Page 47 of Hollywood Undercover
Chapter 20
ALEXANDRA should have beenfurious with Bash for subjecting her to what had just happened with the speed date night fiasco. She should have been enraged, but she couldn’t stopgiggling.
“Did you see her face?” she squealed. “How the hell did she convince herself I have Asperger’s, and you’re the super-sensitive guy mentoring his struggling littlebrother?”
“I know!” He answered, almost doubling over as he snorted withlaughter.
“I mean, I couldn’t even begin to be offended. She labeled me in a heartbeat, and it’s not even about me, when you think about it. She drew conclusions about what Asperger’s is, and how people behave when then have the disorder. I’m so blown away by how quickly that situation escalated. The woman was like a dog with abone.”
“Man, I’m glad Nate and Rod didn’t see that,” he said. “They would never let us live that shitdown.”
It hit her then. She wasn’t sure if they left Bash’s friends at speed dating. “Where are they,anyway?”
“Probably somewhere laughing their asses off. They’re definitely in stitches, the way they got me to come out to this thing and then ducked out. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just one big prank they pulled for the guys at the firehouse, to have a laugh at my expense.” Bash’s expression changed a little as he paused. “I’m itching to get back to work. I’ve been off with this injury for too long. I need my regular routine… I miss my crew too, but don’t tell them I saidthat.”
“I won’t. And I know what youmean.”
He glanced at her with a sly grin. “I have my arthroscopy scheduled for next month. After that, I can see how this kneeperforms.”
She smiled at him. The brisk pace they took getting away from the restaurant slowed to a more leisurelywalk.
“Do you want to stop for a minute?” Bash pointed at an alcove in between two buildings. There was a ledge on one side. It was high, but had enough space for them to sit and catch their breaths. She hopped up on the overhang, feet swinging. He leaned against it next to her and looked up at her. His dark eyelashes hung over his soulful eyes. They were tucked away from the people milling around on the sidewalk. In spite of the crowds this time of night, it felt more intimate than it should. She inhaled deeply, working hard to get back to her version of reality. She was playing a twenty-one-year-old guy. Bash was her buddy. Those were the rules. She made up the game she was playing, so she had to stick tothem.
He smiled. “You sure kept me from getting bored in there, Alex. Although I’m convinced after tonight, you’ll never go anywhere else withme.”
“I definitely shouldn’t!” she glared at him as harshly as she could whilelaughing.
In truth, she was glad she had followed Dad’s advice and got out of the house. And now, she felt a little more brave. She had boldly pushed into territory they hadn’t discussed before. This environment lent them some closeness andprivacy.
She went for it. “So, what’s up with you, Bash? Why do your friends want to hook you up on a blind date? You don’t look like you need any help attractingwomen.”
He looked at her, eyes intense. “It’s not about attracting a lot of women anymore. I got that part. It’s about getting the one person Iwant.”
Alexandra glanced away. She had a feeling he might’ve been talking about her—about ‘Alex’.
Not. Gonna.Happen.
In another life with Lexxi Rock, maybe, but Alex Roberts doesn’t reallyexist.
Bash shrugged his shoulders and continued. “A little over six months ago, I was really into this person. I thought we were getting serious. It felt really good, you know? But shit went sour. Turns out, the person wasmarried.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah,” he said, turning to look at her again. “I was played. I didn’t see the warning signs. Man, I hate being liedto.”
The way he said it made her sit back. Now she was extra uncomfortable with the ‘Alex Roberts’ lie she was pulling off. It wasn’t the same thing as having an entire husband kept secret—or wife. Or spouse, whoever it was the other person was. For a moment, Alexandra thought maybe her con could be worse. She had lied to a possibly gay man. She was still about sixty-five percent sure he was gay. That wasn’t so bad, but lying to that man about being a guy, spending time warming up to them, and then ‘coming out’ as a girl? That was definitely worse than beingplayed.
She fidgeted around. She couldn’t hold his gaze any longer. At some point he would find out the truth about her. She wondered how that would affect their friendship. Physical attraction aside, Bash had been a supportive shoulder throughout the ordeal of nursing her father back to health. She liked him as a person. If Bashwasactually gay and found out she wasn’t a guy, it would be on her. She would be the one doing the betraying and deceiving. She didn’t like how that felt. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reveal anything to him. Not until it was time for her to go back to LA. She didn’t want to put him in the position of having to lie for her. That would be even morewrong.
One thing that she couldn’t help noticing about his confession about being played was he didn’t say whether this ‘person’ was a man or woman. His friends probably did think the speed dating thing would be funny, especially if they knew he wasn’t into women. The more he talked, the more certain she was that he was probably definitelygay.
Shit. I honestly still can’ttell.
She began to picture how hurt he would be when he found out he was crushing on the opposite sex. Her eyebrows furrowed in guilt and regret. The scene played out in her head. The kindest thing she could do was put some distance between them before anyone got hurt. It took a while to notice Bash was staring ather.
“You okay, bro?” he askedher.
“Yeah, man. Why wouldn’t Ibe?”
