One Week Girlfriend (7 page)

We watch him walk away in silence, Fable still snug at my side until he’s gone. She slowly pulls away and I immediately miss her.

Stupid.

“I have nothing to wear for some fancy cocktail party dinner thing.” She sounds stressed out. “You didn’t tell me to pack anything like that.”

I should’ve. I’m an idiot for forgetting. My plan was so last minute, I forgot all sorts of shit. “I’ll buy you something,” I offer. “Let’s go look around. We have time.”

She shakes her head. “No way. You’ve spent too much money on me already. I’m not about to have you buy me some expensive cocktail dress for a one time only event. I’m not playing
Pretty Woman
here.”

Funny thing is, we sort of are. I’ve seen the damn movie—who hasn’t? I’m pretty sure Richard Gere’s character paid Julia Roberts AKA the prostitute three thousand dollars for her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Bought her a bunch of clothes too.

The similarities are undeniably there.

“I don’t mind.” I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. She’s watching me with a funny look on her face, like she can’t believe I voluntarily touched her without anyone around to see us, but fuck it.

I need her to know that not only is she helping me, but I want to help her too. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable. I don’t want my parents to put her down or make her worry she won’t fit in. It’s bad enough we both know she definitely doesn’t fit in.

But I don’t feel like I fit in here either. On the outside I might, but on the inside? Not at all. No one knows the shit I’ve gone through.

I plan on keeping it that way.

* * * *

We find one of those trendy expensive chain stores at the very back of the exclusive outdoor shopping center where I originally dropped her off. Fable’s semi-comfortable there, she knows the store and even though she says it’s expensive, it’s not as bad as most of the other shops that line Ocean Avenue, so I agree.

The place is huge, filled not only with clothes, but also home stuff like bedding, towels, knickknacks and bunch of other pointless bullshit. Fable makes a beeline to rack after rack of dresses and she’s moving frantically, grabbing one after another and slinging them over her arm, the wooden hangers clanking against each other as she walks.

“Hey.” I keep my voice low as I approach her and she pops her head up, her eyes wide. “There’s no fire. We have plenty of time.”

She exhales loudly and shakes her head. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m going to need your opinion on this.”

What do I know about cocktail dresses? “I’ll help you,” I offer because I know I should.

“Like you’ll have to lurk around the dressing rooms and actually see me in every dress so you can tell me how I look. I can’t do this alone.” She looks downright frightened. “Thank God they have a bunch of stuff out for the holidays. Hopefully one of these will work.”

“Hi! Can I start a dressing room for you?” The high-pitched voice comes from behind us and we both turn to see who it is. “Drew Callahan, ohmigod, is that you?”

Ah, hell. My worst nightmare has come to life. I went to high school with this chick. Kaylie, I think her name is. Yep, there’s her nametag with Kaylie written on it. “How’s it going,” I offer weakly.

Her smile is so big and bright she almost blinds me. Someone’s been bleaching her teeth way too much. “It’s so good to see you!” She throws herself at me and I have no choice but to embrace her back.

I can feel the curiosity and irritation radiating off Fable as she stands next to me. I offer her an apologetic glance but she rolls her eyes. For whatever reason, this reunion is pissing her off.

“It’s good to see you too,” I tell Kaylie, giving her an awkward hug. She withdraws from me, the giant smile still on her face, her dark eyes sparkling.

“What have you been up to? Well, besides football. You never come around anymore.” Fake pout. “Everyone misses you.”

“Been busy.” I shrug.

“Wow, I guess we don’t rate then. Can’t even make it back to your hometown.” It’s like she’s forgotten all about Fable, the customer she’s supposed to be helping. Instead, Kaylie is focusing all her attention on me. “Can you believe I have to work here? My daddy made me get a job so I can learn what it’s like to live in the real world. Said my ten thousand dollar a month credit card statements were getting totally out of hand.” She laughs.

Fable’s gaping at her. I just gave her three thousand dollars that’ll support her entire family for months and this girl’s acting like spending ten thousand a month on miscellaneous bullshit is no big deal. “Um, you asked if I wanted to start a dressing room?” Fable asks out of nowhere.

Kaylie looks at her, her demeanor changing instantly. Before she was the good little worker, and now she’s assessing Fable since it’s obvious we’re together.

I hope like hell we look like we’re together.

“Here.” Fable hands over the clothes when Kaylie still doesn’t answer her. “I would really love it if you started me a dressing room.”

The sarcasm is evident in Fable’s voice and I try my best to hide the smile. Kaylie takes the clothes, her upper lip curled. “I hope these are the right size for you. They look a little small.”

Catty bitch.

Fable offers her a fleeting smile. “Oh, the size is perfect. I just have humongous tits so it always looks like I need to go up a size but I make it work. Drew likes it when they hang out and he can see them. Easier access and all that. Right honey?” She bats her eyelashes at me and this time I can’t hold back the chuckle that escapes.

This girl—my fake girl—is just too much.

“Right,” I murmur, enjoying the humor dancing in Fable’s eyes.

Kaylie mutters something under her breath and heads for the dressing room.

“Well. She was rude,” Fable says the moment Kaylie’s out of earshot.

“Sorry about that.” I feel like I’m constantly apologizing for this world I’m from that treats Fable so terribly. It sucks.

She shrugs. “Those types of girls always work at these type of stores. They don’t like me because they know I can’t afford anything in here.”

“Whatever you want, I’m buying.” I want Fable to walk out of this stupid store with so many bags she can’t carry them all. Seriously. I see the way she eyes everything in here. She likes it. She’s trying to play nonchalant but this would be her type of store if she could afford it, I can sense it.

“I only want a dress,” she says, her voice small.

“And shoes,” I remind her.

“Right. Shoes.”

“Jewelry if you need it. Maybe a hair thing or something?” Fuck, I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to what girls need to get all dolled up.

“I’ll figure something out. Meet me at the dressing rooms in fifteen minutes.” She offers me a sweet smile and it hits me like a blow to the chest, stealing the air from my lungs.

I want to make her smile like that at me again. It was a real one. No put on cheesy grin for people watching or the fake you’re my hot boyfriend smile she gave me earlier with my dad. This smile was genuine.

Genuinely beautiful.

Fable wanders off in hot pursuit of the perfect dress. I wander the store, looking around. Starting to feel generally uncomfortable. I’ve never played this role before, attentive boyfriend ready to help his girlfriend pick out her new outfit.

I’m looking forward to seeing her in something beyond the casual stuff she usually wears.

“So Drew. Your girlfriend is a bit…different.” Kaylie’s back.

Great.

“How so?” I turn to look at her, seriously interested in her opinion. Why the hell is Fable so different? Hell, even I think so but I can’t put my finger on it as to why.

Kaylie shrugs. “She doesn’t look like your usual type.”

I never had a type. I never had a steady girlfriend in high school. I was too busy playing football
and
baseball. I had to choose one after I played both my freshman year in college as well. Talk about having no time to date.

“How long have you two been going out?” Kaylie asks when I don’t say anything.

“Since August, when school started.”

“Oh.” Kaylie nods, nibbling on her lower lip. It’s a flirtatious gesture that does absolutely nothing for me. “You know, Drew, I always had a crush on you in high school.”

Hell, I want to groan out loud but I hold it in. This is not going how I planned. I don’t want to deal with this shit. “Uh…”

“You never noticed me, no matter how I tried. And lord knows, I tried.” Kaylie takes a step closer and runs her index finger down the center of my chest, lingering on the buttons of my Henley shirt. “Wow, you’re muscular.”

“Kaylie.” I take a step back. “I have a girlfriend.”

“Such a shame, too.” She’s pouting again and it sucks. If she thinks that’s cute she’s totally wrong. “I’ve always been the type to want what I can’t have.”

That she just admitted it shows how crazy she is. “I need to go help my girlfriend. Talk to you later.”

“Let me know if she needs anything!” Kaylie screeches at me as I walk away.

Yeah, right. I’m going to keep this girl as far away from me as possible. I’m afraid Fable would’ve kicked her ass if she saw what Kaylie just did to me. How she touched me.

Having a fake girlfriend brings me a hell of a lot of unwanted attention.

Fable

After trying on a bunch of dresses for almost thirty minutes, I finally find the perfect one. It’s like I knew it would be perfect since I saved it for the very last. Drew is patiently waiting for me outside, the dressing room attendant having provided him with a chair and everything.

I love coming out of the dressing room and showing him what I have on next. He sits there slouching in his chair, his big body sprawled all over the place, legs spread wide and a bored look on his too handsome face. I’m torturing him, I know it, but his gaze lights up every time he sees me, even if the dress is awful.

And he’s honest too. I can appreciate that. The few that really were awful, he point blank said they were bad. So far he likes the first one I tried on best, and I know it’s a good choice but this one…the one I have on right now, is so beautiful it almost makes me want to cry.

It’s also, at almost four hundred bucks, the most expensive one of them all. Guilt eats at me. I shouldn’t want it. It’s too much money. But oh my God, it looks soo good on me and I don’t like to brag but…yeah. As I told that stupid girl who knows Drew, my tits look great in it and they’re not all hanging out and too obvious either. Everything about this dress is understated, classy…

Yet sexy.

Taking a deep breath, I open the door and step out into the waiting area of the dressing room. There sits Drew in slouch mode, his gaze locked unseeingly on me. He blinks slowly and sits up straight, his eyes going wide as he drinks me in.

“Damn,” he breathes and clears his throat.

The smile that teases the corners of my mouth can’t be contained. I do a little twirl, imagining the super high heels I’d like to buy to go with this dress. I really don’t want to spend too much money on shoes, though. Maybe there’s a Payless Shoe Source close by or something.

Yeah, right.

“Do you like it?” I ask when I face him once more. The dress is black and silky, sleeveless, with a lacy bodice that covers me to my collarbone. It fits close, nipping in at the waist, stopping about mid-thigh, revealing lots of leg. The best part is the back. It does a deep vee, trimmed in black velvety lace and exposes a lot of skin. No way can I wear a bra with it.

“Get it,” he says without hesitation. “You look…”

“Okay? Really? It’s kind of short.” I glance down at myself. “And I’ll need shoes.”

“Whatever you need, cool. That dress is it.” His gaze drops to my legs, lingering appreciatively. “And it’s definitely not too short.”

Excitement courses through me. He likes it. He’s looking at me like he wants me and I know it’s crazy, but I love it. I want to see him look at me like that again. All night.

“There’s a problem though.” I shift on my feet, trying to ignore the worry coursing through me. I don’t want to hear him say no.

“What could be the problem?” He stands and approaches me. My knees threaten to buckle and I lock them, hoping like crazy I don’t fall over like an idiot all because he’s coming closer with that dark, intriguing look in his eyes.

Like he wants to gobble me up.

“The dress costs almost four hundred dollars,” I whisper. I could buy a ton of groceries with money like that. Pay most of our rent. Buying a dress I’m going to wear one time for that much money is insane.

Drew doesn’t even flinch. “I’m still getting it for you.” He stops directly in front of me, rests his big hands on my waist. His touch burns through the fabric of the dress, I can feel his every finger press into my flesh and my heart starts to race. “You look beautiful, Fable.”

“I—I like it too.” I sound breathless and I want to kick myself. Guys don’t make me breathless. They don’t make my heart race either.