Act Like You Mean It.

When prickly law student Eliot Reyes is invited to his ex's high-profile engagement party, he panics. Everyone's expecting him to show up with a new guy-after all, he lied and said he was seeing someone amazing.
Desperate, he turns to the last person he should ask: River Hale, the infuriating, cocky, tattooed bartender who lives with him and has seen Eliot at his worst (including ugly crying over said ex in the hallway).

River says yes. For a price.
But one night pretending turns into a week of pretending, and soon they're at a wedding, in a one-bed suite (of course), and maybe fighting... (angst ofc)
The only problem? River's touch is way too convincing. Eliot's walls start to crumble. And River... might not be pretending.

MAIN Characters:

Eliot Reyes (22)
✦ Uptight, sarcastic, hates being vulnerable.
✦ Sharp jawline, always in control-except around River.
✦ Closet romantic, repressed feelings, lawyer-in-training.
✦ Swore off love after his ex cheated.

River Hale (23)
✦ Tattooed, chaotic, flirtatious energy.
✦ Works at a trendy bar, sings in a garage band sometimes.
✦ Seemingly carefree but hides deeper emotional layers.
✦ Lowkey has always been attracted to Eliot's intensity.

What was supposed to be one night - One ex. One fake boyfriend with a smug grin and a leather jacket - Turned into this... What could possibly go wrong? Eliot Reyes is sharp-tongued, emotionally guarded, and absolutely not over his ex. So when he gets an invite to said ex's engagement party - RSVP'd as "plus one" - he does what any pride-fueled disaster would do: begs the hot, annoying bartender across the hall to play pretend. River Hale is chaos in human form: tattooed, confident, and way too good at acting like he's in love. What starts as one night of fake romance turns into a week-long game of hand-holding, soft looks, and dangerously real kisses. The deal was simple: act like it's real.
The problem is... now it kind of is.