Fake Dating The Enemy

11

Thomas

The short drive back home felt like hours. In the blink of an eye, everything was different. There's only a few hours until the bonfire starts, and I'm not sure I even want to go at this point. No, I have to go. I'm not letting this get to me. If she wants to end this, then so be it. If she can't trust me enough to know I'd never act that way again, then all I can do is go back to what I do best. I'll be the old me.

I show up to the bonfire, already tipsy. I make my way over to Luke and Ashley, slapping a hand onto Luke's shoulder.

"Congratulations, Luke." I say, my words slurring. "You got what you wanted."

"What are you saying?" He asks. "Are you drunk?"

"Yep." I say, laughing. "Elizabeth ended things with me, isn't that great?" His eyes soften, and Ashley gasps.

"Thomas, you need to sober up."

"Why? This is a party! You said it yourself, it would be like old times. One and done Tom is back in business."

"Thomas, no." Luke says, trying to reason with me. "I'll talk to my sister, and I'll figure this out."

"No need." I say, stumbling slightly. "She told me to see who I want to see. Be with someone I actually want to be with." I snicker, shaking my head. "If only she knew she's the only one I want." I turn to walk away, seeing Sophia. "Sophia!" I call out, stumbling over to her.

"Hi, Thomas. Where's your girlfriend?"

"Oh, Elizabeth? She dumped me." Her eyes widen, but suddenly darken.

"So, you're single?" I nod, and she links her arm in mine. "Why don't we come sit over here?" She guides us over by the fire, and we sit down on the sand.

"You want to make out?" I slur, and she smirks. Her lips find mine, and my hands instantly make their way into her hair. I start trailing kisses across her jaw and down her neck.

"Oh, Thomas. I've missed this." I hum against her skin, my hands roaming her body.

"You're so hot." I say, crashing my lips to hers again. She crawls into my lap, running her hands underneath my shirt. "Fuck, I've missed this." She slides my shirt over my head.

"Mhm, I bet I'm better than her, too. Aren't I?"

"I don't want to talk about her." I say, reaching to undo the tie on her bikini top. She smirks.

"I forgot how eager you can be." She says, trailing kisses down my neck, nipping at the skin covering my collar bone. "She probably couldn't please you the way I can."

"We never did anything like this. I really don't want to talk about her."

"You guys never had sex? You poor, deprived man." I shook my head, coming to my senses.

"I'm not deprived. I just didn't want to take advantage of her."

"Well, you can take advantage of me anytime you want." She kisses me again, but her spell has worn off. Or it was the alcohol wearing off, but still.

"Sophia, I-" I'm about to break this off when I notice Elizabeth standing about five feet away. Tears stream down her face as I try to shove Sophia off of me.

"What the hell?" Sophia say, but I ignore her. I get up, stumbling over to Elizabeth.

"Don't talk to me." She says, before turning around to storm off. I reach out, grabbing her hand. "Let go of me." How can she even be upset when she told me to see other people?

"No." I say, pulling her close to me. "I let you walk away one too many times. I'm not letting you walk away again."

"Thomas, go be with Sophia. She can give you things I couldn't imagine giving you."

"She gives me nothing compared to what you give me." She shakes her head, pushing herself away from me.

"Thomas, it's over."

"How can it be over if it never even began?" I ask, my voice a bit loud. Her eyes fill with panic at the sight of people watching us.

"Thomas, this isn't the time for this conversation."

"I'm done hiding it, Elizabeth. How can you be done with something that wasn't even real to begin with? Something that I want very badly to be real."

"What is he saying?" Luke asks, stepping closer. "I was right, wasn't I? This was all a ruse." Elizabeth shakes her head. "Save it. I knew you two couldn't stop being childish." He shakes his head in disgust, walking back over to the bonfire.

"Look what you did." She says, and I run a hand through my hair.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry. I-"

"Don't." She says, putting a hand up. "Don't talk to me. Have fun with Sophia." She walks away, once again leaving me glued to the ground.

*

Elizabeth

How could he? How could he be so stupid? Now everyone knows it was nothing, but fake. There's no going back.

"El?" Luke's voice rips me from my thoughts.

"Luke, I'm so sorry. It was so stupid. We were both angry at you for using our hatred towards each other to take the weight off of you."

"El, I'm the one who should apologize. I should have just been honest with Thomas from the beginning. We could have saved all of us a lot of time and trouble." I just stand there, not knowing what to say. "I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"Oh, I'm fine." I say, wiping away the last of the tears that had fallen prior to him walking over.

"You know I can see right through you." He says, holding out his arms for a hug. I step closer, embracing him. "You're my sister, and I love you. You deserve better than him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He steps back, smiling at me.

"Come on, there's someone you should meet."

"Luke, I'm not ready to meet anyone."

"Just give it a try, alright?" I nod, walking back to the bonfire with him. "Conrad!" He calls, getting the attention of someone I can only assume is Conrad. He jogs over to us. "This is my sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth this is Conrad, Ashley's cousin."

"Lovely to meet you." He says, holding out his hand. I take it, and he offers a soft kiss to the back of my hand.

"The two of you have a lot in common. I'll leave you two to chat." He walks away, and I feel my face heat up.

"Hey, you want to take a walk down the beach a bit? It can be a little crowded here." I nod, and we take a short walk down the beach. "So, I saw what happened with that guy earlier."

"Oh, yeah that was a bit much."

"What's the story behind that? If you don't mind telling me." I take a deep breath, nodding.

"It's a long story. We hated each other basically our whole lives. When Luke got engaged to Ashley, he wanted me to break the news to Thomas because of his past with Ashley. We came up with a plan to fake date until the wedding to get back at him. It was stupid."

"It sounds kind of romantic." I laugh, shaking my head.

"It could've been." I say. "We got close, and I fear that's what ruined it."

"Listen, I know things just got messy with the two of you, but if you're interested in seeing other people, I'd love to take you on a date to get to know each other." I don't know why, but I instantly find myself nodding.

"Yeah, I'd like that." He smiles at me, and we talk a little more before heading back to the bonfire. I lock eyes with Thomas, and my heart sinks to my stomach. He shakes his head and turns around, walking away. Something in me tells me to go after him, but I can't. I need to let him go.