Rumor Has It I'm Dating the Football Captain

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: This One’s on Purpose

The annual athletic charity gala was held in the grand ballroom of the Halcyon Hotel Group downtown.

It was a sea of glittering dresses, tailored tuxedos, and wealthy alumni holding crystal champagne flutes. Audrey stood near the ice sculpture, adjusting the lens of her camera. She was wearing a simple, elegant black dress, completely focused on getting the perfect lighting for Mrs. Higgins’ front-page spread.

Across the room, Mason was surrounded by three men in expensive suits.

He looked incredible. He had traded his usual gray hoodie and sweatpants for a sharp, tailored black suit that made his broad shoulders look even more intimidating.

Every time there was a break in the conversation, his dark eyes flicked across the ballroom. They always landed on Audrey.

They were attending the gala together publicly, but privately, they were trapped in a strange, suspended reality. Ever since the night he had checked her fever, the air between them had been thick with unspoken words. They were orbiting each other, both too careful to make the next move, both terrified of breaking the fragile peace they had built.

Audrey lowered her camera, checking a photo preview.

"Audrey."

She turned around.

Logan Foster was standing there. He was wearing a dark navy suit, looking perfectly polished.

Audrey frowned, her guard instantly going up. "Logan. What is it?"

He didn’t step into her space. He just offered a polite, slightly sheepish smile. "I know you’re working, but... can we take one picture together?"

Audrey stared at him. "Why?"

"My mother asked," Logan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "She’s on the alumni board, and she keeps asking if we’re still on good terms after everything. I just want to send her a photo to prove we can be in the same room without causing a scene. Just one. For my mom."

It sounded completely harmless. It sounded pathetic, actually.

Audrey just wanted him to go away so she could get back to work.

"Fine," Audrey said reluctantly. "One picture."

Logan pulled out his phone, stepped beside her—leaving a very respectful gap between them—and snapped a quick selfie. He didn’t linger. He didn’t try to touch her waist.

"Thank you," Logan said, pocketing his phone. "Have a good night, Audrey."

He walked away.

Audrey shook her head, turning her camera back toward the crowd. She didn’t notice the flash of a second camera from the balcony above them, capturing the moment from a completely different angle.

She lifted her camera again, scanning the ballroom for the next shot.

"Ellis."

She looked up.

Mason had finally escaped the circle of sponsors. He loosened the cuff of his tailored jacket as he walked toward her, looking noticeably relieved.

"Interview over?" Audrey asked.

"Barely survived it," Mason muttered. "One of them talked about golf for twenty minutes."

A laugh slipped out before she could stop it.

"You look like you’re suffering."

"I was."

Audrey raised her camera.

"Stand still."

Mason obeyed automatically.

She snapped one picture.

Then another.

She frowned at the tiny preview screen.

"The lighting’s terrible."

"The lighting or the model?"

"The model is debatable."

He smiled.

"There she is."

"What?"

"The girl who insults me at least twice a day."

Audrey rolled her eyes, stepping closer to adjust the angle.

"Don’t move."

"I’m literally standing still."

"No, you’re breathing wrong."

Mason blinked.

"I’m... breathing wrong?"

"It’s making the tie sit unevenly."

She reached up instinctively.

Her fingers stopped just short of his tie.

Both of them froze.

The ballroom noise seemed to fade into the background.

She slowly looked up.

He was already looking at her.

Neither of them spoke.

The memory of the training room...

The fever...

Can I?

...hung silently between them.

Audrey swallowed.

"...May I?"

Mason’s eyes softened.

"You don’t have to ask."

"I want to."

A tiny smile appeared on his face.

"...Yes."

Only then did Audrey lightly straighten his tie.

Her fingertips barely brushed the smooth silk. Then, almost unconsciously, they grazed the edge of his collar.

Mason didn’t move.

He could smell the faint scent of coffee lingering in her hair.

She could feel the warmth radiating from him despite the cool ballroom air.

Neither of them realized how close they’d drifted until a waiter carrying a tray squeezed between two nearby tables.

"Excuse me."

They both stepped back at exactly the same time.

Audrey cleared her throat.

"There."

She gave his tie one final tiny adjustment.

"Now you look... less expensive."

Mason glanced down at his tie before looking back at her.

"...You know," he said quietly, "you’re the first person who’s ever asked before fixing it."

Audrey looked up.

"What?"

"My tie."

A slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Everyone else just reaches."

For some reason...

That made her heart flutter far more than it should have.

The next morning, the explosion happened before Audrey even got out of bed.

Her phone buzzed continuously on her nightstand. When she finally grabbed it, Chloe was already standing in her doorway, looking furious.

"Check the confession page," Chloe commanded.

Audrey unlocked her screen. Her stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.

The photo was on the front page. It had been taken from above, cropped tightly to remove the respectful distance between them. In the photo, Audrey and Logan looked like they were leaning intimately toward each other, sharing a private moment in the middle of a crowded ballroom.

The caption was bold and vicious: Did Audrey Ellis dump the Captain? Exes reunited at the charity gala. Looks like Calloway was just a rebound after all.

The campus completely lost its mind.

By noon, it was a disaster. Athletic sponsors were calling the department, asking if their golden boy was involved in a messy public breakup. Coach Miller was reportedly furious about the distraction before Saturday’s match. Mrs. Higgins had emailed Audrey three times, asking if the rumor was going to compromise the athletic feature.

Audrey ran to the athletic center, her heart hammering with sheer panic.

She found Mason standing alone in the quiet hallway outside the locker room, leaning against the cinderblock wall. He had a gym bag slung over his shoulder, looking down at his phone.

Audrey rushed up to him, entirely out of breath.

"Mason," she gasped. "The photo. It wasn’t—he just asked for one picture for his mom, I swear I didn’t—"

"Audrey."

His voice was calm. Unbelievably calm.

Mason locked his phone and put it in his pocket. He looked down at her. There was no anger in his eyes. There was no insecurity. There was no coldness.

"Did you want to take the picture with him?" Mason asked quietly.

Audrey shook her head frantically. "No. No, I just wanted him to leave me alone."

Mason nodded once.

"That’s enough for me," he said.

Audrey froze. "...That’s it?"

"That’s it," Mason confirmed easily. He adjusted the strap of his gym bag. "I know how the page works, Ellis. I know what an angled photo looks like. If you say you didn’t want to, I believe you."

No accusations. No demanding explanations.

He just trusted her. Immediately and completely.

Audrey felt a massive wave of relief as she walked back toward the journalism building an hour later. Mason didn’t care. They were fine. She just had to ignore the campus gossip until it died down.

She turned the corner near the student union.

She stopped dead.

Logan was standing near the vending machines with two guys from the student council. They weren’t whispering. They were laughing.

"Didn’t think she’d actually agree to the photo," Logan laughed, shaking his head as he opened a soda.

Audrey backed up slightly, hiding behind the brick pillar.

"Her face was priceless," one of the guys snickered. "Did your mom actually ask for a picture?"

"Are you kidding?" Logan scoffed. "My mom doesn’t even know we broke up. I just needed her to stand still long enough for Carter to take the shot from the balcony."

Audrey’s blood ran completely cold.

"Now everyone thinks she ran back to me," Logan smirked, taking a sip of his drink. "She’s been parading around with the football captain all semester like she upgraded. Calloway finally loses. Let him deal with the embarrassment for once."

He never wanted her back.

He didn’t care about apologizing.

He just wanted to embarrass Mason Calloway. He wanted to prove that he could still manipulate Audrey into doing whatever he wanted, just to score a petty point against the athletic department.

Audrey stood behind the pillar.

A year ago, she would have cried. A year ago, she would have felt humiliated, stupid, and heartbroken that he had used her again.

But as she listened to Logan laugh... she didn’t feel hurt.

She felt a sudden, blinding, absolute rage.

She wasn’t angry for herself. She was furious because Mason had been dragged into this. Mason, who had bought her soup. Mason, who had remembered her fries. Mason, who had just looked her in the eyes and offered her complete, unconditional trust, was currently dealing with furious coaches and sponsors because Logan wanted to play a pathetic game.

Audrey spun around on her heel.

She didn’t walk. She marched.

She burst through the heavy double doors of the athletic complex.

The hallway was mostly empty, but she spotted Mason walking out of the film room, holding a binder.

He looked up, surprised to see her back so soon. He took one look at her blazing eyes and clenched fists, and his expression softened.

"Ellis," Mason said gently, stepping toward her. "I told you, it’s fine. You don’t have to apologize again—"

"Date me."

Mason stopped walking.

He blinked. The heavy binder in his hand actually slipped an inch.

"...What?" Mason asked.

Audrey marched right up to him, stopping barely a foot away. Her chest was heaving. She tilted her chin up, looking him dead in the eyes.

"For real," Audrey said, her voice echoing sharply in the quiet hallway.

Total silence fell over the corridor.

Mason just stared at her. His dark eyes searched her face, completely stunned.

"...I thought I already was," he said quietly.

Audrey blinked. "Not fake."

Her face burned, but the adrenaline pushing her forward refused to let her stop. She kept going, the words spilling out before she could second-guess her own bravery.

"This fake dating thing obviously isn’t working," Audrey said, her voice shaking slightly, but she didn’t look away. "Everyone already thinks we’re together anyway. I’m tired of the rumors. I’m tired of the rules. I’m tired of pretending."

Mason stood entirely still. He didn’t smile. He didn’t make a joke.

He looked at her with a quiet, careful intensity.

"...Is this because of Logan?" Mason asked quietly. "Did he say something to you?"

Audrey shook her head firmly.

"No," Audrey said.

A long, heavy pause hung between them.

"Then why?" Mason asked.

Audrey took a slow, deep breath. The anger faded, leaving behind nothing but the terrifying, absolute truth.

"It’s because when people thought I’d gone back to him..." Audrey’s voice dropped to a whisper. She looked up, her eyes locking onto his. "...I hated it."

Mason didn’t move. He barely seemed to breathe.

"Because I wanted them to think I was with you."

Mason stared at her for a long, silent moment. A small, soft smile touched his lips.

"...We finally agree on something," he answered quietly.

The words hung in the air, infinitely more powerful than a simple I love you. It wasn’t a confession born of loneliness. It wasn’t a reaction to Logan. It was a choice. A deliberate, undeniable choice.

She wanted him.

Slowly, the tension drained completely out of his broad shoulders. The careful, heavily guarded distance he had been keeping for the last three days vanished.

His smile spread into the same breathtaking expression he had given her in the common room when she was sick.

He closed the final foot of space between them.

"Audrey," Mason said softly, her name settling between them like something precious.

He lifted one hand.

It stopped halfway.

His fingers hovered near the loose strand of her short Korean bob that had fallen across her cheek.

His lips curved.

"...Can I?"

Audrey looked at him for a long second.

Then she smiled.

Not the careful smile she wore around Logan.

Not the polite smile she used with sponsors.

A real one.

"...Permission granted."

Only then did Mason gently tuck the loose strand behind her ear.

His fingertips barely brushed her skin before he pulled his hand away again.

He looked at her with quiet wonder.

"I would’ve said yes," he whispered, "before you even finished asking."

For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.

Then...

Audrey did something neither of them expected.

She reached down.

She slipped her fingers between his.

She intertwined their hands.

Mason’s fingers instinctively curled around hers

She looked down at their joined hands before meeting his eyes again.

"...This one’s on purpose," she said quietly.

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