I had assumed having a PR boyfriend would entail things like, I don’t know, walking across the park holding hands, or maybe doing the whole cute couple thing with the ice cream. I did not expect Marissa and my PR team to send us to the outskirts of the city to do sports.Sports, of all things.
“Why are we at a climbing gym?” I ask with a sigh. Colorful boulders jut out of the walls like towering puzzles begging to be solved. I look around, surrounded by nothing but massive walls and climbers all geared up, chalk dust in the air like glitter. Sunlight streams in through the gaps in the routes, painting light patterns across the ground.
Beside me, Kai bounces on the tips of his shoes, a childlike smile flickering across his face.
“Is Mr. Allergic to Exercise excited to be here?” I throw him a look. If it wasn’t for the fact that we are here to be photographed, and that some of these climbers might actually be paparazzi, I could maybe enjoy the wild energy of this place.
“Okay, but hear me out. They have tiny mushrooms on top of every wall.” He points at a row of auto-belay walls that areSuper Mario–themed, with sections shaped like question mark boxes, banana peels, and turtle shells in different colors. Others are shaped like Poké Balls. “And Pokémons!”
I suppress a smile, watching the innocent gleam in his eyes. This Kai, unguarded and kind of sweet, is a rare sight.
We’re allowed to do our thing for an hour or so, no script. The only instructions we’ve been given are to look in love, and that I should pretend to fall and hurt my ankle at somepoint. Kai is supposed to look panicked, take off my shoe like the prince in Cinderella, and tend to my wounds.
Just the thought makes bile rise in my stomach. I don’t want to look like a damsel in distress, but Marissa says this isn’t about me. It’s about Kai. People already know Sassy, but they don’t know him. According to her, our couple activities should reflect his personality in a way that will make people fall for him, too. So this is less about me looking like an idiot and more about making Kai look the part of thegentle first love, the headcanon people have built of him through my songs.
I’m pretty sure my PR team is getting ideas from fan fiction at this point. There’s no need for Kai to pretend to be someone he’s not. People will love him for who he is, but also… maybe I’m a little selfish. Because I want to keep the real him to myself. They can have thegentle first loveas long as I get to keep the guy who’s excited about the prospect of playingSuper Marioin real life.
“It’s the North Pole in here.” I grumble, shivering as I change into climbing shoes.
“I told you to bring a better jacket.”
“I like this outfit. I didn’t want to waste it.” I wrap my arms tighter around myself in a futile attempt to retain warmth. I’m wearing my favorite high-waisted yoga pants and an asymmetrical crop top that Mia got me for Christmas last year layered with a light jacket.
“Here.” Kai takes off his hoodie and slides it over my head when my shivering worsens. It falls past my knees, the oversized sleeves draping over my hands. “You look like aconfused penguin.” Kai pats my head. “Sasha, the little shivering penguin.”
“Bro, I’m five seven.” I stand at full height to try to match his eye level, but he towers over me.
Kai smirks. “An adorable height.”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“What do you mean? It’s so hot in here.”
“I forgot you’re a human space heater.”
Murmurs echo behind us, and I stiffen. Are we being watched? When I look over my shoulder, there’s a group of twentysomething girls sitting across from us, giggling at their phones, but they don’t seem to have noticed us. I feel my body relax. Marissa says I’m at the stage of my career where a lot of people know my music, but not everyone knows my face, especially outside of the US.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe I can be myself for now. But I still scan the room, wondering if any of these people are photographers.
“So, what should we try first?” Kai rolls his shoulders to warm up, looking at the colorful walls. “Boulders or the auto-belay area?”
We decide to try the boulders, since the walls are lower and don’t require harnesses. We can only use one color of boulders for each section, depending on how difficult it is—V1 being the easiest and V8 being the hardest. I’m still struggling with a V2 by the time Kai has mastered a V3-V4.
“What demon did you make a deal with?” I grunt, trying to get my feet up on the third boulder. He leaps to the matfrom the top of the wall. “No, seriously. How are you so good at this?”
“Yeah, convincing people you tripped won’t be a tough sell.” Kai smirks, and I flip him off. “You gotta watch where you step. Here, I’ll guide you.”
And guide me he tries.
“Put your right foot on the boulder.” He sighs from the mat while I navigate a path of purple boulders. I do as he says but end up looking like a hieroglyphic moving across the wall. “Your other right foot. Now grab the green one with your hand.” My hands start to slip. “Just jump, churri.”
Huh?
My grip falters, and I tumble backward onto the mat with a thud. I guess this would have been the perfect opportunity to put Marissa’s plan into practice, to pretend I’m injured and have Kai rush over, but we both freeze, locking eyes for a moment.
My heart seizes. He used to call mechurriwhen we were dating. It’s a really cheesy couple nickname in Spanish. I always thought it was cringe, but he thought it was sweet, and he had fun rolling hisr’s.
“Sorry, force of habit, I guess.” Kai scratches his head and gives me his hand. “Did I make things weird?”
