Page 28 of Movers and Fakers

Warily, she takes the cup.

“I don’t want a reputation.” She lifts the drink and looks at the label on the side, then takes a small sip. “Thank you,” she mumbles.

“Anything for my girlfriend,” I reply. She winces. “Also, everyone has a reputation. Some reputations just travel farther than others.”

She sighs. “I want mine to stay close to home, then.”

I push open the classroom door and gesture for her to go in first. She does, and I follow her to our seats.

“It’s a little late for that. I figured you knew what you were getting into when you said yes.” My voice is low, so no one else can hear us. There aren’t many people in the room, though, since we’re fairly early.

“It’s just weird to walk around and have everyone stare. I don’t know how you deal with it.”

She sets down the coffee, then starts to pull out her supplies.

I shrug. “I’m used to it, I guess.”

Her nose wrinkles. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

“How are you okay performing in front of so many people?” We’ve talked about this before, but it still doesn’t make sense to me.

She sits down and opens her laptop. The background lights up with a picture of her in a graduation cap, smiling faintly while being hugged on all sides by people with similar features to her. Family, probably.

“That freaks me out sometimes, too. At least, if I think about it too hard,” she replies, and takes a sip of her drink. “But that’s a performance. I know you think it’s boring of me, but I don’t want my life to be a show offstage.”

I frown. “I was kidding about that the other day. I understand not wanting to be on display all the time, even if I’m fine with it.” It’s not smart to push back on her agreeing to date, but I don’t want her to regret this, so I continue, “Why do this, if you hate attention like you say? I know it can’t be because you like me, or else we’d be actually dating.”

Her gaze flicks to me, then back to her laptop.

“Would we? Or would we go on one date, then never talk again, like you and Mckinleigh?”

I barely resist the urge to shudder at the mention of my wannabe stalker. Aurora has a point, though. I’m not sure what would have happened if she would have said yes to my first attempt at asking her out. Or any attempt, for that matter. I’m used to going on one, maybe two dates with a woman and then moving on. It’s not that I’m allergic to commitment, but I also haven’t been looking for anything serious.

Deep down I know that if I am in a relationship, that woman will have to withstand the weighty responsibility I’m avoiding. If I got far enough to talk about the future … I don’t know how I’d tell someone I’m so afraid of botching my legacy that I went to college just to delay the inevitable.

“Is this all a ruse to get me to fall in love with you and make things real?” I ask in a low, teasing voice.

Why answer her question when it’s not something either of us really wants to address?

Aurora rolls her eyes. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” Her hand flicks toward her laptop screen. “I said yes to get my family to leave me alone. They want me to date and go to parties. This will get them to stop pestering me for a little while.”

I look again at the photo, smiling a little at how tight-knit they appear. If they’re that involved in her social life, then they must all be close. I don’t have anything like that. My parents check in, but aside from what affects the Rosewood legacy, they don’t care much about my day-to-day life.

“Will I get to meet them, or do they live far away?”

Her eyes widen at my question.

“No. You will not meet my parents. I feel bad enough lying to them as it is. I should be able to get by with a few pictures and fake updates.”

“Got it. No meeting the parents. But we’ll need photos?” I glance at the front where the professor has just put the slides up on the screen. “You didn’t answer my texts, so I don’t know what this looks like to you.”

She toys with the straw of her coffee cup, not meeting my gaze.

“Sorry, I just needed some time. Why don’t we talk about things during our next tutoring session?” she suggests.

I reach out and tip her chin up so her gaze meets mine. Her blue eyes are bright and clear, with a tinge of worry lining the edges.

“Don’t apologize, I know this is a lot. But we’re in it together, yeah?”