Chapter 6 First Take.

Audrey's POV

I had been awake since four thirty. Others might be thinking if it's because of nerves, but it wasn't that. It was the radiator in my room that clicked every forty minutes like it was keeping score, awareness that Lewis Jeremy was sleeping only twenty feet away.

Every tiny creek in the apartment. I hated how aware I was of him.

By 6:58 a.m. I was already in the kitchen, clutching a mug of coffee with both hands, when the doorbell rang. Derek and the crew came in hauling lights and cameras. Petra, the lead producer, sharp, energetic, in her early thirties, swept inside right behind them.

“Morning, team!” Petra said, clapping once. “Let’s make some magic today. Audrey, you’re up early. Love the energy.”

“Morning,” I managed.

Lewis’s bedroom door opened at exactly 7:04. He stepped out already dressed for a run, hoodie half-zipped, running shoes on, water bottle in hand. He stopped when he registered me standing there with the full crew.

Three full seconds of awkward silence stretched between us.

“Morning,” I said.

“Morning,” he replied, voice low and flat. He walked straight to the fridge without looking at me again.

Petra materialized beside him instantly. “Perfect timing! Lewis, walk us through your morning routine for the cameras. Keep it natural. Audrey, you’ll join him?”

Lewis glanced at me. His face gave absolutely nothing away, the cooperative energy of someone fulfilling the exact letter of a contract and nothing more.

“Sure,” I said, forcing a smile. “I run.”

Something flickered across his face for a split second and disappeared. He capped his water bottle and headed for the door.

Petra grinned at me. “Follow his lead. We’re rolling.”

I lasted exactly four blocks.

My lungs suddenly started working at that moment. My legs felt like jelly. I dropped to a walk, chest heaving, trying my best to keep my expression neutral for the camera guy jogging backward in front of me. Lewis kept running ahead, effortlessly.

I was busy mentally rehearsing excuses about a division I athlete, completely different training level, totally reasonable gap... when he gradually slowed down. Not stopping or waiting for me. Just easing his pace enough that the gap between us stopped growing.

I stared at the back of his shoulders the rest of the way, confused.

Back at the apartment, Petra pulled me aside in the hallway while Derek adjusted a light.

“Good footage. Really solid,” she whispered. “But the audience is going to want more from him, one real moment per episode, where something actually gets through that wall. You’re the only one he responds to.”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“Episode one airs Tuesday,” Petra cut in, squeezing my arm. “Watch the comments. Trust me.”

The rest of the morning was pure awkward cooperation.

When Lewis returned from another training session, I had two full plates of breakfast waiting.

“Welcome back,” I said brightly as he entered the kitchen. “I made eggs and toast. Figured we could eat together for the cameras.”

He stopped and looked at the plates. Then at me.

“I don’t eat breakfast,” he said.

“I know. You told me yesterday. But I made extra anyway. For me. Because I eat… a lot.”

Lewis raised an eyebrow. “You eat a lot.”

“Yep. Huge appetite. Bottomless pit, really.” I sat down and picked up my fork. “See? Starting right now.”

He stared at the mountain of food in front of me for a long second, then grabbed a protein shake from the fridge. “Enjoy your mountain.”

As he turned to leave, I called after him, “You could at least pretend to be friendly. For the show?”

He paused in the doorway. “This is me pretending.”

“Wow. So charming,” I muttered.

“You wanted honest,” he shot back dryly. “There it is.”

Petra, watching from the side, gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. “Love the banter! Keep that energy!”

Later that afternoon, during a break, I cornered him in the living room.

“Can we at least try to look like we don’t hate each other on camera?” I asked under my breath.

“I don’t hate you,” he said, eyes on his phone.

“Could’ve fooled me with the one-word answers.”

“You called me a violent maniac. In public. With witnesses. We’re even.”

I crossed my arms. “And you tripped me that night in the parking lot. Don’t think I didn’t noticed.”

He finally looked up, eyes narrowing. “Prove it.”

Petra popped her head around the corner. “This tension is gold! Keep rolling with it!”

We both shut up immediately.

By evening, I was exhausted. My shower was still broken, so after knocking loudly on Lewis’s door twice and hearing nothing, I slipped into his bathroom.

I was rinsing shampoo out of my hair when the door suddenly opened.

Lewis stood there, staring at me in nothing but a towel.

“I knocked!” I yelped, clutching the towel to my chest. “Twice! On both doors!”

“I was in the kitchen,” he said calmly.

“Your room was dark! How was I supposed to know?”

“Doesn’t mean I wasn’t here.” He jerked his head toward the hallway. “Out. Now.”

“You could’ve said something when I knocked!”

“You could’ve waited thirty seconds.” His eyes stayed carefully above my head. “Go, Audrey.”

I hurried past him, face burning. “This is your fault for having the only working shower!”

“Fix your own damn shower then,” he called after me.

I slammed my bedroom door and leaned against it, heart hammering.

Tuesday night came faster than I wanted.

I sat alone in my room, lights off, laptop glowing on my lap. Episode one had dropped. Six hundred thousand views and climbing fast.

I watched the breakfast scene in complete horror, both plates, my awkward “I eat a lot” line, and the painful silence. Then the run footage played.

And there it was.

At the very end, as Lewis walked back into the apartment, the camera caught him looking back. It was just half a second over his shoulder, straight at me.

The comments exploded.

....HE LOOKED BACK. Slow it down at 11:47. He also slowed his run for her. This man is absolutely gone for her already....

...The breakfast tension and that glance… I’m screaming. They’re so cute...

I closed the laptop and opened it again, paused on that exact frame.

I didn’t know he did that.

I was too busy trying not to die and pretending I wasn’t embarrassed.

I sat there in the dark, heart beating way too loud, and hit play one more time, just one more.