Secondhand Boyfriends

by Jessa Jeffries

  “Will you two excuse me for a moment?” Claudia said as she slid out of the booth. “I’ll be right back.”

  She ran off to the restroom as Eric and I sat there in silence, chewing our dinner. Eric was going to town and had devoured about half the boat all on his own. I hoped that he’d keep eating and eventually nothing would be left. I was pretty sure two was going to be my sushi limit for the night.

  “So, Claudia seems to think pretty highly of you,” I said to him as I attempted to fill the silence between us.

  He raised his eyebrows. “I feel the same about her.”

  “She usually doesn’t spend this much time with guys,” I said. “You two are together, like, every day it seems.”

  “We’re just having fun,” he said with a wink. “Taking it one day at a time.”

  I smiled at him. He did seem like a pretty laid back, genuine kind of guy. Claudia deserved that after the string of asshole losers she’d dated over the last couple years.

  I took a sip of my mojito and glanced around the room. I admired the gorgeous fish tank behind the bar, but not for long. My eyes landed on the back of a very familiar looking head of hair.

  “Bennett?” I said out loud to myself.

  “Huh?” Eric asked, clueless.

  I stared hard, probably so hard he could feel it, and within seconds he spun around, take out order in hand. He locked eyes with me, but he was with someone else. Another guy. Probably a fellow detective from the department.

  From across the room I saw him glance at me and then Eric, and then back to me. From far away, it probably looked like we were on a date. My heart sunk. I didn’t want Bennett to think of me that way. I wasn’t someone who dated a lot of people. I’d never dated more than one guy at the same time.

  I still had yet to hear from him since our date the weekend before, and the fact that it now looked like I was on a date with another guy was definitely not helping my case.

  My mouth went dry as I watched him walk out of the restaurant. He seemed to be in a hurry and he didn’t look back. Not even once.

  “What’s going on?” Claudia asked as she came back to the table. Talk about shitty timing.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Thought I saw someone I knew.”

  The urge to run after him and explain that it wasn’t what it looked like flushed over me. My legs began to jump a little, and I scooted a good couple of inches out of the booth before changing my mind.

  We weren’t dating. I didn’t owe him an explanation. If I did chase after him and tell him what the deal was, he’d probably think I was crazy for assuming we were exclusive. We’d just met a couple weeks ago. We had one date. I knew better than to jump the gun with someone as dashing as him.

  Claudia stared hard at me as I talked myself down from the ledge. I could tell she was trying to read me. She hadn’t even touched her food since she’d been back. I smiled at her and shook my head as if to tell her it was nothing, but I knew she didn’t buy it.

  CHAPTER 6

  I was completely useless Monday morning at work. My head was not in the game. I had started up my email, but an hour into my day I still hadn’t opened a single one. My coffee was slowly growing cooler by the minute, and I found myself unable to even function. All I could think about was Saturday night, seeing Bennett, and the fact that he still hadn’t contacted me.

  Certain I’d royally screwed up any chance I had with gorgeous Bennett Townsend, I whipped out my phone and began composing a text. I wanted to test him.

  HEY! WERE YOU AT HAIKU SATURDAY NIGHT?

  I figured if I pretended I’d seen him, it would be like acknowledging that he did see me there with another guy, which would make me look innocent. It would open up the gateway for that conversation to happen without me seeming like a crazy weirdo and bringing it up out of the blue.

  My finger hovered over the send button. I was this close to sending it. Impulsive, after all, was my middle name. Then I set the phone down and thought about it. I had to be strategic. I didn’t want to blow this with him.

  “Hey, Olivia,” I heard a man’s voice say. It was Michael. Of course.

  “Hey, Michael,” I replied. I was groaning on the inside.

  “Have a good weekend?” he asked, lingering at my desk like he always did.

  “You could say that,” I replied, avoiding eye contact. “You?”

  “Not bad, not bad,” he said. He never did get the hint. Ever.

  “Oh, wow, look at all these emails,” I said as I fixed my gaze on my computer screen. “Oh, there’s one from Julianne. I better get working on that.”

  By the grace of God, he took the hint and walked off, coffee in hand. I heard him bugging someone else down the way, talking about some movie that had just come out. I wished they’d just make him work from home all the time. I didn’t understand why he needed to have a cubicle or come into the office. He did nothing but distract other people all day long.

  I picked up my phone and re-read my text message. I deleted the entire thing.

  WANT TO GET TOGETHER THIS WEEKEND?

  I sent it without thinking twice. That seemed more appropriate and more cut-to-the-chase. Claudia would’ve been proud of me in that moment.

  I sat my phone back down and waited. And waited. And waited. Five minutes went by, and then ten and then twenty, and still no response.

  “Olivia.” I looked up. Julianne was standing over my cube. She totally caught me messing around on my phone. I was busted.

  “I just wanted to make sure you got the submission for my stepdaughter’s wedding,” she said as her eyes traveled down to my phone and back to me. I could tell she was annoyed, but she was too nice to say anything. Her look said it all, though.

  “Let me check,” I said as I pulled up the submission folder on my desktop. “What’s her name?”

  “Ayla Giovanni,” she said. “She’s marrying Sam Fisher. Maybe it’s under Fisher?”

  My heart sunk and the hardest lump formed in my throat. I could feel paleness washing over my face as the blood quickly drained.

  “I-I didn’t know Ayla Giovanni was your stepdaughter,” I stammered. I forced a natural smile on my face.

  “You know her?” she replied.

  “No,” I said. “I mean, I just watch her on the news and everything. She’s kind of a local celebrity.”

  “Oh, ha,” Julianna laughed. “Well, when you’ve known her since she was a little girl, I guess you just don’t realize she has that effect on people. Some folks just get a little star struck by her.”

  “So, who’s this guy she’s marrying?” I asked, playing dumb. “You approve?”

  “Oh, God, yes!” Julianne exclaimed. “We love him to death. Seriously. If she doesn’t marry him, I think her dad is going to have a heart attack. He’s been such a breath of fresh air compared to all the other guys she’s brought around. And she’s stayed with him longer than anyone else too, so I think it’s a pretty tight thing they have going on.”

  “That’s nice,” I said, forcing another smile as a little bit of me died inside. I didn’t understand why it hurt so bad to hear how happy Sam was. I should’ve been happy for him, happy that he met someone who wanted to marry him and happy that he was marrying into a nice family who appreciated him. “Good men are hard to find these days.”

  “You’re telling me,” she said as she took a sip of coffee.

  “So is it going to be a pretty lavish affair or something small and intimate?” I asked.

  Julianne seemed shocked by my question until she remembered that I wrote about weddings for a living. The question was only natural.

  “Oh, you don’t know Ayla,” she chuckled. “Lavish. Lavish. Lavish. Chi chi. Fancy pants.”

  “Really?” I replied with one eyebrow raised. That didn’t sound like Sam at all. We had talked about getting married several times over the course of our relationship. He hated being in front of large groups of people. He wanted to el
ope, just the two of us, and marry on some tropical island in the South Pacific. He must have really loved her if he was doing that for her.

  “You don’t even want to know what the flowers are costing us,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “Well, costing her dad, actually. He’s footing the bill. I’m staying out of everything.”

  “When’s the wedding again?” I asked as I rifled through my folder looking for the submission again.

  “April eleventh,” she said. “Only a couple more months.”

  Sam and I had broken up the previous May. He and Ayla had been together less than a year. I had to wonder if maybe she was pregnant, but I doubted that. I’d seen her on the news. I’d watched her day in and day out. Her waist was whittled, cinched tight and narrow. There was no way she was knocked up.

  “Where’s the wedding going to be?” I asked. I hoped she didn’t think I was being too nosy, but I felt like I might not get another opportunity to bring any of this up again without it being too obvious.

  “First Presbyterian Church,” she said. “Reception at the Starmont Hotel downtown.”

  Prime wedding locations in Harrisville. She was definitely going to have a beautiful wedding, that was for sure. Most people only dreamt of those locations, but for people like Ayla Giovanni, they were no problem to secure. They probably loved the publicity they were going to get from her. Heck, she probably got to use the reception hall at the Starmont Hotel for free.

  “Nice,” I said. “Sounds like a lovely celebration.”

  “It’s going to be the talk of the town,” Julianne gushed. “You should see the dress she picked out. It’s incredible. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “I’d love to,” I said, quickly realizing she didn’t literally mean I should see the dress. “I mean, I bet she looks stunning in it. She’s so tall. She can probably wear a potato sack and look gorgeous.”

  “You’re telling me,” Julianne laughed. “I’d love to steal a couple inches off her height.”

  Julianne stood maybe no higher than 5’2’’, but she was a firecracker. She packed a punch. Whenever anyone saw her tiny little frame making its way down the halls, the seas parted. People got out of her way. She may have been small, but she was mighty. It probably helped that she had a blaze of short, fiery red hair to match her personality. No one messed with her.

  “All right, well, I just wanted to make sure you’d received their submission,” she said. “It’s February now, so we’ll probably want to run the announcement soon. We need to make sure the whole city knows she’s officially taken. Ward off those suitors so she doesn’t run away from Sam!”

  Julianne chuckled as she walked away, her heels shuffling on the thin carpet. I couldn’t believe Julianne was Ayla’s stepmother. What a small world.

  I sat back as I took it all in. And then my phone vibrated. It was a text from Bennett.

  YES. FRIDAY AT 8?

  And suddenly, all was right in the world again.

  CHAPTER 7

  Exercising more self-control in one week than I had in my entire life, I managed not to text or call Bennett again that entire week. It was the longest week ever, but I knew come Friday, seeing his gorgeous face would be worth it.

  I scrambled to get home as fast as I could and immediately threw off my clothes and took the hottest bubble bath I could stand. I had a good three hours to get ready for our big date, but I wanted to take my time and enjoy it. I wanted to unwind. It had been such a long week.

  After soaking in the tub until my fingers and toes had pruned up, I climbed out and wrapped myself in my plush, white robe. I wrapped my hair in a turban and slathered my face and neck with my best moisturizer.

  “Claudia?” I called out the bathroom door when I heard some noise on the other side.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” she called back. “Not for long. Just grabbing some things. I’m staying at Eric’s tonight.”

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. I’d never seen her so smitten with anyone before. Good for her.

  “Okay,” I yelled back. I’d be getting ready solo that night, but that was all right. Claudia tended to Bogart the music sometimes. I could listen to whatever I wanted and not worry about her judging me or turning it to a different song. “Have fun.”

  I heard her rustling around in her room. Then I heard her footsteps travel down the hall until the front door opened and closed. She was gone.

  I switched on some cheesy eighties internet radio station on my phone and danced around in the bathroom as I put my face on. I was going for a smoldering look that night, complete with a smoky eye and lip-plumping gloss.

  I dried my hair until it was voluminous and then ironed some lose barrel waves into it. I was going for sexy, catwalk, lingerie model that night. I hoped he liked the va-va-voom version of me.

  I slipped into a short, slinky black dress with a plunging neckline and added a simple pair of diamond stud earrings. They were from Sam, actually, but Bennett didn’t have to know that.

  One spritz of my uber-expensive perfume later and I was good to go. I glanced at the alarm clock on my side table. It was 7:45. He was going to arrive at any minute, and I could hardly stand the anticipation. Two weeks had been two weeks too long.

  I switched my belongings from my big leather bag into a black satin clutch and took a seat in the living room as I waited. No sooner did I sit down was there a knock on the door. He was early, which was a nice surprise.

  I shot myself a glance in the mirror, placing a rogue hair back where it belonged, then opened the door.

  The look on his face was priceless when he saw me, and the arm he was holding a dozen pink roses in quickly fell to his side. His lips curled into a sweet little smile as he walked in.

  “These are for you,” he said as he handed me the flowers.

  “Oh, thank you,” I said. “How nice of you. You didn’t have to do that.”

  I leaned in and kissed his cheek as I retrieved the bouquet from his hands.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said as I clicked my way to the kitchen. My heels were going to be a bitch to wear that night, but they were perfect with my dress and I refused to change. I just hoped we weren’t going to do a lot of walking.

  I put the flowers in a vase and returned to Bennett, who hadn’t left his spot by the front door. His hands were resting casually in the pockets of his black dress slacks. He looked so sweet just standing there waiting for me.

  “Ready?” I said with a huge smile on my face. I didn’t mean to act so excited, but I could hardly contain myself.

  Outside, his car was parked right by the front door. It was a black Crown Victoria with tinted windows.

  “On call this weekend again?” I asked. It was clearly his work car.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Fingers crossed we don’t get interrupted tonight.”

  His car smelled like a million different things, stale food, leather and cologne among them. I couldn’t put my finger on one singular scent to save my life. It was obvious that he pretty much lived in the thing.

  As we rumbled along from stoplight to stoplight, we finally landed at a quaint little Italian place on the south side of town.

  “I rarely come out here,” I said as he found a parking spot. “I always forget about all the little restaurants over this way.”

  “Have you ever been to Lessandro’s?” he asked.

  “Nope, never.”

  “Oh, my gosh,” he said as he rubbed his stomach. “It’s amazing. You’ll love it. I’m drooling now just thinking about their breadsticks.”

  The hostess seated us at a quiet little table by the front window. It was definitely a casual place that didn’t require a stunning, low cut dress—or diamond earrings, for that matter—but it was nice.

  “Bennett!” an older, balding Italian man yelled from the back of the restaurant. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

  His accent was authentic Italian, and Bennett stood up to hug
him. The old man cupped Bennett’s face and kissed each cheek. It was adorable.

  “Who’s this bella you got here, eh?” he asked as he smiled at me.

  “This is Olivia,” he said. “Olivia, this is Giuseppe. This is his place.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said as I extended my hand.

  Giuseppe pulled me to a standing position and wrapped his meaty arms around me, giving me a bear hug. He was one of the most genuine strangers I’d ever met.

  “What are we having tonight, eh?” Giuseppe asked.

  “Let’s start with the calamari,” Bennett said as he turned to me. “You like calamari?”

  I nodded. I hated calamari, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I could choke down a few bites if I had to.

  “I’ll take the classic lasagna,” he continued.

  “Mwah,” Giuseppe said as he kissed is fingers. “Excellent choice. Mama will be happy.”

  “May I please have the chicken parmesan?” I asked. “With grilled zucchini on the side?”

  “Yes, bella,” he said as he took our menus and walked away.

  “See what I mean about this place?” he said. “Not only is the food incredible, but the service. You can’t get this kind of service anywhere else in town.”

  “They treat you like family,” I replied. “That’s a good way to keep your customers coming back.”

  Giuseppe dropped off a warm basket filled to the top with fresh, buttery garlic bread.

  “Oh, Olivia,” Bennett said as the steam rolled off the top of the bread. “You’ve got to try these.”

  I reached in and grabbed a slice of bread, nearly burning my fingers, and placed it on my bread plate.

  “I better let it cool a bit,” I said. He’d already begun noshing on a slice, burnt tongue be damned.

  Our food came out in record time, most likely because of Bennett’s apparent VIP status, and we went to town. Giuseppe even gave us a bottle of white wine to share, on the house.