Alex

Okay, why am I so nervous? Jeez. It's just a journalist not my favorite type of person so why the heck have I gone round after my cleaning lady to do another hoover of the floors and cleaning them. So weird, right? I've fluffed up the scatter cushions on the sofa at least ten times, me being domesticated. It's a joke. I am the least person who will ever be domesticated and yet here I am having whizzed the hoover round again, mopped the floors and preening the cushions.

I ordered flowers in for the guest bedroom for Madison Lane and an extra bunch for the dining room table. Pale blush roses, I hear that they're an easy color if you're not sure what color to go for. Hopefully, Madison Lane has no allergies to flowers or specifically roses. Am I sweating? Shit. I never sweat not even before a big game. I hope I'm not turning into a big woos.

"All good?" My best friend Shane asks. He and I have known each other since we were kids. Our folks have always lived next door to each other, so it was kind of given that we'd be friends from the off. He's not the size that I am, I mean I stand in at six-two and he is around five-eleven and slim. Although Shane hits the gym it's every now and then, so he isn't built at all like I am. It's weird how we are so different yet get on so well.

Shane is the studious one and was always helping me with my arithmetic when I was at school and during high school. I swear this guy is some kind of brainiac. I watch as he shifts his round, black rimmed glasses up his nose and tries to contain his runaway, sandy-blonde hair.

"Sure, all good. I'm nervous for no reason. She's only coming to spy on me. It's not like it's some kind of date." I say as I sit down on one of the wood stools at my marble island. I paid a fortune for the tiger-eye marble, it brings out the natural wood of the cabinets and when the sun glints onto it, it sure does gleam.

"Ah, but it is a fake dating scenario so maybe that's why you've got the heebie jeebies." Shane is smirking.

"Don't grin at me like that. You're really enjoying this aren't you?" I huff and fold my arms in front of my muscular chest.

"Yep. Just a little bit. The big, Alex Stone, king of the NHL scene getting his boxers in a twist because of some journalist girl coming to stay. Boy, this is priceless." He says as he stands by the double door, stainless steel fridge in my kitchen.

"Haven't you got some spreadsheets to pour over or something?" I ask. He's a data scientist but trades the markets and is very successful. He also writes programmes for some of the major finance houses in Colorado, NYC, Minnesota, and California. At some point in the near future, Shane is going to be going it alone and boy will he fly.

"Nah. This is much more fun. I think I'll hang around. Got any coffee on the go?" He wanders to my all singing all dancing coffee machine and starts pressing buttons.

"You need to place a cup under first, stop trying to mess my yard up. Fuck's sake. You're making me nervous." I tell him as I jump up from my stool and reach for a white China Wedgewood cup from the cupboard on his right.

"I wasn't going to make it for real without a cup. Man, seriously, Stone you have got to chill out."

"How the fuck can I chill out, when I'm supposed to be dating this girl and having to go to events with her? My management team have organized for us to go to a charity event together tomorrow." I run my hands through my already messy hair, there's no taming it. The curls wind up around the nape of my neck and really, it needs a trim, but I haven't got round to going yet.

"Look, she's probably as pissed off and as nervous as you. I follow this girl and she's cool as a cucumber. Trust me, the last thing this Madison Lane wants is to be fake dating someone like you. She's a serious woman, she's hot by the way. You know that, right? So don't get any funny ideas with her or do something you'll regret." He warns me.

Shane is right, Madison Lane is hot. Like HOT. I've seen her page and YT channel, and more so now since I found out she was going to be across my shit for the next six months. Whoever dreamt this up must have been on LCD or something because six months is a fucking long time if you ask me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask Shane as he finally finishes making his coffee and nods to ask if I want one. "Yes, I'll have cappuccino though." I tell him.

"You know you can't keep your dick in your pants, Stone. But with this girl you are going to have to behave yourself. One wrong move and it'll be all over social media before you can say anything. She'll bad slam you, bad mouth you and the press will have a field day, not to mention your coach and the management team. If you fuck this up, you could risk your endorsements and sponsorships too. So, think long and hard before you try getting your dick wet. Understood."

"Fuck. You sound like my coach now." But I get what he's saying. I've already got enough bad press surrounding me right now, if I hadn't. I wouldn't be in the predicament I am in.

It sucks. 

"Are you shitting me right now? You are asking me how you look? Listen, Bro who cares how you look and since when have you even cared. You're over thinking this whole fake dating thing. You don't even like her like I said before. Chill the fuck out."

It's easy from his point of view his whole life isn't about to be spread even more widely across the internet than it already is. Alright, I don't even know why I am freaking out so much about this woman coming here but I do know that I am.

"She's going to be here in ten minutes. Aren't you going to make yourself scarce Shane?" I fluff a blue pillow on my L-shaped cream leather sofa for about the tenth time.

"I thought I'd be here to give you moral support." He sniggers.

"Oh, fuck off, dude. Get out of here already. The last thing we both need is an audience this is awkward enough as it is." I tell him going back towards where Shane is standing and take the coffee cup from his hand and place it in the sink. I rinse it out because I never put my Wedgewood in the dishwasher, that's a sure fire way to ruin good China. And start to shove him lightly so he gets the hint to leave.

"Okay, okay. I'm going but give me a shout if you need me to help you know cut the ice between you two." He is laughing now. If he weren't my best mate in the entire world, I'd deck him for being such a smart mouthed ass.

 Finally, he leaves me standing alone by the door. I close it behind him and take a last glance around. Taking in the high vaulted ceilings adorned with mahogany beams, my spacious living area with two cream L-shaped sofas and a square glass coffee table standing between them with a few sports magazines and a photography book sitting atop it. To my right I check that nothing has been left on my dining table except the blush roses I had delivered earlier.

Satisfied I head through the open plan lounge area and take a left down the wide corridor that takes me to the bedroom suites and the main bathroom, although each bedroom does have a private bathroom. Why I need four rooms is beyond me, but you never know who may want to stay and I figured if I ever did get round to starting a family one day then I'd have the space and not need to buy somewhere new.

I love where I live, I have the best views of the mountains and I'm close to the ski resort too. Here in Aspen, it's the go to sport but my management team and my coach won't let me play in case I injure myself. Instead, I have to make do with watching the others do the skiing, it's okay. I kind of enjoy it and watching a good skier on the slopes is like watching the dancers in Swan Lake. Their grace and their dignity shines through. 

I'm satisfied with how Madison Lane's guest room looks. The bed linen is all fresh and white, and one of my mom's handmade patchwork quilts is thrown over the end of the bed, with a matching cushion for the easy chair in the corner. The flowers sure look pretty on the whitewashed dressing table.

The doorbell sounds, I don't have time to do anything else but finally meet Madison Lane in the flesh.