Jax went to the parking lot 5 minutes before the time. He was typing a text message to inform Ray that he was there already. But before he could hit send, he felt someone hugging him from behind.
"Good morning, baby," Micah said.
Jax turned around and smiled. "Good morning."
With how many days they had been acting this way, Jax had gotten used to it. And he was sure that everyone would be fooled since it didn't feel awkward for them to do such things.
"What are you doing here, baby?" Jax asked.
"I'm here to pick you up. Let's go to the filming site together."
"I'm sorry, baby. But Ray is going to drive me there. Do you want to ride with me?"
"Hasn't he told you yet? I told him that we're gonna go there together. See?" Micah showed their text conversation.
"I guess he just forgot to tell me."
The two then went inside Micah's car and listened to romantic songs. Jax thought about how this had been normalized in his mind. He chuckled.
"What is it, baby?" Micah asked.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking about how I've gotten too used and too comfortable with this pre- I mean, relationship." Jax was about to say pretense but he remembered Micah saying that they should not take it as a simple pretense to make their act more believable.
Micah just held his hand and gave it a short kiss.
When they got to the filming site, all eyes were on them. It was the first time for the staff and the cast to have two actors who enver officially came out as members of the LGBTQ+ community become a couple because of their interactions in a series they worked on. They saw how they acted during the party, but they wanted to check if it was really true. They had seen too many straight actors milking the industry. The staff, being in the industry for so long, somehow felt protective of the people they represented.
But no matter how much they looked for the loopholes, the two were pretty intact. There was no forced intimacy. This became the topic of conversations in the girls' restroom.
"Do you think that they're really dating?" a staff asked while retouching her makeup.
"I think so," another staff who was washing her hands replied.
"Totally dating," one more who was inside a cubicle added.
"I think so, too. They don't feel forced, you know. I thought they're just doing fan service. But it's too real to just be fan service."
When they finished their business in the restroom, they went out while they continued talking about the same topic.
"I actually like that they're a couple. Jax is a really good person. And though Mr. Micah isn't totally bad, he wasn't approachable."
"Yeah, it's hard to approach him."
"But ever since they started dating, Mr. Micah has been treating everyone better."
"Do you think it's because of Jax?"
"Yes," the other two answered.
"Jax is so lucky. Mr. Micah changed for him."
And the three squealed.
Ray, who had just arrived at the set, heard what they were saying. If he wasn't in on the secret fan service, he, too, would've thought the same. But he knew.
Ray had been Jax's manager since he began acting in the BL industry. So he felt like Jax's parent. Although he's happy that Jax hadn't been talking about how he had to adjust to Micah, he didn't like how things turned out. They were acting too close. He was afraid that Jax would get too carried away and actually develop feelings for Micah.
Ray went to the pool area where they were filming Micah's scene with another man. He walked towards Jax.
"Jax?"
"Hi, Ray!" Jax smiled.
"Can we talk for a sec?"
"Sure."
Ray led him to the back part where only the two of them were present.
"You look so serious, Ray. Is this because I ditched you this morning? I promise Micah told me that you told him it's okay."
Ray chuckled. "Why are you so scared?"
"You just looked too serious. Whenever you have your serious face on, there's usually a big reason for it," Jax explained.
"A big reason, huh? I'd just like to ask about your fan service with Micah. How is it so far?"
"Pretty good. We're both cooperative so no problems as of now."
"But haven't you noticed anything, Jax?"
"Noticed what?"
"How your life is so much like the series? In A Billionaire's Second Love, Micah's character becamse obsessed with you because of his desire to maintain his reputation. Sebastian's character was even more obsessed."
Jax laughed. "How is that the same? Sure, Micha and I are in a relationship but it's just fan service. And Sebastian does like me, but he's not a psycho like his character in the series. We already talked about what happened."
Ray still wasn't convinced. Somehow, things were turning out to be like the plot in the series. Although it didn't exactly mirror it, the main point was there. He didn't want Jax to end up like his character.
"If you say so," Ray began. "But make sure that you won't end up like Paul."
Jax felt that Ray just wanted some assurance. He knew that Ray cared for him, so he just gave him that.
"I promise, Ray. You don't have to worry about me."
"One last thing. Are you in love with Micah?"
Jax laughed loudly and for quite some time. Ray glared at him so he stopped.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just too funny," Jax said.
"And what's funny about what I said?"
"We're acting close, but I'm not delusional to take this act as something real. I can separate my professional life from my personal life."
"But he's invading your personal life. You keep on acting like a couple even though no one's watching."
"Ray, didn't I tell you already? We're just doing this because Micah wants it to be more natural and believable. And you can see the result, right?"
Ray nodded his head. "But just be careful, Jax. I know you think that Micah is a nice person and he's so much better than before. Right now, Micah is not hard to love. He's a bad guy turned into a good guy. No one can resist that trope."
"I promise, Ray." Jax gave him a reassuring smile.
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