Fake Dating The Enemy

4

Thomas

I follow Luke as he walks over to an empty area for us to talk. He's been visibly irritated by the sight of Elizabeth and I being together.

"So, what's really going on between you and my sister?" He asks causing my eyebrows to rise.

"What do you mean? We've told you. We're dating."

"Bullshit." He scoffs. "Thomas, I've known you practically my whole life. I truly believe you would have trusted me enough to tell me you liked her."

"Really? You want to talk about trust? About being loyal to each other? How come you had to send your sister as a pawn to tell me you were engaged?" He blinks rapidly. I've clearly struck a nerve.

"Thomas, I didn't use her as a pawn. This isn't a game. I've been in love with Ashley for a very long time. I didn't want to hurt you by telling you."

"Well it's too late for that, Luke. The only good thing to come of this is that your sister and I were able to see past our hatred for each other. We were able to realize the reason we've been so horrible towards each other was because we were hiding our true feelings." Luke shakes his head as if he can't believe what he's hearing.

"Thomas, you aren't the type of person to be in a serious relationship. At the end of the day, you're going to hurt her, and I'll be damned if I stand aside and let this happen."

"I wouldn't."

"But you have! You always have!" He runs a hand over his face. "You have no idea how many times she would rush to her room, sobbing because of how rude you could be to her."

"If I was such a terrible person, why'd you stay friends with me?" The words slip out faster than my brain can process.

"Because you were always good to me. I thought, surely, the childish feud between the two of you would end. I never expected it to end so quickly after her telling you about my engagement. It seems rather rushed."

"What are you implying?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

"I'm simply wondering if this could possibly be a ruse to get back at me."

"Get back at you? Luke, be serious. Why would we go through all of this just to get under your skin?" Play it cool, Thomas. Play it cool.

"I don't know. None of this makes sense, Thomas. I mean, my sister? Does she even know that you're a one and done kind of guy?" I stare blankly at him. "She doesn't does she? God, Thomas. If you even think of hurting her-"

"I won't." I cut him off. "Your sister is special to me, Luke. I wouldn't want to hurt her. Not anymore."

"You will end things with her. Now." I'm taken back at the audacity of his words.

"No." My voice is firm. "No, Luke. I won't."

"You can't possibly tell me you actually care for her. All of a sudden?"

"I always have. I was just too dumb to realize it." I storm off before he can anything else. I rush over to Elizabeth, her eyes meeting mine and filling with worry.

"Thomas? What's wrong?" She asks.

"Will you walk with me? Outside? I need some air." She nods, excusing herself.

I take her by the hand, weaving us in between the crowd of people and outside. I pace back and forth as Luke's words make my head pound.

"Thomas?" Her voice is soft. "What happened?" I lock eyes with her.

"I think he's on to us."

"What? What do you mean?" Her voice is full of panic.

"He implied this was all a ruse to get back at him. I tried to deny it as best I could. I don't know if I succeeded." She anxiously tucks her hair behind her ear and nods slowly.

"Alright. I think I know how to fix this, but you need to trust me."

"I do." I say, honestly.

"Come on, then. Let's go have a dance." She holds out her hand, and I take it as she leads us back inside. My eyes wonder over to see Luke talking to Ashley. His eyes find us and never look away.

Elizabeth stops us in the middle of where everyone is dancing. We're in perfect view of Luke. She smiles up at me, wrapping her arms around my neck as we did earlier. This time, however, I pull her even closer to me. Our heads rest against one another's as we sway back and forth.

"Kiss my neck." She whispers.

"What?"

"Just do it." She says. I hesitate briefly before moving my head so that my lips could find her neck. She gasps softly at the connection, and it sends a shiver through me. I kiss softly and slowly up her neck until we're face to face again.

"Elizabeth, I-"

"It's fine, Thomas. Go with the flow." She says as if she could read my mind. My lips find hers in a tender yet hungry kiss. I couldn't believe it. I was kissing my best friend's sister. The one person I could never stand. In that moment, our past fades away. All of the arguments. All of the teasing. None of it mattered.

I break away from the kiss, a light shade of red covering her cheeks. Did that seriously just happen? Why did it feel so natural?

"Elizabeth-"

"Shh. Don't talk. Let's just dance." She hides her face in my chest. My eyes find Luke's, and he storms off with Ashley close behind him.

"They're gone." I say, thinking we would stop dancing.

"I like this song. Let's finish it out." I nod, keeping her close to me. Mixture of feelings flow through me. I shouldn't have liked that as much as I did. I shake the thoughts away. It's been a while since I've kissed someone, that's all.

"I think we should head out." She says, stepping back from me. "It might be more convincing if we leave after that moment we shared." I nod, following behind her as she makes her way to say her goodbyes to her parents and grandparents.

"It was so lovely to see you, Thomas. You two make such a nice couple." Her mother says.

"It was nice to see you as well." Elizabeth and I walk hand in hand back to the car.

"Elizabeth." The sound of Luke's voice stops us in our tracks. We turn to face him, the irritation on his face I once saw replaced with a smile.

"It would be lovely if the two of you joined us tomorrow for lunch. It would be nice to catch up."

"Oh, I-" Elizabeth says, but I interrupt her.

"We'd love to." I say, snaking my arm around her waist. "Wouldn't we, sunshine?" She looks at me before looking back at Luke.

"Yeah, we'll be there." I turn us around, and we head to the car. I open the door for her to get in, shutting it and giving one last look to Luke before getting in and driving away.

The drive back to my place was quiet. Thoughts filled my head of the day we had. My knuckles turn white as I grip the steering wheel at the thought of Luke telling me to break things off with his sister. I would never hurt her. Sure, we've had our share of it in the past, but that was different.

"Why did you agree to lunch tomorrow?" She asks as we approach my house.

"Oh, I- Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I'm not mad. I just didn't think you'd want to after having to spend all day faking this with me."

"We need to convince them. It would have been hard to do that if we said no." She nods, getting out of the car. She grabs her keys out of her purse, unlocking her car.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." I nod, watching as she gets in and drives away.

Tomorrow.