"We should get breakfast before one of us passes out from hunger. Come on. Get out."
I'd been expecting to go home, so when I realized we'd come to eat in one of the nicest spots in İzmir, my eyes lit up. We walked into a sea-view cafe and sat at one of the tables by the window. While he got settled, I looked around, curious.
I could honestly say I liked what I saw. With white dominating the design and all kinds of green plants added in different sizes and styles, the place felt bright and calming.
Not long after, a waiter came over and we placed our orders one by one. Then we both started watching the view right beside us.
Spending time with someone without talking usually felt strange and unfamiliar to me. But next to him, the silence didn't bother me at all.
Seagulls flew freely over the blue water shimmering under the noon sun. As I watched them, all the tension and unease I'd been carrying for two days started to melt away, little by little.
I lifted my face higher, toward the sky. Watching those cute clusters of clouds, like cotton fields, drifting carelessly through the air was just as soothing as watching the sea.
Nature's effect on the human mind really was unbelievable.
A peaceful smile settled on my lips as the moment stretched on. I let out a deep breath and looked back in front of me.
This time, what caught my eyes was a different kind of natural beauty.
He was leaning back in his chair, hands clasped over the knee he'd crossed, face angled slightly toward the window as he watched the sea. I tilted my head a little.
Like this, he looked less like a breathing, living person and more like a one-of-a-kind portrait painted by a talented artist. The kind you could stare at for hours, trying to decode every secret hidden in the details.
I didn't know how he managed to be so perfect it messed with my sense of reality, but that was exactly what he did to me. His wavy hair falling onto his forehead shimmered in the warmest shades of brown under the noon sunlight pouring through the glass. With his smooth skin and sharp features like they'd been carved out of marble, he had an undeniable masculine beauty.
But what truly separated him from everyone else was what he made me feel.
"I remember warning you not to look at me like that, Sunshine."
And there it was, I'd been caught again. I immediately turned my eyes to the sea.
"You imagined it, Hotshot. I was totally watching the view."
With that crooked smile, he asked, "Did you at least enjoy your view?"
Even though I knew exactly what he meant, I played dumb. "Of course. Who doesn't like a sea view?"
Thankfully, the waiter arrived at the perfect time with our food, ending that humiliating conversation before it could get any worse.
After a few bites, I figured it was a good chance to bring up the other topic and spoke without waiting.
"Did anything come up from the numbers on that man's phone?"
"There were very few numbers. And only one of them was registered under a real name. They're trying to find him now."
"Who's 'they'?"
"Other people helping me, because I can't move as fast as I want on my own."
"Does that mean I can finally breathe a little easier, thinking you're less in danger?"
He set the phone he'd been messing with on the table and turned his mocking gaze on me.
"Why? Is my girlfriend worried about me?"
"Oh, please. I'm worried about myself. If something happens to you, I'll be considered guilty too because I lied to all those people along with you. And then everyone will hate me. Besides, even without them saying anything, I already feel guilty enough for fooling this many people."
"Nothing's going to happen to me, Duru. And since this lie was my choice, nobody's going to hate you or anything, so don't worry. Stop thinking about it."
I nodded, hoping he'd end up being right.
"If you're done with breakfast, should we go?"
"Sure. I should start studying before it gets too late anyway."
When I got home, I left my things in the entryway and went straight to my bedroom. I lay down and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, thinking about everything that had happened. I genuinely couldn't stop wondering what this guy was so stubbornly chasing that he didn't hesitate to endure all this trouble alone.
Whatever his story was—whatever he guarded like a state secret—he still hadn't told me. Even when he acted like he was answering my questions, there were so many things he left hanging that I still couldn't figure out what I'd gotten myself into.
And this fake dating situation was another problem entirely. Thinking about everything, I couldn't help feeling like I was trapped inside a romantic comedy movie with a terrible ending.
I didn't know where my brain was when I agreed to his offer, but the fact that I'd accepted it at all was basically proof I deserved an "mentally unfit" report.
The moment that thought hit me, I turned in place and buried my face in my pillow.
The part with Kerem's friends had been handled, but I still hadn't told my own friends anything.
As if I didn't already have zero reasonable excuses to hide the fact that I'd been dating Kerem for a whole week, now I was going to lie to them too. But if I told the truth, I was sure they'd think what I was doing was wrong and try to make me stop. Because if I were them, that's exactly what I'd do.
And I couldn't risk them slipping up around the others either. Both of my friends were the kind of people you never quite knew how they'd react when they got angry.
So at this point, the only option was to tell them the same lie and do everything I could to make them believe me.
I got up, pulled my phone from the bag I'd left by the entrance, and texted them that we needed to talk at my place the next day, without making them worry. None of us had an exam the next day anyway. Without waiting for their replies, I put my phone on silent.
With a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, I sat down at my desk in front of the mountain of study papers piled on it. Of course, I knew there was nothing that could save me from a bad grade at this point. Still, as a student with principles, I decided to trust the power of the almighty blue and started reading my notes.