13 Flames | gxg

31 - engaged

Palmer

I did it. I kissed Lexa. I thought if I did I would realize that none of it's real. That we're playing a part.

Instead I realized how long I've been waiting to kiss her. And how badly I want to do it again.

I didn't mean to push her so hard. But my hands took over as soon as her lips met mine. It's like I had no control.

My eyes follow her as she walks away. She stops in front of Alex and Joseph but I don't hear what they say. Suddenly, she pushes past them, rushing towards the exit. The sudden movement pulls me out of the trance.

I frown, already heading in that direction. "Alex, what just happened?"

"I don't know," he shrugs. "She just, like, freaked out."

Shit. I push past him and head for the door. Out on the sidewalk, I look both ways before seeing her walking down the street. I follow, navigating through the crowds on the sidewalks. I receive a few weird stares and I remember fake burns cover my arms, and I still wear my costume. Most people ignore me, though. It's LA. Nothing new here.

She turns the corner and I speed up so I don't lose her. I catch up to her once she takes a seat on a bench. I slow to a walk and approach slowly. She doesn't hear me behind her. I take a seat at the opposite end of the bench.

Neither of us say anything for a few minutes. But eventually, I can't take the silence.

"Hi." She doesn't answer. "What is it, Lex?"

She keeps her gaze forward. "Just..."

"A little weird?" I offer.

"Sure."

I risk sliding closer. "You want to talk?"

"I don't know what I want, Palmer.

I do. "It's a role, Lexa," I remind her. "And I'd rather kiss a friend on tv than a stranger."

"Fair enough."

"Besides," I scoot closer. "You're a good kisser."

She finally cracks a smile. "You're not bad."

I turn to her, feigning disbelief. "Not bad? I'm amazing."

"And humble, too."

We both start laughing. She inches closer, our shoulders now pressed together. We regain our composure a few moments later, silence settling once again.

"Seriously, though," I continue. "I'm glad it's you."

She turns her head sideways, looking me in the eye. "Did you have to use tongue though?"

I laugh again. "It was for dramatic affect."

"Right," she giggles beside me.

I stand, putting out a hand for her. She takes it and I pull her to her feet. In the corner of my eye I see a camera flash. I turn my head to find some paparazzi across the street, their camera aimed right at us.

"Oh look," I joke, "we're famous." She laughs as I flip off the cameraman. Together, we head back to set.

We stop at the door to her dressing room. I lean against the doorframe, watching her. She breaks into a smile. "What?"

"Nothing." I pause. "Not weird?"

She steps forward and kisses me on the cheek. "Not weird." Without another word, she disappears into her dressing room.

I stand there for a moment, a dopey grin on my face. Finally, I pull myself away from her door. I flop onto the couch in my own room and whip out my phone, immediately facetiming Nick and Chloe. They pick up right away.

"There's the celebrity," Nick teases. I roll my eyes but smile.

"We saw the premiere pictures," Chloe tells me. "You looked amazing, as usual."

My smile widens. "Thanks, Chlo. It was a lot of fun, actually."

"You and Lexa looked nice," Nick adds with a raised eyebrow.

I shrug. "Hell yeah we did."

"Why is it that out of everyone there, most of the pictures are of the two of you together?" Chloe teases.

I roll my eyes again. "Look, some guy asked for just me and Lexa. So we took some pictures. That's all."

"You should know half the universe is shipping you two," Nick adds with a laugh.

"Oh, great," I sigh. "Don't people know she's engaged?"

"Palmer," Chloe says, "half the world is convinced she's engaged to you."

My mouth drops open in shock. "What?"

"Look it up."

Opening the web browser on my phone, I search my own name. A Wikipedia box pops up with my name and a picture from the premiere. I scroll further down to the headlines. The first one reads "13 Flames co-stars Palmer Drake and Lexa Marshall: Engaged?" The picture beside the headline is the one from the red carpet where we're smiling at each other. You can clearly see her ring. Right where I hold her hand.

"Holy shit," I whisper.

"Yeah. You can see where the confusion may be," Nick laughs again.

"You might want to fix that, Palm," Chloe suggests.

"I'll get on it." I crack a smile. "But that's not why I called you."

"Oh?" Chloe raises an eyebrow.

"I kissed her."

I hold the phone farther away as Chloe and Nick explode into shouts. "Guys!" I call over them. "Our characters kissed. Not us."

"Technically, still you," Nick points out.

"But it didn't mean anything," I argue.

"Didn't it?" Chloe asks.

I sigh. "I don't know. Maybe? It meant something to me. But not to her."

"Palmer," Chloe reminds me, "you can't have feelings for her."

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"I know." They're quiet on the other end. "I just wanted to let you guys know. And thanks for telling me about the other thing. We'll talk soon."

They both smile. Nick says goodbye and drops off the call but Chloe stays on for a moment.

"I know what you're going to say, Chlo."

She frowns. "I just don't want you getting hurt, Palmer. Because as long as she's engaged, she will hurt you."

"I know," I whisper.

"Call me later. I love you," she smiles.

"Love you too." We sign off the call.

I open Twitter, where I've racked up a few hundred thousand followers. I type out a quick sentence:

PSA: Lexa Marshall and i are not engaged. sorry for the confusion ;)

I tag Lexa and post the tweet. I screenshot the message and post it on my Instagram story, trying to get the message farther. I leave it without a caption, unsure what else to say. When I'm done I toss my phone onto the couch, sighing. I don't know if Lexa's seen the articles yet, but she'll see the tweet. James too, probably. He won't be happy about it.

I never thought people would think she's engaged to me. But the way I look at her in the photo, the way she looks at me, my hand in hers. If you didn't know us personally, it's not that far of a stretch.

But I'd get her a nicer ring.