They both stared at each other, each of them trying to catch their breaths.

Alex was confused. The thing he wanted most in the world for such a long time had finally happened and he thought that she shared his feelings. The way she pushed him away...it was like she was only trying to placate him so he would forget about her.

Why couldn't she understand that none of her tactics would work? If she thought that kissing him was going to make him go away, she was an idiot. He did not know that the feelings that he held for her could get any more intense but they did. He was addicted to her. How could he even begin to forget a kiss like that? He couldn't imagine dying without being able to be in her arms, them tangling together, their breaths as one, ever again.

"Why'd you stop?" He shouted, exasperated and frustrated.

"We can't do this." She murmured, shaking her head.

"Why not?"

"What about Stephanie?"

He rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? Fuck Stephanie."

Virginie laughed breathlessly. "I'm sure you do."

Alex stopped. "Do you think that I have feelings for her?" He nearly wanted to laugh at the preposterous thought but he didn't want to embarrass Virginie. The point of a fake relationship is to make people think that it's real. But he would think that Virginie, one of the people who knew him best, would realize that he was faking it.

"You say that like it's a crazy idea. She's your girlfriend, after all." Virginie crossed her arms and turned away from him with a huff. "I don't know what you feel for me but you do have a girlfriend and I would never want to get in the way of your―"

He couldn't help it, he chuckled a little. "Fake girlfriend."

Virginie rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I know that?" She sighed and turned back around to face him. "Are you sure it's still fake? I see the way you look at her. The way you embrace her. That's not fake. That's real."

Don't notice how I look at you when I do all of that? It's you that I'm thinking of, not her. My feelings for you are real. All he could do was laugh. He didn't know how else to react.

She slapped his shoulder. "This isn't the time to be playing games. You think my feelings are funny? You can't go and kiss someone like that and then―"

He snorted. "If memory serves, you're the one who pushed your tongue in my mouth. So I think you were the one who was doing the majority of the kissing," he reminded, raising an eyebrow.

"You ass! You know that's not the point. Be serious for a second. Is there something that you're not telling me?"
"I don't like Stephanie like that. Yes, I do care for her, but not romantically." He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to say this because it was going to be embarrassing but it had to be done. "The only reason why I agreed to her ridiculous proposal in the first place was because of you."

She looked taken aback. "What exactly was this proposal?"

He rolled his eyes. He didn't want to have to go through this again. The fact that he had agreed to it was something that he often tried to forget. "I told you about this already. Don't you remember?"

"Refresh my memory then."

"As I had told you before, my first date with Stephanie was just because of a bet. I was not and I am not interested in her in any capacity. Once we arrived at the gala, there were paparazzi all around us and they were asking her questions like we were already a couple. I questioned her about it after the fact and she asked whether I would be interested in being her fake boyfriend for a little while. I'm not sure what her motivations were but I know mine were not selfless because the added...um...incentive."

Virginie chuckled. "What was this incentive and what does this have to do with me?"

He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts, trying to choose his next words carefully. But they ended up tumbling out. "I agreed to Stephanie's proposal because I needed some kind of release if I was going to be seeing you every day. She said that being with her had certain 'perks' which I took to mean sexual favors and I assumed correctly. That day you came and you were joking that I was thinking of you when I had sex with her the night before, you were right. After that little exchange that we had in the ballroom, I had so much pent up energy that I just had to let it out. It's been like that ever since." He smiled sadly to himself. "I knew you had a boyfriend and you were untouchable. I never wanted to make a move. You were uninterested but I needed to do something to stop thinking about you. You haven't noticed how when I'm kissing her, I'm trying to look at you?"

Virginie stared at him blankly, not knowing what to say. What could she say? He had just told her that he had gotten involved in a fake relationship just so that he could keep himself from touching her.

"I think Stephanie's starting to catch on, too."

"What makes you say that?"

"She asked me to fire you a couple of weeks ago."

"What?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's why we went to Jamaica. She tried getting me to admit that I loved her and I couldn't. I tried distracting her with a trip to Jamaica but as you know, it didn't really help. We're not right for each other and we never will be. I think she loves me and it bothers her to know that I'm always thinking of another woman...always thinking of you."

"Thinking of me?"

Alex blushed and looked down at the floor to hide his embarrassment. "Yes, you. Who else would I be referring to?

Virginie shook her head. "We can't do this. Have you forgotten about Robert? What do you think he's going to do to you when he―"

"Don't mention that bastard's name in my presence," Alex hissed through his teeth, now shaking. "Please don't tell me you have feelings for that piece of trash. He treats you like shit and you let him!"

"Damn right I do!" Virginie shouted back, startling Alex.

"You don't have to..." He walked towards her as she turned away from him. "Virginie, we save women in your situation every day, if you need help..." He didn't even know what to say. How could she become so brainwashed by that idiot? What was his appeal? What does Robert have that I don't?

Virginie shook her head and smiled. Alex made her face him, completely confused. "I didn't want to have to divulge this information but I guess I have to now." She sighed. "I do not have any feelings for Robert. He's one of my assignments."

"One of your assignments...? I don't understand. I thought you were working for me and Robert was your actual boyfriend."

Virginie bit her lip. "I'm not supposed to be telling you about this. It's top secret and I could get in trouble―"

Alex cut her off with a laugh. "Save it. I don't care about rules. I want to know why you're allowing this man to use and abuse you when you could kill him easily."

The lustful gaze she gave him made him want to grab her and claim her mouth as his own once again but he restrained himself. He was kind of angry at her right now. He had to focus on that. "You're right about the killing part and I will kill him, it's just a matter of when." Alex tried to ignore how her saying that so nonchalantly turned him on immensely. "I have to finish my mission first. That's why I have that fake backstory and weak personality when I'm with him." Virginie sighed and plopped down into one of the nearby lounge chairs.

"So your name isn't Virginie?" He didn't want to admit it but deep in his heart, he felt annoyed that she didn't trust him enough with her real name. He knew it was procedure but he wished that she didn't have to live like this.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't act like you weren't expecting this. What self respecting spy uses their real name during a mission? Do you want me to get killed?" A thoughtful smile spread on her face. "It's not like your name is Alex either, princess."

His heartbeat stilled. How did she know his secret? How did she figure it out? Ethan and I have gone to so many lengths to make sure our identities were perfectly constructed. Where have we gone wrong?

"Don't get your panties tied up in a knot," she assured, waving her hands dismissively. "I'll keep your secret. I'm a spy, you had to know that I would dig into your background. I'm paid to know stuff like this." She stared out the blacked out window. "The only problem is that someone else knows that your name isn't Alex. They know who you are. The reason why you changed your name is most likely the reason why they're coming after you."

Alex silently gritted his teeth and stared at the ground. Anger was bubbling up inside of him. Didn't they know that I didn't want to do that anymore? That I never wanted to do it? Why do they want to punish me for wanting something better? Something more?

Virginie pushed herself up off the couch. "Anyway, I'm not going to press you on your real identity. I feel like that wouldn't be fair because I won't divulge my own. I don't need to know about why someone hired the Players to kill you in order to protect you." She put her lips to his ear and he could feel goosebumps ripple over his skin. "Just know, whatever it is, whatever you've done, it won't change how I feel about you."

What do you feel for me exactly? He wanted to ask, but the words seemed to be stuck on the roof of his mouth like the Wonder Bread peanut butter sandwiches he used to eat as a child. He wanted to tell her that whenever he saw her he felt like someone had implanted a butterfly farm in his stomach. But the words could not come to him so he was left looking like an idiot, staring at Virginie in close proximity. Alex swallowed loudly as Virginie giggled, motioning for him to follow her out of the room. Their exchange was over. He thought that something like this would make him feel better but the end of it only made him feel worse. He shuffled behind her, locking the door as they left.