by Claire Adams
“So, it’s for Dad then?” I asked.
“Early birthday present and late anniversary gift,” he said and hugged my mom. “Thank you, honey.”
“You’re welcome,” she said and kissed him.
I groaned and sat in front of the TV.
“Anything new with you?” Mom asked as she started on an early dinner.
“Actually,” I started and turned around on the couch. “I do sort of have an announcement.” They were going to find out soon enough anyways. I had posted the photo of Gavin with a caption thanking him for the past three lovely dates, and I knew Ron’s mom was going to have a field day with my mom eventually. I could tell them about us dating, but maybe there was a way to keep the fake marriage thing to myself.
“Oh?” Mom peeked from around the corner as Dad on the other end of the couch.
“I’ve actually been seeing Gavin for a week now. Last night we agreed to be official,” I said.
Mom gasped, and Dad chuckled at the same time.
“Gavin Hayward?” Mom asked. “For a week? Why did you wait so long to tell us?”
“And when exactly are we going to have dinner with this young man?” Dad asked. I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying he’s not that young.
“We both wanted to wait to tell anyone,” I said. “And I don’t know, Dad. Hopefully soon.” I wondered if the agreement included having dinner with my parents as well, just to make it look as real as possible.
“Well, I’m happy for you,” Mom said. “Really, I can’t believe it. We were just talking about how great of a guy he was a week ago.”
“I’m starting to regret that,” Dad said. “Listen, Maddie, I know he’s a rich, somewhat older man, but if he’s using his status to influence you at all, well—”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said. “He’s not coercing me into anything.” It was quite the opposite, but I kept that thought in my head.
“Does everyone know?” they both asked. I nodded and then realized that I hadn’t told Nancie.
“Well, mostly everyone. It’s been a little hard talking to Nancie, she’s still in the middle of her big move and everything,” I said.
“She’ll be happy for you, I’m sure,” Mom said. “I love the idea of the two of you together. He’s a great role model, has a huge influence in our community, and he’s been taking care of his mom for so long. It gives me hope that you would do the same for me.”
“Of course I would take care of you,” I said. “You don’t have to be a saint to take care of your parents.”
“Your mom has a point,” Dad said. “Gavin’s had a lot of shit thrown at him in his life, and he still seems to be a decent guy. But I’ll reserve my full judgment until we have dinner with him.”
“Speaking of dinner,” Mom said and started setting the table. “It’s ready. I know it’s a little earlier than usual, but your father and I have been going to bed a lot earlier these days.”
“Are you guy sick?” I asked and took a seat. Dinner was a cooked rotisserie chicken with a giant bowl of mashed potatoes and a platter of bread.
“No, just more time for nighttime activities,” Dad said and grinned. Mom winked at him, and I stuffed a bread roll into my mouth.
“Not at the table,” Mom insisted. “She’ll throw up.”
“We’re all adults here,” Dad said and dug into his plate.
“Really? Then would you like hearing about what I do with Gavin?” I asked and immediately regretted it. These topics were definitely not safe for parental talk.
“You have a point,” Dad said and raised a hand. “Nothing happens between any two people except innocent kissing and hand holding.”
“In all seriousness,” Mom said as she looked at me. “I’m happy for you, really. It’s been so long since you’ve dated anyone that we were starting to get worried.”
“Worried?” I frowned. “Why?”
“You just get a little down when you’re alone, and with Nancie gone, we were worried about you. But with Gavin around, you’ll be fine, right?” Dad asked. I took a heavy gulp and finished it with a glass of water.
I did have a tendency to become a hermit without the help of others. The year before Nancie and I had moved in together had been the worst. I’d spent nearly an entire summer inside my room until Nancie forced me out of the house and into apartment hunting.
But Gavin wasn’t doing my any favors, that’s for sure. Our agreement was one dinner a week, in front of his mother, and eventually at a wedding chapel. I realized that just waiting on him wasn’t going to work and that if it was going to be believable, I needed to put in an effort as well.
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s great; I love spending time with him.”
“You are so lucky,” Mom said again. “He’s a wonderful man.”
I desperately wished that I had a glass of wine instead of water as Mom continued her praises of Gavin. She had no idea just how “lucky” I was.
Chapter Seventeen
One Week Later
Gavin
The sky was clear for the first time in more than a week when I met Ron on the boat. We both wore short-sleeved shirts and khakis and kicked back with a beer as we relaxed on the lake during a sunny afternoon. Ron started the conversation about a woman he had been sleeping with, a red-head that he picked up from our regular bar after a night of drinking.
“She’s wild, man,” he said with a grin. “Doesn’t care about emotions, only wants the sex. I never knew sex without strings could feel so good. I don’t have to worry about awkward morning-afters or dumb little texts to make her think I’m still interested. We just text each other when we’re lonely, and fuck each other when we’re horny.”
I was somewhat happy for him. I knew he was hesitant about getting into a real relationship with a woman after what his ex did to him, but I also knew he had been craving the affection for one for so long. I contemplated the same type of relationship with several women I had met over the years. Just a purely physical one, where we would only call one another when we needed something. I couldn’t ever go through with it though.
“That’s quite the arrangement,” I said. “How did you get her to agree to it?”
“She’s the one that suggested it,” he said. “I went into it thinking it might turn into an actual relationship, but she was really clear about it only being a physical one.”
“Women like that are hard to come by,” I said. I was beginning to sweat slightly from the sun, despite it being in the high 50s. I started steering the boat back toward the dock as I opened a new beer and took a sip.
“Some of us just get lucky, I guess,” he said and turned to me. “How’s your mom doing? I considered stopping by earlier but wasn’t sure if she was feeling okay or not.”
Surprisingly enough, Mom had been in a great mood lately. She had loved every minute of the aviation museum and had wanted to visit a different museum nearly once a day since then. We went to a few special exhibits at a garden festival where she mentioned I should take Maddie, and she begged me to take her to watch a marathon downtown. She’d been out of the house every day, talking about Maddie and my love life, and her energy level had been through the roof. She was happy; it was so obvious.
“She’s doing great,” I said finally. “Constantly asking to go out, and she’s been eating more lately. Like, actual meals and not just pudding and shakes.” Although I had restocked all of her protein shakes, and added a few more flavors for variety.
Ron glanced at me. “Is it because you’re dating Maddie now?” he asked.
I nodded automatically before realizing I hadn’t told Ron about us yet. “Wait, you know?” I leaned forward and tried to remember if I had given it away somehow.
“I’ve known for a few days now. I was pretty fucking surprised to hear it, to be honest,” he said. I winced, expecting a lecture. He hadn’t ever said Maddie was off-limits, but their relationship had always been more of a brother-sister one, and I wasn�
�t sure if I had crossed any boundaries.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have told you when it first happened.”
“I don’t give a shit,” he said. “My parents told me. Her mom couldn’t stop bragging to the entire world, apparently. Plus, we’ve been best friends since we were kids, and Maddie’s a good person. It helps that I know the two of you are good for each other.”
“I guess,” I said. I hadn’t realized Ron saw me as a good person, nor did I know that Maddie’s mother remembered me, much less liked me.
“Really, I’m not mad,” Ron said as the boat pulled into the dock. “Just don’t break her heart and we’re good.”
I chuckled and took another sip of my beer. “That won’t be a problem,” I said. He nodded, despite not having a clue what I meant. The only way I could break her heart was probably not paying the rest of the money. She still had $250,000 left to receive. I briefly wondered what her plans were with the money. She wanted to go to Hollywood, that much I knew. But was she going to pursue acting? Would she find another desperate billionaire and attempt to bribe him as well? She had a talent for it, it seemed.
“Have you guys gotten pretty serious?” Ron asked. I figured he wasn’t asking about sex; surely Ron wouldn’t be interested in that sort of information, but my mind automatically went back to our night together. Our relationship had been pretty serious during that night, but other than that it was purely business. Still, I couldn’t tell Ron that much.
“A few dates,” I said. “We’ve had dinner with my mom once. Maddie was well-behaved.”
“Damn, you talk about her like she’s your child,” Ron laughed. “Just a few dates though? So, do you think you’ll get more serious?”
“It’s hard to tell,” I said. I had to plant the seed carefully. “I like to think so. I like her. I didn’t think I would, to be honest, but she grew on me.”
“She’s a good person. Dedicated, hardworking, and funny as hell when she wants to be,” Ron said. “I approve.”
“I don’t need your approval,” I said. “But I appreciate it.”
I could never tell Ron my true feelings about Maddie. I couldn’t let him get suspicious and find out the truth. He wouldn’t forgive Maddie, and he probably would have judged me for even taking the offer.
“Don’t tell me it’s time to call it a day,” he whined as we got ready to walk back on land. “Our lake time is never long enough.”
“You spend your entire mornings out on the lake,” I said. “I think you get plenty of lake time.”
We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
I had just parked in front of my house when another car pulled up behind me. I didn’t recognize it at first until it parked and Maddie exited the driver’s seat. I groaned and walked straight toward my door without turning around.
“Gavin,” she said as if I hadn’t noticed her.
“My mom isn’t up for dinner tonight,” I said.
“That’s not why I’m here,” she said and stood at the foot of the front steps. I turned toward her. It had been just over a week since our last meeting, and she looked even more beautiful somehow with her hair piled into a high, messy bun and a tight t-shirt with jeans that hugged her long legs. As always, I forced my eyes away from her body and tried paying attention to only her face. “I wanted to eat with you.”
“With me?” I frowned. “Why?”
She walked up the steps and stood beside me, directly in front of my front door.
“If this is going to be believable then I’m going to need more than one picture a week. We should at least have another picture of us eating dinner together,” she said. It was hard to focus when she stood so close, and I opened the door and let her inside into the foyer.
“Can’t we just take a picture now and be over with it?” I asked.
“That’s boring,” she whined. “Don’t you want to look like a decent boyfriend? Especially if you’re going to be my fiancé soon?”
I’d completely forgotten that I would have to propose to her eventually. But she was right; this needed to be believable, and we should at least have a single picture eating dinner together.
“I’ll order some take-out for you,” I said. “I’m not hungry, but I’ll pretend to eat when it gets here, and then you can eat the rest.”
“Chinese please,” she requested and took a seat in the living room. I sighed, poured myself an ounce of whiskey, shot it, and ordered Chinese food on my phone. I didn’t bother asking her what exactly she wanted. She would just have to be happy with whatever I got.
“Oh,” she began. “Do you have that binder with your stories?”
I retrieved it from the closet and handed it to her. “I still can’t believe you remembered it,” I said. She pulled out the story from her purse and put it back into the binder. I held my hand out to take it back, but she began reading the first few stories.
“I didn’t say you could read the rest,” I argued.
“It’s not like I haven’t read them before,” she said and continued. “Oh, I guess there are a few new ones in here.”
I groaned and waited near the front door for the delivery.
“Gavin?” she asked after 10 minutes. “Why did you stop writing?”
I considered her question for a moment. “I just couldn’t do it anymore,” I said. “One morning, I sat at my desk, opened my laptop, and I realized that I just didn’t have it in me to type another word.”
“Why though?” She turned toward me. “Were you afraid of failure?”
“Where’s that damn delivery man?” I mumbled. “I guess, I don’t know. I just lost the passion, that’s all.”
“But you were so good at it,” she said. “You probably still are. And if you have a talent for something like this, you shouldn’t just give up.”
“It’s not that easy,” I said. “Some people actually have to give up their dreams and get actual jobs.” I glanced at her. “Not everyone can get a half million dollars for acting.”
She winced and leaned back into the couch. I didn’t particularly care if I offended her, but I noticed that I hit a nerve. Did she feel guilty?
“You’re good enough to make a living,” she said after reading another page. “I’ve wanted to tell you this ever since we were little, but you have a way with words. A way that I can’t explain.”
I glanced at her. She really enjoyed my writing that much?
My phone buzzed, and I opened it to find a notification that the driver had arrived. I opened the door and took the Chinese food while muttering a quick thanks, and threw it on the living room table. It didn’t matter if she made a mess; I’d just make her clean it up.
“Just a quick picture,” she said while setting everything out. She gave me a fork with some fried rice and a piece of bourbon chicken, dipped her spoon into a bowl of soup, and took a picture of us kneeling in front of the table. I glanced at it as she posted it, and even I had to admit it looked like an authentic Chinese food date night between a happy couple.
“Happy?” she asked as she finished posting it.
“Sure,” I said and stood. “Throw whatever you don’t finish in the fridge.”
“You’re not staying?” she asked as I walked away. “Did I do something wrong?”
I wanted to say yes, but instead, I shook my head.
“I’m not hungry,” I said and walked upstairs toward my office. I took out my laptop and set it on my desk, and opened a word processor. I hadn’t written a single creative sentence in more than six years, and I wondered if I still had it in me.
I knew I was going to need at least a few drinks in me before I wrote anything. I returned downstairs, passing Maddie sitting on the couch in the living room as I headed toward the bar. The smell of Chinese food filled my house, and my stomach made an audible growl that Maddie must have heard.
“Just eat with me,” she said. “And maybe pour me a drink too while you’re at it?”
I rolled my eyes and poure
d her a glass of wine while I readied my drink. I handed it to her and sat on the floor on the other side of the table.
“You can’t even sit on the same couch as me?” she asked with a frown. “Really?”
“I’m only here for the Chinese food,” I said and took a few bites. “Nothing else.”
She groaned. “We’re never going to look like a real couple if we keep acting like this,” she said.
“And how would you have us act?” I asked.
She bit her lip and stared at the floor as I leaned back on my elbows.
“We both have urges,” she said and stared into my eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. “Urges?” I repeated as if I didn’t know exactly what she was talking about. When I wasn’t stewing in how much I hated her, I most certainly had urges. Urges to strip her bare, lick every inch of her, and fuck her until she begged me to stop.
“Yes, sexual needs, and since you explicitly said that we couldn't sleep with anyone else, we might as well use this situation to our advantage. No emotional feelings, no strings, just sex.” She grinned. “I know you enjoyed it the last time.”
“I remember you did as well,” I said and thought about her suggestion. She was offering exactly what I had been looking for, but I still wasn’t entirely sure about it. “Will those cost me more?”
She laughed as she stood from the couch and slowly walked toward me. I was still leaning on my elbows as she kneeled and brought her lips close to mine.
“I was thinking it’d be free of charge,” she said and climbed on top of me.
Chapter Eighteen
Maddie
He looked so damn good beneath me, his eyes darkening more and more each second. I couldn’t help but tease him.
“Or maybe I should charge you?” I smiled and pressed my hands into his thick chest as I arched my back and rubbed myself against the thick bulge in the front of his jeans.
“Maybe you should stop talking and get busy.” He reached up and cupped the side of my face as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.