He shook his head. “Of course not. It would set a bad example for the kids in my family. And I don’t want to keep disappointing my parents by introducing them to fame-catcher girlfriends.”
“Isn’t that what I am, though, technically?”
“Not really. You don’t want the fame, you just need a bit of confidence. And when we end this, I can tell them it just didn’t work out. Besides, I haven’t posted a single picture with a girlfriend before, so they’ll definitely think we’re being super serious,” he said. “Anyway, do we have a deal?” Eden held out his hand.
Sighing, I took his hand. “We have a deal.”
8
ALANA
Eden had been busy with hockey the entire rest of the week, so we decided to hold off on his plans until today.
I didn’t mind having another six days to myself, living in the shadows before he’d come in with a wrecking ball, tear down my walls, and put me on a stage.
Last night, he sent me a message on Instagram saying to meet up before classes started so he could walk me to mine, as that would, apparently, cause people to start talking. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to him knocking at my apartment door instead.
“Good morning,” Eden said, handing me a cup of coffee like it was totally normal for him to show up uninvited at the crack of dawn. He looked so… awake. Bright-eyed, clean hoodie, and not a single hair out of place.
“What time is it?” I mumbled, dragging the back of my hand across my eyes as if that would magically make me function like a person.
“Six-thirty,” he said, strolling right past me and into my apartment like he owned the place.
I blinked after him, then shut the door and turned around, only to find him standing in the middle of my living room, analyzing the place like a real estate agent. That’s when it hit me. “Wait… how are you even here?”
“Took my car?” he offered, like that explained anything.
“No, I mean, how do you know where I live?” I’d never told him. Not once.
“Asked Kaan. And by the way, the front door downstairs? Wide open. That’s stupid. Anyone could walk in.” He shook his head disapprovingly, like he hadn’t just been the exact kind of person who’d walked in.
His gaze swept around the room like he was rating it. “Is that your bedroom?” he asked, pointing like he was about to give himself a tour.
“Uh… yeah. Why?”
But instead of answering, Eden just started walking straight toward it.
“Excuse you?” I said, trailing after him, but he was already inside and throwing open my closet doors like this was his morning routine and not mine.
“We’re picking out something for you to wear,” he said, matter-of-fact, already pulling out shirts and tossing them on my bed like he had every right to be here.
“Okay… but why are we doing that?”
He didn’t respond right away, just turned to look at me. And for a second, his expression softened—not playful or smug, just… serious. Warm.
“Because our deal starts today,” he said simply. “And you can’t be trusted putting your own outfit together. At least not on your first day.”
How fucking dare he?
Eden had seriously crossed more than one line by assuming he had any right to invade my personal space the way he did.And why would he think I’deverlet him decide what I would wear?
My blood boiled with anger as I watched him rummage through my clothes, picking out piece after piece and throwing them onto my bed. Some things he threw over his shoulders—stuff he liked, I assumed.
Eventually, I’d had enough and grabbed his arm, forcing him to face me. “You have no right to barge intomyhome and act like it’s yours,” I snapped, my voice laced with fury.
He blinked in surprise at my outburst, as if he couldn’t quite grasp why I was angry at him. “Relax, Ally-Bear, I’m just trying to help you out. If you keep dressing like an elderly librarian, nobody’s ever going to want to fuck you. Even I can’t help you then.”
His words stung, but I refused to let him see how much they affected me. My cheeks were burning with both embarrassment and anger.
