Playing Pretend

by Juliana Haygert

  Liana kept talking. “We’re looking for a park where we can roller-skate. Do you know any?”

  I pretended I didn’t see as Charlotte placed her hand on Liana’s back, and probably poked her.

  However, I had been trying to come up with a plan to approach her, to find her, to find her phone number, and I wouldn’t let this golden opportunity get away from me.

  “I don’t know much about the city yet,” I said. “But there is a nice park thirty minutes south of here. On foot. Ten if driving.”

  Liana smiled. “How about you come with us and show the way?”

  I locked my eyes with Charlotte’s. She didn’t look happy. “I’m not sure …”

  “No worries.” Liana stepped in our line of sight and stirred me toward a parking garage. “We’ll be good company.”

  Charlotte remained in her spot on the sidewalk. “Liana, perhaps Mason has someplace to be. You don’t want to be—”

  “That’s okay,” I said, determined. She wouldn’t escape me. Not now. “I was just getting acquainted with the area before my classes start.”

  “Great.” Liana grabbed my arm with one hand and Charlotte’s elbow with another, and pulled us into the garage. “Let’s have some fun.”

  On the second floor, Charlotte fished car keys from her purse, and unlocked a silver Porsche Cayenne that easily cost $100,000.

  I knew she didn’t like talking about money but I couldn’t help it. I whistled, eyeing her amazing machine. “So this is your car. Nice.”

  Shaking her head, Charlotte slid behind the steering wheel and Liana sat in the backseat, leaving the front passenger seat open for me.

  With a smile, I joined them inside the car.

  In silence, Charlotte drove out of the parking garage.

  “Where to?” Liana asked.

  I pointed to the right. “This way.”

  Charlotte shook her head again. “Mason, she lives in Washington. She knows the park you’re talking about.”

  I glanced at the backseat. “Really?”

  Liana shrugged and mouthed, You’re welcome.

  A new smile spread on my lips. With her best friend on my side, how hard could this be?

  ***

  Charlotte

  The ten-minute ride seemed like ten hours, even though Liana kept the conversation going, touching only light subjects—weather, the park, if Mason liked roller skating. Once at the park, Liana ran ahead of us, putting her skates on in a rush and darting away on the smooth pavement.

  Unsure what to do or to say, I sat on a bench and put my skates on, trying to admire the beautiful view before me and failing, admiring the handsome man near me instead.

  Mason sat by my side. “Still skating, huh?”

  I nodded. “My father gave me my first pair of skates when I was five. Haven’t stopped skating since.”

  “Is it just a hobby, like I first thought, or do you enter competitions and things like that?”

  A loud laugh came from my mouth. “What? Competitions? Yeah, right.” I stood on my roller skates. “This is just for fun, and as exercise perhaps. But mostly fun. My mother would kill me if I entered a competition.” I slapped a hand over my mouth, embarrassed I blurted out something about my mother.

  “What?” Mason stood and stepped before me. “What is it?”

  Shaking my head, I pushed the pavement under my feet and strolled away. Unconsciously or not, I rode slowly and Mason kept up with me.

  After a few minutes, I stopped and faced him. “Why did you come here?”

  His eyes bore into mine. “Because I wanted a chance to talk to you. Once more, I found you by chance. These opportunities are rare and I won’t waste them.”

  “Mason”—I stared at the pavement—“this is ridiculous.”

  “Why? Because you’re gonna be America’s princess soon, and I’ll continue working as a bartender and waiter to pay my bills?”

  I shook my head again. “It’s complicated.”

  “That’s the oldest line in the history of the world.” Mason put his finger under my chin, sending jolts of warmth down my body, and raised my face so my eyes met his. “Talk to me. I need you to talk to me.”

  A heavy sigh and I blurted out, “I was raised to be a perfect lady and make my mother proud.”

  His gaze fell to my skirt and legs. A low heat blossomed low in my belly.

  “But you are a perfect lady.”

  “With short skirts and roller skates? Not really. But does roller skating make me a guy?” My tone was harsher than I intended, but this was a sore spot. The only other person I talked about this with was Liana, and we hadn’t talked about it in a while. “My mother doesn’t know I roller-skate, and I try not to wear skirts when she is around. Not short skirts at least.”

  “So you live a double life?”

  My lips pressed together and I resumed skating. “I don’t like to think about that.”

  Mason caught up with me. “Then let’s change the subject. Is that Donnie guy your boyfriend or not?”

  I laughed. “Way to change subjects. I already told you. He’s not, though he wants to be, so does my mother.” Mason stepped in my way, and I bumped against his hard chest. “Hey! You could have warned me or helped me stop before throwing yourself in my way.” My hands on his chest, I pushed him away. His warmth under my palms teased me.

  “But then you wouldn’t have fallen over me.” The corners of his lips curled up. “So that guy isn’t your boyfriend?”

  “In his dreams maybe, but not in mine.”

  Mason grabbed my wrist, keeping me from putting too much space between us. “Then who is your boyfriend, in your dreams?”

  “Oh, Lord,” I whispered, rolling my eyes.

  “Is this because I’m not rich? You don’t want anything to do with me because I don’t have a cent?”

  “Oh, Lord,” I groaned. “Why does everything always come back to money? Everyone always thinks it’s about money. It’s not. I don’t care about it. Haven’t you noticed Liana has no money too? And she’s my best friend.”

  Mason offered me a mischievous grin. “And I could be your poor best boyfriend.”

  I jerked from him and skated away, putting more speed into my strides, wishing the distance made me brave enough to keep up with what I was supposed to.

  Not much farther ahead, I found Liana seated on the pavement, a box of chalks at her side, drawing.

  The only thing better than skating? Chalk drawing.

  With my skates on, I knelt beside my friend—careful with my skirt—pulled my long hair up in a ponytail, grabbed a few chalks, and began drawing.

  Twenty minutes later, I had my knees and up to my elbows covered in colored chalk dust, and an area of about thirty square feet under my strokes.

  For those twenty minutes, I forgot about Mason. My mind wandered free over the landscape I painted. A beautiful 3D waterfall that seemed to have emerged from under the pavement I sat on. Liana added the 3D forest around the waterfall.

  I didn’t even notice the little crowd gathering around us.

  Until he knelt beside me. “This is amazing,” Mason whispered, startling me.

  “It’s not half done yet.” I used the back of my wrist to wipe a few loose strands of my hair away from my face, smearing chalk on my cheek.

  His hand rested on my shoulder and turned me to him. His eyes locked on mine, Mason brushed my hair away and cleaned my cheek, his fingers lingering on my skin, sending shivers up my spine.

  “Does your mother approve of this?” He gestured to the ground, but he didn’t break the stare.

  “She doesn’t know.”

  “You hide many things from your mother?”

  “I try not to.” I sighed. “But I do. A few things are easy to hide. Some others are impossible.”

  “Like boyfriends.”

  I nodded. “Like boyfriends.”

  “What if I found a way to be your hidden boyfriend?”

  My heart fluttered and a sad smile s
pread through my lips. Damn, how I wanted that. “There isn’t a way. She will try to force me onto other guys, like she’s doing now, and she will become wary of why I’m refusing. Actually, she won’t accept a no.”

  His brows curved down, forming a deep crease. “May I ask a question?”

  “I know I’ll regret this, but yes, you may.”

  “Why do you do everything your mother wants you to?”

  “Good question,” Liana butted in. “Her answer changes every time I ask.”

  “Stay out of this,” I snapped. Used to our arguments, Liana shrugged and kept drawing. “My mother comes from a long line of politicians. My father was a politician. It hurts her that I’m her only child and I don’t want to follow in their footsteps, but then she made sure my profession will go along with hers.”

  He nodded. “Political science, and later law school.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Google.” He grinned, but it wasn’t his cocky grin. “But that isn’t what you want.”

  “No. I wanted to go for art, like Liana. But can you imagine my mother, president of the United States, with a daughter who works in an elementary school, teaching kids how to draw, or at a gallery, painting for a few dollars?”

  “Hey, nothing wrong with that,” Liana chimed in.

  “Shush over there,” I said again. “Liana’s parents work at an elementary school, and my mother doesn’t approve of our friendship, so she thinks I’m not Liana’s friend anymore.”

  “I thought that as a presidency candidate she would encourage your friendship with the lower class.” He raised his hands to Liana. “No offense.”

  “None taken,” Liana said with a smile.

  “Yeah, well, she does what she has to do to be elected, but she wants me out of that part. She expects me to marry a rich politician whose path might be the presidency of the country. Oh, and she would rather it to be soon. Anyway, I know how important this all is to her. I can’t slip, or she won’t be elected.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair.”

  “Another old line.”

  “Well, it defines my life, so whatever.” I leaned over the pavement and continued my drawing.

  Thirty minutes later, Liana and I decided the poor lighting from the sunset was not good enough to keep drawing, and we stopped, but not before taking a few pictures of our masterpiece.

  “Seriously, you two are talented,” Mason said.

  Liana beamed at him. “We know!”

  Noticing a few people taking pictures of the drawings too, I stepped away. It wouldn’t be pretty if my mother saw those pictures some way or another, and found me covered in chalk dusk, on roller skates in a public park, along with Liana and a waiter.

  I picked up the box of chalk, or the little that remained of it, and skated away, back to the car. The chilly wind whipped my hair over my shoulders, and I inhaled, savoring the rich green smell of the park, trying to calm down.

  At the edge of the parking lot, I took off my skates, put on my sandals, and walked to my car.

  “Are you running away?” Mason asked, catching up with me.

  “Not really. I just needed to get away from there.” I threw my skates inside the trunk and spied over my shoulder. “Where is Liana?”

  “She’s coming,” Mason assured me.

  Of course, the super-attuned Liana stayed behind to give us a chance to talk a little more.

  I left the trunk wide open and reached for the car’s door.

  Mason leaned against it. “You know what I think?” He didn’t wait for my answer and said, “That we’ll keep meeting like this, unintentionally. You know why? Because we should be together.”

  I crossed my arms. “Don’t tell me you believe in destiny, karma, or fairy tales.”

  “I guess I don’t, but it’s kinda hard to deny. Look at us. We’ve met thousands of miles away, had the most amazing time together, then, out of nowhere, here we are, crossing each other’s paths.”

  “If this is a fairy tale, then who is my mother? The evil queen?” Despite the nickname Liana gave my mother, I tried not to think about it. There were moments I hated my life and what my mother imposed on me, but I could never think of my mother as an evil being.

  “I don’t know. Maybe she isn’t. Maybe the evil queen is the situation. You being a lady of status, and me being a poor guy struggling to pay my bills.”

  “If it was only that, I wouldn’t care.”

  He reached out and took my hand. The flapping of the butterfly wings brushed against the walls of my stomach. “Are you admitting you like me?”

  Holding his stare, I took a deep breath, and then whispered, “I never lied about it, but you never asked too.”

  Mason pulled me closer to him. I didn’t fight it. “Do you like me?”

  My gaze fell to my feet. “It doesn’t matter. The answer won’t change the outcome.”

  “It matters to me.” Mason tilted his head and urged me to look at him again. “Do you like me?”

  Another deep breath. “I do, but—”

  My words were interrupted when he leaned into me and his lips claimed mine. I froze for a moment, numb and disconcerted. Then my mind filled with the memories of us tangled under my sheets, and the sweet taste of his mouth inebriated me. I responded with the same vigor and hunger. His hands snaked around me, holding my back, pulling me closer against him.

  For a long time, we kissed, our tongues exploring, our hands rediscovering our bodies. He pressed me against the car and wedged his knee between my legs, making a moan escape my throat. God, how I had missed him.

  Breathing hard, Mason pulled back, but kept his arms secured around me. “Now you can’t pretend anymore.”

  Thwarted, I stepped back, prying his arms from me. “No. It’s not fair. To you. I can’t date you in public. I can’t … I can’t be seen with you. You understand that, don’t you?”

  His eyes bore into mine, intense as ever. “I do, and I don’t care.”

  “Why don’t you care?”

  He shrugged. “Because I want you. I want to be with you.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Mason grabbed my hand and pulled me closer again. “I am.”

  I sought any trace of doubt or mischief in his eyes, and found none. My heart beat faster. “This isn’t going to be easy.”

  His fingertips brushed my face. “No, it won’t, but we can make it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Charlotte

  After getting home from Washington, I waited for my mother in her study.

  I had tried to rehearse what to say, but nothing seemed right. I thought about postponing this conversation, but it wouldn’t be right. I had to do it now, even if I had to make something up on the spot.

  Butterflies—of excitement and nervousness—danced in my belly. I couldn’t believe I had given in. I was dating Mason! I could tap dance over my mother’s desk. Then she would ground me for the next century and I wouldn’t be able to sneak out to see Mason.

  I watched the clock on the wall. Nine at night on Monday. She was probably out for a business dinner.

  Almost an hour later, Peyton walked into the study, her assistant, Sarah, following close.

  “Charlotte, what are you doing here?” Peyton asked, strolling to her chair.

  I eyed Sarah, then my mother. “Can I talk to you? Privately?”

  With narrowed eyes, Peyton nodded to Sarah. When she was gone, my mother sat down and stared at me. “What is it?”

  I took a deep breath. “I would like you to stop scheduling dates with Donnie,” I said, willing my voice to be calm and steady. “I don’t like him the way you want me to.”

  My mother leaned back in her chair and laughed. “Oh, Charlotte, I thought this was serious.”

  “This is serious.”

  The smiled slipped off her face. “I don’t see why you don’t like him. He’s handsome, polite, educated, and rich.”

  Rich.
That should have been the first thing my mother said, since it was probably the first on her list.

  “I know—”

  “Then why? I don’t understand.”

  “He’s not my type, Mom. I don’t think I can fall in love with him.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Charlotte. This was never about falling in love.”

  “What?”

  “Do you think I was in love with your father when we got married? That came years later.”

  So Stone Age. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want a relationship like that.”

  My mother’s eyes hardened. “If your father could listen to you right now. He would be heartbroken.”

  The your-father card, of course she would throw that at me. “Mom, that’s not—”

  “Charlotte, listen to me. Donnie is the perfect man. Just give him a chance and I guarantee you’ll fall in love with him.”

  I gave him more than one chance. “You’re not listening to me.”

  “No. You’re not listening to me. I’m your mother and I know what’s best for you. Didn’t your father always say that? That you should listen to me because I know what’s best for you? I’m telling you now. You won’t find any man better than Donnie.”

  “Mom, please, try to understand.”

  “Enough, Charlotte. Donnie deserves a chance and you’ll give him one.” She turned her back to me. “Now let me work. I need to make a call now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  I had tried. I had at least tried. I wouldn’t give up yet, but I needed to do this slowly. I came knocking and left a message. Next time, I would force my mother to open the door, even if I wasn’t allowed in. Someday I would be.

  Although, when I stood and left, I had this feeling that I would never succeed.

  ***

  Charlotte

  I arrived at Mason’s building ten minutes early. Should I wait outside, or just go in? I laughed, looking at my sweaty palms. I felt like a thirteen-year-old girl waiting for my first kiss.

  Taking a deep breath, I let the memories of spring break fill my mind. I had never been nervous around Mason before. Quite the contrary. I had been a confident seductress, and that was how I wanted to be again.

  With a large smile, I entered his building, climbed up the four levels of stairs, and knocked on his door.