The Boyfriend Arrangement: A Fake Marriage Romance

by Lara Swann

  “Well, maybe…” She looks over at me again, and my mouth quirks in a small, secret smile. I see understanding dawn in her eyes a moment later, and she jumps on the bandwagon with me. “I…don’t know that I want…any…yet.”

  There’s a moment of stunned silence, and Emily looks down at the card with my answer on it.

  I smile at Cassie like I’ve won some sort of victory.

  “Yeah, I don’t want children.” I confirm again, wrapping my arm around Cassie. “We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us - far too much to enjoy for us to be worrying about that.”

  Adelaide is looking at us with a mixture of shock and utter horror, and everyone else won’t look at us at all. Maria is the only one who doesn’t seem surprised, but even her expression is sad and more than a little worried as she glances over at her little sister.

  I’d actually thought it wouldn’t have been that much of a surprise to Cassie’s family, since I’d already announced it to Maria - but I guess she didn’t tell anyone.

  “Right…well…” Emily tries to recover the situation, and I feel a momentary pang of guilt for spoiling the mood of the party.

  Maybe I went too far?

  Emily forces a smile. “So, Adelaide and Henry, would you like to go next?”

  “I…er…” Henry blusters.

  Adelaide interrupts with a cheery agreement, and then what follows is at best Henry scraping through some idea of his wife’s favorite things and vague memories of what must have been years ago now.

  They don’t do particularly well, but at least Adelaide’s obvious disappointment and chastisement of her husband takes some of the attention off us.

  Beth and Neil are the last couple to go, as I could’ve guessed from the beginning, and that brings the atmosphere back to a pleasant, warmer feel as they recount more love-at-first-sight stories.

  I squeeze Cassie’s hand. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” She murmurs back. “I guess we got through it.”

  “Mmhmm - maybe it wasn’t a bad thing, Caz. It set a few things up for us.” I say quietly.

  She nods and shrugs, taking another sip of her champagne that almost empties the glass, but at least she seems to relax a little. “At least no one seems to think we’re not actually a couple…but I swear, next time we do this, we plan it out properly like I wanted in the first place.”

  “Next time, Cassie?!” I do everything I can not to laugh and interrupt Beth again.

  Cassie looks at me, realizes the insanity of what she just said, and bites her lip hard to contain her own laughter. Not trusting herself to speak, she makes a dismissive gesture instead and I grin at her.

  She makes a point of looking away from me, refocusing on Neil and Beth. I try to do the same, and catch the tail end of the questions they’re being asked.

  “Do you think they rehearsed this?” I say quietly to Cassie, as they give almost word-for-word answers to each question.

  “Shh!” She says again, but she flushes and gives me a brief, knowing grin before starting to shake with restrained laughter.

  At least she’s happier again.

  The questions come to an end - at which point Emily announces gleefully that they’ve won, and are clearly the best couple in the room.

  I hadn’t even realized this was meant to be a competition.

  Luckily, most of the other couples in the room are older and mature enough not to take offense at that comment, and to accept indulging Beth’s ego for today at least.

  We get a few minutes’ break, where everyone chimes in and congratulates Beth and Neil - again - and chats about some of the things they’ve said. Cassie and I just chuckle together on the sofa - whether from so-far-restrained amusement, the champagne, or stress relief at it being over, I’m not sure.

  “Aaand now, the kissing contest!” Emily interrupts us all shortly after that.

  I look up, getting irritated by her whole attitude - but also feeling my body light up at the prospect of kissing Cassie again.

  We don’t have a chance to do much more than look at each other before Emily declares the rules for this game - which seems to just involve everyone kissing each other, at the same time, and her judging it.

  Okay, so you can think of a worse game…

  I grin at Cassie, and see she’s slightly flushed as she looks back at me, eyes wide. I can’t believe how beautiful she is like this, and I have to shift on the couch to disguise my sudden interest as I lean in towards her.

  I barely hear Emily declare the start of this game, too intent on the woman in front of me as I bring both hands up to cup her chin, my fingers caressing her neck.

  The whole thing might be ridiculous, but I don’t even care - the last game was complete shit, but this…this I can work with.

  And if we’re doing this on display I’m going to make it as over-the-top intense as I want it to be. Maybe it’s for something as cheap as a silly contest, but if I have the chance to kiss the woman I can’t stop thinking about…yeah, I’ll make that count.

  Cassie is looking up at me expectantly, her eyes wide, and I give her a slow smirk as I bring our lips together.

  I brush hers with my own, gentle and exploratory for one brief moment, letting her feel the barest glimpse of me against her. But I can’t do soft and teasing for long. I want so much more.

  Within moments, that desire overcomes me and I’m deepening the kiss - my tongue entering her warm mouth and desire rushing through my body as I feel her respond and open to me. I take full advantage, unable to contain my need to have her, and I kiss her like it’s the start and end of everything.

  Her eyes drift closed, and sparks are shooting behind my own as my pulse thuds in my ears.

  I suck on her lower lip, our mouths moving over each other and her lips vibrating against mine with a moan she doesn’t dare let anyone else hear. Her whole body shifts against me and it’s all I can do not to push her back onto the couch, to take this so much further.

  My cock is hard and throbbing in my pants, and I know if my hands were to drift down, to reach and touch, that I’d find her nipples stiff and eager for my attention.

  I don’t.

  I keep my hands above her neck, chaste and innocent.

  Except for everything about the way I’m holding her. Firmly. Intently. Deliberately.

  Keeping her open and exposed as my tongue explores every part of her desperate, eager mouth. I can feel every hitch in her breath and the pounding of her pulse at her throat, and I steal that breath one slow, toe-curling moment after another.

  By the time I finally ease off, heat and desire has flooded through every part of me, my body tingling where it’s touching hers. I break the kiss with a soft parting and a hand brushing her hair back from where it had fallen into her face, then look back at her and smile.

  I couldn’t keep the look of pure lust out of my eyes if I tried, so I don’t even bother. It’s reflected on her face anyway, and I see her try and catch her breath, staring at me with a mixture of shock and longing.

  “Good thing we practiced last night, hmm?” I ask softly.

  Emily interrupts the moment loudly enough that I actually notice there are other people in the room again, announcing grandly that Beth and Neil won the contest - of course.

  Cassie seems to be having similar difficulties paying the slightest attention to that, the atmosphere hanging suspended between us, and I feel like those wide, beautiful eyes are seeing me for the first time.

  “My god.” She finally says. “What…was that?”

  I smile, cupping her chin again and deciding on the spot to take the easy way out. It’s Beth’s engagement party, not the time for big, potentially life-changing conversation.

  Besides, I’m starting to think that a hell of a lot of things are working better unspoken between us.

  “You know me, I can’t help that I’m competitive, baby.” I say, my voice deep and sinuous despite me trying to lighten the tone - the desire still pounding inside me spilling
out anyway. “Do you really think their kiss was better?”

  She gives me a half-smile, meeting my heated gaze with her own. “I have no idea, Josh…I couldn’t see anything else.”

  My cock pulses in response, and I ignore it with effort as I lean forward to kiss her forehead. Only the slight tilt of her head makes it obvious she would have liked it to land somewhere else.

  “Good enough for me, Cassie…” I murmur, and finally shift back to give us both some space.

  I feel like we could start a fire with the sparks flying between us right now, and we’ve been completely ignoring the rest of the party around us.

  Not to mention, I’m horny as hell, and I’m not sure I can let Cassie know just how much of an effect she’s had on me. Not yet.

  Instead, I turn back to my champagne glass and see Cassie do the same. I raise it in a brief toast, and she clinks hers against mine before we both down them.

  Forget what I said earlier.

  Alcohol seems like a fucking good way to get over this slightly-shaky-feeling right now.

  Chapter Eight

  Josh

  “Hey - have you…seen Cassie?”

  I look around at the room I just stumbled into - no Cassie, just a few half-hearted decorations.

  Fuck it.

  I take my eyes off her for a few minutes and she manages to get completely lost. Or maybe I did.

  The blurring at the edges of my vision, and the confused thoughts tumbling through my mind make it hard to tell. And fucking impossible to find her again.

  All these damned hallways look the same. And there are fucking dozens of rooms here.

  The only occupant of this one - a pretty brunette girl - turns around to answer me, dropping the towel she’s wearing to reveal far too few clothes.

  “Who’s Cassie?” She arches an eyebrow at me, smiling coyly.

  “My…girlfriend.” I hesitate on the word, alcohol interfering with my usual ability to say it completely naturally.

  Her eyes sweep over me and she comes closer. Slightly too close.

  “Well…I don’t know where she is.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “But you found me. I’m Nikki.”

  “I’m looking for Cassie.” I repeat, trying to speak more clearly this time. I’m not sure whether she’s stupid, or I’m just not getting the words out right. I wasn’t looking for her. I don’t even know who the hell she is.

  “I was just getting changed for the jacuzzi - a bunch of us girls are heading there.” She continues, still not getting my point. “You could come join us, if you like.”

  “No, thanks.” I shake my head, then regret it a moment later.

  God damn, how much have I had to drink?

  “Are you sure?” She leans forward, her hand coming to rest on my arm, then squeezing it as she giggles and looks me up and down. “Oohh, you feel amazing. I bet you’d look great without a shirt on.”

  I take a step back, feeling strangely awkward and trying to work out whether the slight nausea might be alcohol related. “No, I’m just looking for Cassie.”

  “Maybe she’ll be there!” She suggests enthusiastically, and I frown as she links arms with me and starts walking towards the back of the room - where large glass doors lead outside, I realize.

  That doesn’t sound like Cassie, but…maybe someone there will know where she is. Better than stumbling around the house.

  I shrug and give in, and as we get outside she leans in closer with a giggle. “You should definitely join us - Beth’s parties usually end with a little skinny dipping, you know how it goes.”

  She grins at me, and I resist the urge to comment that didn’t sound too different from the barely-there bikini she’s wearing at the moment.

  When did girls like this start irritating me so much? I swear I’ve dated plenty of girls just like Nikki before.

  Maybe it’s the alcohol. At least the cooler night air is helping clear my head a little.

  The sound of giggling and squealing ahead gives us a direct path to the jacuzzi - which my guide elects to take, in favor of an actual path that avoids the grass and flowerbeds.

  “Nikki! There you are!” Beth grins as we approach, then squints at me. “…and, Josh? What are you doing together?”

  Nikki. That’s her name.

  I glance around the jacuzzi to find a lot of mostly-naked girls holding colorful drinks, but no Cassie. As expected.

  “I’m looking for Cassie.” I repeat, yet again.

  “Well you’re not going to find her out here.” Beth says. “She never joins us for these things.”

  “But now that you’re here, why don’t you join us, Josh?” Nikki smiles at me, leaning full-on against my body now.

  I try to extract myself without accidentally hitting her or sending her flying, and shake my head.

  “Have you seen her?” I ask instead.

  “Dining room?” She suggests. “I think she wanted to stay and talk to Mom.”

  That sounds even less likely than finding her out here.

  Nikki pushes a glass of something into my hand, and I raise it towards Beth without thinking.

  “Happy engagement.” I give her a sardonic smile and take a long sip. “Thanks.”

  Champagne, I think.

  I thought all that was finished?

  Not too surprising that Beth found some more.

  I shake my head to try and clear it, then shake Nikki off to pouting and far too many complaints, turning to try and find the dining room.

  Where I’d fucking started.

  All because, for a few precious minutes, I’d wanted to take a fucking leak.

  God-damn it.

  At least now I have champagne.

  I take a sip of it to remind myself of that as I stumble back through the garden and into the house.

  Fuck sobering up. I can look out for Cassie just fine while fucked up.

  Just as soon as I find her, anyway.

  I’m walking down the hallway to what I hope is the dining room, when I finally bump into her coming around the corner towards me.

  “Thank fucking god.” I push her back against the wall and pin her there, half the drink she’s holding spilling onto the floor. It’s the sort of thing that looks like it’s meant to be sex on the beach, but smells like it’s pure alcohol instead.

  “Josh. What…” She blinks slowly at me. “…are you doing?”

  I freeze as I realize exactly what I’d been intending to do - push my body against hers and take her mouth in mine for a heart-pounding kiss. The sort of thing we’d both been semi-awkwardly avoiding all evening. Which made looking out for each other hard as fuck, too.

  “I’m…keeping you right here. Where I can see you.” I finally say, expressing the other half of that desire instead. “You got lost.”

  “Noo…” She shakes her head, frowning as she sounds it out. “You’re the one that ran off.”

  I frown. She might be right about that.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask instead.

  “Hiding from my Mom.” She tries to roll her eyes and giggle at the same time, and it ends up with her slumping back against the wall.

  I catch her, and then she’s stumbling into me instead. The warmth of her soft curves press up against my body, and I’m not complaining in the slightest. I smile at her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders as I lean into the hug and bury my face in her soft hair. Whatever scent she’s put into it tantalizes me, mixing with her own unique scent and making my cock twitch with interest. It’s getting fucking hard to contain that now.

  “Did you just sniff me?” She asks, her voice muffled by my chest.

  “You…smell good.” I murmur, stroking through her hair.

  “You mean…of…booze?” She cranes her neck to look up at me, laughter dancing in her eyes.

  “Can you not tell how much I like that?” I raise my champagne glass to make the point, and she stares at it for a moment, everything processing slowly.

  Then we both
dissolve into laughter, giggling stupidly in a way I definitely hope she doesn’t remember me doing tomorrow.

  It takes a long while for us to get our breath back, without making each other laugh again - and somehow, in the course of it, the rest of our drinks disappear. I hope most of it was just onto the floor. But…there may have been a few toasts to how much we love booze. Maybe.

  “C’mon.” I finally say, breathing heavily and leaning back against the wall for my own support now. “Let’s go and see if there’s some of that fucking health food left - might help a little.”

  She grins lopsidedly at me and accepts my arm to support her as we start walking, very slowly, the hall around me spinning slightly.

  “No, no, no!” She says a few minutes later, as I try and turn down the next hallway. “It’s not that way!”

  I squint at her, not entirely sure she knows what she’s talking about, but more relieved to abdicate responsibility for the directions than I am concerned.

  She gets us lost, but probably not as lost as I would’ve, and by the time we make it to the dining room I’ve either sobered up a little, or the champagne has hit my head and made me think that I’m now coherent and thinking straight.

  I’m surprised to see several of Cassie’s family gathered there chatting - Maria, Mark and Henry. And from the way she groans next to me, Cassie seems equally surprised.

  I give them all a cheery wave and ignore the way their conversation becomes slightly stilted as I try and guide Cassie over to the table of food.

  “Oh, there’s loads left.” I say, feeling a sense of achievement. “I’d say I’m surprised, but really…who wants to eat this shit?”

  “Joshhh!” Cassie says, but she’s mostly laughing.

  I grin at her, and grab a couple of rolls, pushing one into her hand. Those should soak up some of it.

  “Ohh my god, this is so good.” Cassie moans in appreciation, and I immediately picture her making that noise under me. With her hands clawing at my shoulders, her head thrown back and…

  Fuck. Stop that shit right now.