Chapter Nineteen
1647 Words
Cole's POV
If Mom gets even the slightest idea that this relationship is fake, it’s over.
She wouldn’t just question me once and move on. No. She’d start watching everything. Every glance. Every pause. Every inconsistency. And if suspicion truly settled into her mind, she’d probably assign another private investigator to me. One that wasn’t Tyler. And in no time, it'll be obvious to the public, we were a fake. I couldn't risk my internship over this.
“Why Red?” Riley asked after a moment of silence, and I pretended not to notice how her cheeks warmed faintly at the mention of the nickname. “It literally could’ve been anything better. Red doesn’t even sound endearing.”
“It’s the perfect name,” I answered calmly.
My eyes drifted briefly toward her auburn hair before meeting her gaze again. Under the apartment lights, the color looked deeper, richer. Almost impossible to ignore.
“You bring chaos with you,” I continued lightly. “And red fits that perfectly. Like a warning sign. Danger ahead. Do not approach.”
She narrowed her eyes immediately. “Wow. That’s incredibly rude.”
“It’s accurate.”
“Your personality is a warning sign.”
I almost smirked at that.
“Fine,” she muttered dramatically, brushing a hand through her hair before leaning back into her chair. “So when exactly is this terrifying parent invasion happening?”
I exhaled quietly. “I honestly have no idea. They like surprises.”
Her eyes widened.
“What the heck?” She pushed herself upright instantly and started pacing beside the dining table. “That’s not a surprise, Cole. That’s literally a time bomb. What if they show up before we get our facts right? I mean, they could even be on their way already.
“First,” I said calmly, watching her pace, “we stop panicking.”
“At least I’m doing something.”
“It’s still nothing if it produces no results.”
She huffed under her breath before finally dropping back into her chair.
“Better,” I said.
She shot me another glare.
“You wanted us to do this like normal people,” I reminded her. “So let’s do it properly.”
Truthfully, when I agreed to this arrangement, I hadn’t accounted for all these extra variables. The original objective had been simple: Protect my internship opportunity. Protect her situation with her mother. Maintain control.
Now things kept evolving beyond calculation. Parents were getting involved. Emotions were becoming unpredictable. Tyler kept making everything worse. And somehow Riley Brooks had become the single most chaotic variable in my life.
An awkward silence settled across the apartment. Riley stared down at her hands for a moment before speaking quietly.
“I don’t even know where to start. This is weird.”
It was weird. How much information was considered normal between two people supposedly dating? How much was believable without crossing into territory I didn’t want anyone entering?
“How about this,” I started. “We begin with basic things. Things even strangers would know.”
“That works.” She nodded slightly before straightening in her seat. “Okay. My name is Riley Brooks. Well… that’s the name most people know. My actual full name is Riley Marinette Brooks.”
My fingers stopped tapping lightly against the table. Very few people knew that. She seemed to realize what she’d just revealed because she quickly added, “Like I said, if we’re doing this properly, I can’t just tell you things the whole campus already knows. You’re not everyone.”
Something tightened unexpectedly in my chest. I wasn’t sure I liked that feeling. There was no reason for this arrangement to become personal. No reason for her to hand me pieces of herself the public didn’t have access to.
“Anyway,” she continued quickly, “most people also don’t know I’m only twenty.”
That wasn’t surprising. She looked younger when she wasn’t trying to be dramatic.
“I also write sometimes,” she admitted, her voice softening slightly. “Like… scripts. Story ideas. Movie concepts.” A small smile appeared on her face. “And maybe one day, beyond acting, I want to write and produce an actual film myself.”
There it was again. That expression. The same look she got whenever theatre came up. Like her entire world sharpened around the subject.
“I can’t do any of that if my mother pulls me out of theatre,” she added more quietly. “That’s why I really need this to wo...”
Her sentence cut off abruptly. A notification flashed across her phone screen. She picked it up immediately. And then… nothing. No reaction. No smile, no frown, no movement. She just stared at the screen silently. Something in my chest tightened again.
“Are you okay?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Her head snapped toward me so suddenly it almost caught me off guard. For one strange second, she simply stared at me blankly.
Then suddenly, she launched herself at me. Fast and completely unpredictable. One second she was sitting across the table and the next her arms were around my shoulders while she squealed loudly in excitement. The force nearly knocked both of us sideways. My hand instinctively shot out against the chair to steady us before we crashed to the floor completely.
My pulse slammed hard against my ribs. Not because of the hug. Obviously. Just because she moved like a maniac without warning. Riley was still wrapped around me tightly, laughing breathlessly like she’d just won the lottery.
“Oh my gosh.”
She buried her face briefly against my shoulder before pulling back slightly.
“I made callbacks.”
Her eyes practically sparkled. Before I could respond, the apartment door suddenly swung open. Tyler walked in first alongside three other guys. And of course, the i***t froze dramatically the second he saw us. A grin spread slowly across his face.
Then immediately. Click. He took a picture. Riley pulled away from me so fast you’d think she’d touched fire. Her face turned the exact shade of her nickname again while Tyler cackled near the doorway. Red really was becoming disturbingly fitting.
I glanced past Tyler toward the others entering behind him. Luca, Tyler's best friend. Another football player I vaguely recognized. And then, Noah.
Fantastic.
“Cole, brother,” Tyler said dramatically while walking farther inside, “how could you not tell me my sister-in-law was visiting?”
I resisted the urge to throw something at his head. Noah’s attention shifted toward Riley and his expression softened slightly with recognition.
“I keep running into you lately,” he said with an easy smile.
Riley smiled awkwardly and gave a small wave. Lucas suddenly pointed toward her in realization.
“Wait, you’re the girl from the library.”
Heat crept up Riley’s face instantly.
“You ran away from us,” Lucas accused jokingly.
“I did not run away,” Riley defended quickly. “I just had somewhere important to be.”
“Right,” Tyler snorted. “Very important.”
I pushed my chair back and grabbed Tyler by the sleeve before dragging him farther toward the kitchen.
“What happened to informing me before bringing more than two people into the apartment?” I asked quietly.
Tyler blinked at me innocently.
“What do you mean? It’s game night.”
“Emphasis on Night.” i deadpan
“So? Early start.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet lovable.”
“No one has ever said that.”
“You saw the sticky note,” he continued. “And technically, I followed your rules this time. There are only three people.”
“It’s still too early.”
“That sounds suspiciously like: ‘You interrupted my alone time with Riley.’”
I sent him a flat stare. Tyler laughed harder before escaping back toward the living room. I followed behind him more slowly. Riley was now sitting beside the others while they prepared the consoles and snacks. Noah was speaking to her casually while she listened, smiling softly at something he said.
And suddenly, Two years ago flashed through my head again. I clenched my jaw hard enough for tension to spread across it.
Riley noticed me standing there and excused herself from the group before walking over.
“Hey,” she started softly. “I’m really sorry for jumping you earlier.”
“You nearly killed me.”
She laughed immediately.
“I got excited, okay? I finally got the email from my audition. I made callbacks.” Her eyes lit up all over again. “You probably don’t get it, but it’s actually a huge deal.”
The excitement in her voice made something inside me settle unexpectedly. For someone who talked dramatically about almost everything, this felt genuine. Real. I found myself giving a small nod.
“Congratulations.”
Her eyes widened slightly like she genuinely hadn’t expected that response from me. Then her smile softened.
“Thank you.”
“Yo, Cole!” Tyler yelled from the living room. “Get over here already!”
I looked toward the group again. Toward Noah, then at Riley standing beside me. And before I could think too hard about it, I reached out and rested a hand lightly against her shoulder, pulling her a little closer toward me.
“Actually,” I said smoothly, “I’m taking Red home.”
The room went quiet for half a second. Every head turned toward us. Including Riley’s. Noah’s expression shifted almost too subtly to notice before he looked away. Tyler, meanwhile, looked personally betrayed.
Honestly?
Skipping game night suddenly felt completely worth it, if it meant i didn't have to sit through it with Noah in my space.
- Writer
