The elevator started moving, though neither of us had pushed a button. It said, “Lobby,” and reality came crashing back, like a bucket of water had been tossed on us. We broke apart to opposite corners, breathing heavily. I yanked my skirt down just as the door opened.

Lacey, the blonde country singer from Fairy Lights, stood there wearing the sexy school uniform she’d performed in when she’d sung “Mean” by Taylor Swift tonight. Her eyes honed in on Jared as she sauntered in and hit the button for her floor.

“Hey there,” she said, her voice accented with a Southern twang.

“Hey.” Jared’s hair was messy, but otherwise you’d never be able to tell he’d just been kissing me.

She touched his arm with a pink fingernail after the door closed. “I heard you’re the guy to see if a girl is lonely at night.”

Her words spread like ice in my blood, cooling my passion instantly. Did Jared get this a lot? How many girls’ rooms had he visited in the few weeks we’d been here?

“That’s me,” Jared said, but he sounded tired. “How old are you anyway?”

“Seventeen.”

He took her hand off him. “Sorry, we only serve eighteen and up here.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” She flicked her hair and looked at him from under her long, fake eyelashes. “It’ll be our little secret.”

“I’m sure your mother would love that. She has to be here while you’re on the show, right?” He moved around her to stab the button for my floor, like he couldn’t wait to get away. I accidentally let out a faint chuckle, and she glared at me. Oops.

“Whatever.” She crossed her arms and turned her back to us, and it was a very long ride to her floor.

After she got out, Jared let out a long breath. “What she said…just ignore her. That’s not me.”

I met his eyes but didn’t respond. Jared had a reputation he had to maintain for the show, but I couldn’t tell how much of it was based on truth and how much was an act. I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Was the real Jared the one I saw when we were alone or the one I saw flirting with other girls and getting texts from them wanting to hook up? And now that I’d stopped kissing him, all my reasons for staying away from him came back to me. There could be no us; there could only be me and Jared, two separate entities, as long as we were on the show.