by Clara Reese
She looks happy about that and begins to look through the dresses. Having her pick the color presents a fun challenge. We go through what feels like every green dress in the store. There’s plenty of giggles between us as we shop. I end up picking out a dress that’s simple but elegant. And, to Dawn’s delight, it matches my eyes.
It’s funny to see how different the store is from the stores I usually go to. Instead of going up to a cashier, one of the salespeople takes Dawn’s card on a little tray as if we’re in a restaurant. And the salespeople are all so attentive to us. They offer us wine and snacks. I suppose that if you’re ready to drop that much cash, they better make you happy.
And it’s great shopping with Dawn too. She has a real eye for fashion. The first dress was too flashy for me, but when she started getting a sense of what I liked, she brought me the most gorgeous dresses I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And she really knows her stuff. She knows how particular fabrics will drape around you and what will look best. I’m really impressed.
After we leave and the valet brings the car around, she drops another bombshell on me.
“We have one more place we need to go,” she tells me.
“Where?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
She drives around for a bit before parking at yet another very fancy store. In the windows of this store, I can see diamonds glittering.
“Are we at a jewelry store?” I ask.
She smiles. “If we’re going to be engaged, we need some rings.”
When she takes me inside, I’m overwhelmed with the amount of glittering gems.
“Where do we even begin?” I ask.
She flags down a salesperson and begins to describe what sort of rings we’re looking for. From her description, it seems like the rings will be seen from outer space. I suppose that’s sort of the point though. We’re supposed to be obviously dating.
The jeweler brings out a variety of rings. They’re all incredibly beautiful, but I know they’re also likely incredibly expensive. Dawn very purposefully dances around asking the price. She must know how unusual this all is for me.
We start trying to match rings together. We’ll want to look like we’re part of a pair and not two people wearing rings. I can’t help but notice how beautiful they all look on Dawn. As she tries them on, I feel a strange sense of pride. It’s not real, but I do like the idea of a beautiful woman on my arm. And my ring will be on her. It’s just for show, but she’ll be mine.
We pick out the rings they want. Dawn takes a picture of our hands showing them off together. I have to admit, they really do look nice. I admire my ring as she talks to the jeweler. A salesperson comes up with the little tray for her card again. They rattle off the price and I feel the blood drain from my face. You could feed a small country with that much money!
She tries to shush the salesperson, but I’ve already heard the amount. No wonder a few hundred thousand dollars seemed like nothing to her! I could nearly faint just thinking about how much this all cost. I jam the ring farther onto my finger. No way I’m losing this.
11
Dawn
I had a fun day shopping with Gina, but now this dinner party is really stressing me out. I didn’t even want to go originally, but Charlotte begged me. She said that her wife Katrina had to study and their baby was sick. I can’t say “no” to Charlotte. She’s practically a sister to me. She’s done me so many favors during the course of our friendship. This is the least I can do to repay her. Still, I have an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. I try to push it away as we go into the venue.
Everything seems normal so far. Gina and I both look great. We’re neither overdressed or underdressed. Perfect. In fact, I can’t help but steal a few glances at Gina. Green really is her color. However, I can’t help but notice how nervous she looks as well. Poor Gina. This has to be a lot. I’m sure she’s not used to events like this, and on top of that, she has to pretend to be my fiancée. I have to stay strong for her. I squeeze her hand and smile at her, trying to reassure her that everything is going to be alright. She smiles back at me.
I lead her around the room, and we start to mingle. Gina really turns the charm on. I always liked her, but I have to say, I’m really impressed. She easily converses with the others there. She radiates this wonderfully calming, strong energy as we mingle. I can’t help but feel myself gravitating toward her. Maybe pretending I’m in love with her will be easier than expected.
However, disaster strikes.
Across the room, I see Tiffany. My heart jumps into my throat. I feel so scared and apprehensive. Gina notices the change and gives me an inquisitive look. She ends the conversation and pulls me aside.
“What’s up?” She asks. “I don’t understand what happened over there.”
“Don’t look now,” I tell her. “But that’s my ex over there.”
“Oh…” she says. “Should we try to avoid her?”
“No, I don’t think so. That will just encourage her. I’ll pretend I don’t see her for now. We’ll have to face her eventually though. Just follow my lead when we do. We’ll act really in love.”
“Yeah, of course. Got it,” she responds.
I take her hand and lead her back out onto the floor to mingle. I can feel Tiffany’s presence around me. Even though we’re not together anymore, she still has a strong effect on me. Finally, I know I can’t avoid it anymore. I turn around and try to feign surprise when I see Tiffany there.
“Oh, Tiffany! Hi!” I say in mock surprise.
She gives me a sly grin in response. “Hello, Dawn. And who is this?” she asks, gesturing to Gina.
“This is my fiancée,” I tell her, confidently. I hold up my left hand to show off the ring. I know I only just bought it, but it brings a lot of legitimacy to this whole thing.
Tiffany’s eyes dart between the two of us, sizing us up.
“I’m Gina. Gina Romano.” Gina says, offering her hand to Tiffany. Tiffany shakes it.
“How nice to meet you, Gina,” she says. Her voice is practically dripping with sarcasm, but Gina doesn’t let it shake her.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she says calmly in response.
“So...engaged, huh?” Tiffany asks.
“Yes. We’re engaged,” I say with a smile. I know I don’t sound nearly as confident as Gina. I stand on my toes and kiss Gina’s cheek. She smiles at me and gives me a quick peck. I turn back to Tiffany. I hope that looked natural. I think we laid it on a little thick.
“Congratulations,” Tiffany says.
“Thank you. It’s the greatest feeling in the world to be with someone you love,” I say. I figure you can’t fail with pithy romantic sentiment.
“Yeah. You can’t. I remember those times,” she says. She swirls her finger around in her drink and then sticks it in her mouth. She slowly pulls it out. It’s not noticeable to others around us, but it’s practically obscene to us.
Gina shifts uncomfortably next to me. I feel bad that my ex is making such blatant moves right in front of her. I’m glad Gina isn’t my real fiancée or else she’d have every right to be really, really mad right now. She looks a bit annoyed, but she’s holding it together. We chat for a bit longer before finding an excuse to get away.
“Man, I did not like her,” Gina says as we leave.
“Yeah. I don’t particularly like her either now,” I agree.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she says. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” I say. Gina starts to walk off.
As soon as she’s out of ear shot, Tiffany swoops back in. I’m taken aback by her presence. I feel myself instinctually lean away from her as she gets closer.
“I bet you couldn’t wait to get alone with me, huh?” she asks. She leans in to say this to me. I can feel her hot breath on me.
“I’m engaged, Tiff, come on,” I say. I feel myself weakening under her gaze. She always knew how to effortlessly make me feel so small.
She takes my hand
. “Come to the balcony with me. I want some air.”
Before I can respond, she’s already dragging me away.
We step out onto the balcony. The night air fills my lungs. It’s like stepping through a portal. Somehow, I’m back with Tiffany, and I’m under her spell again. It took me so long after we broke up to feel confident in myself and take control of my own life. I feel so angry that I’m right back here again.
“So, what’s the real story with your little friend?” She asks.
Oh crap. How does she know? Were we that obvious? Does she know about the clause with the chalet?
“What do you mean?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
“Come on, Dawn. Don’t play dumb with me,” she says, stepping closer. We’re practically close enough to touch. “I know your little buddy in there is just someone you’re with to make me jealous. That’s why you were all over her in front of me.”
“That’s not true. I’m not trying to make you jealous,” I protest. I try to step away, but she follows me.
She puts an arm around my waist and holds me close to her. Despite what my mind wants, my body responds. I remember being this close to her before. As nice as it felt physically, mentally, it was an absolute nightmare.
“Of course you’re trying to make me jealous,” she says. For a moment, I believe her. Maybe this was a ruse to get her back. Maybe I should have asked her to be my fiancée.
No. I definitely shouldn’t have done that. Gina is nice, and Tiffany is not. I shake the thoughts of Tiffany and the few good times I had with her out of my head.
“We’re through.” I remind her. “We’ve been through.”
She grazes her fingertips past my temples. “But you haven’t been able to get me off of your mind, have you?” she asks. She leans closer to me. My eyes flutter half-shut in response, but I distance myself from her again.
“Yes. You’ve been on my mind. Not for good reasons, though.”
She chuckles. “Baby, I could give you all the good reasons in the world, if you just let me,” she says. She rests a hand on my cheek. “You look beautiful tonight.”
And there she is. There’s the Tiffany that’s charming and flattering. I know there’s more under the surface, but this is the Tiffany she always defaults back to. My eyes start to dart around, looking for Gina. I should have stayed inside. I don’t know if she’ll find me out here before it’s too late. If I fall back under Tiffany’s spell, there’s no telling what will happen.
12
Gina
I head to the bathroom, away from Dawn. I feel bad about doing so, but I’ll be back soon. I’ll be in and out and then we can head out or mingle a bit more. Whatever she wants to do, really. We’ll do as much as we need to do to sell this thing, but if her ex is being a problem, I don’t want to be here any longer than we have to.
I do my business and powder my nose a bit in the mirror. I want to look my best for Dawn.
I leave the bathroom and look around the room for Dawn. I assumed she would be near where I left her, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
I have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something isn’t right. I can feel it. Every alarm bell in my head is going off, but I don’t know what to do. I search through the room and the nearby hallways. I even check with the valet to see if she left me for some reason, but I can’t find her, and her car is still here. I give her a call, but she doesn’t answer. She might not feel the phone vibrating in her purse. Crap.
Just when I’m about to give up hope, I see two figures standing on the balcony. One is standing very close to the other. The other figure is leaning back, trying to stay away, but the taller figure just keeps getting closer. It’s like watching a horror movie. But, then I recognize the two figures.
Dawn and Tiffany.
A surge of rage rises in my chest. No one treats my fake fiancée like that! Not while I have something to say about it!
I storm over to them, ready to fight Tiffany right here and now. I go over and put my arm around Dawn’s waist, pulling her closer to me. She looks surprised to see me. I glare at Tiffany, giving her my best intimidating look. Tiffany looks surprised to see me too. I use her shock to pull Dawn back inside where it’s bright and there are plenty of people around. No way I’m letting Tiffany corner her again.
When we get inside, it’s like the spell that was over her is broken. She shakes her head.
“Thank you,” she says. “I don’t know why I let her pull me out there. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “Let’s get back to mingling.”
We make our way around the room once again, careful to avoid Tiffany, though I still see her lurking in the corner of my eye.
I feel defensive of Dawn. I saw her reaction when Tiffany showed up. It wasn’t the usual awkwardness you get when your ex shows up to the same party as you. There’s fear and trauma in her eyes whenever she glances in Tiffany’s direction. It breaks my heart. She’s so sweet. She shouldn’t have to go through things like that. I wish things could just be easy for her.
Between this nonsense and the chalet, it seems like she has a lot on her plate. I wish there was more I could do to help her. I know that our whole fake relationship is probably a lot of help, but I’m surprising myself with how much I really do care about her. I don’t wish ill on anybody, except maybe Tiffany, but I especially want Dawn to be okay. I can’t imagine someone wanting to hurt someone like her. It really shows Tiffany’s true colors.
As we talk to others, I make sure to mention our relationship as much as possible. I admit that it’s partially to make Tiffany jealous. I’m sure to tell everyone how she’s my fiancée and I’m so excited for our wedding. I can see Tiffany’s expression sour each time I enunciate. It’s perfect. I can ruin her night and play the part of the excited fiancée at the same time.
The others at the party drink it up even though our relationship seemed to have come out of nowhere. But we do have good chemistry together. I think the scare with Tiffany is making her more affectionate towards me. I let her lean on me for support and I keep her hand held tightly in mine. If I do one thing tonight, I want it to be getting her through this. I swear, I’m so mad that I could strangle Tiffany. Glares from across the room and bragging will have to do instead.
“So,” says the gentleman whose name I’ve already forgotten. “How did you two meet?”
I’ve only been dreading this a little bit. We’ll have to quickly come up with a backstory. I’ll likely be another wealthy socialite, even though that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It admittedly makes things more complicated. It wasn’t explicitly part of the deal, but I know that who I really am doesn’t fit with who Dawn is. It’s okay. I don’t want to embarrass her just so she can get her chalet. She’s helping me out a lot. It’s the least I can do.
“Oh, well, you see…” I begin, ready to lie about who I am.
“I hired Gina to help me fix up my ski chalet,” she says, telling the truth. “Truthfully, we just hit it off while she was fixing it up. Now I can’t imagine her anywhere but by my side.”
She looks up at me and smiles. I smile back. Dawn really is incredible. I guess I don’t have to lie about who I am after all.
“So you’re dating the help?” Tiffany has inserted herself into our conversation. She speaks loudly, catching the attention of others nearby as well. They begin to stare. She looks pleased with herself.
“We’re not just dating,” Dawn says. “We’re getting married. And I think it’s rather rude to call anyone ‘the help’.”
“You’ll have to forgive me,” Tiffany says, sarcastically. “Getting it on with your hired hands is something I’m not used to.”
If I didn’t hate Tiffany before, I sure do now. Dawn is visibly embarrassed about all of this. I’m so mad at Tiffany for making an honest thing Dawn did into something perverted. I squeeze Dawn’s hand in mine and clench my other hand into a fist.
However, I quickly let it go. I’m n
ot a violent person, and it would only prove Tiffany’s point about me not fitting in. I’m just as sophisticated and worthy as these people here. Money or not, I don’t deserve to feel small. Neither does Dawn.
“I don’t think ‘getting it on with your hired hands’ is what you’re not used to,” I call out to her. “What you aren’t used to is seeing two people truly and madly in love.”
I take Dawn in my arms. She looks up at me with big surprised eyes. I dip her down and give her a passionate kiss.
The reaction from those around us is immediate. There’s a burst of surprised laughter and gasps. When I break the kiss and bring her back up, I half expect applause to break out. I look around the room, seeing the looks on everyone’s faces. They’re all shocked for sure, but they’re all also clearly on our side. The same people who turned to watch as Tiffany tore us down are now practically cheering for us as a couple.
I grin evilly at Tiffany. Without even meaning to, she just helped us out a lot. Now, we’re the talk of Dawn’s social circle. And it won’t be speculations about our relationship status. They’ll be recounting to one another how in love we are.
13
Dawn
To say that tonight is going far better than I expected it to would be a drastic understatement, and I can’t even begin to describe how much fun I’m having. Not only are we having a ball and people are totally buying our act, but being with Gina around all of my friends and socializing and introducing her to them doesn’t feel forced or fake at all. It’s pleasant and warm and almost feels real, like we aren’t faking anything.
And that kiss.
The feeling of her lips on mine makes my head spin in the best kind of way and I can’t help the way that it makes me feel like at least some of what we’re acting out is real, at least for me. All of the little touches throughout the evening as well have been making my mind go in a thousand different directions, my head filling up with thoughts that I really shouldn’t be having about Gina.