By the time Matteo texted again, I should have known better.
I had told myself that night at his apartment was a one time thing, a ridiculous performance for an audience of one. Jessica had played her role perfectly too, pretending not to care while studying us like she was preparing for an exam. When I left, I felt drained, like I had been holding my breath the whole evening. But Matteo’s message came again the next sunday, short and casual, as if nothing about that night had been strange.
Come over tonight? Movie night. Jess will be around.
I stared at the screen longer than I should have, thumb hovering. I could have said no. I should have said no. Instead I typed back, Sure.
The second act of this play began much like the first. Same apartment, same mismatched cushions, same faint smell of Jessica’s perfume lingering in the air. Matteo greeted me at the door with that grin that could talk its way out of any mess. His curls were damp, his T-shirt clinging slightly to his chest like he had just showered.
“Hey, babe,” he said with a teasing drawl, the same one that made Jessica’s head turn from the kitchen.
I laughed softly, trying not to look like my pulse had just doubled. “Hi to you too.”
Jessica was pretending to pour wine but her attention was fully on us. She gave a cool smile, the kind that barely reached her eyes. “So, the happy couple again,” she said.
“Just a quiet night,” Matteo replied easily. “We thought we’d watch something light.”
He motioned for me to sit, and I took my place on the couch. The same spot as last time. Familiar, dangerous territory. Matteo joined me, tossing a throw pillow aside, his thigh brushing against mine like it meant nothing. Maybe it did mean nothing. That was the problem.
We scrolled through Net’flix for far too long, half talking, half laughing, while Jessica moved around behind us. Every so often, I could feel her eyes on us, the weight of her disbelief pressing into the back of my neck.
Matteo caught it too. “She does not buy it,” he murmured under his breath, smirking at the screen.
“Buy what?” I asked, pretending not to know.
“That you and I are real.” He turned his head toward me slightly, voice lower. “She thinks I am faking it. That I can’t pull this off.”
I looked at him. “And why does that matter?”
He grinned again, the kind of grin that said he had already decided something reckless. “Because it is fun to prove her wrong.”
Jessica walked past then, her glass of wine catching the light. “You boys want anything?”
“Just this,” Matteo said, leaning back into the couch, his arm stretching behind me in a casual sprawl.
Her eyebrow lifted, amused. “How romantic.”
She left the room, but not before glancing once more at the space between us. I could almost hear her thoughts ticking.
We watched the movie for maybe twenty minutes before Matteo paused it and turned slightly toward me. “You think we look convincing?”
I hesitated. “I think we look like two guys watching a movie.”
He chuckled. “Exactly. Which is why she still thinks it is fake.”
“Matteo,” I started, but he was already looking at me in that half-serious way that made everything else fade.
“You don’t mind if we kiss in front of her, right?”
He said it softly, as if it were an innocent suggestion, as if it were nothing more than a line in a script.
I felt the room shrink. My mouth went dry. Somewhere behind us, Jessica shifted in the dining area, pretending to scroll through her phone.
I should have said something like We don’t need to do that. Or That’s too much. Instead, what came out was quieter, almost a whisper. “If it helps.”
Matteo smiled faintly, almost surprised. Then he leaned in.
It was not dramatic, not even slow. Just a brief, simple press of his mouth against mine. His hand brushed my jaw for a second, maybe to make it look real. Maybe to make it feel real. I could not tell.
For a heartbeat, everything stopped. The movie flickered silently on the screen. Jessica’s glass clinked faintly against the table. I could feel the warmth of him, the faint taste of wine, the way his breath hitched before he pulled back.
And then it was over.
He sat back like nothing had happened, pressing play again. “See? Totally natural.”
Jessica let out a low laugh. “Awww,” she said, her tone syrupy with sarcasm. “So cute.”
Matteo flashed her a triumphant grin without looking at me. “I know right.”
I kept my eyes on the screen, trying to focus on the movie, but every nerve in my body felt like it was still holding that kiss. I could feel where his fingers had been on my skin, the heat still there.
Jessica’s laughter faded as she gathered her glass and walked out of the room. I heard her door shut down the hall.
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Matteo stretched, pretending to yawn. “Well. Mission accomplished.”
I nodded too quickly. “Yeah. Totally.”
He looked at me again, softer this time. “Hey. Thanks for doing this. I know it is weird.”
“Nah Matteo, It’s totally fine,” I lied. “You needed help.”
“Still,” he said, leaning back again, his arm brushing mine. “You are a good friend.”
I smiled faintly, hoping he could not hear my heart pounding.
We finished the movie in silence. The sound of the credits filled the room, but I barely registered a word. My mind was still caught on that single moment, that soft press of his mouth against mine. The scene played on repeat inside my head, looping endlessly. Every time I blinked, I could feel it again, like the warmth of sunlight lingering after the sun is gone.
I tried to play it cool, to sit there like nothing had happened. Matteo was back to scrolling through his phone, half smiling at something on the screen. His leg brushed mine again, and I flinched slightly, pretending to stretch. I could not tell if it was on purpose or not.
Maybe it was better not to know.
He tossed the remote aside and turned toward me, casual as ever. “That was not so bad, right?”
“No,” I said, my voice coming out a little higher than usual. “Not bad.”
“Jess totally bought it,” he said, grinning. “You saw her face. She did not even blink.”
I forced a laugh. “Yeah, she looked… convinced.”
He nodded, satisfied, and got up to grab a drink from the kitchen. I stayed seated, trying to breathe normally, watching the light shift across the floor. It was strange how the apartment still felt heavy with what had just happened. The kiss had been brief, but it had rearranged something inside me, quietly and completely.
He came back with a glass of water and handed it to me. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired,” I said quickly, taking it.
He smiled faintly. “You look flushed.”
“Do I?” I laughed it off, too quickly again. “It’s just warm in here.”
He chuckled and plopped back down beside me, close enough that his shoulder brushed mine. “Maybe a little.”
The touch was casual, but my pulse spiked. I focused on the glass in my hand, the condensation sliding down my fingers. Every movement felt deliberate, like I was performing for someone unseen.
“Anyway,” he said, stretching his legs out. “Thanks again for helping. I know I owe you one.”
“You really don’t,” I said.
“I do.” His tone softened. “You have no idea how much easier you’ve made this. Jessica has been unbearable since the breakup. She keeps asking who I am seeing, who I talk to, where I go. This is the first time she has actually shut up for a few days.”
“Happy to be of service,” I said lightly.
He laughed and nudged me with his knee. “You are such a good fake boyfriend.”
I smiled, trying to hide the sting that came with the word fake.
Time stretched thin after that. We kept talking, easy and harmless, about work, about random nonsense, about nothing that mattered. But every few minutes, I would catch myself looking at his lips, and the memory of that kiss would spark again.
When I finally stood to leave, my body betrayed me. My thigh brushed his as I rose, and the contact sent a rush of heat straight through me…making my cock hard as a rock. Matteo glanced up, eyes flicking down for the briefest second before he smiled again, that lazy confident smile that could pass as anything.
“Heading out already?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Early morning tomorrow.”
Before I could reach for my hoodie, Jessica appeared in the doorway of her bedroom, leaning against the frame like she had been waiting for the right moment. She looked amused.
“Leaving so soon, Adrian?” she asked, voice smooth, teasing. “Not staying the night?”
The question hit me like a slap disguised as a joke. Matteo’s head turned instantly toward her.
I laughed it off, trying not to sound nervous. “I should probably go. I have work early.”
Jessica smiled sweetly, tilting her head. “Oh come on. You boys can be loud in bed, I would not mind. I promise I will not disturb you.”
Matteo groaned under his breath. “Jess.”
“What?” she said innocently. “I am just saying. It is nice to see you happy again.”
I could feel my face burning. “That’s… kind of you.”
Matteo stepped closer, resting a hand lightly on my back, his voice steady. “He really does have an early meeting. Otherwise he would have stayed.”
It was such an easy line, delivered so smoothly, but it twisted something inside me. He said it for her benefit, but the words echoed in my head in ways they should not have.
Jessica’s smirk widened. “Of course. Meetings. Always the perfect excuse.”
She disappeared back into her room, shutting the door behind her, but her laughter floated faintly through the walls.
Matteo sighed, shaking his head. “She is impossible.”
“She’s… something,” I said.
He smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. She likes getting under people’s skin.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
He laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You sure you are okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “Totally.”
We stood there for a moment that stretched too long to be casual. The light from the hallway fell across his face, catching in his eyes. For a second, it felt like neither of us knew how to move. Then he cleared his throat, stepping back slightly.
“I will walk you down,” he said.
The elevator ride was quiet. He leaned against the wall, looking half asleep, and I pretended to check my phone. The silence between us felt both comfortable and unbearable at the same time.
When we stepped out onto the street, the air was cool and smelled faintly of rain. The city around us was quiet, the kind of quiet that makes everything else louder. I shoved my hands into my pockets, trying not to look at him.
“Well,” I said finally, “that went… interestingly.”
He chuckled. “That is one word for it.”
“Do you think she believed it?”
“She did,” he said confidently. “Or at least, she is starting to.”
“Good,” I said, but the word tasted strange in my mouth.
Matteo turned to me, his expression softer now. “You really saved me tonight. Again.”
I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It is to me,” he said. “Most people would not go this far for a friend.”
I smiled faintly. “Most people don’t have a friend who can sell a kiss like that.”
He laughed, and the sound hit something tender inside me.
For a moment, we just stood there, the streetlight catching the edge of his jaw, the faint curve of his smile. I wanted to say something, maybe to joke, maybe to ask if he had felt it too. But the words caught in my throat.
He glanced toward the street. “You sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”
“I am fine,” I said quickly. “It’s not far.”
He nodded. “Alright, babe.” The word came out playful, but it made my pulse skip anyway.
I forced a grin. “Goodnight, Matteo.”
“Night, Adrian.”
I turned to leave, but after a few steps, I looked back. He was still standing there by the entrance, hands in his pockets, watching me with that unreadable expression he always had.
When he finally disappeared inside, I let out a breath I had been holding since the kiss. My chest felt tight, my stomach tangled. I told myself it was just the nerves, the performance, the act.
But alone on the street, walking home under the orange glow of the lamps, I could still feel the press of his mouth against mine, the faint heat that had followed.
It was supposed to be pretend.
Just a small favor.
But I could not stop thinking about how it had felt. How his lips had parted slightly before pulling away, how his breath had brushed against my skin, how real it had been for those two stolen seconds.
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