When we slowly pulled away from each other, even though we were still holding one another, I could barely stay on my feet under the lingering effect of that perfect kiss—one I'd always thought could only exist in books, yet had just lived through myself. As I waited for my breathing to steady, I hesitated to open my eyes at first. But when I finally gathered the courage and slowly lifted my eyelids, the expression I saw was not what I had expected at all.
I couldn't understand why he was looking at me with that strange smile on his face.
While my body refused to react, I couldn't pull away—nor could I stay where I was.
"Show's over, guys. You can come out now."
His words only confused me further.
"Which one of you forgot to turn off the camera shutter sound?"
"If the girls hadn't been giggling, we wouldn't have been caught."
"As if it wouldn't have been obvious anyway, with your huge body sticking out like that!"
"And this is coming from Miss Unit Circle? How ironic."
"Trust me, it won't be half as bad as the punch you're about to take."
"I'm looking forward to seeing you try."
While I listened to the whispered voices coming from a distance, I was busy mourning something else entirely. This huge beach, filled with nothing but tables and chairs, didn't even offer a single patch of sand where I could bury my head in shame.
Kerem, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the situation rather than feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable. While my knees were still shaking, his ease created a strange emptiness inside me.
When I lowered my arms and turned around, I watched in disbelief as our friends, abandoning their squabbling, stepped out one by one from beside the restaurant entrance.
"Oh my, you guys were here too? What are the odds, seriously!"
"Don't exaggerate, man. You're not talking to a child."
As Bora's attempt to wriggle out of it fell flat against Demir's reasonable tone, I spoke before anyone else could open their mouth.
"I have no words for what you did. I don't know whose idea it was, but I can guess it was you ladies who started it. And for that, I will deal with you separately."
Naturally, protests erupted immediately.
"Duru…"
"But bestie…"
"Later," I snapped, silencing the girls before turning to the guys. "Fine, maybe their hormones make them stare at anything remotely romantic with heart-shaped eyes—but what's your excuse? You're grown men, for God's sake!"
"I had nothing to do with it. They were already hiding when I got there. Before I even knew what was going on, they shut me up and pulled me in."
"Shame on you and that body of yours! Snitch Teddy! Don't listen to him, Sugarflake. We were looking for you, then we saw you and thought we shouldn't interrupt, and once we decided not to interrupt, we waited. And while waiting we got bored, so yeah, maybe we watched a little—but just a little, you know, not like that, don't get ideas—"
"Frizzy, I think you should stop talking now."
I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at this tragicomic story, when Kerem leaned toward my ear after tightening his arm around my waist.
"People inside are watching from the windows. Save the scolding for later."
The quick glance I stole in that direction proved he was right.
"Oh God! I was literally thinking it couldn't get any worse. Thanks to you, I've become the dictionary definition of embarrassment, Hotshot!"
When he laughed at my whispered complaint, a sudden idea crossed my mind and I looked at him suspiciously. Realizing the awful truth, I barely restrained the urge to wipe that handsome face right off.
Arguing in front of everyone wouldn't benefit either of us.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to the others and delivered my final warning in a calm but serious tone.
"I'll say this only once: all those photos will be deleted. Every single one. If I find out even one of you kept any, it won't end well for you."
Without even looking at Kerem, I continued in a flat voice.
"I don't feel well. I think I caught a cold. Can you take me home?"
Then, without waiting for an answer, I walked inside quickly.
I could still hear everyone outside cheerfully talking to Kerem.
I reached the dining table, gathered my belongings from the chair, and went back out.
While waiting by the car, I called my mom and told her I'd be coming home the next day for the post-exam break.
Kerem arrived just as I hung up. I got into the car, turned my back to him without saying a word, rested my head against the seat, and closed my eyes, facing the window.
I couldn't tolerate seeing his face right now—not while my disappointment was still this fresh.
"Duru?.. Are you okay?.. Duru?"
He must have misunderstood my stubborn silence, because I opened my eyes when I felt his warm fingers on my forehead.
"We're going to the hospital. You're not okay."
I brushed his hand away and spoke tiredly without looking at him.
"I'm fine, Kerem. I don't want to go to the hospital. All I want is to go home and sleep, okay?"
"You can sleep as much as you want after the hospital."
"For once, do what I say. Please!"
My exhausted plea must have worked, because he didn't say anything else—or maybe he did, but I fell asleep shortly after and didn't hear it.
When I woke up to the sound of a closing door, I realized we were in front of my building. I slowly gathered myself, unbuckled my seatbelt, and stepped out of the car.
He was arguing with someone on the phone.
Even though ignoring him and going inside sounded tempting, I needed to end this here to avoid facing him again.
When he hung up and walked toward me with a face full of fake concern, I almost laughed at how unconvincing his acting was.
"You look really bad. Don't be stubborn, let's go to the hospital."
As he raised his hand toward my forehead, I grabbed it and pushed it down.
"You don't need to act anymore, Hotshot. No one's watching."
Instead of looking surprised, he seemed uncomfortable with the truths being spoken out loud. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Duru…"
I wasn't expecting him to be surprised anyway.
A bitter smile formed on my lips as I continued.
"Just listen, okay? I'm too tired to argue. I'm going to my family's place tomorrow, and I won't be around for a week. Given that I've witnessed your acting skills up close, I'm sure that's more than enough time for you to find yourself a new girlfriend—whether it's for show or not, that's up to you—and convince your friends that we're truly broken up. Or you'll find some other excuse. However you prefer. You don't have to worry about me. I have no intention of revealing your secret, and from today on, I'll play the role of the dumped girlfriend so convincingly I'd deserve an Oscar nomination."
"Duru, I know you're angry, but it's not what you think."