You had never really been one for dating. The industry made it complicated — the schedules, the rumors, the constant spotlight. You were a model, and it all started when you began walking for Victoria’s Secret, and it opened doors, that’s for sure. But it also opened doors into your private life. Too many rumors, people who would do anything to find out more about you than what was online.

And the most exciting topic for people was your love life, of course it was. Like people didn’t have better things to do than to speculate about your love life. And if you published something about it — people would either freak out or judge you endlessly.

Actually, you hadn’t told much about your love life, just a few toxic relationships, which had kind of traumatized you. That was the reason why you didn’t want a relationship anymore. Honestly, you had kind of closed that chapter.

Until Drew happened.

Drew Starkey.

It wasn’t planned — just a quiet friendship that somehow started feeling safer than it should have. The kind of comfort you had almost forgotten existed.

You two met when you were filming a commercial for the new Cartier jewelry. It was simple — no intense touches, just light, soft ones and a bit of eye contact. Nothing more. But it was enough to make people speculate.

And one day it just clicked. You two got together faster than you could look, and even when you promised yourself you wouldn’t trust a guy again — well, Drew changed your opinion. He made you feel safe, treated you like you actually meant something, and he never made you feel uncomfortable.

You both wanted to keep your relationship private. And you did everything to make that happen — you didn’t get spotted together, didn’t even follow each other on social media platforms.

People were convinced that you weren’t in a relationship because Drew was never with you publicly, yet he was always there — he always supported you when you had a shoot or a show, hidden behind the cameras, or somewhere in the middle of the crowd.

Today you had really wanted to go see a movie with Drew. You both knew it was risky, but still, you put on hats and sunglasses. You looked ridiculous, too ridiculous to be recognized. You doubted it would work, but it did.

When the film ended, you put on the hat and sunglasses again and walked out of the cinema, keeping a little distance behind Drew, just in case.

And when you walked out of the cinema and into an alley where Drew’s car was parked, he finally turned around and wrapped his arms around you.

“Finally I can hold my girl again,” he said in a soft voice before pressing a kiss to your head and hugging you tighter. After that, you both took off your hats and sunglasses and walked toward his car.

When you approached his car, he wanted to open the passenger door for you, but before that he turned around again and put his hands on your waist.

“Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

Your heart began to beat faster, the butterflies in your stomach dancing again, like every time he said those words.

“I love you too,” you responded with a smile.

Then he pressed his lips against yours, soft and delicate, like you were the most precious thing in the world.

But this simple, yet strong kiss was one too many. You two got caught, probably by a reporter, one who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You hadn’t even noticed him, too caught up in this moment between Drew and you.

You got into the car and drove to Drew’s place, and you spent the evening slowly but beautifully unwinding. Later that night, you fell asleep, your head against his chest, his arm around your shoulders. You probably wouldn’t have slept so well if you had known that you would blow up the internet that night.

Hours later, when you woke up, Drew was still asleep. You grabbed your phone just to check your messages, and when you opened Instagram, you saw it.

A picture of you and Drew sharing a kiss from last night. You froze, stomach dropping. Drew’s face went pale as he whispered, “This can’t be real,” but you both knew this was very real.