Nora’s waist, pulling her just a little closer. Not obvious. But enough.
The message was clear.
They backed off after that, still whispering, still laughing, but moving away.
“Your team is… a lot,” Nora said under her breath.
“That’s one way to put it.”
She let out a quiet laugh despite herself.
Then she felt it again.
That stare.
She didn’t want to look.
But she did.
Liam was still watching.
His expression had changed. There was no smile now. No easy confidence.
Just confusion.
And something else.
Something sharper.
The girl beside him said something, tugging his arm slightly, but his eyes stayed on Nora.
Good.
Nora lifted her chin slightly.
Ethan noticed.
Without a word, he reached for her drink and took it from her hand. Then he placed it on a nearby table.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Freeing your hands.”
“For what?”
Instead of answering, he turned slightly toward her.
Then he leaned down.
Close.
Not touching.
But close enough that her breath caught.
“Play along,” he murmured.
And then, just like that, his hand moved to her hair, brushing a strand back gently.
It was soft.
Careful.
Too real.
Nora’s heart skipped.
“What are you—” she started, but he cut her off quietly.
“Trust me.”
She swallowed.
Then she nodded, just a little.
“Okay.”
He leaned back slightly, his hand still resting near her face for a second longer than necessary.
People were definitely watching now.
The whispers got louder again.
“Wow…”
“They’re serious.”
“No way this is fake.”
Nora felt heat rise to her cheeks.
She turned slightly, pressing her side closer to his without thinking too much about it.
“See?” he said under his breath. “You’re getting better at this.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
But there was something in his voice.
Something she couldn’t quite place.
They stayed like that for a while. Talking. Moving through the crowd. Acting.
At some point, it stopped feeling like acting.
That was the problem.
It became easier.
Too easy.
She laughed at something he said, and it didn’t feel forced.
He leaned closer to hear her over the music, and she didn’t pull away.
His hand stayed on her waist like it belonged there.
And people believed it.
Everyone believed it.
Even her.
“Hey,” she said at one point, quieter now. “This is getting out of hand.”
He looked down at her slightly. “You want to stop?”
She hesitated.
Her eyes moved across the room again.
Liam wasn’t looking anymore.
Or maybe he was just pretending not to.
Nora looked back at Ethan.
Then she shook her head.
“Not yet.”
He studied her face for a second.
Then he nodded.
“Alright.”
The music got louder as midnight got closer. People started counting down early, already drunk, already excited.
Nora felt the energy shift again.
New year.
New start.
Funny.
She hadn’t planned any of this.
Not the heartbreak.
Not the fake relationship.
Not him.
“Ten… nine… eight…”
The crowd started shouting.
Ethan’s hand tightened slightly at her waist.
Nora looked up at him.
He was already looking at her.
Not at the crowd.
Not at the lights.
At her.
“…three… two… one!”
Cheers exploded around them.
People shouting.
Laughing.
Kissing.
Nora didn’t move.
For a second, everything slowed.
Just a second.
Then Ethan leaned in.
Close enough that she could feel his breath.
Close enough that it would’ve been easy to cross that line.
But he didn’t.
He stopped just before it.
Their eyes locked.
“Happy New Year,” he said quietly.
Nora’s heart was beating too fast.
“Happy New Year.”
Around them, people were still cheering.
But right there, in that small space between them—
It didn’t feel fake anymore.
And that scared her a little.
- Writer
