by Rye Hart
“It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Johnston,” he said, shaking my father's hand and then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my mother's. She blushed and giggled in a way I didn't think I'd ever heard from her before. Wow. The man knew how to make an impression on the ladies, that was for sure. “My word,” she said, “and here I feared chivalry was dead.”
We waited for a hostess who took us to our seats in a corner booth. Harry pulled the seat out for me, forcing my father to awkwardly do the same for my mom.
“So, Harry, we haven't heard much about you,” my mother said as we all settled in. “What is it that you do?”
“I'm a surgeon over at Cedars Sinai,” he said matter-of-factly, causing my mom's eyes to grow wide.
“A surgeon?” She looked over at me with a pleased – damn near excited – look on her face. “Abigail didn't mention that.”
“Yes, cardiology to be exact,” he said with a confident grin. “I fix people's hearts for a living.”
“Good thing too. My daughter needs her heart fixed after –”
“MOM!” I muttered, nudging her with my foot under the table.
Harry, being the suave man that he was, quickly changed the subject, “Well your daughter is amazing and she's doing a lot to heal my heart too,” he said, squeezing my hand. “She's been a true blessing for me, ever since I met her.”
Hell, he's so smooth that he even has me convinced at this point.
“So, tell me, where did you and Abigail meet?” my mom asked.
As usual, she does all the talking while my poor father just sits there and can't get a word in edgewise. Of course, he looks like he'd rather be anywhere but there at the moment. Unlike my mother, my father wasn't constantly on me about having a boyfriend or getting married.
Like something straight out of a ridiculous romantic comedy movie, both Harry and I start to talk at the same time – and gave very different accounts of our first encounter.
“Online,” I said.
“See that bar over there?” Harry pointed to where we were just sitting. “She walked right up to me, and asked if she could buy me a drink.”
My mom looked at me, then Harry, and then back to me again. Confusion, and a touch of suspicion, in her eyes.
“I mean,” I corrected myself, “We met online originally. After that, we scheduled the date and well, here we are!”
God, he was just so damn gorgeous and charming, it was a shame he was gay. I might have considered a roll in the hay with him after the torture session that was dinner with my parents was over, but I wasn't even remotely his type.
“Yes, yes,” Harry said, smiling and winking at me. “But it sounds more romantic when I tell it, doesn't it?”
“Always does, sweetie,” I said. “You're much better at the romance than I am.”
“How long have you been together?” My mom was trying to get all the probing, invasive questions out of the way, probably still trying to determine if this was real or not.
This time, I bit my tongue and let Harry take over. We were less apt to stumble over each other's stories that way.
“About two weeks now, right?” he looked over at me.
“Two weeks, yes,” I said. “That's right.”
The waiter came and took our orders, and I ordered another drink, because God knew, I needed it. If I was going to make it through the evening, it was probably only going to be with a stiff buzz. Even though everything was going well – better than I imagined, even – it was still early and there was more than enough time for things to go completely sideways.
The butterflies in my stomach were getting the best of me and there was a little feeling of nausea creeping in. A sudden sense of terror stole over me, wondering if I could keep this charade up all night. I just knew I was going to say or do something to slip up and blow our cover, giving us away. My mom had a razor-sharp BS detector and I knew if I stepped even an inch out of line, she'd be on me.
But Harry was obviously a pro at this. He and my mom did most of the talking amongst themselves, leaving my poor dad and me to chat about mundane things.
“You went golfing with Uncle Gerry last week, right?” I asked.
I pushed my mashed potatoes around on my plate, not trusting myself to put too much into my stomach at that moment.
“I did,” he said with a chuckle. “It's nice to get away from the ol' chatterbox now and then.”
“I heard that, Ron,” my mom said, scowling at my father. “And it's not my fault that my daughter happens to be dating a very interesting man.”
“Hey, I'm not complaining,” he teased. “It gives my ears a break.”
Harry laughed, a sincere smile on his face. A sincere, gorgeous smile, at that. It nearly took my breath away.
“It's fine,” he said. “I can't remember a time when someone took this much interest in me, to be honest.”
My mom leaned forward and eyed Harry, and whispered – loud enough for me to hear. “Is my daughter not giving you the attention you deserve?”
She followed it up with a wink in my direction and a laugh. I looked at her and couldn't believe what I was seeing. She was totally buying all of this. Harry was absolutely winning her over. I couldn't believe it, but my mom believed that Harry was my boyfriend. My little ruse was working like a charm.
“Oh, we're just both busy with our careers,” he said. “But trust me, she's –”
“I've told her she works too damn much,” my mom said, shaking her head. “I'm always on her about getting out and enjoying life.”
“Mom, I'm the CEO of a company,” I said. “I'm going to work a lot, and Harry understands.”
“I understand better than most,” he said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “We're both very busy with our work, but when we do spend time together, it's the quality that counts, not the quantity.”
“I guess that's why you're the first boyfriend in a long time that we've met,” my mom said with a smile. “Seems you two have a lot in common. And you seem to really get her.”
Yeah, it sounded like it. Harry was too good at this, I'd have to thank Kirby in a big way. He’d set things up so perfectly that when we would eventually have to “break up”, our careers would be the perfect excuse. For now, though, I just enjoyed the feel of his hand in mine. It felt so natural that I wondered if Kirby had misunderstood about him being gay.
Our server carried over our check and dropped it off. I reached for it, but Harry beat me to it.
“I said it was on me, silly,” I teased, trying to pry it from his hands.
“I’ve got it, sweetheart,” he said, opening it up and throwing a credit card into the folder.
“A good man will always pick up the check on a date. And Harry is quite obviously, one of the good ones,” my mom said. “So, stop arguing with him.”
“But –”
I wanted to argue that this was our agreement and almost let that slip out, biting it back at the last minute. He was doing me a favor, a huge favor. I was going to have to pay him back after this was all over.
“No buts,” Harry said. “I had a marvelous time, and the food was good – but the company was even better. We really should do this more often – get together with your folks.”
“I've been telling her that for ages,” my mother cackled.
“Uhh don't be silly,” I laughed nervously. “We don't have time for –”
“In all honesty, that would be lovely,” my mom said, clasping her hands in front of her. “We don't get to see enough of Abigail as it is. And now that we know you're a part of her life, I hope we can see more of the both of you. How about next week? We pick the place?”
“I have a better idea,” Harry said. “How about the three of you come over to my place for dinner? I love cooking for people and so far as I know, I haven't sent anybody to the ER with my fare just yet.”
What in the hell was he doing? This was not in our agreement! He was going way over the top with this – way too far. This was
supposed to be a one-time, no-repeat performance; just something to get my mother off my back. Harry was going way off the reservation with this and I was starting to panic.
“What do you say, Abigail?” he asked, dazzling me with his perfectly white smile. “Think they'd like my famous seafood bisque?”
“Oh, I have no doubt they'd love it, but –”
“Just tell me the time and place, and we'll be there,” my mom said. “With or without Abigail.”
What was going on? I tried to get Harry to look at me, to give me some warning about his motives – or his next move – but it was too late. My mom had already put it in her schedule.
Like it or not, it looked like I was about to have date number two with Harry next week. With my parents present. Again.
What in the hell was he thinking?
CHAPTER SIX
ABIGAIL
“What in the hell was that?” I asked as soon as my parents drove away.
We were standing in the parking lot, outside of the restaurant, after saying our goodbyes to them. I turned to him with genuine fury in my eyes. The last thing I wanted was to have to go through this whole damn rigmarole a second time with them.
“What? I thought it went well considering I only met you two hours ago,” he said. “Don't you?”
He smirked at me, and as much as I wanted to smack that look right off his face, I couldn't help but laugh. It was the only thing I seemed capable of doing in such a screwed-up situation.
“Yeah, but my mom is expecting dinner at your place now,” I said. “And we only agreed to meet up this once to give me some space”
“Did you hear her?” Harry asked. “Your mother loved me! I think I deserve a little thanks for an outstanding performance, don't you think? Perhaps even an award or something.”
With a sigh, I nodded. “You're right. You do,” I said. “Thank you, Harry. You were wonderful, better than I imagined. I just don't know what to tell my mom about dinner being cancelled.”
“Easy,” he said with a shrug. “Don't cancel it.”
His answer took me by surprise and I stared at him blankly, trying to read his beautiful face for any clues he might offer up. But he just stood there with a smug smile on his face, as if this was enjoying this chaos he was wreaking in my life. I grinned and shook my head. I should have known that things weren't going to go completely smoothly – they never did for me. But the last thing I saw was my phony boyfriend striking up a friendship with my all too real mother.
“But that means dinner with my parents again,” I said. I reached for my phone. “Which reminds me, I need to pay you back for dinner tonight.”
“No, you don't, Abigail,” he said, squeezing my hand – I had no idea we were still holding hands until that moment. “I had fun, and I'd love to entertain you and your parents one more time. It's all on me.”
I looked at him, taken completely aback. “But why?” I asked. “You were only supposed to help me pull one over on them tonight.”
“Why not?” he said with a shrug. “Trust me, there are far worse ways to spend an evening than with a gorgeous, successful, intelligent and interesting woman – and her parents, who can't stop gushing over how wonderful and successful I am.”
“Oh, so this is about how my mom gushes over you?” I said and laughed. “Feeds the ego, huh?”
“A wee bit, yes, I won't lie,” he said with a laugh, turning to face me.
He was close enough that I could smell his amazing cologne, could almost feel the heat coming off of his skin. I was really starting to hope that Kirby had been wrong about him being gay.
“But it's more than just that,” he said. “You're absolutely stunning, Abigail Johnston, and I would love to see you again sometime.”
I looked at him for a long moment, and he held my gaze, a small, flirty smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, laughter bubbled up from my chest.
“See me again? Okay, now you have me convinced, you're that good,” I said.
Knowing that he couldn’t really be interested in me , I playfully pushed him away, even though for some strange reason, I wanted nothing more than for him to get closer to me.
“I'm good at many, many things,” he said, taking my hands in his. “Most of which I can't show you in public.”
“Or at all,” I laughed. “Because I'm not a man, you mean. I'm going to give you credit though, you most certainly put on a hell of a show.”
Harry's smile faltered and he cocked his head, a confused look on his handsome face. “What are you talking about?”
I looked at him, feeling my own smile faltering a bit. “What are you talking about?” I turned the question back on him.
“Well, I was insinuating what I can do in the bedroom –”
“And so was I,” I said with a laugh, trying to recover my bearings. “Do I really have to explain the joke to you? Okay, well, since I'm a woman and you're gay, you –”
Harry stopped me with a look that threw me off guard. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. He looked – shocked. Maybe even a little embarrassed.
“I'm not gay,” he said. “Why would you think I'm gay?”
“Yes, you are,” I playfully punched him on the arm. “My folks are long gone. You can drop the act now. Well at least until next week, when you have to go back to being my straight boyfriend again.”
“Abigail, I promise you, I'm not gay,” he said again, this time with an amused chuckle. “You honestly think I'm gay?”
“But Kirby said –”
I played back everything she told me about my date in my head. And then I matched that with everything he'd said when I first met him in the bar. With wide eyes and an overwhelming feeling of nausea in my stomach, I stared back at Harry, covering my mouth.
“Oh God, you're not – you're not him,” I said. “She said his name was John – not Harry. Do you even know Kirby?”
“Honestly?” he asked, running a hand through his dark hair with a cocky grin on his face. “No, I don't. I have no idea who this Kirby is. I had no idea what was going on. I just saw a beautiful woman and decided to play along.”
“Fuck me,” I said, digging in my purse and scrambling for my car keys.
I knew things had gone too smoothly. I knew that something was going to go completely sideways. I just never expected the fuck up to be of such a grand scale.
“Yes, please,” he teased. “If you'll still have me, that is.”
“I can't do this. Harry, you're a nice guy, but I can't do this, I'm sorry,” I said. “I'll tell my mom we broke up, cancel the dinner and –”
“Keep her on your ass about getting a boyfriend?” Harry asked. “Because, that's what this little show was all about, right? Making sure your mom thinks you're happily with somebody?”
“Yeah, well, that's just the way it has to be, I guess,” I muttered, still not finding my keys in my purse.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to punch something. I was so frustrated and angry that I wasn't thinking or seeing straight.
“It doesn't have to be that way, you know,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “I am still willing to have them over for dinner. I wasn't lying when I said I had fun. I enjoyed my time with your folks very much. And with you too, Abigail.”
“But you want something from me in return, don't you?” I said. “There's a quid pro quo here. There always is.”
He shrugged. “Just your company,” he said. “Listen, I don't want a girlfriend either. I have no desire to get serious with you, or anyone. Now, hooking up for a little fun, maybe –”
“No,” I said, putting my foot down – literally. “Because things just get messy and somebody always ends up getting hurt.”
I couldn't deny that my body wanted him in ways my brain would never allow. It had been two years since I'd had sex with anyone – and my toys just weren't getting the job done anymore. I wanted to hook up, to maybe have a fling here and there, but every time I thought about it, I
remembered Trevor and all the pain he caused me.
Men weren't worth it.
But hell, the sex just might be.
“Alright,” Harry said, holding his hands up in defeat. “Just wanted to help. You seem like a nice girl, thought maybe we could work something out to help you with your little problem, but I guess not. It was nice meeting you, Abigail. If you change your mind –”
He handed me his number written on a napkin before flagging down the valet. I watched him walk away and admired the view. Tonight had gone so well because of him, I had to admit. And breaking it to my mom that we weren't together anymore? That would just convince her that we hadn't really been dating in the first place. And that would lead to all manner of drama I didn't want or need.
Things had only gone so smoothly to that point because we'd both worked it tonight and made a convincing happy couple. We even manufactured a convincing chemistry together. So for things to suddenly go downhill that quickly? Not impossible, sure, but my mom would always have her doubts.
And then she'd be back to pushing Chad on me. Or worse.
The valet pulled up with a sleek, black BMW. Even his car was amazing, go figure. He turned to wave at me, and I ran after him.
“Wait,” I said. “Maybe we can work something out.”
And that's how I set up our little arrangement. But it was more than just keeping my parents off my back. I figured I could use a little fun too. I deserved it, right? Harmless fun, that's all it would be. Neither of us wanted a relationship, just someone to satisfy our carnal needs. Nothing could be wrong with that. Could it?
CHAPTER SEVEN
HARRY
I don't know what got into me. After Abigail approached me, I went along with her little plan on a lark. And I had to admit, over the course of the evening, I noticed that there was some heat there. Just sitting beside her caused my erection to press against my pants, and I needed a release. If only she would have come home with me that night
But alas, she didn't. Instead, we made plans for our family dinner, and I could only hope we'd hook up afterward.
