I walked over to my phone, tapping the screen to see the time. It had gotten really late, and I knew I should’ve helpedAlana clean up and then left, but something inside me didn’t want to leave just yet.
Nonetheless, I began collecting every possible ingredient that was standing on the counters and dusted them off before putting them back where they belonged. While I didn’t exactly know my way around Alana’s kitchen, I simply tried to remember where she got them from.
Alana joined me, moving effortlessly around the kitchen as she put away utensils and wiped down surfaces.
“Ally-Bear?” I said once I found out where she kept her sugar and flour.
“Yes, Eden?” She walked around me to throw a dirty spoon into the sink.
“I have a confession to make.” I avoided making eye contact with her, knowing she would be angry at me in a second. Instead, I chose to occupy myself by doing the dishes. She already wiped down the counters, so this was my job to do anyway.
Alana dropped another few things into the sink. “Okay?”
I could feel her eyes on me, waiting for me to continue.
“I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of you while you were busy baking,” I said, quickly reaching for a bowl to distract my hands.
“You what?” Her tone was sharp, but something told me she wasn’t quite as mad about it as I had thought she’d be.
“I think it’s time you started posting more pictures online. And these ones are without me in them, so it will leave people wondering who took those pictures.” Though, she didn’t have the following for anyone to care who was behind the camera. It didn’t matter anyway. “Once we cleaned up, I need you to take a picture of me so I can post it. Some of my amazing stalkers will try to find out whose kitchen I’m in.”
“How would they know it’s not your own?”
Valid question, though I was a little hurt that she clearly hadn’t looked at my social media profiles. I’d like to believe thatmy profiles were pretty entertaining. “Because I post from my own kitchen all the time.”
My entire feed was either ice hockey, adorable selfies, or me in the kitchen. Also, the apron I usually wore didn’t have cupcakes and other baking images on it.
While I hated the spotlight, I liked posting my life online. Or parts of it anyway. The good parts. The my-life-is-oh-so-perfect parts. Besides, it was expected of me anyway. I mean, if your entire family were known, that gave you barely any chance to live your life in private.
I didn’t blame my parents for it, if that’s what it sounded like. Mom and Dad always made sure my siblings and I could stay as anonymous as possible. I chose this life for me before I knew what it would do to me. What it would do to my privacy.
I wish I could blame hockey for my misery, but I was posting online from my parents’ kitchen way before I played televised ice hockey games. Also, I was a very ugly person in high school. Not appearance-wise, mind you, I’d always been pretty awesome-looking.
Personality-wise, I mean.
Tori Caldwell had been writing her stupid blog since the start of middle school. Unfortunately for me, I’d been the punchline of most of those entries from a very young age. Most of those were pretty scandalous, as expected. To this day, I still had no idea how she managed to follow me throughout my entire academic life.
Alana stepped away from me for a moment and returned with a phone in her hands. “You know, maybe your followers are in need of seeing a more humane side of you,” she said before I could hear the click of the camera on her phone. “Also, why bother doing the whole secrecy thing? In a week or so, you’re just going to post a picture of me anyway, or you make me post one of us together. So why not just start with a bomb right away insteadof easing into it? One unwise guy once told me easing into it is unnecessary or something like that.”
Who was she calling unwise? Not me, that was for sure.
“I thought you needed to ease into it slowly.” I finished scrubbing the dishes and quickly washed my hands before turning off the water altogether.
“Yeah, well… I guess people will talk either way when they see us together on campus.”
I chuckled, knowing she was right. The rumors would spread like wildfire once all those puck bunnies who were after me saw us together. And once Tori heard those rumors, it was over for us anyway. She’d declare us as a couple no matter what, so it was better to break the news ourselves.
It’d been almost two weeks since we started our deal, and we were yet to make a public appearance together.
“I suppose you’re right,” I answered, finishing up drying the last of the dishes and turning to Alana. “Might as well give them something to talk about, right?”
I was sure the thought of it was already a nightmare for her. Nothing would’ve changed for me, but her life was about to be turned upside down.
We still had a very long way to go with her confidence. While I thought throwing her right into the situation gave her no other choice but to adjust, perhaps it wasn’t the right approach after all.
I didn’t know a lot about Alana yet, how she reacted in uncomfortable situations—other than stuttering—but from what I could tell, I had my work cut out for me.
“Can I see the pictures you took of me?” she asked, a mix of curiosity and uncertainty in her voice.
