"Not So Fake After All"

You never expected a simple favor to change everything.

When Nathan—your best friend since childhood, the golden boy, the star athlete—begged you to be his fake date for a high-profile gala, you didn’t think much of it. It was just for appearances, just to fend off persistent rumors and unwanted advances.

"Just one night," he had said. "It doesn’t mean anything."

And you believed him.

The first rule of the fake date? Keep it casual. No mixed signals, no unnecessary flirting, no getting carried away.

But from the moment you arrived at the gala, Nathan wasn’t acting like a friend.

He held you too close. Whispered in your ear like it was a secret meant only for you. Laughed at things that weren’t even funny, just so he could look at you a little longer. His arm rested possessively around your waist, his touch lingering in ways that made your heart stutter.

And the way he looked at you—like you were the only person in the room—made it impossible to ignore.

At first, you brushed it off. He was an athlete, he knew how to perform, how to sell a story. But when he pulled you onto the dance floor and held you like you were something fragile, something precious… that was when you broke the rule.

“What are you doing?” you whispered, heart pounding as you looked up at him.

Nathan’s expression didn’t waver. “What do you mean?”

“You’re being too convincing,” you accused. “This isn’t part of the act.”

He smiled, but it wasn’t his usual playful grin. It was softer. Sincere. “Who said I was acting?”

The words struck you like lightning.

Suddenly, every touch, every lingering glance, every whispered word—it had never been fake.

You were the fool who hadn’t seen it.

And the worst part? You weren’t pretending anymore, either.

By the end of the night, when Nathan kissed you—gentle at first, then with all the weight of years spent waiting—you knew.

This had never been fake. Not for him.

And not for you.