Chapter 7

Vicky:
One does not rule out the other!
And anyway, Di, we need a photo of his abs. How else do we know whether you can trust him?

Dasha:
Exactly! We'll make a poster out of the photo and throw darts at it! Until Mr. Ego turns sweet as silk and begs you to FORGIVE him for everything! 

Vicky:
And lets you kiss him!
Ah-ha-ha, as an apology after the hook!

Diana:
Birdies, you are both impossible! (laughing emoji)
All right, lights out, I'm sleeping! Tomorrow is date number two.
Hugs, chatterboxes!
Wish me luck!
P.S. But I like the darts idea. Need to get a photo somewhere)

 
The girls kept chirping about something; stopping them was impossible. I put the tablet on the nightstand, turned off the lamp, and rolled onto my side. I slid my hands under the pillow.

I had no idea what would happen tomorrow, but I knew one thing: Greg was right. If I wanted to go all the way and not let Astralia down, I had to keep my head cool and my heart far away from games.

Especially if the person nearby knew how to play better than anyone! 

Dennis

Even knowing I had given in to Alice, I swear, right up until Cupid's Wheel showed the name "Diana" and I saw Catkin in front of me, I genuinely believed I was in control of my life and made my own rules.

But as it turned out, anything is possible. And reality did not hesitate to sober me up with a good kick in the ass.

Play the spoiled rich kid on a show? Fine, so be it, if it made my sister happy. But damn it, I did not sign up to fake love with a girl from my childhood, one I had never been able to talk to normally without us clashing. And one who knew me literally inside out.

"Well, congratulations, genius, you're screwed. Live broadcast from the romantic madhouse, where you are the central loser. And now you're talking to yourself too, like the last psycho in line for common sense."

I swore, unlocked the car, and dropped into the driver's seat. Slamming the door in irritation, I stared through the windshield. My hands still smelled of the styling gel I had unsuccessfully tried to wipe out of my hair after the girl stylist's efforts. She had poured half a jar of the stuff on me, claiming the crap would give me charisma. And God knows what else. Despair, maybe?

The parking lot was so quiet I wanted to hit the horn just to make sure I still controlled something. Which I did, then leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes.

"Fuck, Demond, you idiot!" I ground out aloud. "Wanted a show? Here you go. Five stars out of five, and the cherry on top is Catkin. Hello, my personal antidepressant! I hope you're entertained, Cupid, when we send your show to hell and ruin the ratings. Because..."

Because what?

I couldn't answer myself. Catkin had always caused some strange feeling in me, the kind an external irritant can cause. Like a splinter in your finger: small, but it gets in the way of living. The moment we ended up in the same space, that was it, the verbal itch began, and I couldn't not notice her. I wanted to sneeze and at the same time tug the long braid she had never cut since elementary school. She kept walking around with her nose in the air, drawing attention with that light-wheat hair as if proving to everyone that she was the top student at the Academy of Proud Girls. Always with her homework done, her back straight, and that haughty look: "You're nothing to me, Demond."

At school, it irritated the hell out of me and hooked me at the same time. I liked teasing her and making her flush with anger, knowing she would always answer. She would not keep quiet like other girls or go complain to anyone. She would run a whole kilometer after me around the field, but she would get back the hat I had snatched off her and try to beat me with it while I laughed.

 Now we both studied at university, and I wanted to think we had grown up. In practice, nothing had changed. We still barely tolerated each other, though now we preferred to do less teasing.

Almost nothing.

I remembered Diana appearing in front of me onstage in that super-short dress, with long hair like some Nordic princess and red lipstick on sensual lips like an actress from adult films...

Fine, I am exaggerating. But only because I was stunned, by the way she looked and by the fact that she had appeared at all. It's just that when it comes to Catkin, I forbid myself to notice certain details.

But today it was impossible not to notice them. And like an idiot, I stared at her legs and hips until I got angry and for some reason threw out that stupid line about the missing skirt. I could not keep my mouth shut when I realized everyone could see its absence.

Amazing, how one blonde can knock the familiar world off its axis so easily, just by ending up as my match on a fashionable reality show. When Catkin looked at me with those gray-green eyes full of panic, for a fraction of a second I wanted to say something normal. Something sane, without teeth in it. I had not often seen her without armor. But the second passed, and of course I did not.

 
Damn it. What was she even doing there? Fine, I had gotten involved in the show for Allie and her dream of becoming a serious director. But Cat... She had never known how to lie, so I doubted she had joined the project hoping to sort out her love life. I believed her there. Fame? Didn't look like it either.

So what the hell were we doing there together?

My cell vibrated in my pocket. I took it out, saw Alice calling, and answered more sharply than I should have:

"Yeah?"

My sister did not notice my mood. Or pretended not to. She started chattering excitedly, as if the energy of the project still had not let her go:

"Dennis, where are you? I asked you to wait for me by the control room! I left you a sandwich and a Coke! Listen, you were incredible! Charm, confidence, that voice... Little devil, I'm proud of you! Where did you learn to be such a charming hottie? Ah-ha-ha!"

"Alice..."

"You have no idea how tired I am! But I think the pilot went great. Valentine is happy, and so is the whole team. The camera guys and I have opened champagne and are about to drink it. I don't want to take a taxi, wait twenty minutes for me, and I'll kiss you all over! Or fall asleep right here. But I want to go home, take a shower, and sleep. Because tomorrow..."

"Allie, damn it!" I cut my sister off, unable to take it. "Tell me, did you know?!"

A second ago she had been laughing tiredly, but now she fell silent. Silence hung on the other end.

I don't remember ever deliberately telling Alice about Catkin, but Diana and I had gone to the same kindergarten and the same school, and older sisters sometimes know more about their younger brothers than their parents do. She had had to blush at school because of me more than once, so she guessed the context of the question immediately.

"Little devil, I swear, I found out about Diana at the last minute, when they were shooting the previews," Alice finally answered. "She signed the contract only two days ago, just like you. But I was sure you wouldn't match! Why would you? It was random..."

"Exactly! And I was not ready for it!"

"But, Dennis..." Alice asked cautiously. "Why?"

No, she was definitely more actress than director.