Chapter 54 GIRLFRIEND
RACHEL
“This is…” I stuttered, meeting Thane’s eyes, confusion hitting me so hard I couldn’t even piece my thoughts together. “This is us.” Like saying it out loud would somehow make it less real. “Wasn’t this the night at Galaxy? How is that even possible?”
Thane looked just as shocked, but he didn’t say anything. He kept scrolling, like he was searching for something else that wasn’t there.
“Thane, please say something,” I snapped, my voice cracking under the weight. “How did this happen?”
“Shit… I really don’t know,” he muttered, like he was talking to himself.
That only made it worse. I yanked the phone from him. “What do you mean you don’t know? We’re on the damn news. What if your dad, or worse, my mum has already seen this?” A bitter laugh broke out of me.
“Fuck, Rachel. I don’t know!” he shot back, his eyes darkening with anger plus fear mixed in there too.
I went quiet for a second, just watching him bury himself in his screen as I swallowed down hard. I bit my lower lip and moved back toward the passenger seat, but he caught my wrist before I could pull away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, calmer now, his grip tightening slightly like he didn’t want me to leave.
How did this even happen now… when we were just starting to figure things out? That’s what I was mad about. Not him.
He pulled me back gently and settled me on his lap again, lifting my chin so I had to look at him. “Hey,” he said softly.
I couldn’t really blame him for yelling. This wasn’t just about us anymore. It was about everything. I couldn’t even imagine how many people had already seen that.
“I’m sorry for yelling, alright? I…” His voice faltered, frustration slipping through.
What if Mum started asking questions? I could lie, but the pictures already said enough. We weren’t just close in them. Whoever took those shots waited for the perfect moment—one angle, one touch—and suddenly it looked like something else entirely. I couldn’t even remember when it happened.
“I just… couldn’t take it when you kept asking like that,” he continued. “I don’t know how it happened or who did it, but I’m fucking mad this is gonna affect you.”
The tears came before I could stop them. I tried but it sliped anyway. I wiped quickly, but it was too late.
“Oh, shit… Shorty,” he murmured, cupping my face. He leaned in, brushing his lips gently over my cheeks, kissing away what he could. “It’s okay.” He slowly moved from there to drop a kiss on my lashes and then my forehead. The wetness of his lips stayed there.
“It’s not okay,” I choked out, shaking my head even though my chest felt painfully tight. “What if… what if people start suspecting us? Or worse, what if you get into a fight with your dad trying to fight for us? What if my mum ends up hating me for ruining her new home and everything she’s trying to build and…”
I didn’t even finish the words tumbling out of my mouth before Thane burst into full laughter. I blinked, completely thrown off.
How was he laughing right now? If anything, he’d be the one affected the most by this. And fine, maybe he was used to being in the spotlight, but this was different. This wasn’t some random scandal. This was a nightmare.
“How is that funny?” I demanded, wiping at my lashes.
He flicked my nose lightly. I recoiled on instinct, and then he smiled. “You’ve been watching too many melodramas, baby,” he teased. “None of that is gonna happen. What’s actually gonna happen is, you’ll pretend none of this happened and let me handle it.”
I squeezed my face, totally unsure of what on earth he meant by that, He leaned closer this time, his tone firmer. “You’re staying out of this. I’m serious, alright?”
“How are you even planning to fix it?” I shot back, still fighting to sniff back phlegm from the tears.
He smiled again, but this time, I could tell he was hiding something behind it. I felt it instantly, even if I couldn’t figure out exactly what.
He leaned back against the seat, staring at me with that lazy look that always made me suspicious. “Do you realise I'm still hard right now?” He suddenly blurted.
One unbelievable scoff slipped out of me. Was he serious just now? How could he still be in the mood for anything when we have something this big that's still left unfinished?
“We’re literally on the front page and you’re thinking about your dick?” I hit his chest lightly. “How are you even thinking about that in this situation?”
“Ow!” he complained dramatically. “You can’t blame me. You were the one riding me like the world was ending ten minutes ago. My brain is still stuck there.”
“I’m serious, Thane.”
“So am I,” he defended, grinning unapologetically. “You think guys can just switch their brain off instantly or something? My dick's not some kind of robot you can just turn on and off. Unless you finish this off right now or I'm gonna have to soap myself later. Chose?”
God. He didn’t just say that. “Firstly, that’s so gross and secondly, that’s still not the point.”
I honestly thought we’d be sitting here panicking or regretting every life choice we’d made tonight, but instead we were arguing over nonsense like this. Still… beneath all the jokes, I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing. Why was he always so determined to carry everything alone?
“Alright, fine,” he sighed. “That’s a lie. Never done that before.” he admitted.
Suddenly, I was interested in digging deeper into the topic. “Because the idea of touching yourself isn’t just crazy, it sounds like pure suffering for your sexual organs,” I cooed. Meanwhile, Thane neither looked pleased nor annoyed by my outburst.
He was quiet for a second then he chuckled when he noticed I narrowed my eyes at him in anticipation.“Oh, shit,” he laughed quietly. “You actually wanted to keep arguing about that?”
“Why not?”
“Because,” he muttered, rubbing his face, “I don’t exactly enjoy having weird conversations with my own girlfriend.”
I froze like a statue. That wasn’t the part that caught me off guard the most. It was the last word he said.
Girlfriend. Wait… Did he just call me his girlfriend?