Fake Boyfriend

by Miley Maine

  The other passengers pushed past me as I stepped out of line. “Excuse me. Are there any extra seats left in first class?” I asked the attendant.

  “I’m not sure.” She nodded toward another attendant a few feet away at a desk. “Ask her.”

  “Thanks.” At the desk, the attendant barely gave me a second glance. “Hi. I’d like to upgrade another passenger to first class. For the duration of his flight.”

  “Name?”

  “Jackson Williams. He’s in the Army. If there’s not an extra seat, he can have mine.” Yes, I wanted to thank Jackson for his service, but I also wouldn't mind if he ended up sitting near me on the flight.

  Finally she glanced up at me and smiled. “That’s very kind of you.”

  “It wasn’t my idea. I saw it on the news.”

  She started typing. “It’s still nice. We see a lot of pushing and shoving around here. And we see a lot of generosity too.” She hit a few more keys and handed me a receipt. “There you go. There’s plenty of room, so you don’t have to squeeze in the back either.”

  I got back in line, just in time to get in with the last of the first class passengers. It seemed kind of crazy to let a few people board on first just because they paid more. If my dad were here, he’d remind me that was the way the world worked.

  Boarding a plane in an airport was very different from a private plane.

  When I flew on our family’s jet, I just walked out onto the tarmac. The pilot always handled all the security clearance issues.

  Wow, Loren. If that doesn’t make you sound like a spoiled brat, nothing does.

  I’d felt like a real idiot when I’d tried to go through security with all the prohibited items. I wasn’t sure I’d have made it without Jackson’s help. And I was still surprised at how patient he’d been.

  I had to turn sideways to squeeze through the entryway to the plane. Another attendant welcomed me, along with a harried looking pilot.

  I smiled back at them, but both had moved on to greet the next passenger.

  My seat was easy enough to find, and I only had to wait a few minutes until Jackson appeared in the aisle. He filled up the entire space, with his tall trame and broad shoulders. He was even better looking than I remembered.

  He paused by my seat. “Did you upgrade my ticket?”

  I nodded.

  His eyebrows lifted. “Thank you. No one’s ever done that before.”

  “I can’t take all the credit. I saw it on the news.”

  “It was still nice.”

  He dropped into the seat next to me and stuffed his backpack underneath.

  I’d always heard how nice first class seats were, but they weren’t too roomy compared to our family jet, or even to the planes my dad used for his executives. The air vent on top was blowing directly into my face, and there wasn’t much room for my legs. And my seatbelt made a squeaking noise every time I moved. We were still lined up in rows, and we were still pretty close to each other.

  For someone Jackson’s size, it really was a tight fit.

  We were really close to each other. This was the closest I’d been to a man without a bodyguard breathing down my neck -- ever. Even when I’d been on dates, I’d known that the bodyguard was nearby. I didn’t really know what to do with myself.

  I’d never really gotten to work on my flirting, and Jackson was probably too mature to want to flirt with me anyway. But that didn’t stop me from sneaking glances at him.

  I turned around to look back at the coach area, but the curtain was down and I couldn’t see much.

  “Nervous?” Jackson asked.

  I jerked my head around. Was I being that obvious? Although I was more excited than nervous to be sitting next to him. “About what?”

  “Takeoff.”

  “No. I just haven’t flown on this type of plane before.” I pushed the plastic window shade up and then pulled it back down. The window was very grimy. “Would you like the window seat?”

  “No. It's easier for me to fit on the aisle row.”

  I noticed Jackson watching me, so I put my hands in my lap to force myself to stop messing with everything around me. “If you change your mind, let me know. The scenery when we fly over Colorado is amazing. Everything before that is just green fields. I know we need them, but they aren’t much to look at.”

  “Have you flown to Seattle often?” he asked.

  “Some,” I said. “What are you going to do when you get to Alaska?”

  “Camp. Hunt. Fish. Go stay at my grandfather’s cabin.”

  “I’ve never camped.”

  “Never?”

  “Not even once. Well. Not if you don’t count a tent in my backyard.”

  “I don’t count your backyard,” he said.

  “I didn’t think you would. You probably are one of those people who can camp without a tent or a sleeping bag.”

  A small smile crossed his face. We paused our conversation as the flight attendant came by to show us the exit rows, and to go over the safety features. Finally it was our turn to take off.

  As the plane rattled down the runway, I poked his leg with my pillow. “Am I right? Do you sleep out under the stars or on a tree branch? Or hanging off a cliff in a hammock that you tied to a rock?”

  “How do you even know about that if you don’t camp?”

  “I’ve read about it. And I have friends who do it.” I kicked at his seat. “Come on. Tell me.”

  “Yes. I have camped without a tent. And I have slept in a tree, but it wasn’t for fun.” He shifted in his seat. Even in the first class seat, which was bigger than the coach from what I’d heard, his muscular body barely fit.

  Over and over, my eyes were drawn to his defined biceps. And his strong jawline, where he hadn’t shaved that morning. “Oh for work. So you can’t give details on that.”

  “Right. Are you wanting to camp outside? That sounds ambitious for a first try.”

  I fiddled with the blanket the attendant handed to me. “I think I better start with the tent.”

  “If you wanted to, then why didn’t you camp?”

  “My parents are extremely overprotective in some ways. And extremely controlling in others. They didn’t approve.”

  “Camping’s pretty safe. I mean, it’s not one-hundred percent safe, but it’s close.”

  “They’re not rational. They are absolutely crushed that I’m a photographer. They wanted me to go to law school, or med school, which is what everyone in our family does unless they go to West Point or the Air Force Academy.”

  “Did you ever consider any of those?”

  The thought of me at West Point was laughable. “No. You saw me. I’d have no clue about the rules and regulations. The level of discipline required by all of those is not something I have in me.”

  “I’m not creative. You would be horrified to see the photos I’ve taken.”

  “I can teach you.”

  He shook his head. “I doubt that. Why don’t you show me some of yours instead?”

  “Okay. I’ll never refuse to show off my work.” I pulled out my phone and hit a few buttons. “These are the ones that have won awards, or been on display.”

  As I leaned in closer to Jackson, I could smell just a hint of his cologne. He smelled amazing, like fresh cedar. I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder, but I restrained myself. I opened the album I was most proud of.

  There were an array of photos. A few that were local, like the botanical gardens in Atlanta, and a few national landmarks like the waterfalls in Yosemite, and the view from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Then he got to my international photos. I had a dolphin in Belize, the iconic Amalfi Coast in Greece, and a cafe in Belarus.

  “Is that Minsk? In Belarus?” he asked, pointing to the photos.

  “Yes. I visited with my dad. He had a business trip to Poland, so we made the rounds. I’m assuming you’ve been to that cafe if you recognized it.”

  Jackson didn’t say anything. His eyes looked kind of f
ar away. I didn’t think we had any troops in Belarus, but what did I know? Something had caught his attention. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said, but he didn’t keep scrolling through the photos.

  I was a master at changing the subject. “You want those photography lessons now?”

  He rubbed his face. “Yes.”

  I felt bad. That photo had obviously bothered him, but I was going to act like nothing happened. That was always a reliable strategy. “First, do you have any photos you can show me? So I can see what we need to work on?”

  He pulled his phone out and scrolled for a few seconds then handed it to me. “Hmm. I see what you mean.” All of his photos were really far away. “I can’t tell who anyone is. I can definitely teach you.” For the next forty-five minutes, I explained techniques to him. How to frame a shot, and the best way to capture the focal point.

  By the time I was done, he didn’t have that weird look on his face any more. “Just wait. Everyone’s going to be really impressed when you start taking great photos.”

  He laughed. “I’m sure my team will really appreciate it. Actually, my buddy’s wife will. She’s always getting onto us because she says we all look the same in the pictures. Next time we’re deployed I’ll make him do a photoshoot and I’ll send them to her.”

  “Are you married?” I asked. It felt a little personal, asking that, but if he was married, I’d back off. If I were Jackson’s wife, I would not be happy to see another woman sitting so close to him. Especially if I knew she was fantasizing about him, and trying to stay close enough to breathe in the scent of his cologne.

  “No. No wife,” he said.

  “Girlfriend?” Now I was just being nosy.

  “No. No girlfriend either. What about you?”

  “I’m single. Very single.”

  “Recent breakup?”

  “Nope. No breakups.”

  “None at all?” he asked.

  “I’ve dated. But I’ve never had a serious relationship.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “No. There’s not. But it’s not because I chose it. I would have happily dated. But my overbearing parents made it tough,” I explained.

  “You are twenty-two now. You can tell them to leave you alone. Or just not tell them what you’re doing. That’s what most people do.”

  That wasn’t an option until now, thanks to me not putting my foot down. And while my parents had never threatened to cut me off financially, or quit paying for my college tuition if I didn’t do what they wanted, the threat was implied. “You know, it took me awhile to get there, but I’ve finally arrived.”

  “That’s great. No one should live by someone else’s rules.”

  “Perfectly said. So, tell me. Do you have any dating advice?”

  “Are you asking me because I look old?”

  “No! You don’t look old. How old are you anyway?” I could tell he was over thirty, but I wasn’t sure of his exact age.

  “Thirty-six.”

  Oh fuck. That did something to me on the inside. I pressed my thighs together as a familiar liquid heat rushed through my body. Interest had never been a problem. I’d always been interested in men, especially men that were significantly older than me.

  In college, the professors were the ones that turned me on, not the annoying frat boys. I’d even had a few hot bodyguards that I’d have been thrilled to kiss during college, but that would never have happened. My dad wouldn’t have had them killed, but he’d have made sure they never worked again in the United States.

  There was no way I could jeopardize anyone’s career like that.

  Besides, Jackson was far better looking, and had a far better personality than any of those guys had.

  “Are you too shocked at my old age to keep talking?”

  I loved the glint in his eyes. It was the first time I’d seen them sparkle like that. “Uh no. I think your age is just fine.”

  So what if I went over the top and flirted with him? I’d already made a fool of myself in the airport. He didn’t judge me then, so maybe he wouldn’t judge me now.

  “I’m fourteen years older than you are,” he said.

  Maybe he was thinking the same thing. Because if he wasn’t thinking about hooking up, then why did an age gap matter? It certainly didn’t matter if your seatmate on a plan was older.

  Was I really going to tell him this? What could it hurt? I was never going to see him again. Our paths wouldn’t cross. “As part of my new freedom from my parents’ restrictions for my life, I’m going to make it my goal to lose my virginity.”

  Jackson stared at me. He blinked a few times. Then he cleared his throat. “What did you say?”

  “My new goal. It’s to lose my virginity.”

  Jackson swallowed a few times.

  “Did I embarrass you?” I asked. “I think I embarrassed myself.” I put my pillow in front of my face. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

  “I’m not embarrassed.” He tugged the pillow away from my face. “Just shocked.”

  I touched my flaming hot cheeks. “I’m shocked too. But, I’m tired of suppressing myself. This trip is the beginning of my new life, where I’m making my own rules.”

  Jackson couldn’t hide his grin.

  “You think that’s funny?”

  “No. I think it’s cute.”

  “Cute! I don’t want it to be cute. I want to be fierce.”

  “You’ll get there,” he said.

  I might as well go for broke. “If we met at a bar, would you hit on me?” I asked.

  Chapter Five

  Jackson

  I was actually speechless. Which never happened. After the life I’d lived so far, I thought I couldn’t be shocked, but Loren had managed it. “Are you seriously asking me this?

  “Yes! I am! I have lived a life of deprivation, and now I’m free.” Loren clapped her hands together. “Please answer. I need the truth.”

  I wasn’t going to lie to her. I’d like to do a lot more than hit on her. Not that I was going to spell that out right now. “Yes. I would hit on you.”

  I should not have admitted that. Even though I was never going to touch her, I was flirting with disaster. Loren was a sweet young woman, and I was fresh out of a mission that had left me reeling.

  I hadn’t had one night without a nightmare since the mission in Romania, even though it had been over for seven days. Something about that day had knocked a screw loose in my head, and I’d woken up every single night since then, screaming.

  I wasn’t fit for anyone’s company, much less Loren, who was so bright and happy -- and young.

  This was supposed to be a solitary vacation for me. A way to reset whatever had gone wrong in my head. I was not up for a fling. Especially one with someone so innocent.

  But I had to admit that she was enticing. She’d had me captivated from that first big smile, and I was glad this plane ride would be our only time together, because if I had to see her on a frequent basis, I wasn’t sure I could resist her.

  “Even after you watched me attempt to take a gigantic can of hairspray onto the plane.”

  “Yes. Even after that.”

  This was insanity. There was a twenty-two year old sitting next to me on a plane. A twenty-two year old who was oddly naive about certain things, and at the same time, very forward about others.

  How far was I willing to take this? We were four hours into a five hour flight, and we had another flight to go.

  “What would you say to me?” she asked. “If you saw me in a bar.”

  I absolutely would not repeat what I’d said to the last several women I’d met in bars.

  I also wasn’t going to mention that lately I hadn’t been chasing women so much. Lately, they’d been coming to me. I wasn’t especially vain, compared to my teammates, but I was in good shape. And the women all said I was hot. Plus some of them had a thing for soldiers, and the person wearing the uniform didn’t matter mu
ch to them. It wasn’t ideal, but for now, it worked.

  “I’d say, ‘Would you like to have dinner with me?’”

  “You don’t expect me to believe that, right?”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  Loren unbuckled her seat belt and tucked one leg under her body. “For one thing, you sounded like a robot. Like a robot being held at gunpoint who couldn't imagine anything worse than asking a woman out on a date!”

  “Your imagination is definitely vivid.”

  “You’re a tough soldier, looking to blow off some steam. So, now tell me what you’d say.”

  “How do you know so much about what people say and do in bars if you were so sheltered?”

  “I didn’t say I stayed home. I went out. I went out a lot. I just… didn’t do anything.”

  “I’d say, ‘You look amazing in those jeans.’”

  “That’s it?” she asked.

  I nodded. It had never taken more than that. “I don’t need a bunch of cheesy lines or gimmicks. I just compliment the woman, and if she’s interested, then we had fun.”

  She tapped her chin. “Do you think that’ll work for me?”

  I had to suppress a growl. I did not want her going bar hopping, looking for losers to pick up. “Are you planning to try this in Alaska?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Not a good idea,” I said.

  “And why not?”

  “Because you don’t know anyone in Alaska.”

  “I’m going to know you.”

  I crossed my arms. “You want me to follow you around?”

  “Somehow I don’t think that’s going to help me get a date.”

  “You’re not going to need help getting a date,” I muttered. But I would need help not breaking both his arms. “You have the rest of your life to go bar hopping.”

  “Yeah, but I’m ready now.”

  The thought of her out there, flirting with random men sent my pulse skyrocketing.

  “You need to be careful,” I said. I was about to launch into a more severe warning for Loren, complete with stories about all the things that could happen to a young person who wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, when a flight attendant appeared next to our seats.