by Claire Adams
I still remembered how glossy her eyes had become as she hugged me and thanked me for keeping them. I had said that she already sacrificed so much for me, and I was never going to let her give up anything else.
I did, however, take out one particular comic and ruined the quality by reading it over and over again. Captain America, the very first issue where he appeared, had been my favorite go-to bedtime read after rough exams and weeks of late-night studying. Captain American quickly became our favorite thing to talk about together. Watching the movies, reading comic books, obsessing over new TV shows that might feature him.
“The next season is rumored to have our favorite American hero,” I said and began playing one of the latest superhero TV shows. “But that’ll come out late next year, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
My mouth caught up before my mind, and I abruptly ended my sentence. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. How dumb was I? Wait and see? Mom wouldn’t know about anything that happened after six months. And the last thing I should be doing is reminding her.
“Have you thought about what I asked?” she asked after a moment of silence. She was staring at the TV, where I had paused the show.
I couldn’t disappoint her more than I had already; she deserved happy news. But I couldn’t just lie to her. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that she needed happy news. Maybe that fake marriage wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“The date went well,” I forced myself to say.
“Oh? With Maddie?” She brightened up immediately. “I do love that girl. She’s such a sweetheart.”
I grimaced but didn’t argue. “She’s sweet.”
“And you guys have known each other since you were kids. Well, you were there when she was born, weren’t you? Isn’t it funny how life plays out sometimes?” Mom settled back into bed with a slight smile on her face. “Don’t you mess this up for me, you hear? She’s a catch.”
I nodded, pretending that I agreed with her. I couldn’t tell my mother that Maddie had tried extorting money out of me using her request, it would ruin everything. One glance at her laid back, and stress-free state and I knew exactly what I had to do.
“Things are looking really good with Maddie,” I said. I knew I was going to have to fake marry Maddie and pay that damn woman whatever she wanted.
Chapter Ten
Maddie
My work-out routine had been interrupted by a sudden bout of sickness, and as I leaned over the toilet bowl, I realized the sashimi Nancie had brought home the night before had given me food poisoning in the worst way possible. I spent a solid hour vomiting and had just finished when Martin called, reminding me of our scheduled meeting.
I had managed to take a shower and make myself look presentable within an hour, and arrived at the modeling agency only 10 minutes late. Martin was used to me being late. In fact, he started scheduling our meetings 15 minutes earlier than he wanted to see me, so technically I was still five minutes early.
I met him in his office, a man in his late 30s with an attractive face and kind eyes, and sat across from him. His hair was a dirty blond, shaved on the sides of his head with an inch styled on the top, and he wore plaid button ups with black and white pin-striped trousers. He wasn’t the most marketable agent, Nancie had nearly chewed me out after first meeting him, but he had been the only one who didn’t give me the creeps or attempted to cop a feel. Which was in instant win, in my book.
“Maddie!” He smiled widely and patted my shoulder. “How have you been?”
“Fine,” I said. “Keeping up on my accounts and promotions.”
“Good, good.” He nodded and took a seat. His thick framed glasses covered dark brown eyes, and they sat on a nose slightly too small for his head. “How many new followers?”
“Since two weeks ago?” I counted in my head. “About 1,500.”
I recognized the look of disappointment that crossed his face, but he was quick to disguise it. “That’s a number we can work with. Do you have any ideas on how to double it, though? Any upcoming promotions, or maybe cross-promotions?”
“Tomorrow is my weekly cross-promo with Nancie,” I said. “And there’s a new flavor of energy drink coming out at the end of the week. I’m on the list for one of the first ones.”
“Energy drink,” he said as he copied my words onto his laptop. “That should get you at least another thousand. Good.”
“I was hoping there might be some auditions,” I said. “I haven’t auditioned for anything in over a month.” Which was unusual for me. Normally I would have had at least one audition a week.
“Nothing’s popped up for your profile,” he said after a few clicks. “Of course, you’re always free to audition un-agented. I’m sure there are a few commercials needing brunettes around here.”
I grimaced. Auditioning for anything un-agented was a sure-fire way to be passed by before being given a chance.
“So nothing then?” I leaned back in my seat. Why was I surprised?
“Well, there is something,” he said and showed me his laptop screen. It was an offer for a contract. “There’s a small photoshoot in the area for umbrellas. Pricey ones, actually. It’s on Friday at seven am.”
“That’s something,” I said, hope fluttering in my stomach. “What does it pay?”
“That’s the thing.” He sighed. “It only pays $200, so you’ll take home $180.”
My agent received 20 percent of everything I made, which usually wasn’t so bad when the jobs paid more than $500, but it definitely hurt on anything less.
I had no choice though; it was a job, and it paid.
“I’ll do it,” I said. “Send me the contract, and I’ll forward my signature.”
“Perfect,” Martin nodded and closed his laptop. “Anything else new?”
I considered it for a moment. There was nothing I could tell him, nothing that he would be useful for anyways. I shook my head and stood.
“Thanks, Martin. I’ll let you know how the shoot goes. And please, if you hear anything about any commercial auditions, think of me.” I turned to leave.
“Some people are just better standing still in front of a camera than walking around,” he said. “Keep that in mind.”
I rolled my eyes and left his office. He believed that modeling was a more promising gig that acting, which plenty agreed with. Nancie herself had given up acting a while ago, but that was only because she was getting modeling contracts at a steady rate. It wasn’t that I didn’t love modeling, it had its perks, but I would have done anything for another acting gig. Even the shortest commercial, with a single line or glance at the camera, could get my heart racing like nothing else.
I leaned against my car and unlocked my phone to tell Nancie about the photoshoot when it rang. An unknown number appeared, and I hesitated for a moment before answering it.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Maddie?” Gavin’s voice replied. I gasped inaudibly and covered my mouth with a hand. Gavin was reaching out to me! But for what?
“Yeah,” I said after a moment. “It’s me. Is this Gavin?”
“Yes,” he said curtly. He didn’t sound happy, but of course, he almost never sounded happy. “Can you meet me for dinner tomorrow night?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Yeah, of course,” I said. I thought I heard him laugh, but when he spoke, he was stoic as ever.
“Six o clock at the Jazz Bistro,” he said.
“I’ll be there,” I said. “Thank—” He had hung up before I could even thank him.
I got into the car with my jaw wide open. He wanted to meet me. Was he accepting the offer?
My face paled. That meant he was offering to pay me. How much would he pay? How much would I ask?
I remembered all the kind things my parents said about him, and how much he loved his mother. Maybe I shouldn’t ask him for the money. Maybe this is something I could do for free, to help out a son with a wish from a dying mother?
>
My phone chimed, and I opened it to find an email from Martin. The contract for the photo shoot, I realized. In the contract, it listed the amount, and I electronically signed my name beneath the $200 amount.
I shook my head. My career wasn’t going anywhere. It would never go anywhere if I remained here. My life was waiting for me in Hollywood, and with the money from Gavin, I would be able to pick up my life and restart it in the hills of Hollywood.
I knew what I had to do, but would I be able to do it?
Chapter Eleven
Gavin
I left my house in a hurry before realizing I wasn’t wearing a tie. If I were going straight to the dinner, I wouldn’t have cared, but I was having a drink with mom beforehand, and I knew she would make a fuss out of it. I returned to my dressing room, picked out the same gray tie that she loved, and walked to her house.
Karen met me at the door, and shortly afterward I was beside mom’s bed, listening as she discussed how upset she was with Karen’s cooking.
“She doesn’t cook anything from scratch,” I said. “She heats up precooked meals. You can’t blame her for those. If you want, I can order your meals from a different restaurant.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I don’t eat any of them anyways. And I can blame her for whatever I want. I’m the one that’s dying. Not her,” mom argued. But she seemed to be in a better mood than the day before, and it wasn’t long before I found out why. “You look nice, Gavin. I’m sure Maddie is just going to faint when she sees you.”
I winced at the mention of Maddie and finished my beer. Mom always made sure there was some sort of alcohol at her house for me, even if she couldn’t enjoy it herself. “I hope so,” I lied.
She was still watching the superhero show and paused it as she turned toward me.
“How is it?” I asked and gestured at the TV.
“Pretty good,” she admitted. “Thankfully the entire season is out at once. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to wait every week for an episode.”
I held my tongue. All that waiting would have wasted a good chunk of her time.
“I’ll have to watch it sometime,” I said. “Think you could set aside an entire day to binge it with me?”
Mom laughed. “Like I have anything better to do,” she said. “Just show up when you want, I’m always here.”
I frowned. Mom was spending the rest of her life stuck in her house. I considered adding onto it, maybe a pool or a bird sanctuary or anything that would excite her, but I realized they all would take several months to complete.
Months that we didn’t have.
“Where are you taking Maddie?” she asked after a moment.
“Jazz Bistro,” I said. “I didn’t want to take her anywhere too fancy.”
Mom laughed. “The bistro? I took you there for your 10th birthday, Gavin. Surely you could have gone somewhere at least a little romantic?”
I shrugged. I couldn’t tell her that our date was far from romantic.
“It’ll be fine. I don’t expect her to make a fuss about a three-star restaurant. And if she did, then she’s definitely not the one,” I said.
“Any woman willing to put up with you deserves the best,” mom said. “Promise me you’ll take her somewhere a little nicer on your third date?”
“I promise,” I said. “If we get to a third date.”
“Things are going well, aren’t they?” she asked. Her thin glasses were falling down the bridge of her nose, and she slid them back toward her eyes. “Why wouldn’t you get a third? Unless you’ve messed up somehow and you’re worried she’s not as interested in you as you thought.”
“I didn’t mess up,” I promised. “Everything’s fine, Mom. She likes me, I like her, and we’re happy on our dates.”
Mom rested against the headboard and closed her eyes, a pleased smile on her face.
“And you’re happy with her, right?” she asked and shook her head. “Of course you are, why would I even ask. She’s wonderful. A woman any mother would be proud to have as a daughter-in-law.”
I gritted my teeth and finished my beer as I agreed. “She really is beautiful.” I knew that objectively Maddie was gorgeous and sexy, with a crazy attractive body that made it difficult to ignore her, but every time I thought of her I had nothing but awful thoughts. Thoughts that I definitely couldn’t tell mom.
“I hope she isn’t worried about me,” mom said. “I mean to say that I hope I haven’t put a damper on any conversations.”
I knew the last thing mom would want was to get in the way of my love life. I shook my head.
“No. Actually, I think it’s made her more eager to settle down,” I said, realizing how ironic the statement was. “You don’t have to worry about a single thing, mom.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” she said and held my hand. “I want you to be happy, that’s all.”
I squeezed her hand in return. “I won’t make any promises,” I said. “But I’m happy with her. That’s all I can say.”
Mom continued praising Maddie’s good looks and charisma, and I forced myself to agree with every word. She was much happier than usual and spent time dreaming about a fake future with Maddie that she would never experience.
“We should all get together, after a few more dates, of course,” she suggested. “I would love to have her over for dinner again.”
“I’ll ask her about it,” I said and checked the time. “I should head out now; she’ll be at the restaurant in a half hour.”
“Gavin!” mom yelled. “You’re not picking her up? You’re making her drive to the date herself?”
“She’s a grown woman, mom,” I argued. “She’s more than capable of driving herself.”
“And here I thought I taught you to be a gentleman.” She shook her head. “I need to apologize to that poor girl for raising such an impolite fool.” She was joking as she spoke, but I had to bite my tongue to keep from spilling the truth about Maddie.
“I’ll apologize for you,” I said and threw the empty beer bottle in the recycling. Karen wished me luck on my date, and I left for the restaurant.
Maddie was late for dinner, and it worsened my already sour mood as I sat at our table and waited. The Jazz Bistro was a cushiony little restaurant in the middle of a fast-paced downtown scene, with a live jazz band every night and a seafood crawl on the weekends. It was spicy Cajun food, priced for the middle class with only a few sophisticated drinks for the upper class. Maddie had taken us to an expensive restaurant the first time; I wanted to knock her down a notch before agreeing to her insane terms.
I ran over my own terms in my head. If we were going to do this, we’re doing it my way. I repeated my rules over and over again in my head as the minutes passed. A waitress brought me my drink and a basket of Cajun-cheddar biscuits, and I watched the jazz band perform on the other side of the restaurant. I had requested a booth to feel more secluded, pretending it was a romantic date and not simply a business meeting. I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea, and as she arrived, I stayed rooted in my seat and didn’t stand to greet her.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she gushed and slid into the booth. She wore a black pantsuit that was tight on her breasts and waist, demanding my attention in not so subtle ways. Her hair was pinned up with a single long strand brushing against her outfit, and her eyes were smudged with charcoal. I tried to pay little attention to her face, but it was difficult. She was alluring and beautiful, and it had been rather long since I’ve last been with anyone. “I was doing a cross-promo with my roommate, which took way longer than normal.”
I leaned against the booth as she spoke. “It usually takes maybe an hour, but tonight we were promoting each other along with some meal bars that—”
“I don’t give a shit what you were promoting,” I interrupted. “And I don’t care that you were late.”
Maddie blinked and shut her mouth.
“We’re here because I want to ac
cept your offer, but before I do, I have some ground rules that I want to go over first. Okay?” I asked.
“Sure?” she responded and ordered herself a drink as the waitress returned. We each ordered a small meal, neither of us truly interested in eating.
“This needs to look like a real relationship, to everyone,” I began. “So you’ll have to sleep over at my house a few nights a week. But not in my room. You’ll sleep on the couch or in one of the guest rooms. But you have to come to dinner once a week with my mother, and you have to be the perfect girlfriend, and soon fiancée.”
“I can do that,” she said. She didn’t seem taken back by my requests.
“You have to take lots of pictures of us together, and make them public so that my mom sees,” I said.
“Wait.” She leaned forward. “Your mom is active on social media, but you’re not?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” I said. “We also have to make Ron think it’s real. He’s a fucking terrible liar, and he’ll blab the truth to my mom if he finds out the truth.”
“You’ll lie to your best friend?” she asked, almost in shock. I clenched my fists.
“I’m lying to my dying mother,” I said. “So yes, if I can lie to her, then I can lie to my best friend. And you better lie to your cousin, or else the deal is off.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Got it, anything else?”
“This relationship is for the public eye only,” I said. “Nothing intimate, or romantic. I don’t even want to be alone with you if I don’t have to. Nothing physical, that’s for sure.” I wasn’t entirely sure why I added that last part.
“No sex?” she clarified. “I think I can live with that.”
“Which means nothing romantic with anyone else either,” I added. “The last thing I need is for someone to think you’re cheating on me.”
“And vice versa?” she asked. “You won’t sleep with anyone else?”
“Of course not,” I said. “As far as everyone else knows, I’ll have eyes only for you.”
