Chapter Three: The Deal Continues
1255 Words
Nora knew it wasn’t over the moment she checked her phone the next morning.
Messages.
Too many.
Her group chat was full. Missed calls. Notifications from people she barely talked to. Even a few random texts from numbers she didn’t recognize.
She stared at the screen, still lying in bed, her head slightly aching from last night.
“What the hell…”
She opened one message.
Are you and Ethan Cole a thing now??
Another.
Since when did this happen?
Another.
Girl, you moved on FAST.
Nora dropped the phone on her chest and shut her eyes.
So much for “just one night.”
She let out a slow breath and turned her head, staring at the ceiling.
It had felt simple in the moment. Easy. Just act, walk away, and forget it happened.
But now—
People were talking.
A lot.
Her phone buzzed again.
She picked it up this time, already annoyed.
Unknown number.
She hesitated for a second, then opened it.
You alive?
Nora frowned.
Who is this?
The reply came almost immediately.
Ethan.
She sat up slowly.
Of course.
Yeah, I’m alive, she typed back. Barely.
A few seconds passed.
Then:
Good. Meet me outside the gym in an hour.
Nora blinked at the message.
Excuse me?
We need to talk.
She stared at it.
Then typed:
We talked last night.
Not enough.
Nora rolled her eyes, already feeling the headache coming back.
I’m not coming.
There was a pause this time.
Longer.
Then:
People are already talking.
She froze slightly.
Exactly my point, she replied.
Which is why you should come.
Nora exhaled slowly.
She knew this was a bad idea.
Everything about this was a bad idea.
But still—
An hour later, she found herself walking toward the gym.
“This is stupid,” she muttered under her breath.
Ethan was already there.
Leaning against the wall like he had nowhere else to be. Hands in his pockets. Calm as always.
He looked up when he saw her.
“You came.”
“I said I wouldn’t.”
“And yet.”
She stopped a few steps away from him, crossing her arms. “Say what you want to say.”
He didn’t rush. Just watched her for a second, like he was reading her mood.
Then he nodded slightly.
“People think we’re together.”
“No, people think we were pretending,” she corrected.
“They don’t,” he said simply. “Not after last night.”
Nora frowned. “That’s not my problem.”
“It becomes your problem when they start asking questions.”
“They already are.”
“Exactly.”
She sighed, frustrated. “So what? We tell them the truth.”
Ethan shook his head lightly. “That makes it worse.”
“How?”
“They’ll think it was a joke. Or a game. Or that you needed help getting over your ex.”
Nora’s jaw tightened.
“I don’t need help.”
“I know,” he said calmly. “But they won’t see it that way.”
She looked away for a second, thinking.
He wasn’t wrong.
That was the annoying part.
“So what are you suggesting?” she asked.
“That we keep it going.”
She snapped her head back to him. “No.”
“Just for a few days.”
“No.”
“A week, max.”
“Ethan.”
“Hear me out.”
She let out a frustrated breath but didn’t walk away.
That was already a bad sign.
“We don’t change anything,” he continued. “We just show up together when people are around. Make it look real. Then it fades out naturally.”
“And then what?” she asked. “We just break up? Add that to the story too?”
“If we have to.”
Nora stared at him.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
A small pause.
Then, “Not like this.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It’s not supposed to be.”
She shook her head again. “This is messy.”
“Only if we make it messy.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly. “And how do we not do that?”
Ethan pushed off the wall, standing properly now. “We set rules.”
That made her pause.
“Rules?” she repeated.
“Yeah.”
She hesitated.
Then sighed. “Fine. Talk.”
He nodded once, like he expected that.
“Rule one,” he said, “we only act like a couple in public. When we’re alone, it’s nothing.”
Nora nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Rule two. No lying to each other. If you want out, you say it.”
“Good,” she said. “I like that one.”
“Rule three,” he added, watching her now, “we don’t let it get complicated.”
She let out a short laugh. “That already sounds like a lie.”
“Then we try not to.”
She studied his face for a second.
Calm. Serious. No jokes.
“Anything else?” she asked.
He hesitated slightly.
Then shook his head. “That’s it.”
Nora looked down at the ground, thinking it through.
A few days.
Maybe a week.
Then it would be over.
People would forget.
And she wouldn’t look like the girl who got left.
“Fine,” she said finally.
Ethan didn’t react much, but there was a small shift in his posture.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. But if this gets weird, I’m out.”
“Fair.”
Silence settled between them for a moment.
It felt different now.
Less tense.
But not exactly comfortable.
Nora glanced at him. “So… what now?”
He shrugged slightly. “Now we go get coffee.”
She blinked. “That’s part of the plan?”
“People are watching.”
She looked around instinctively.
A few people were actually nearby.
Watching.
Of course they were.
Nora sighed. “This is exhausting already.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t want to get used to it.”
“Too late.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.
They started walking side by side.
Not touching this time.
Not yet.
It felt strange.
After last night, she expected… something.
But he kept a normal distance.
Hands in his pockets. Focused ahead.
Quiet.
Nora glanced at him again.
“You’re different today,” she said.
“How?”
“Less…” she searched for the word, “showy.”
“That was for them,” he said. “This is just us.”
She hummed softly.
That made sense.
Still—
It surprised her.
“You’re not what I expected,” she admitted.
He looked at her briefly. “What did you expect?”
She shrugged. “Someone worse.”
That made him smirk slightly. “I can be.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Don’t test it.”
She smiled a little.
It came easier than she thought.
They reached the small café near the gym. As they stepped inside, Ethan’s hand brushed lightly against hers.
Just for a second.
Like a reminder.
She glanced at him.
He didn’t look at her.
But his hand stayed there a little longer this time.
Not fully holding.
Just… there.
Nora didn’t pull away.
And that was the problem.
Because for a second—
It didn’t feel like part of the act.
- Writer
