The Girlfriend Shield

by S. A. Hunter

  “I’m not that bad, Sarah.”

  “You’re threatening to expose Angela!”

  He brushed off that fact. “Going to the West Hawaiian mansion is perfect.”

  “You’re not invited.”

  “Invite me or else.”

  I stood up. If I didn’t leave immediately, I was only going to get angrier and more frustrated, and he would just laugh and smile wider. He knew he had me. I was going to have to play along.

  “For how long?”

  “How long what?”

  “How long will I have to be your fake girlfriend?”

  He shrugged. “Until I want to break-up.”

  “No, that’s not going to work.”

  The good humor slipped from his face. I knew it had been fake, but seeing it vanish in a blink gave me a chill. “We stay together for as long as I say we should stay together.”

  I grabbed my stuff and went to the elevator. I couldn’t stay there any longer. I had to go.

  “Sarah, it won’t be that bad. I promise.”

  I turned back to look at him. He appeared a little sad. A little guilty. But it didn’t change anything.

  In the lobby, I crossed paths with Damien.

  His eyes lit up when he saw me. “Were you coming to see me?”

  I hadn’t planned to talk to him yet, but I might as well get it over with. I jerked my head to the elevator. His smile slipped away.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked as we rode the elevator.

  “Noah needs to come with us to Hawaii.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s my fake boyfriend.”

  “What? Since when?”

  “Since now. If he comes with us, people won’t wonder about us.”

  “No one wonders about us.”

  “People will eventually, and once the rumors start, they won’t stop.”

  “I don’t care about rumors.”

  “I do, and Angela will care, too.”

  “What’s he getting out of this?”

  “He needs a fake girlfriend because his mother is trying to set him up with someone.”

  “So this was his idea?”

  Damien was growing suspicious. He could tell I wasn’t thrilled with the idea. He might deduce that Noah was blackmailing me into being his fake girlfriend. I had to convince him that I was onboard with Noah being my fake boyfriend or at least distract him from figuring out the truth.

  “Yeah, it was his idea! And it’s a good idea! Do you want people to whisper about us? You said you don’t want to fight anymore, but if we don’t fight, then people will start to wonder about us. I’m doing this for us! Do you think I want to go out with Noah? He makes my skin crawl, but he’s willing to pretend to be my boyfriend. Who else will do that? And I’m sick of worrying about it! I’m sick of stressing about what others see when we’re together! I’ve got enough to worry about without it! Exams are here, and if I don’t make good grades, forget Hawaii. My parents will lock me in my room and make me study from sunup to sundown!”

  That was a bit of an exaggeration. If I flunked something, my parents would be upset, but I doubted they’d cancel everything.

  “What do you need help with?”

  “What?” His gentle tone threw me off. I had been ready for a shouting match.

  “What do you need help studying?”

  My anger evaporated. “Well, uh... Spanish, I guess.”

  “Vale. Empecemos.”

  DAMIEN QUIZZED ME ON Spanish for the next two hours. Noah wasn’t mentioned again. The longer Damien helped and actually kept me on task, the guiltier I felt. He was doing this for me. He didn’t even take Spanish, but he quizzed me and corrected me without a hint of resentment. When we were done, he waited with me at the elevator.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “For what?” I asked in surprise.

  “I didn’t think about how awkward this would be for you. And I know I’m not easy to deal with. And your life would be so much easier if—”

  I’m not sure what he was going to say at the end. I didn’t let him finish. I pulled him to me and kissed him.

  His lips were frozen against mine at first. His obvious shock was amusing, and I had to hold back my laughter as I pressed my lips to his. He finally responded and raised a hand to my cheek. I was still surprised by how soft Damien’s lips were. Hard edges and roughness was his personality, but his body didn’t reflect that. From his poufy hair, soft lips, and gentle hands, his physical body contradicted what he projected to most of the world, but as our lips moved against each other, I realized this was closer to the real Damien. With one last press of my lips, I stepped back.

  He blinked sleepily a second after the kiss. He was so cute. He made me want to kiss him again. “If you want to study more, later, I’ll help,” he said. I finally let the laughter escape.

  Chapter 3

  The week of reckoning had arrived. I was as prepared as I could be. I’d memorized all of Noah’s flash cards and utilized all the tips he’d given me. Damien had helped me study and had eagerly accepted his reward every time. I wasn’t sure I should be using kisses as rewards, but I could admit, at least to myself, that I was as happy to “reward” him as he was to be rewarded.

  Noah had begun eating lunch with us every day. Angela suspected we weren’t telling her everything about the charade, but I wasn’t about to tell her about Noah threatening to expose her secret. I was still uncomfortable about all of it, especially when Damien was around. At one point, as we were leaving the cafeteria, Noah reached down and took my hand. We were behind Damien and Angela. I was scared he would look back and see our joined hands, but I couldn’t jerk my hand away. We were officially a couple now. Some girls were clearly jealous and I overheard a few snide comments, but I tried to not let it bother me.

  But I was worried about Damien’s reaction. He and Angela had never acted like a romantic couple. I’d never seen them kiss and I was grateful that I hadn’t. While Angela was my best friend and I knew she had no romantic feelings for him, I would feel betrayed if I saw them kissing. But Noah kept pushing the charade. I was terrified he’d try to kiss me for a photo or something. And that would set off Damien.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, squeezing my hand.

  I clenched my jaw. He knew what was wrong.

  A lot of students were leaving the cafeteria at that moment. As we joined the exiting crowd, he let go of my hand, but it was only so he could slip it around my waist.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed.

  “Don’t want to lose you,” he said.

  A few nearby girls overheard what he said, and reacted with aww’s.

  I clenched my jaw again and let him keep his hand on my waist. We’d lost Damien and Angela which was a blessing. But of course, they were waiting for us when we reached the courtyard. Damien stiffened when he saw Noah’s arm around my waist. Angela immediately took Damien’s arm. To everyone else, it seemed like a loving gesture, but I knew she was holding onto Damien in case he lunged at him.

  Noah seemed unconcerned. “Sarah, what exam do you have now?”

  “Earth Sciences,” I said. I couldn’t look at Damien. I felt ashamed.

  “I’ll walk you.”

  Damien had the same exam as me, but Angela didn’t. She tugged him toward her next exam while Noah’s hand on my waist propelled me toward Prof. Friedman’s classroom.

  “Don’t you think you’re laying it on a little thick?” I asked under my breath.

  “Mother is coming to Noble to see me.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “No, it’s not. She wants to meet you.”

  “Put her off. Tell her we aren’t that serious.”

  He squeezed my waist making me stiffen uncomfortably. “We have to be that serious. We have to convince her that you’re my girlfriend.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that or the desperation that I detected in his voice. “Why does she doubt that I’m your girlfriend?”
>
  He sighed unhappily. “She knows that I had a crush on Angela.”

  “Okay...”

  “And she knows that you’re Angela’s best friend. She thinks I’m dating you to be close to her.”

  That made me think. Was his mother onto something? He’d had a crush on Angela for a long time. He hadn’t cared that she was dating Damien. Just because he now knew she was gay didn’t suddenly delete those feelings he once had for her. Was this his way of being close to her in a twisted fashion?

  My suspicion must’ve shown on my face because he exploded, “Oh come on! I told you why we’re doing this! It has nothing to do with Angela!” I thought he protested a bit too much. I also realized that the only time I’d ever seen him show any strong emotion was in regard to Angela. Maybe he didn’t consciously plan to fake-date me to be close to her, but I had the feeling that deep down in his unconscious, the fact that I was close to Angela had influenced his mad scheme.

  “She’s made reservations to have dinner with us tomorrow.”

  I didn’t like that idea. I was willing to pretend I was his girlfriend in front of the whole school, but I hadn’t had to lie to anyone’s face yet. No one had asked me directly if I were his girlfriend.

  “I don’t think I can do that.”

  “You’re going to have to, if you want to go on your little tropical getaway with Damien.”

  “I really don’t like you.”

  “I’m used to it. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “You said the dinner is tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Then we have no reason to meet tonight.”

  “Sarah, you have to be prepared.”

  We were at the entrance to my class. I slipped away from him and went inside. I wasn’t having this argument with him. He lingered in doorway for a few seconds staring at me. He lingered long enough for Damien to arrive and push him out of the way with gusto.

  “Don’t you have an exam to take, Nash?”

  “I do. Just enjoying the view.”

  Though he made my skin crawl, his comment made my face redden. Everyone would attribute my blushing to romantic shyness, not social mortification. I clenched my jaw and willed myself to stop blushing as much good as that did. Damien took his seat beside me.

  “You know you do look really nice today,” he said softly.

  I clenched my eyes shut as a fresh wave of redness swept over my face. At this rate, my face was never turning back to normal.

  IT WAS AFTER DINNER. I was studying in my room because I was once again afraid to leave the apartment, but it wasn’t Damien I was avoiding now. He was actually being very understanding. I’d told him about the dinner with Noah’s mom the next night. He’d said as long as he got to have dinner with me another night, it was okay. I was avoiding Noah, but he was possibly harder to avoid than Damien. I thought I was safe in my room. Noah couldn’t get to me there, but I forgot to turn off my phone. Or maybe I had turned it off, and he hacked it to be able to turn it back on. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had.

  *We need to meet.*

  *Can’t. Busy studying.*

  *We have to go over what you’re going to say to my mother.*

  *Just send me a list of approved topics.*

  *We have to go over what you’re going to wear.*

  *I’m going to wear my uniform.*

  *You should wear a dress and brush your hair out.*

  I rolled my eyes. *Mrs. West liked me. I’m sure I’ll be fine with your mother.*

  *Damien’s mom was usually drunk and/or drugged when you saw her. Shiny objects fascinated her when she was in that state. My mother is going to be stone cold sober.*

  I took minor offense on Mrs. West’s behalf for what he’d said. She hadn’t known she was drugged, and I’d never seen her really drunk. I’d seen her drink a lot of champagne, but that was like water to the rich, right? She’d never stumbled around or slurred her words.

  *If you don’t come over here, I’ll come to you.*

  *You think my parents will let you into our home? Need I remind you that my mom really doesn’t like you? She may have used the word slimy in regard to you.*

  *That’s fine. The parents don’t usually like the boyfriend.*

  That made me frown. Mom and Dad would have questions if they saw me hanging out with Noah. I couldn’t tell them that he was blackmailing me. I’d have to tell them basically the same story as Angela and Damien, but they wouldn’t accept it as easily as them. I wanted to avoid that conversation as long as possible.

  I hated letting him win, but it was my only option. *I’ll meet you in the library.*

  *See you at our spot.*

  I didn’t like that we had a spot.

  When I got to the library, I slipped back into the stacks and found the little table that we had studied at previously.

  He had his laptop which surprised me. By way of greeting, he asked me, “Do you sing or play the piano?”

  “Nope and don’t ask me to try.”

  “What about art?”

  “What about it?”

  “Do you paint or sculpt?”

  “Nope and don’t ask me to try.”

  “Flower arranging?”

  “Seriously?”

  “That I believe is a no.”

  “Yep, and don’t ask me to try.”

  “Do you have any talents?”

  “I can put up with a lot of nonsense.”

  “That’s debatable.” He turned the laptop toward me. Some sort of document was open and a woman in her forties with long blonde hair was pictured. I realized as I read the details that it was a file on his mother. Had he written this? Who kept a dossier of their mother?

  As I scrolled through the information, he said, “She claims to be liberal, but she’s old-fashioned. She thinks feminism is an ugly word. The man should pay. The man should work. The man should give the wife whatever she wants.”

  “And your dad disagrees?”

  “No, he agrees, but he’d add that the wife should be young, pretty, and dumb.”

  “I’m beginning to understand the meaning of irreconcilable differences.”

  “Yeah, they’re both pieces of work, but I’d choose him over Mother any day.”

  “But...?” I asked.

  “What?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, but it sounded like his dad had checked out. He had left his ex-wife with the responsibility of raising the kids while he went to have his second go at his twenties.

  “Nothing. None of this information is really going to help endear me to her. Can you tell me some nice things about her?”

  “Sure, she likes musicals and prefers comedies to dramas. She claims her favorite color is blue, but it’s actually light yellow like her hair.”

  “Like your hair too,” I said.

  “It’s more because it’s her hair. She’s vain. She likes fashion. Likes dissing other people’s fashion more than complimenting someone. She’s trying to start her own clothing line. Posh clothes for the ex-wife set. She came up with the idea recently, needless to say.”

  Under dislikes, I read out, “Hates drugs. Hates addicts. Hates rehab. Why rehab?”

  “She thinks only weak people get addicted to drugs and only weak people can’t kick drugs without rehab.”

  “Your mom’s pretty hard-nosed, huh?”

  “You don’t know the half of it.”

  “I’m sure we’ll get along great,” I said dryly.

  “You don’t have to get along, just don’t crumble to her. If you cry, she wins.”

  “Why would I cry?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Noah?”

  “She’s going to say mean things. Just be ready.”

  “I can take it. Remember I’m not your real girlfriend. I don’t care if she likes me.”

  “She can be very mean,” he said.

  “What like make fun of my face and insult my parents?”

  “Yeah.”


  “And you’re going to let her?”

  He blinked. He hadn’t planned to stick up for me.

  “I’m not the only one who has to convince your mother that we’re together,” I said.

  “Touché. I’ll do what I can, but be ready.”

  “Fine.”

  “You may want to eat before dinner.”

  His suggestion surprised me. “Why?”

  “Because you may lose your appetite.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Are we done here?” I asked.

  He looked at me. I mean really looked. I started to feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

  “We have to pull this off. If we don’t, my mother will force me to go out with this girl.”

  “Have you met the girl? How do you know you won’t like her?”

  “I can’t like her.”

  “What do you mean? Maybe—”

  “No, I can’t like her. If I go out with her, it’ll be a sham, no matter what.”

  “Like with me?”

  “You know it’s a sham. She won’t.”

  He wasn’t telling me everything. “You two could hit it off.”

  “That would be the worst outcome.”

  “Why?”

  “We’re done here. See you tomorrow.”

  “Noah, wait—“

  He packed up his laptop and stood.

  “Thanks by the way,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For not scratching my eyes out. I know I’m being a bad guy.”

  “I don’t get why you’re insisting on being one.”

  He left without replying. I sat in the library a moment longer. He was a puzzle that I had no desire to solve, but I felt like I might have to if I was going to understand anything.

  I WAS HEADED TO SPANISH class to take my exam. I’d spent lunch with Damien quizzing me. Noah had been surprisingly absent. Angela had sat by with her Japanese flashcards watching enviously as he helped me. I asked him at one point if he needed to study for his Japanese exam, and he’d shaken his head and flipped to the next Spanish flash card. I’d ducked out a little early to give Angela a chance to talk to him about the Japanese exam. I wasn’t worried about how he would do. Angela had told me that he made perfect marks on all the quizzes and homework assignments like in every other class. But it was apparent she wanted some last-minute coaching. The halls weren’t that crowded. The bell to end lunch hadn’t rung yet.