The Fake Boyfriend (Monsta X)

The First Date... And A Kiss

We went to Bubba's BBQ for dinner. It was the best place in town—my favorite since discovering it long before we came here for college. Once seated, we put on our red and white checkered bibs. We ordered sweet tea and the double rib platter to share, which came with cornbread, corn on the cob, and fried potatoes. It was heaven. The ribs melted off the bones. My mouth watered just thinking about them.

"So, Alexis was impressed you were early to pick me up," I commented after sipping my tea. Changkyun grinned at me.

"I aim to please. I'm glad she was impressed; that means she believes this is a date."

"It probably didn't help that I wasn't even dressed until five minutes before you showed up."

His eyebrows shot up into his hair. He set his glass down with a heavy thunk and stared at me.

"I'm sorry. What?" He blinked and shook his head.

"What? What did I say?"

My mind raced with my words. Heat exploded across my face when I realized what I'd said. I covered my face with both hands. I couldn't even correct myself; I really hadn't been dressed.

The waitress chose that moment to show up with our platter of food and side dishes. She smiled as she glanced between the two of us.

"You two look like you could use a milkshake. What flavor?" she asked.

"Oh no. It's okay. This is more than enough," I argued, shaking my head, peeking out between my fingers.

"First one is on the house for new couples," she informed us. "What can I get you?"

I dropped my hands and looked across at Changkyun. His face was as red as mine. No wonder she insisted on a milkshake. I raised a brow, silently asking his preference. He nodded for me to decide.

"Do you have strawberry banana?" I asked the waitress. She beamed and wrote it down.

"One strawberry banana milkshake coming right up. You two enjoy your ribs."

She even winked as she twirled away and hurried off. My gaze returned to Changkyun.

"Is that okay? Do you like that flavor?" I worried.

He smiled. "It's my favorite, actually."

I grinned. "Really? It's mine, too."

"Looks like we have something in common after all."

We shared a smile.

"So what else do you like?" he asked as he reached for a rib.

It turned out we had more in common than we thought. How we could know each other for four years and not really know each other was beyond either of us, but I guess when our interests lay in other people, it was bound to happen. We liked the same sports, read a lot of the same books, and both enjoyed a bath over a shower (don't ask how that came up). I enjoyed our fake first date a lot more than I expected.

Changkyun even went so far as to walk me to my door once we returned to the dorm. We stopped outside my door and I turned towards him. It was eleven, curfew for our dorm. He really needed to get up to his room.

"Are you going to kiss me good night now?" I teased grinning.

My door swung open and I gasped as Minhyuk suddenly appeared. He looked ready to murder someone—though I couldn't tell which one of us.

"No kissing on the first date. Good night, Changkyun," he declared, grabbed my arm, and yanked me into the room, slamming the door behind me. I sputtered as I righted myself, yanking my arm from his grasp.

"What's wrong with you?" I yelled.

"He came in two hours ago and refused to leave," Alexis told me. "He won't talk to me about it."

I nodded at my roommate and returned my attention to my crazed best friend. "Min, it's curfew. You have to get upstairs before you get caught."

"I don't care if I'm caught. It doesn't matter."

I stared and blinked at him. He always worried about following the rules. "Minhyuk, what's—"

He roughly pulled me against him and his lips crashed down on mine, interrupting my question. My eyes widened and it took me a few seconds to realize what was happening.

Minhyuk was kissing me.

Why was he kissing me? He was in love with Jooheon. Not me.

But he was kissing me.

I melted against him. Nothing else mattered other than this moment, just his lips on mine. My arms snaked around his neck as the kiss continued.

I realized belatedly I was supposed to have a boyfriend—a boyfriend he just prevented me from kissing so he could do the honors. I pulled away and pushed him back, stepping away, eyes wide as I stared at him. My hand came to my mouth. My lips tingled.

"Ohmygod," I whispered. I couldn't think. I wanted to kiss him again.

"I'll say," Alexis spoke up, breaking the spell between us.

Minhyuk's face filled with frustration. "It wasn't supposed to be like that," he muttered and rubbed both hands over his face. He swore and turned toward the door, leaving without another word. I blinked after him, starstruck and worried at the same time. My gaze jumped to Alexis.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked.

"Something you might want to tell your boyfriend about."

I groaned and collapsed on my bed. What was I going to do now?