Microsoft Word - Starter Boyfriend.doc

by Lana Jovanovic

  “All the things I said?” Colton repeated slightly dumbfounded. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “Yes you did!” Minnie shouted as she spun around to face him. He thought about grabbing ahold of her again, but she didn’t make any moves to smack him so he didn’t.

  He did step back to put a little space between them incase she changed her mind. “I lost my only best friend because you’re an unfeeling, superficial jerk!” Colton felt himself bristle. He was still a little irked that Paige had duped him and accused him on being shallow. He understood that that was a game then, a ploy to get him to feel guilty, but now Minnie was just attacking him. He’d had too long of a day to put up with this.

  “What’s with the names?” Colton demanded. “She’s that upset that I didn’t go to meet her at Rylie’s? Come on—isn’t that a little overly sensitive?” Minnie pushed her hair out of her face and looked at him. She stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “Look, I’m sorry that I forgot about that meeting, but I’ve been swamped! I’ve had to deal with one irate client after another today—and now I come back to my business and find out that my sister has trashed the damn place and is blaming me for god knows what! I didn’t purposefully ditch Zoe, okay, I signed Paige’s contract with all seriousness. I just forgot!”

  “What do you mean you forgot?” Minnie demanded clearly confused. “Zoe said that you told her that you weren’t physically attracted to her and that she wasn’t your type. She said that you told her that you’d changed your mind!” Colton shook his head slightly. “Minnie—I did not go to Rylie’s today!” She stared at him with confusion and uncertainty.

  “I was in the Hamptons dealing with Mrs. Westermin’s bitching over her tulip beds!” Colton shouted. “I didn’t go to Rylie’s, I didn’t meet or see Zoe, and I certainly didn’t say any of that to her. I would never!”

  “She said it was you!” Minnie was quite bewildered and confused. “You went to Rylie’s Café and…”

  “I didn’t go!” Colton was beyond exasperated at this point. He didn’t understand why she couldn’t understand that he hadn’t been at Rylie’s Café. “I didn’t make deliveries today—I gave Preston two hundred bucks to…”

  Colton’s voice trailed off with a curse.

  He covered his face with his hands and took several deep breaths. Getting his kid brother, four-years his junior, to agree to make the deliveries was like pulling teeth out of an elephant. Colton hadn’t wanted to pay him two hundred bucks to do it, but he had been desperate since his normal driver was sick. Colton had handed over the money and the delivery invoices to Preston that morning and hadn’t thought twice about it. He completely forgot that he was supposed to meet with Zoe.

  But why would Preston even speak with Zoe?

  “P-Preston?” Minnie stammered. She looked as shocked as Colton felt, and of course the tears were drying up pretty quick. “Preston made the deliveries? Preston went to… he went to Rylie’s?”

  Colton ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. “I forgot about Zoe, Minnie. I just needed someone to do those deliveries because I had to take care of crisis after crisis in the Hamptons.”

  They stood in silence for a few minutes, clearly uncertain of what to say. Minnie seemed to be in deep thought and yet she was still confused.

  “Did you tell Preston about the contract or something?” She demanded. “How did he know about the plan?”

  Colton rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had mentioned a thing or two to Preston the other night, but he didn’t know everything about the Starter Boyfriend thing.

  “We went out for beers last night and I had a few… and yeah, I told him, but… I didn’t tell him that I wasn’t interested in Zoe. I just said that I wasn’t sure about the whole thing,” Colton watched disappointment fill Minnie’s face. How was he supposed to know that Preston would take such drastic actions? “Look, I never asked him to meet with her or tell her anything on my behalf. I forgot that she was going to be at Rylie’s—so she must have thought that he was me.”

  “Oh come on!” Minnie cried with disbelief.

  “What? We look alike! The only difference is that he’s a little thinner than me and doesn’t look like he’s worked a day in his life. And it was a year and a half ago that Zoe last saw me, and I barely remember what she looks like. Maybe it’s the same for her.

  Mistakes do happen, Minnie.”

  Minnie shook her head and crossed her arms.

  Colton’s frustration levels were growing and he was getting a headache. “Come on, Minnie, you know me! You know that I would never deal with another person like that. I didn’t go to meet her—I completely forgot that you were setting that up.”

  “Preston did this?” Minnie asked again.

  The sadness in her eyes slowly turned to intense anger. Colton was glad that that anger was not directed at him anymore, but he was starting to worry about the ramifications of Preston’s cock up. Colton didn’t now much about Zoe, but he was sure that she was pretty fragile. And since Preston was a complete asshole, he probably ripped into her with little care in the world for her feelings.

  Minnie started to look around the work room. She started to nibble on her lower lip; her brow creased with worry. Colton looked around too. She had broken every vase and every clay pot he had stored on the shelves. The ground was cluttered with the shards of debris—probably a few hundred dollars worth of containers. The money he would need to replace them would come out of his pocket because the only way insurance was going to pay for it was if he pressed charges on Minnie. He wasn’t doing that to his baby sister.

  He would just have to get the money back from Preston, since this was technically all his fault.

  Minnie ran her fingers through her hair and gently kicked at the base of the last pot she threw. “Oh man… Colt….”

  “I can understand why you did this Minnie,” he said softly. She covered her face with her hands and her shoulders trembled with new sobs. He stepped carefully across the room and pulled her close. She hugged him tightly apologizing over and over. “I know how much Zoe means to you, sweetie, I wouldn’t have hurt her in anyway. You know me.”

  “I know!” Minnie whimpered. “I told her that but she didn’t want to hear it. And I really didn’t know what to think—never Preston. She was so angry, so hurt. And so final—she told me she didn’t want me to see her or Paige anymore. She told me to get my own Little Sister!”

  Colton rubbed Minnie’s back as he held her and slowly calculated how much inventory he had lost and how much it was going to cost to replace. Feeling her trembling in his arms, he put repairs to the back of his mind and focused on his sister. Minnie clung to him only for a moment before pushing back.

  “We have to fix this, Colton, we have to.”

  “I agree,” he nodded. “Tomorrow we’ll….”

  “No… no we have to fix this now,” she said firmly. “Right now, Colt, we can’t wait until tomorrow. We can deal with the mess and with Preston tomorrow—we need to talk to Zoe tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Colton stammered suddenly feeling nervous.

  Minnie grabbed his hand and pulled him through the wreckage and out the door. Jamie looked up from the glass she was sweeping; her eyes wary quickly moved to Minnie.

  Colton stopped his sister long enough to send Jamie home and to lock up the shop himself. He’d come in and clean up tomorrow—he’d have to.

  Colton felt bad for Minnie. She had been knocking on Zoe’s door for fifteen minutes and her friend hadn’t answered. At first Colton thought that she wasn’t there, but Minnie said that she was—she could hear the TV. He wasn’t sure what he could do to make any of this better, and standing there made him feel completely helpless. Colton wasn’t even sure if his being there at Zoe’s apartment was a good idea. Minnie insisted that Zoe needed to see what had happened for herself so that she’d know that it wasn’t Colton she had talked to.

  Minnie stopped knocking after a few minutes and wiped her eyes with
her hands. He hated to see her cry. He gave her a lot of crap for being tough—he wouldn’t ever do that again. He preferred rock-hard Minnie to weepy Minnie.

  “Come on Minnie,” he said as he gave the ends of her hair a soft tug. “Let’s go get a few beers and think up a game new plan. I’m sure there’s gotta be a way to reach her that—” Minnie stepped closer to the door and began kicking it with the toe of her boot. Colton rubbed his face and sighed. He crossed his arms and shook his head. Minnie kicked harder and harder, hard enough to bring a few residents around Zoe out of their apartment. Colton smiled apologetically and reached out for Minnie, but when he grasped her shoulder only she shrugged away.

  “Minnie, this is ridiculous,” Colton said firmly.

  “I know it,” she responded before giving one final—really hard—kick. And that final kick must have worked because he could hear a chain rattle followed by deadbolts twisting. Soon the door jerked open and Zoe Rayne appeared.

  “Have you lost your mind!” she shouted at Minnie.

  Colton straightened his shoulders and dropped his arms. His stomach had made this odd little kick the moment he saw her. It was an odd feeling, one he hadn’t had in a long time.

  He blamed his nerves and the fact that this could go either really well or really bad. And maybe he was a little shocked at the woman who opened the door.

  Zoe was wearing gray sweat pants and a navy blue Old Navy hoodie, both incredibly baggy on her, making her look thin and delicate. Definitely not round. It was obvious by red splotches across her cheeks, nose, and under her eyes that she had spent a great portion of the day crying. Colton felt a swell of guilt that he was partially responsible for those tears—he should have put a reminder in his cell phone. Zoe’s long, shiny black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her feet were bare, but only her toes poked out of the bottoms of her sweats—the nails were painted pink.

  She was pretty too—a gentle, average type of pretty. She looked how a girl next door might look. Colton had let Preston work up the idea that she was some hideous beast. He completely regretted telling his brother anything about the contract.

  “I thought I made myself clear earlier,” Zoe said to Minnie. “And you come here and try to kick in my door? You left a dent—they’ll take it out of my deposit!”

  “I’m sorry, but it’s really important that we talk to you!” Zoe’s eyes flew toward Colton when Minnie gestured to him. He was startled by the sudden attention and felt himself smile and wave only to feel completely stupid afterward. Zoe looked back at Minnie, her lips pressed together tightly.

  “You don’t quit do you?” She asked Minnie. “Do you think I’ll have better luck with another brother?” She demanded. “Or do you just want to see him turn me down in person? You’re heartless.” She started to close the door in Minnie’s face, but his sister jumped forward and muscled her way into the apartment.

  “It is really not what you think,” Minnie said quickly.

  “Get out!”

  “This is Colton….” She gestured for him to come into the apartment. He moved up as far as the doorway and looked at Zoe. She was on the borderline of a break down; tears were pooling in her pretty honey-brown eyes. “You met Preston today at Rylie’s—my stupid older brother. He was making deliveries for Colton—Colton forgot he was supposed to meet you. He didn’t tell Preston to say any of that shit he said to you. Preston was just being Preston—an asshole.”

  Zoe looked at Colton. Her eyes scanned him over completely before she shook her head with uncertainty.

  “This isn’t the person you talked to, right?” Minnie asked. “Right?” Zoe shook her head no and Minnie hurried on, “Preston and Colton do look a like—”

  “Unfortunately,” Colton sighed as he came into the apartment a little more. “I’m sorry, Zoe.” She turned her eyes back to him and again his stomach kicked. He swallowed back the forming lump in his throat. “The past few days have been hectic—I forgot about meeting you this afternoon. I sent Preston, but I didn’t tell him to say those hurtful things.

  All I told my brother was that I felt uneasy about the whole thing. But, I’m sure you’re the same way.”

  “Yes, it’s stupid,” she said with a small voice. “I never agreed to it—I told them that I would consider the idea. I didn’t agree to it.”

  “Yeah,” Colton nodded.

  “See?” Minnie asked brightly. “See… it wasn’t Colton. I don’t know what Preston said to you, but I know it hurt your feelings, and believe me when I say that I’m going to kick his ass, I really am.” A small smile crept to the corners of Zoe’s mouth. Her eyes glistened with tears as she stared at Minnie. “I thought it was Colton too—I mean. I really did after you left with Paige. I couldn’t think straight. I was so confused. But it wasn’t Colton—my brother would never do something like that.”

  “He didn’t tell me that his name was Preston,” Zoe said with a trembling voice. She looked briefly at Colton and then stepped up to Minnie and wrapped her arms around her.

  “He just let me believe that he was Colton.”

  “I’m sorry!” Minnie exclaimed.

  “Me too.”

  Colton smiled as Zoe and Minnie clutched one another. He turned his attention elsewhere and started looking around.

  Zoe’s apartment was ridiculously small and cramped, cluttered in a way that made it feel homey, but honestly it was no bigger than a shoe box. His eyes moved to the artwork on the walls—pretty impressive stuff, he thought. He noticed that she was quite a reader too, books everywhere—stacked on the floor and on shelves, on end tables and on her coffee table. The books on the coffee table were joined by an open box of pizza, a few bottles of beer, a bowl of chips, a package of Skittles, and a bowl of marshmallows. Colton’s stomach growled and his mouth watered. What he would give for a slice of pizza and a beer.

  “Colton?” He turned his attention back to Minnie who was standing beside Zoe. He smiled at them both. Minnie looked at Zoe who seemed hesitant and uncertain as she stepped forward. He didn’t blame her—after taking a chance on Preston this afternoon, she was probably dreading this.

  “Look… thanks for… um… putting up with your sister and Paige,” Zoe crossed her arms and stepped back into Minnie. His sister didn’t move or nudge Zoe forward; she just stood there and let Zoe lean on her. “But… this whole starter boyfriend thing is an incredibly silly idea. You shouldn’t feel obligated to do this at all. Like I said, I never told them I agreed to it—only that I’d think about it. I’m… I’m glad though that it wasn’t you outside Rylie’s today. I didn’t remember you being such a jerk.”

  “Nah, that’s Preston,” Colton said. “I don’t really know where he gets off treating people like they’re beneath him. He walks around like a superstar, king of the world.”

  “Oh,” Zoe said slowly. She nodded after a moment and crossed her arms. “Well… thanks for coming with Minnie to clear things up, I appreciate it.”

  “My pleasure, he misrepresented me to you—I wanted to make sure that you knew it wasn’t me so that you’re not uncomfortable with me when we go on a date.” Zoe looked at Minnie and then at him. She was obviously flustered by his statement, which was pretty cute. “I-it... that’s not necessary Colton.”

  “Well… it is actually because I signed a contract,” he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his wallet. He handed her the contract and watched her face as she opened it and began to read. Slowly her cheeks became incredibly red and her mouth dropped open with horror.

  “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe she did this—” Zoe looked at Minnie. “You let her do this?”

  “It was her idea,” Minnie said giving her a helpless shrug. “I thought it was cute.” Zoe rolled her eyes and read the contract again. After a moment, she blushed deeper and Colton was wondering if she was reading that part about safe sex. Not that he was thinking about having sex with her, because he wasn’t. Although he wasn’t completely adverse to the idea, h
e realized. And of course the moment he considered it, his body started to betray him. Nervous, uncertain, and a little scared of his reaction to Zoe, Colton cleared his throat.

  “So—I can’t really go back on the contract and I’m pretty sure the little ‘attraction clause’ thing will never come into play. So…” he laughed lightly as Zoe’s cheeks grew even more red.

  “Paige will understand,” Zoe said quickly as she refolded the paper and handed it back to him. She crossed her arms over her chest once he took the paper back. “It’s okay. I’ll make her understand—this is just silly. She’s a kid, that contract isn’t real or anything. It was sweet of you to play along and all, but...”

  “So, you’re saying that you don’t want to go out and have some fun?” Colton asked.

  Before she could say no, he quickly went on. “I mean—I could really use a day of fun after the crappy few that I’ve had recently. I know it might seem like I’m doing this as a favor, but I’m not—I’d really like to take you out. Wednesday night there’s a Yankees game—do you like baseball?”

  She seemed suddenly flustered. “Yes, but….”

  “I thought we could go to the game and then to dinner afterwards,” Colton continued.

  “The game starts at five—do you think you can get some time off?”

  “She worked today, so I’m sure—” Minnie stopped talking the moment Zoe shot her a look. She held up her hands and then walked a few steps to the couch and sat down. She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms and stared at the TV. When Zoe turned back to Colton, he could see that she was about to tell him no. She looked heart broken at having to refuse his date. She started to shake her head no, but he didn’t give her a chance to refuse again.

  “Come on,” he said stepped toward her. “I’ll buy you a foam finger!” She stared up at him for a moment and then laughed. She had a nice laugh, one of those deep ones that made people smile. And when she smiled her entire face warmed up, and for a moment he forgot that she was a little red from crying. She had a really pretty smile.