Not If I Date You First

Chapter 27

ADA

"Do you think I'd get fired for murdering one of my coworkers?" I ask. The pages of the magazine crinkle beneath my fingertips as I leaf through it, searching for photos with my credit on them. I'm kicked back on the sofa, the cold leather easing the sting from my most recent sunburns. I've got It Happened One Night streaming on the television, and it's almost like the cozy nights I used to spend with Grams.

The picture I took of Liam and his friends at the club made the cover of three different magazines this week. It's literally a dream come true. Every time I see the words 'photograph by Ada Datchery' in print, I feel like a firefly, all lit up from the inside.

"Since I'm not old enough to have a job, I may not be the best person to ask." My brother doesn't glance up from his Nintendo Switch "But I'm gonna guess you wouldn't get a lot of pics of celebrities inside the slammer."

"Hmmm." I drum my fingers against my magazine. "Maybe if they gave me a cell by the drunk tank."

"That could work." Aiden nods. He's got a box of Cap'n Crunch sitting on the couch next to him. He reaches in and pulls out a fistful, shoving it in his mouth.

"That'll be my backup plan in case the whole dating-a-celebrity thing doesn't pan out."

"Fake dating." Aiden corrects, tongue digging into his cheek in concentration as he jabs at the buttons on his controller.

I hesitate. Discussing my relationship status with my brother is basically the last thing I ever want to do. But the pictures of Liam and me kissing in the park are going to be plastered all over the internet any second now if they aren't already. It's only a matter of time before my family figures out there's more going on between us than I've been telling them.

"It maybe isn't so fake anymore," I mumble, twirling my necklace between my fingers.

Aiden looks up from his game, narrowing his eyes at me. He huffs out a laugh. "Funny."

"I'm not joking."

"You're seriously telling me that you are dating the Liam Anders. How is that even possible?" Aiden's mouth is hanging open, and I can see some chewed-up bits of cereal in there. Yuck.

"Hello." Mom staggers through the door, poking her head around the large bag of groceries she's carrying.

"Hi, hun. Hey, bud." Dad trails her into the kitchen, hefting a couple more sacks.

"How was your day?" Mom calls over the rustling of produce bags and clatter of cabinets being thrown open.

"Um, it was fine," I call, looking at Aiden and pressing a finger to my lips. Telling my parents about Liam is something I need to do myself. To say I'm not excited about it is an understatement.

"There's no way Liam Anders is dating you," Aiden whispers, gaping at me like I just turned into one of the aliens from his video game.

"Excuse you," I hiss. "Your sister happens to be a super cool person who lots of people would want to date, celebrities included." I snatch a handful of cereal out of the box and toss it at him.

Aiden swats it out of the air. "Oh, yeah? Name one cool thing you've done in the past month."

I dart a look toward the kitchen. Keeping my voice down, I say, "I kissed Liam Anders."

"Oh, my God. I know." Aiden glares at me. "And so does everyone at my school. Thanks for that, by the way. It's all anyone's talked about."

"Well..." I avert my gaze, staring at the rug, "There's probably going to be a couple more pictures online after tonight."