by Cross,Lexi
I hurried to the diner in time to see her arriving. She got out of a small hatchback sedan. It didn’t look ratty, it wasn’t old, but it was still a hatchback. Those cars were good for moving, and I felt like she’d probably done her share of that in the past.
She wore modest business clothes, trading the skirt from the fundraiser for a pair of very professional-looking slacks. Try as she might, she couldn’t hide her beauty from me. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, and she wore a light blue blouse under her navy blue coat. She almost looked like a cop instead of the director of a non-profit charity.
It was a shame I was there to talk business with her. All I wanted was pleasure.
Chapter Three
Kendra
I walked into Daily Grind, and it was just as I had imagined from what Lucky had explained to me. It was part newsstand, part café, and part diner. Patrons sat at chrome tables and booths with newspapers and magazines while the kitchen staff worked up everything from deli sandwiches to hamburgers, and baristas brewed up nearly anything imaginable. Taking in everything they did, it seemed like such a tall order to put a place like that together, but they made it work in a tiny space that still looked like a newsstand from the outside.
I’d passed by Daily Grind every day heading to and from the office, and I hadn’t noticed it until I was looking for it.
I sat down in a booth along the wall furthest from the kitchen. I sat facing the door so that I could see when Lucky came in. A pretty young server stopped by to take my order, but all I could think to order was a small black coffee with sugar and cream on the side. I preferred to make my own. I liked a lot of sugar and cream. I told her I was waiting for someone, and she said she’d be back to check on me once he showed up.
“Hey, is this seat taken?” someone asked while I was stirring the cream and sugar into my coffee. I looked up, ready to tell them to get lost, and saw that it was Lucky.
I offered him a smile and blushed a little. It was a mostly uncontrollable reaction to him. He was so damn charming.
“Go ahead,” I told him in a dismissive tone, waving my hand aside to let him know I didn’t care if he sat there or not.
“Wow. Thanks for meeting me here,” he said as he sat down.
“You sound surprised,” I told him.
“You sounded reluctant on the phone.” He nodded to the server, and she came over to get his order.
“I wasn’t sure exactly what you wanted to talk about, but I figured I’d give you a shot,” I joked after we ordered our food.
“Thanks, and that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said.
“Oh?” I cocked an eyebrow. I wondered what he was getting at. I was very curious to hear more of what he had to say.
“Yeah, I’m in need of some help, and I think you might just be the person I need to turn to,” he told me. His charming tone was gone, and it sounded like he was just trying to talk to me.
“I’m not following,” I admitted. I felt oddly comfortable talking to him. I knew we were just supposed to be meeting about business, but I felt like we were old friends meeting up for a bite to eat and to catch up with each other.
“You saw the papers this morning, right?”
Our food came before I could say anything back. I had ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with fries, and he ordered a patty melt. It was greasy food, but it was a good lunch. We thanked our waitress and started eating.
“Yeah, I saw the tabloids and everything. We’re even online,” I told him. “What’s that got to do with our meeting?” I felt I knew what he was about to say as soon as I asked the question.
“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I have a bit of a reputation. I’m sure you saw some of the headlines hinting that you’re the next in a long line of women,” he said over his food.
“Right. I noticed that. Things like Older Brothers Director Gets Lucky.” I smiled while I told him. I thought it was pretty amusing.
“Well, I got in trouble this morning for the headlines,” he explained. “The tabloids made it look like I was getting right back into the same pattern of trouble that got me traded from my last team.”
I stopped him. “Why are you telling me all of this?” It seemed like someone with his reputation wouldn’t have been so quick to give up all of his secrets the way he was. We barely knew each other. Why was he opening up to me the way he was, unless he really wanted me to help?
“You are probably the only person I know who can help me straighten out my image. My new coach and the owner of this team both want me to be a positive role model, and that’s your field,” he said, looking at me with those same puppy-dog eyes that got me when we met.
“That is what I do. I connect kids with people who could be positive influences in their lives, but I haven’t had to help someone construct a positive image for themselves. What exactly do you have in mind? When I asked you about being someone’s Older Brother earlier, you sort of balked at the idea and said you had something else you wanted to do. I’m assuming you aren’t thinking about using the Older Brothers program to create this positive image.” I took the opportunity to challenge him a little bit, to make him present his plan to me clearly.
“No, that’s not exactly what I had in mind. I need a girlfriend. I need a steady girlfriend, especially since that’s been the problem all these years. It’s been one woman after another. I can’t lie, though. It really has been that way,” he said with a chuckle, looking at me with a goofy, self-conscious smile and laughter in his eyes.
“So, you want me to set you up with someone so that you can stop running around?” I asked.
He shook his head and leveled his eyes on me. “No.”
My jaw hit the floor, and my eyes opened wide as I realized what he was trying to ask me without actually saying the words. I reached for my coffee to break the moment, but I was shaking too much to pick up the cup. Suddenly, I was incredibly nervous. In the back of my head, I had sort of suspected it was going to be something like that, but I never really figured he was going to actually ask me to do anything quite like that. I figured, if anything, he was going to ask me on a date.
“You’re asking me to be your girlfriend,” I stated to make sure we were on the same page.
“I’m asking you to present yourself in public as my girlfriend. It doesn’t have to be real. It can just be a publicity stunt if that works better, and I’m sure we can make it work out for both of us,” he said.
“Why me?” I asked.
“Well, we’re already all over the place today after that handshake yesterday. How funny is that? We shook hands, and now you’re supposed to be the playboy athlete’s next conquest.” He laughed and shook his head. “Man, I was supposed to leave all that behind.”
I sat back and stared at him a moment before saying anything else. He’d come out to eat with me in jeans and a tight polo that hugged his shoulders, emphasizing his physique. He was drop-dead gorgeous, one of the most attractive men I’d ever seen, and he was coming to me with a humble attitude, not at all what I would have expected from someone with his reputation. He could have come to me full of arrogance and wearing his cocky attitude on his sleeve. But, no, he had approached me as respectfully as possible, considering the circumstances.
“It’s just pretend, but we still get to do all the stuff that couples would do, right? Movies, dinner, events, all of that. Is that what you’re telling me?” I asked.
“That’s it. There’s no real commitment, but we can’t be seen in public with other people. Dating will be like a second job for us, a side gig,” he said.
Something was missing from the equation. So far, I wasn’t getting anything out of it other than being seen on the arm of a popular athlete, which didn’t sound too terribly attractive to me. If we were really dating, I would have asked him to keep our relationship as private as possible, so to stage a relationship for other people to see, I felt like I needed to ask for something else out of the deal.
“I’ll pay you,” he blurted out while I was thinking.
“Go on,” I said, my interest getting piqued by the promise of compensation.
“Look, I’m not interested in settling down. I just want it to look like I am. I need a good cover so the tabloids and sports papers won’t see what I’m really doing, which is going to be the same thing I always do,” he said.
“Okay, that sounds a little more realistic.” The star struck feeling passed. I was back in my professional mode. We were talking business again. I was impressed with how open and straight-forward he was being.
“So, I’m willing to donate to Older Brothers. I’m willing to give you the money directly. However you want to handle the money,” he continued.
“Okay. That sounds good. I’ll do it,” I told him.
“Awesome. Thank you so much. And I’ll also pay for all of our dates. When we’re out, I’m going to treat you like you’re my girl. It’ll be for the cameras and watching eyes, of course, but I’m going to try to make it enjoyable for you at least,” he said, slowly sliding the charm back into his voice.
And damn, it was working!
“I just have some conditions,” I told him, putting some severe tone into my voice to cool his jets a little.
“Shoot.”
“First, whether you decide to give me money or not, you will make a public donation to Older Brothers. That will serve to show that the organization has some influence, and it will show that you are making a positive effort in your lifestyle,” I explained.
“Done. Just say when. We can set up a press conference or a photo op when I hand the money over to you,” he said.
“A photo op is fine. Second, you will let me set you up with a Younger Brother,” I said.
“Wait a minute. I’m not trying to actually be a positive role model,” he said, laughing nervously. He sat back and held up his strong hands.
“All you have to do is meet the requirements of the Older Brothers program. That means you have to keep your nose clean. It doesn’t matter so much what goes on behind closed doors, as long as you’re able to present a positive image in public and actually help the kid out,” I explained to him.
“Is that it?” he asked, a little less pleased with our arrangement now.
“That’s it. I’m not going to expect you to be faithful to me or anything silly like that. You can do whatever you want to do. Just make sure it doesn’t get in the way of what we’re doing.” I sounded more serious than I wanted to, but that was fine. I figured it was necessary to make sure I got my point across.
“That sounds good to me,” he said, nodding. “And I’ve got lunch.”
I laughed. “Had I known that, I would have ordered more than a grilled cheese.”
“Any time we go out, even if it’s just like this, just strictly business, I’ve got you. Remember that,” he said, nodding.
Something in his eyes told me that I was in for a wild ride. I suspected it might have been more than just business for him, but I tried to ignore the thought, chalking it up to wishful thinking on my part.
I couldn’t believe I had just signed up to be a jock’s prestigious girlfriend. We were doing it just for appearances, and appearances really weren’t my thing. I usually dressed with just enough professionalism that I didn’t get laughed out of the room when I showed up for work. He was probably going to expect me to get all dolled up for the camera.
“So, when’s our first date?” I asked him as he dropped cash on the table for our waitress and got up with me to leave.
“Oh, now you’re all eager,” he joked.
“Yeah, now that I know you’re paying for everything.” I wrapped my arm around his and gave it a squeeze. I could play the girlfriend role well, and I didn’t see any reason not to start right away.
“I’ll let you know,” he said with a wink as we parted ways in front of Daily Grind.
Watching him walk away from me, towards his car, the excitement and desire deep inside my body started to grow. I closed my eyes, telling myself that he was not really my boyfriend, but there was always the slightest possibility that he was really attracted to me.
There was a part of me that didn’t want to let go of that possibility.
Chapter Four
Lucky
The guys had a club they liked to go to after practice. It was an upscale dance club with lots of successful business people and celebrities. They had a strict dress code at the door, and there were always reporters and photographers trying to get the scoop on someone there. I figured I’d take Kendra there so we could be seen together in public as part of our staged relationship.
I called her up at work that afternoon after our lunch and told her I was going to pick her up at her place to take her to The Tik-Tok Room later that evening. I explained to her that it was a really upscale club and that we needed to dress almost like we were going to a formal dance or something. She agreed, and she sent me her address so I knew where to pick her up.
I was anxious to see what she came up with for formal wear. Everything I’d seen her wear so far had been pretty modest business clothes, very functional stuff, nothing that really showed off her beauty. Her beauty still managed to shine through, no matter what she did to hide it.
I showed up at her place at eight. She had an apartment in one of the older buildings downtown. I went up to meet her at her door, and the hallways all had high ceilings and hardwood floors. The doors and frames were all made of dark wood. I imagined the building looked pretty much the same as it had ever since it was first built.
Kendra answered her door in a sleek black gown that hugged her body all the way down to her ankles. It had thick straps over her shoulders, baring her arms to me. She wore her hair down in big, round curls that spilled over her shoulders. She wore a dark red shade of lipstick that worked surprisingly well with her complexion. She looked like a supermodel.
I didn’t want to go out anymore. I wanted to stay in and spend the evening taking off her clothes to explore the delicious body underneath. But we had a job to do. I wasn’t there for a personal visit. Our date wasn’t for pleasure. It was for work.
“You look amazing,” I said as she stepped through the door with her clutch purse in her hand.
“Thank you,” she said. “The lipstick isn’t too much?”
“No, actually, it’s perfect,” I told her. I backed up as she joined me out in the hallway. She turned and locked her door.
“Good. I had a friend do my makeup for me. I don’t normally wear as much as I am tonight, but I figured if we’re going to be seen out in public, I might as well go all out, you know?” She sounded very disinterested in the whole thing. The playful banter we’d had between us at lunch was gone. Her tone was very serious, very no-nonsense.
I touched her arm as she turned to walk down the hall. Her skin was so soft and smooth. I had to resist the urge to stroke her arm. I simply wanted to stop her for a moment to talk to her.
“Hey, hold up a minute,” I said once I had her attention.
“What?” Her voice was hard and defiant. I couldn’t tell if she was just that uncomfortable in what she was wearing, or if she didn’t want to go through with the date.
“You really do look amazing, Kendra. Don’t ever think you don’t. You’re a beautiful woman, and it’s my pleasure to have you accompany me tonight. You’ll really enjoy this place, I think. It combines a wild party atmosphere with the reserved sophistication of a ritzy restaurant,” I explained to her.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I just don’t usually dress like this, and I definitely don’t wear makeup like this.” She sounded stressed out and tired.
“Well, I appreciate it,” I told her. “Thank you for letting me see you like this. It’s definitely a treat.”
She looked down and smiled, hiding her eyes from me. “You’re making me blush, dammit.” She giggled.
“It’s good for you to get compliments every once in a while. Now, come on.” I sl
id an arm around her waist and led her down the hallway with me.
We arrived at the club, and there were two lines outside. The line to get in stretched down the sidewalk and around the side of the building. The other group wasn’t really a line. They were more of a crowd. They stood on the other side of the door, waiting to catch people as they entered and left the club.
That group was the paparazzi, and nothing got by them.
“Is that the line to get in?” Kendra asked when she saw the people standing along the sidewalk.
“Sort of,” I told her. “That’s the line of people who probably won’t be getting inside tonight. See, we don’t have to wait.” I took her by her sweet little hand, and we walked up to the front of the line. The bouncer at the door stepped to the side to let us in.
