Page 50 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“Yeah, it’s getting late. But we still need to discuss something.”

“What?” I ask.

“There’s only one bed, Slayer.” He waves his hand at the center of the room, where there’s a plush-looking bed, decorated with fluffy, heart-shaped pillows and a bedspread the blush-pink color of Valentine’s Day bedding at Target.

Oh my god.

Of course there’s only one bed. Leah did say that this was one of the villa’s honeymoon suites.

“I’ll take the floor,” he says generously. Oh, hell no.

“First of all,Daniel,” I say, “I’m just as capable of taking the floor as you are. Secondly, I don’t see any reason why we can’t both sleep in the same bed. It’s huge.”

“What if we can’t keep our hands off each other, and we lose ourselves to the throes of passion?” Daniel says. “I mean, after that kiss—”He fans himself, and I snatch up a pillow to chuck at him. He dodges, laughing.

“You know, even with your hot new haircut and a tattoo, I think I can control myself,” I say primly.

Daniel falls silent for a moment, and then simply says, “Tattoos.”

“What?”

“Tattoos. Plural. I have two.” Daniel shrugs. “Seems like something my very-not-fake girlfriend should know about me.”

“Wait, where’s the other one?” I ask.

He turns his body, angling so that I can see the back of his leg. The tattoo on his leg is tiny, small enough that I didn’t notice it before. It’s a frog wearing a jaunty little hat. A laugh bursts out of me.

“Okay, now that I’ve seen this little guy, I’lldefinitelybe able to control myself in bed,” I say.

“Hey!” Daniel protests, looking offended.

I plunge on. “Also, if anyone bursts into our room for whatever reason, it’s going to look really suspicious if one of us is on the floor.”

“Point taken.” Daniel pauses. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Why are you being so weird about this?”

He looks in me in the eye. “Alice, we may be fake dating, but I’d like us to be real with each other in private. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

I snort. “I’ll be plenty comfortable. Have you seen the thread count on these sheets?”

With that sorted, we take turns in the bathroom. I rush through my skincare routine, brush my teeth, and hurriedly change into my pajamas. By the time we both settle into bed, I’ve built a pillow wall between us with all the heart-shaped pillows.

“There,” I say, patting the pillows. “That should do it.”

“Very nice, Slayer. No one will doubt we’re a couple now,” Daniel says, raising an eyebrow.

“You know, there’s a rising body of evidence that suggests that couples who sleep in separate beds are happier.”

Daniel flops down onto the bed. “I’ll be sure to cite that during our next confessional when the producers ask how it’s going.”

“Please do,” I say. “Now go to sleep.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says with laughter in his voice.

I roll over, turning my back to him. The bed is as soft as a cloud, and the cool sheets are smooth against my skin. As I close my eyes, shutting out the shaft of moonlight streaming in, the sensation of Daniel’s lips on mine lingers. I hug one of the pillows tight and do my best to focus on falling asleep and absolutely nothing—and no one—else.

From: Peter Dixon ([email protected])

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