Page 5

5

Cliff

“ L et’s get out of here and get you home,” I tell her, squeezing her hand.

“Okay,” she breathes out, pulling her hand back and I already feel the loss of her touch. This whole thing is going to be a fucking nightmare.

We simultaneously scoot out of the booth. I stop to open my wallet and place some cash down on the table. We both head out to the parking lot, stopping in front of her car. She looks up at me from through her long black lashes, and all I can think about is how gorgeous she looks. “Are you sure about this, Cliff?” she mumbles.

A knot forms in my throat and I don’t know what to say, because no, I’m not sure. Fighting the urge to hold her and tell her that everything is going to be okay, I say, “Hunter swears this will be good for your reputation. I don’t trust many people, but I trust him.”

She nods her head. Her mouth opens as if she’s about to say something, but instead she mumbles, “Good night.”

“Good night, Jade,” I reply as I watch her walk a few spots down and get into her own car. Once she’s pulled out and on the main road, I finally open the door to my car, get in and head home.

Ten minutes later, I’m walking into my apartment and call the only person who would understand exactly what kind of predicament I just put myself in.

“Hey, man. How did it go?” Hunter asks me as soon as he picks up.

“She wants me to be the one she fakes date,” I breathe out, throwing my keys onto the table as I close the front door.

“Oh shit,” he says, and I can hear shuffling on the other side of the phone, then a click of a door.

“Yeah,” I breathe out, plopping down on my couch.

“What are you going to do?” he asks.

“I’m going to do what anyone else would do in my position,” I say flatly.

“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?” he asks with disbelief in his voice.

“Of course. There’s no way I can turn her down. I’m going to need you to take her on as a client, since it would be a conflict of interest,” I tell him.

“Are you sure about—” he begins.

“Hunter. I already told her. I’m doing this,” I snap at him.

The phone goes silent, and I know that it doesn’t mean that he’s given up. No, he’s just weighing his words, and I’m not disappointed when he mumbles, “Even if it hurts you?”

“Hunter. I will figure out how to keep my feelings out of it,” I growl.

“Fine!” he snaps back at me then adds, “I’ll have Mary Beth send over the documents to her in the morning.”

“Thank you,” I sigh.

“I just want to go on the record and say that this is a bad idea,” he says one last time.

“Yeah, it probably is,” I reply feeling a little defeated. “I’ll talk with you tomorrow,” I say, hanging up on him before he tries to talk me out of it anymore. Nothing productive would come from that.

Closing my eyes, I try to think about how I can keep her at an arm’s length, at least during this whole thing. Right then, my phone buzzes. Fuck, what does Hunter have to say now? I grab my phone and tense up when I see Jade’s name on the screen.

“Nothing’s changed. You’re still just friends,” I mutter to myself, but it all feels like a lie. It feels like it all changed the moment I agreed to this situation.

Jade: Thanks again for doing this. I know it was your idea, and I’m sure you didn’t think I would ask you. But I’ll try to make it easy on you.

“Ugh, what do I even say to that,” I mumble under my breath. If she only knew how I really felt, I don’t think she would be sending me that text. My phone buzzes again, pulling my attention to it.

Jade: I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’re the best.

Shit, now she’s making me feel really bad because yeah, it was my idea and no, I didn’t think she would ask me to be the one to pretend to date her, but when she did, all I could think about is how her soft plump lips would feel against mine. Pretending to be her boyfriend is not a hardship for me, it’s the complete opposite. I could spend forever around her, doing anything and everything with her. Grabbing my phone, I make sure to text her back before she starts rushing me with more texts and making me feel even guiltier.

Me: You know I would do anything for you. Hunter is going to send you documents to transfer you over as one of his clients.

Jade: Oh, that quick? I thought maybe it would take longer.

Me: We don’t want the press to come after you anymore than they already do.

Jade: Yeah, you’re right. Thanks

Me: You’re welcome. Goodnight, Elsa.

Jade: Elsa?

Me: You know…the ice queen.

Jade: You’re so dumb. Good night.

I smile I as I push myself off the couch, imagining her rolling her eyes so hard at my ice queen comment but still having that small smirk on her lips, the one that says she’s amused. It’s one of my favorite faces that she makes.

Putting my phone in my pocket, I walk over to my small makeshift bar in the corner of my one-bedroom apartment. I pour myself a finger of whiskey and slam it down my throat. Tonight has been rough and calls for a stronger drink than a beer.

The next morning, I’m scrolling through my email when I see the paperwork to terminate my business relationship with Jade and my heart rate starts to pick up. Last night felt more like a plan that we were developing. Now looking at the contract, it feels more real.

My hands tremble slightly when I click the box to sign my name. I know that this will help her and I’m willing to do anything for her. But something inside tells me this is a bad idea and I’m going to be the one left out in the cold. I push those feelings away because this is something I need to do. It’s all for Jade.

Right then, my phone buzzes and I see Jade’s calling me. My nerves kick up, which is weird because I’ve never been this nervous around her. I guess things are changing, starting now.

I hit the green button and answer my phone. “Hey, Jade.”

“Cliff. Did you see it?” she rushes out, sounding panicked.

I furrow my brow with confusion…I don’t know what she’s talking about. “See what?”

“The article?”

“What article? I was looking at the termination contract from Hunter,” I tell her.

“We can worry about the contract later.” She brushes me off continuing, “An online gossip site posted pictures of us last night from dinner.”

My stomach drops. What? No, it’s not time . We were supposed to be able to control the narrative…but perhaps we can make this work for us. First, I need to know what we’re working with.

“Send me the link,” I demand.

“Okay, give me a moment,” she says. I hear her shuffling something around on the other side when the notification for a text message beeps in my ear.

Pulling the phone away, I click on the link she sent me. The article pops up showing a few pictures of us at Blazing Tacos with a headline that reads, “Has the Ice Queen defrosted? Is Jade Gonzalez dating her manager?”

Not the worst headline I’ve seen.

Zooming in on the picture, I see it’s a moment where we had leaned in talking, making it look intimate. I can’t even place when in our conversation that was. The next picture is one of us standing really close outside of the restaurant in front of our cars. We’re so close it looks as if we were about to kiss.

Who would have taken these photos? Maybe the waitress? She did seem upset that I rebuked her advances. But it doesn’t look too bad. Besides, we want everyone to think we’re together, right?

“It’s not too bad,” I speak my thoughts out loud. “Who do you think took them?”

“I don’t know, Cliff. But I was hoping that we could tell our families before anything dropped. I already have a ton of text messages from my family, including Mya. What are we going to say?” she says, her voice getting higher and higher.

The need to calm her down wells up within me, forcing a demand to pop out of my mouth. “Jade, stop and take a deep breath.” I hear her breathe in. “Good girl.” Needing to make sure she doesn’t just hold it all in, I give her another command, “Now, let it all out.” She does as I say. “Good girl. Feel better?” I ask.

“A little,” she whispers. “You haven’t heard anything from our families?”

“I’m sure I have, but I haven’t checked. I’m focused on you,” I tell her.

“What are we going to do? I thought we would have more time.” she mutters.

“This is what we’re going to do: You’ll come over here tonight. We will call them together, letting everyone know.” Needing to remind her that this was the plan, it’s just moving slightly faster than we had anticipated, I continued. “And Jade?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember this is what we want. It’s slightly quicker but we can make it work,” I say.

“You’re right,” she sighs. Then I hear her mumble something I’m not sure she meant for me to hear, “You’re always right.”

The thought of her telling me how right I am has my body tightening and my cock swelling, but every thought is dashed when she hurriedly says, “I’ll talk to you later.” Then hangs up the phone, leaving me to wonder how the hell I’m going to get through this.