Page 19

AMELIA

It’s been a full month of pretending with Caleb, posing for photos, curating captions, and letting the internet do what it does best:

Run their mouths.

Tia and Maya won’t stop texting about our “dates.” They’re all over their feed. I’ve made a few graphs of my own to analyze the responses so far.

Driftwear’s account has gained over 20,000 followers since we dropped the Venice photos. Their comment ratio? Skyrocketed. Practically every post is flooded with fans begging them to sponsor Caleb.

This is huge.

Plus, they’ve got over five thousand comments on one post alone and for an account with 300 million followers…

is impressive to say the least. The engagement percentage is through the roof.

Even the search bar autocompletes with “Caleb and Amelia” now, which is odd to see, but it’s working.

I borrowed Caleb’s phone a few days ago and the analytics on his page from the last thirty days hit fifteen million .

Yeah.

Fifteen million.

But when I was scrolling through my phone earlier, there were a few comments that stuck out like a sore thumb:

@Mandy21: Is this real?

@Vipersaremylife_: She hasn’t even shown him any affection. Let me be his girlfriend, I’ll rock his world.

@KING_23: I’ll bet money on this. FAKE.

Sauntering into Maya’s office during lunch break, I nudge the door shut behind me only for it to jam halfway. I glance down to find bright neon green toes peeking out under the frame.

“Hi, ladies.” Jess gently pushes the door open with a wide grin and my face falls.

The Soft Muse campaign is this week, and I still haven’t pitched or submitted a new idea. I’m drawing a blank for the first time in my life. Not to sound cocky or anything, but analytics are my bread and butter.

Having to kiss Caleb to promote a lip product? Is not. And it’s definitely NOT happening.

“Oh hey, Jess.” I force a smile, lowering into the rolling chair.

“Jess, what are you doing barging in my office?” Maya says bold as ever with a smirk on her face. “Miss me already?”

I swear Maya has no filter. It doesn’t matter who she’s addressing.

Jess waves her off with a laugh, then turns to me. “May I steal you away for a minute?”

No.

“Of course!” I chirp, standing up fast. My chair rolls backwards and hits Maya’s desk. I mouth help to her as I shut the door behind us.

Jess leads me down the hallway, passing by my other coworkers' offices until we’re tucked away into the conference room.

“I wanted to talk about the campaign,” she starts, her eyes faltering. “I’m thinking of pulling you from it.”

My heart stops.

“Wait…I’m sorry,” I stammer. “Why?”

She gives me a tight-lipped smile. The kind that says sorry that I’m being that kind of manager. “Soft Muse needs more engagement. And right now, the buzz isn’t quite what I expected. I thought you’d have the video by now, it’s almost Friday?—”

Okay what? I didn’t think she’d actually remove me entirely. Crap, crap, crap. I know I didn’t want to do it, but this is my career. It’s what I’ve worked so hard for and moved cities to pursue.

Maya would probably say it’s a no-brainer. That it’s only Caleb, not some random stranger. Everyone already thinks he’s my boyfriend, so I just need to fully embrace the role.

I’m at one of the top agency firms and I’m getting pulled from my first major project? I’ve put in real work helping Caleb with Driftwear and I haven’t even leveraged my connection to him to boost Soft Muse’s numbers, even though I could have.

“Actually we filmed it already!” I blurt out. “I meant to tell you that…uh…Caleb’s been super busy with practices so it look a little longer than expected. I’ll have Maya send the file over tomorrow night.”

“Oh?” Her eyes beam like she won the lottery. “In that case, disregard what I said! Knew I hired you for a reason. Can’t wait to see.”

She flashes me a final grin before strutting out and I stare at the glass door.

I’m either getting fired or a huge raise. I’m hoping for the latter.

My feet bolt faster than I could process what happened. I burst into Maya’s office, slam the door behind me and run up to her desk. “I need help.”

Maya chokes on her bagel, dabs her mouth with a napkin, and narrows her eyes. “Okay, what the hell happened over there?”

“I told Jess we filmed the video. I blacked out and panicked!” I say, breathless, my neck sweating as I pull my curls up only to realize I don’t have a freaking scrunchie.

Note to self: pack panic scrunchies.

“You what?!” Maya shoots upright, rounds her desk with bagel crumbs on her sweater and dusts them off.

“She was going to remove me from the campaign! I couldn’t let that happen. Is there an opening at the studio? Jess is going to kill me?—”

She grabs my shoulders and turns me toward her. “Breathe. When did you tell her she’d get the video?”

“Tomorrow night.” I mumble under my breath.

She laughs out of panic. “So we have less than twenty-four hours to book the studio, get Caleb, film, and edit this?”

“Yes,” I say, my nerves spiking at an all-time high.

“Fuck, okay. Talk to Caleb and go to the Luxe studio around nine. I’ll book it for you and edit everything once you’re finished. Darius owes me a huuuuge favor.”

Darius is the owner by the way.

I nearly collapse in semi-relief. “Now I owe you, big time.”

She winks, already pulling her phone. “Knowing you’re kissing him is more than enough, babe.”

I pull mine out too as she gets on the line and my thumbs go flying across the screen.

Can you come over tonight? I get off at six. Need to talk asap.

Caleb

Of course. Everything ok?

Okay…ish?

God. My heart is beating so fast I can feel it in my neck, face, and throat.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Right on time. I slowly open the door. Caleb stands there in a black T-shirt, glasses, and gray sweatpants. He slips his shoes off and I close the door behind him, trailing him into the kitchen where he leans against the counter, folding his arms.

His eyes find mine. “Okay…ish?”

Kissing Caleb has never crossed my mind before. He’s always been my best friend. I know he respects my boundaries and wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want to but how the heck am I supposed to ask him this?

“I lied.” I take a deep breath. “It’s worse.”

“Worse how?”

I move past him, fidgeting with random things on the counter to keep my hands busy. “My manager was going to remove me from this campaign I’m supposed to do.”

“She didn’t though, right?” He glances over his shoulder, following my every move.

I shake my head and step back in front of him. “No. But, the campaign isn’t exactly easy.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Um…unless you want to kiss me on camera to sell lip products, then yeah.” I spew, out of breath. “That’s what she wants. Maya already booked a studio for nine tonight, but I’m freaking out.”

I gather the courage to meet his eyes.

He’s just blinking. No emotion. Great. I broke him.

“You’re stressed about kissing me?”

“Of course I’m stressed!” I utter. “I’d be stressed kissing anyone on camera, matter of fact! And with you it’ll be so awkward plus you didn’t even ask for this and now?—”

He pushes off the counter, stepping nearer. “Then let’s practice.”

I blink up at him, backing away. “What?”

“If you’re worried it’ll look awkward,” he clarifies, getting closer. “It’ll be like research.”

Why is he so calm about this, like kissing your best friend is the most normal thing in the world. But honestly, I don’t have much of a choice.

My fingers shake as I swallow hard. “I guess so.”

“I’m only trying to help.”

“Uh, do you kiss top, bottom—” I trail off, stepping away until my back hits the wall with a muted thud.

Caleb completely closes the gap, towering me. I can feel the warmth radiating off his body, even though he isn’t touching me yet.

“Let’s not overthink it.”

I am.

“Right. It’s only a kiss.” I gulp. “No big deal.”

“Yeah.” Slowly, he raises his hand, tucking my hair behind my ear before gently cupping one side of my face. His thumb grazes my cheek, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “Just a kiss.”

My heart is pounding against my ribs, anxiety is through the roof as I bite the inside of my lip. If I shift even an inch, I would probably feel a lot more than I should.

“Can I?” His voice drops lower, rougher.

My breathing picks up. It’s only a kiss. We’re adults, we can handle this.

“Mhm.”

Caleb’s gaze lingers on my lips, his chest rises and falls in a slow, deliberate rhythm, as if he's savoring every second.

His thumb brushes my cheek once more, silently assuring me that I can pull back at any time.

I don’t.

My breathing grows heavier, and the silence between us is deafening. I’ve never seen this look from him before.

His grin slowly curves upward, and my stomach flips as if it’s training for the Olympics.

He tilts his head, removing his glasses with such smooth ease that I nearly forget to breathe. My lips tingle as his brushes mine, slow and teasing as his tongue barely grazes my bottom lip, then he captures it.

The kiss is slow at first, like he’s gauging my reaction.

When I don’t pull back and lean into him instead, it’s like a flip is switched. His hand, which was cupping my face, moves higher, now tangling in my hair.

The pressure is firm but careful as he gently fists a handful of my curls, tugging just enough to tilt my head back. A breathy gasp escapes me, and then he smiles against my lips.

This kiss is unlike any other. Sure, I’ve had good kisses before, but this? It feels like every inch of my body lights up, awakening every nerve.

My fingers move on their own, curling around the strings of his sweatpants, drawing him closer until there’s no space left between us.

This feels good.

He nips my lower lip as a soft groan escapes him. But just as quickly as the warmth consumed me, it slips away.

A chill settles over me, like something is missing. I lean forward, chasing the heat of his body like a moth to a flame, but all I meet is air.

He lets me go, and my hands fall uselessly to my sides. My body now aches from the sudden loss of contact.

“How was that?”

There’s a slight unevenness in his breathing.

“Good.” I say, struggling to catch my breath. I part my lips to say more, but he interrupts.

“Cool.” He avoids my gaze. “I’ll um…pick you up in a few hours, yeah? I gotta go do something.”

He pulls his keys from his pocket and rushes out without another word.

The door closes behind him with a quiet click. My heart is racing as I tilt my head back against the wall to steady my breathing. But the fluttering in my chest won’t stop. I run my fingers gently over my swollen lips, tracing the lingering sensation.

Caleb and I kissed.

And now I won’t be able to stop thinking about it.