WHITE MUSTANG / chapter eighteen
——— ₊ ⊹ terms and conditions 🪩

( 🏙️ )    manhattan,    new york city

———— SALEM'S SKY-HIGH PLATFORM heels clacked against the concrete of the sidewalk, her fendi purse hanging from her forearm as her hand held the phone tightly to her ear, "what are you even talking about?"

indiana's heavy sigh echoed in her ear, forcing an eye roll out of the blonde. "sal, girl, i'm telling you, he's whipped for you." "indie, what? are you even hearing yourself right now?"

"my hearing is not the problem, salem." the reid girl took a quick glance at the screen of her phone where indiana's contact name was displayed, realising that, once again, she was late for the dinner with the same man the two girls were talking about.

salem quickened her pace, the tight white blouse around her body starting to feel uncomfortable as she moved among manhattan's trafficked sidewalks, "indie, there's nothing going on. the article is wrong."

"let me correct myself, the problem is not my hearing, it's your sight." indiana stated in a stern voice, her eyes rolling, "what the—" "sal, i saw the pictures.. there's something in the way he looks at you."

"now you're fantasizing." salem scoffed, her free hand running through her long blond locks. her heartbeat fastened as she thought about nicholas, how he was probably already waiting for her, and how she got stuck in red traffic lights every few minutes.

an agitated sigh left her lips. "wait, aren't you going out with him now?!" indiana recalled her friend's words from the day before, receiving a harsh look from salem even though she couldn't see it, "i'm not going out with him, it's a work dinner." "yeah, with you two only." "indiana." "salem."

salem didn't know why she was getting so worked up over her friend's words. if she was so sure they were wrong, she should have just let them wash over her, forget about them, but somehow she was just getting more and more nervous.

"he's not like that jackass you worked with before, sal.." the reid girl's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink hearing her friend's smiley voice. "i saw it the moment you opened the door to show him the dress the other day.. those bedroom eyes." "indiana!"

salem didn't realise she let out a loud yelp until some people turned around to face her, her face flushing even more red as she covered herself in embarrassment, "you did not say that." "i very much did."

"listen, we're friends. that's it." "right. and i'm heterosexual." indiana spat back, and salem could hear the faint sound of popcorns popping from the speaker.

"the article is wrong, they saw him helping me and made things up," she explained, but her words somehow felt more directed to herself than to the grimes girl on the phone, "you know how gossip articles are."

"fine, if that's what you say." indiana answered simply, not wanting to upset salem even more, "listen, i have to go now. enjoy your romantic dinner, babes." "work dinner!" salem quickly corrected her, a small grin growing on her lips. "tell clara i say hi."

she ended the call, a sigh of relief leaving her after the confrontation with her friend. for some reason, though, she could give a halt to the fast-beating heart in her chest.

nicholas's eyes darted from the screen of his phone to the front door of the sushi restaurant every few seconds, wondering where the woman he was waiting for had disappeared. he swore he had been waiting for salem for at least 20 minutes, but again, she was known for being a tardy person.

he rolled his eyes, looking around the environment. the one he was sitting in was probably the best sushi restaurant in the whole of manhattan. screw it, he'd say, in the whole of new york. it was chic and elegant, just like he liked it, but for a second he wondered whether he had exaggerated in booking such an exclusive and sophisticated place.

after all, all that was, was a work dinner. sure, fancy and with only the two of them, but still a work dinner.

"god, i'm so sorry." her voice suddenly echoed in his ears, making him look up from his phone only to find a very much disheveled salem. her hair was slightly frizzy, and he could tell that she was running to get there, "don't worry."

she sat down in the booth seat in front of him, throwing her purse on the white leather seat next to her, "god, forgive me. i completely lost track of time." she seemed mortified for being so late, something that nicholas wasn't used to.

"sal, it's fine, i wasn't waiting for long." he lied, he had been waiting for a while, but again he didn't want to upset her. she was a loose cannon, and he never really knew what to expect from her. that's what he secretly liked about her though.

they ordered, and shortly after their food arrived in beautifully adorned plates and intricate compositions. once they started eating, nicholas's eyes went to her, "so.. did you see the articles going around?"

salem stopped chewing her food, looking back at him and returning his eye contact. she placed down her chopsticks, nodding slowly, "yes, i did. they're... something." she laughed awkwardly.

"well, i was kind of taken off guard too." he confessed, leaning back on the white leather booth, his blue button-up shirt defying his arms in a way that salem was forced to look down not to be caught red-handed staring at them. he does it on purpose, i'm sure, she thought.

"don't worry though," he assured, drawing her gaze back to him as he gestured with his hands to relax, "i have this under control, it won't spread further. i have a press conference tomorrow afternoon, and surely people will ask. i will deny everything for both of us, so this will stop—" "don't."

nicholas thought he misheard when salem's voice interrupted him so abruptly, making him tilt his head and furrow his eyebrows, "don't...?"

salem's lips parted slightly as she tried to give form to her thoughts, but his deep brown eyes pierced into her soul, making her block. "well, i mean— we could.. you know," she was stuttering, and she had discovered that around nicholas it happened more than she would have liked to admit. she was convinced that by now he thought she was a complete idiot, especially after seeing her drunk — not even wanting to imagine what she did or said.

she cleared her throat, flipping her hair away from her shoulder, "i mean we could fake it." she proposed, making nicholas's eyebrows knit together, "fake it? as in.. pretend we're dating?"

"fake it as in.. let people speculate about us. it could be good for increasing our popularity before fashion week."

if a month and a half before nicholas was told that he would have gotten to this point with the very same woman he was refusing to work with, he'd probably laugh in the face of the person for an hour straight, "you think it's a good idea?" "it's the same as the dixon party. let people see us in public, doing.. couple things, you know? let them talk."

he nodded, for some reason he was drawn to that crazy idea. he wasn't one to break the rules, to not follow his strict scheme of ideas and just do something so risky, but at the same time he felt like that was the right thing to do.

maybe if he denied everything, people would just not care anymore about the collaboration, because he was well aware that nowadays, what most regular people cared about was that side of fame, the romantic part.

"fine." he agreed, shocking salem by how fast he accepted, "but with conditions. you know, just to.. preserve this." he said, growing more agitated, "yeah, of course. you're right." she agreed, scratching the side of her neck as the conversation grew more and more embarrassing for her.

she could feel the heat growing on her face, and she prayed to god that it was just in her head and that she wasn't actually turning into a tomato in front of him.

"first." nicholas started, "this is for public appearances only. in their eyes we need to seem close and... intimate." the last adjective made him cringe as an unknown shiver crawled up his back as he looked down, "and of course, it does have to seem real, so no other relationships in the meantime. for both of us."

"i agree," her voice seemed to be finally back to normal as they discussed the topic like it was a bullet list, with terms and conditions to sign at the end, "also, we should keep it quiet, let people believe it's actually what it is. even people close to us."

"and," he added, interrupting her, "this will end as soon as fashion week is over. maybe wait a few weeks for credibility and then poof, bye bye relationship." "right." all salem could do was nod and agree, "and, no intimacy other than what's strictly necessary. in public or social media.."

"finally. no real romance involved." nicholas stated, raising his glass of wine in her direction. a small smile crawled on his face at their plan, wondering what the hell was about to happen in the next few months.

salem grinned back at him, her burgundy lips forming a bright smile. she raised her glass, making it clink against his, "no romance involved."

LOLA SPEAKS .ᐟ 𐙚
famous last words...
anyways ACT ONE IS OFFICIALLY
OVER WHAT???? it's crazy i am so
in love with this story it's insane 🥲
i'll post the act 2 chapter either today or
tomorrow !! 😋 thank you for reading ♡