We were well on our way to starting a second round, but this time going slower, warming each other up, kissing languorously.

I'd missed him so much more than I thought. When I landed at LAX, all my conflicted thoughts about Leo were on the surface. But once Cameron entered me, once I remembered what it was like to be with him, he was all I wanted. All I cared about. All I'd ever need.

As we kissed, letting our hands wander and explore, rediscovering each other, I recalled how hard I'd been falling for him. I might have hit the ground already, but with every kiss, with every touch I was still high in the sky and nowhere near completely in love; not if he kept making me fall like this.

Did he feel the same way? A few times, on the phone, I'd been under the impression he was close to saying he loved me. The tension was there, the words suspended, unsaid. I felt them, for sure, but I wasn't quite ready to say them...

Maybe here, now, in his arms, I could let loose at last. Maybe this time—

The hotel room door beeped and swung open as I was climbing atop Cameron to start rubbing against him.

"What the—"

We flew apart, and I drew the blanket up to my neck as Cameron sat up straight. "Hello?" he said, frowning towards the doorway.

The intruder stomped past the entryway, muttering under their breath. "Dude, we have to review this—"

They stopped at the opening into the main area, where the bed was. I gasped, and Cameron stiffened.

It was Leo. Leo Lee had forced himself into Cameron's room?

He stood there, balking at us. No shirt on, exposing his ever gorgeous, chiseled chest. He wore his leather pants that were tight around his bulgy legs and was barefoot. His hair was in disarray, and his eyes grew wide and freaked. "Oh. Shit. Cam, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company."

I gawked at him, unsure why he had a key to Cameron's room, why he'd barge in without notice, and why he hadn't recognized me.

"Company?" Cameron's voice grew dark.

"Company?" I echoed, confused.

"Oh," Leo narrowed his gaze on me and shook his head, "oh, it's Emma, fuck. Fuck, I'm sorry, you guys." He smacked a hand over his eyes and shook his head again. "I had no idea. This is embarrassing."

I glared at him, clutching the covers as close to my chest as possible. "Um," I cleared my throat, "who else would be here aside from me?" I glanced between Leo and Cameron, eyebrows arching. "Anyone care to explain?"

My arousal was gone; my sexy mood evaporated in an instant. Something was up, something didn't make sense. Leo coming in uninvited, Cameron being sneakier than usual. Not one but three condoms in the drawer, as I found out after we'd finished round one. I didn't know of any hotels that provided sexual protection for its patrons, unless it was a west coast tradition?

The suspicions I'd muffled and ignored because I was too busy being turned on resurfaced.

"Yeah, what the fuck, Leo?" Cameron got out of bed, completely nude, unfazed by Leo seeing his junk. He put on his boxers as he marched around the bed. "Why would you barge in here and imply I'm sleeping with other people? You know damn well Emma and I are exclusive. Well," he snorted, "aside from her fake gig with you."

Leo dropped his hand and rolled his shoulders, his cheeks flaring red. "I didn't—" he hissed, his nose bunching. "Fuck, man, I'm sorry."

"No." Cameron stomped over to Leo, invading his space as he raised a fist at him. I gripped the covers tight, wondering whether to interfere; but I was naked, and my clothes were too far for me to reach before Leo had a chance to ogle me. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

I furrowed my brows at Cameron, whose back was to me. I saw the tension in his muscles, his spine arched and on edge. He stood his ground, but I bit my lower lip; they were friends, yes, but Leo was his boss. The tone he took worried me. Would they fight each other? Or would one of them back off nicely until we could square this out civilly?

"Hey," I said, trying and failing to raise my voice; my throat was clogged with saliva. "Both of you, stand down."

Leo wasn't in as much of an offensive position, but he was geared to defend himself. His arms were tight at his sides, his muscles bulging, stiff. "I didn't do it on purpose," he said, seething, though leveling his voice better than Cameron.

"You did." Cameron jammed a finger into Leo's bare torso, unflinching. "You knew she was coming. I texted you that she'd arrived. Petra told you, too. You knew so fucking well that I'd be with Emma right now, because she wasn't with you yet."

The genuine confusion on Leo's face made me doubt what Cameron was saying. Maybe he had texted, but Leo hadn't gotten the text? Or Petra had warned him, but he'd been so swept up in rehearsals and preparation for his shows that he'd spaced it?

"No one told me shit," spat Leo, distancing himself from Cameron. He was closer to the door, and out of view for me; I couldn't see if he was still frowning, or still looking conflicted at what he'd stumbled into.

Or...was he acting? Faking? He was skilled at that. Cameron knew him best, and he might have been right about Leo doing something like this on purpose...but why? What would be the point?

Unless he meant to stir trouble between Cameron and I, in which case I'd be livid. My face heated as I waited, observing the scene, unsure if Cameron was going to punch him, shove him out, or both.

"Fine." Cameron sounded like he was breathing out smoke. "But why would you waltz in here without knocking first? And insinuating that I'd be fucking around with someone else when I've been faithful to my girlfriend," he gestured at me, but didn't turn to me, "this whole time? I'm in a real, committed relationship, unlike you."

My mouth shaped into an "o" of surprise. That was one heck of a blow, even between longtime friends. I wanted to say something, to soften that blow; but what could I say? I didn't belong here. This was a dispute that needed to happen between them alone.

I made to creep out of bed and drag the sheets with me, but Leo huffed and whirled around, his footsteps heavy on the ground. I heard the door creak open, then slam behind him.

Cameron slumped, then spun to me as he dragged a hand down his face. "Jeez." He sat on a chair against the wall and leaned over, head between his legs.

Should I have said something? Had I made things worse by keeping quiet?

"Cam?" I didn't move from the bed. My body grew rigid, and I feared what Cameron would say or do next.

Would he get in trouble for such an outburst? Would Leo fire him, fire both of us for this? We were allowed to be in bed together; my contract allowed me to remain in my relationship with Cameron, as long as we were discreet in the public eye. This room, Cameron's room, was definitely not accessible to anyone but us. Leo never should have blasted in, disrespecting Cameron's privacy.

I wanted to be angry with Leo, because he'd committed the biggest of errors; yet I kind of understood. I knew what he meant to do, and in a sense, he'd succeeded. He'd instilled doubt in me; doubt about Cameron and his habits when we weren't together. I'd trusted him from the start, knowing how busy he was...but what if I'd been mistaken?

Could I be mad at Cameron? He'd startled me with his behavior, and Leo's accusation, whether on purpose and fake or true. He'd woken something uncomfortable in my belly.

Was Cameron a cheater?

Cameron sat up, scrubbed his face, and looked at me. "You okay?"

That he would ask me how I was during all this tapered some of my questions. "I mean...a bit invaded, but otherwise okay."

He snorted at me, shrugging his hair back. "Invaded, right." He got up and billowed over to the window, ripping the curtain open. I pulled the sheet up to my chin, letting out a squeal at the notion of being exposed. He snickered at me. "Why are you covering up? Hasn't everyone seen you naked, anyway?"

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

He blew out his cheeks. "Everyone has seen you naked. That dress you wore at his party was skimpy enough, wasn't it?"

My jaw couldn't go any lower, and yet it did, stretching my mouth downward. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

He winced, turning away from me and setting his forehead against the window. "Fuck, no, sorry. That one wasn't that bad. But Leo has seen you naked, hasn't he?" He chuckled, sounding like a madman about to realize his ultimate scheme. "I mean, of course he has, with that little scam of yours. He's seen every inch of you. I told him you were mine, but you had sex, didn't you? You were allowed, per the contract. As far as you want to go, as long as you're comfortable."

He wasn't peering at me, as if he knew the answer and didn't need to check my expression for confirmation.

"That's pretty presumptuous of you, isn't it?" I didn't let go of the sheet, clutching it tighter to soothe my nerves. My blood boiled at such an accusation; wasn't he supposed to be in the hot seat? "You're one to talk. Leo insinuated you had company other than me on your trips. And there are magically condoms in the drawers when we need them? Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Do you want to tell me anything?" He removed his forehead from the window and set his fists on his hips. "You haven't answered my question, which sort of insinuates that you had sex with him. Which, hey," he lifted his arms, "it's part of the contract, so who gives a shit, right? No big deal. Not like I needed to know about it until now."

"Cameron," I said, hoping the level of warning in my tone would be enough to calm him down. Never had I seen him so agitated. He'd gotten testy at times with Leo, over the phone, and I'd listened to him verbally sparring with vendors and other assistants, but never like this. Never with such rage. "I didn't answer your question because it's so incredibly insensitive, and asked with such accusation that I didn't want to respond. But I will now; for your information, I have not slept with Leo, and wasn't planning to."

"Oh, wasn't planning to? Not until now, you mean?" He puffed out a breath. "Not until you saw him sweep in half-naked, looking all hot and bothered? Oh, but no," he scoffed, "no, you've seen him without a shirt on, so that didn't faze you at all, did it?"

"What is wrong with you?" I released the sheet at this point, not caring about exposing my nudity. Maybe it'd change his mind, maybe it'd shock him into stopping this erratic attitude. "Yeah, everyone has seen him without a shirt on; that's how he performs half his sets!"

My exposure didn't do a thing to settle his nerves; if anything, they got worse as he paced in front of the bed. "Right," he rolled his eyes, "and you'd know that well, wouldn't you? Because you're one of his biggest fans and have admired him for a decade and love every single one of his songs." His tone was so mocking, so demeaning that it made my eyes water with offense. "Yeah, I saw that on your social media. Posts from years ago, but they're still accurate now. Interesting what you can find out online."

There was no way my jaw could drop any further, yet it did. "You stalked my social media profiles?"

"Of course I did." He rubbed his nose. "As Leo's security coordinator and the one who oversees his schedule, I'm always up to speed on everything. When you bought those VIP tickets, I investigated you. When you signed that contract to be his fake girlfriend, I had to dig even deeper. I didn't judge, ever. Not until now. Not until—" he growled. "Fuck that guy, coming in and messing us up. I said you were mine, I told him that, and he has to go and get himself into yet another scandal? How fucking convenient."

I didn't recognize him; this man standing before me, tense and tormented, wasn't the Cameron I'd been falling in love with. This was a jealous man who'd been holding in his emotions for too long and spewed them all out like an ancient, inactive volcano.

I snapped at him, drawing his glower towards me. "Stop. Calm down. You're blowing this out of proportion. Leo fucked up; he was a jerk for stalking in here, and you can yell at him all you want later. If you promise me you've been faithful to me, I'll believe it. But demeaning me when I did nothing wrong? No." I wagged my finger, before leaving the mattress to go find my underwear. "I won't accept that."

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing almost violently. "You haven't slept with him?"

"I haven't." I located my panties and pulled them on, followed by my bra. "We staged stuff, we danced a bit provocatively, yes, and we kissed to make all this look believable. That's it."

His nostrils flared. "Oh, it's believable all right. So believable it's had me doubting you for a while now. You said you were a bad actress, so if this is you acting...well, shit, you were wrong, and might want to rethink your profession."

I'd had enough. He twisted things around in his irritation with Leo, and I didn't deserve to be on the back end of it. I didn't deserve for him to throw such hurtful comments at me. He wasn't himself, overwhelmed with stress and envy towards his friend, his employer, who got to parade me on his arm in public.

"You need to cool down." I plucked my leggings and top from the floor and yanked them on. "You're being an asshole, and I get it, you have every right to be upset with him. But not with me." I fetched my shoes and purse from where I'd left them near the door. "I didn't storm into your room and find you in bed with someone. All I did was come here, on your command, for the ruse you got me warped into for Leo's benefit. So," I tugged on my purse and turned away from him, "I'll see you later."

Without waiting for him to say another word to me, I left. My room was a few doors down, and I was grateful for that. I didn't want him coming through an adjoining door to continue his berating, or to beg me for forgiveness I wasn't ready to give.

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