5. Wesley
CHAPTER 5
WESLEY
F or the last several days, Wesley had been comfortable enough to show up to his job on time. There was no chance Lauren was going to sneak out to go jogging with her ankle in the condition it was in. The urgent care visit had gone well enough — her ankle wasn’t broken, just twisted, but it was twisted bad. She had to keep weight off it for a week or two and was stuck using a single crutch to get around. As sorry as he felt for her being injured, it sure did make his job easier.
But of course, there’d be no sleeping in for Wesley. His phone rang at seven a.m. Normally, he would have ignored it, but the ring indicated a client, and he was in no place to ignore a client. When he saw the screen, he had a moment of panic. It was Lauren, and why would she be calling him at this hour? He couldn’t think of any reason that didn’t involve her being in trouble.
He answered immediately. “Lauren?”
“Hey, farm boy.”
All the adrenaline he had just built up drained away and left him feeling like a congealed blob of gravy. “God, Lauren, I thought you were dead. Why are you calling right now?”
“Because you’re up at this hour, right? I mean you showed up so early when we went for my jog. I just assumed you’d be up.”
He collapsed into a chair with a heavy groan. She was trolling him, obviously. He told himself not to take the bait. “Okay, so now that we’re even, what do you need?”
“There’s a screening I’ve been invited to attend. It’s this afternoon, so I don’t have much notice, but I want to go. You’ll have to go with me… according to your own rules.”
“That’s true.” He waited for her to go on, but she seemed to be hesitating.
“I don’t want to go with a bodyguard.” She took a deep breath, which Wesley thought sounded like another hesitation. “I don’t want to look like any success I have is just because of my mom. And if I show up with security detail, won’t people just think I’m overly self-important? It’s going to look so bad! I can’t see how it wouldn’t.”
Wesley frowned. He wished he could say something to convince her she was wrong, but he didn’t really think she was. “I could fall back a bit,” he said. “Pretend we’re not together.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, they’d never let you in.” She sighed. “I hate to admit my mom is right about anything, but her idea might be the only way this works.”
Wesley thought back but couldn’t recall what Lauren was referencing. “What idea?”
The disappointment in Lauren’s silence was loud and clear. She had likely been hoping she didn’t have to say it, whatever it was. Even if he could remember, Wesley probably wouldn’t have said it now that he knew how difficult this was for her. He was finding it more and more pleasant to listen to her fumble, though he wasn’t entirely ready to analyze why.
“Fine,” she finally said. “Make me say it. Go with me as my date. Pretend to be my… boyfriend or something.”
“Or something.” Wesley laughed. He could almost hear the cringe in her voice, and it did not disappoint. “I guess I could do that.”
“Good,” she said. “I’ll see you in a bit. Wear something nice.”
Wesley had no idea what she meant by “something nice” but since his event uniform was essentially a suit, he figured that would work just fine. He showered and dressed and looked at himself in the mirror with a frown. How did one pretend to be on a date? He hadn’t been on many real ones in the last several years. His military career and life ambitions hadn’t left a lot of room for a love life. For example, did people even hold hands anymore, or was that just something kids did? Was he supposed to be possessive, or was that considered problematic these days? Was he supposed to pay?
He finished dressing and drove to Lauren’s apartment. He texted her when he arrived, hoping she would let him in so he wouldn’t have to deal with the concierge again. To his surprise, she met him in the lobby, crutch and all. “What’s that?” she said, gesturing to his suit.
“It’s my uniform. It’ll work just fine.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, I don’t think so. You look exactly like a bodyguard or something. You just need a pair of sunglasses to wear in the dark. Are you kidding?”
“I don’t kid,” he said with a frown.
“Right.” She poked him in the upper arm. “I should have known that.” She stopped to think a moment, and Wesley could see the gears turning in her head, which did not comfort him in the least. “Okay, we’re going shopping. You can’t show up in that.”
Wesley glanced down at his own suit. It looked perfectly fine to him. “Look,” he began, “I hate to break this to you, but I don’t get paid the kind of salary that can just buy a new suit every time you have a new event you want to attend.”
“My treat,” she said, strapping her purse over her shoulder like it was a weapon she meant to use. Then she headed for the doors.
Wesley stood, too stunned to speak. He wasn’t quite sure what the appropriate reaction to such an offer would be. When he realized she was already out the door, he followed at a brisk jog. “Now, hang on,” he said when he’d caught up to her. “Just hang on. I don’t need charity or anything. I just don’t like to waste my own money.”
“And I don’t like to waste my own opportunities,” she countered. “This isn’t just going to a movie for fun, you know. I’ll be there to make connections, too. I don’t want my weird, FBI-looking date to spoil any potential friends in the industry.”
“Do I look like I’m in the FBI?” he asked.
She nodded as he opened his car door for her. “In the worst possible way.”
“Sweet,” he joked, and she laughed before giving him a playful glare.
As he pulled away from the parking lot, she entered her favorite New York department store into her GPS. “This is going to be fun.”
Wesley grimaced. It was obvious from her mischievous smile that she meant to torment him, if only just a little. Whether this shopping trip was really as necessary as she claimed was beside the point. She was clearly looking for some form of entertainment.
He was only proven right when Lauren made him try on practically every suit at the shop, regardless of whether or not it would be a good choice. Under normal circumstances, he would have outright refused and found everything completely unfunny. But for some reason, Lauren’s repeated laughter was a sound he wanted to keep hearing, even if it was at his expense.
In the end, he had to accept the choice of Lauren and the saleswoman who was helping them. After all, Lauren was paying for it, and Wesley never did have a strong sense of style. He figured it was better to let the experts make the decisions.
In the end, they chose a navy suit that was, in his opinion, not that much different from the black one he was already wearing. Admittedly, the shirt was a different color, almost pink, which would never have been something he would have chosen under normal circumstances. But when he saw himself in the shop’s full-length mirror, he was pleasantly surprised.
“It brings out his eyes,” the saleswoman said to Lauren. “Don’t you think?”
Lauren bit her lower lip in a way that made Wesley glance away from her. She clearly didn’t want to give him any kind of compliment, but she was being pressured into it. “Yeah, I guess,” she said. “It looks nice on him.”
Was she actually blushing? Wesley suddenly wanted to encourage her to blush more because — he told himself — a little revenge for making him wear a completely new suit might be nice. “Aren’t we meant to be dating?” he said, relishing the shocked expression she suddenly wore.
She shook off her surprise and glared at him. “Fine. You look super hot in that suit, babe.”
He laughed. “Thanks… babe.” It felt so weird to call her by a romantic endearment. He wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to fake this.
Lauren paid for his suit, and they headed out for lunch before the screening. Wesley couldn’t believe they’d just spent the entire morning shopping. He was already tired and the day was only half over.
“Should we get our story straight?” Lauren asked after their food had been brought to them.
They were eating at a local bistro Wesley hadn’t tried, and he had to admit, it was a nice treat. “Sure. What’s our story?”
“Okay.” She sipped her soup from her spoon before continuing. “Are you more comfortable with public displays of affection or playing a long-term relationship? Because it would be easier to be a new couple — then we don’t have to know everything about each other — but new couples are clingier. So it does kind of matter.”
It was a legitimate question. Wesley considered carefully, and the conclusion he came to was his least favorite option. “Playing a new couple would be a safer bet,” he said. “I still don’t know you well enough to get all the details right. If we’re a new couple, it would make more sense if I get a few things wrong.”
“If you say so.” She gave him a knowing look. “Just remember, when you decide you hate it, that this was your choice.”
* * *
Wesley had never been to an early screening before. Although his roommate had sometimes worked in security for other types of celebrities, Wesley had only ever had political clients. He was used to standing behind his client, listening quietly to speeches, and ignoring the circulating hors d'oeuvres no matter how hungry he was. So, when they walked into the receiving area with all its cameras flashing in his face, he automatically fell in line. He stepped just behind his client and had as flat an expression as he could manage under the circumstances.
Without turning around, Lauren grabbed his wrist and pulled him beside her. “Smile,” she hissed. “They’re taking our picture.”
He obeyed immediately, but it felt so fake that he doubted he pulled it off. Lauren seemed so much more comfortable in this environment than at her mother’s events. Her smile was so much more genuine. She practically sparkled, even though he could tell she was still holding back. It must have been so hard for her to keep up her fake persona all the time. No wonder she wanted to go to this screening so badly. She could let a little of herself shine through.
Also, she was beautiful. It didn’t help that she was wearing a low-cut, fitted purple dress that showed off all her curves in all the right ways. For some reason, that made faking it even harder. The last thing he wanted to do was catch feelings because he put on too good of a show. Especially with a client. That would be unforgivably unprofessional.
Wesley was so distracted by his fake date, he lost track of almost everything else. If anyone had asked him what the film was about, he wouldn’t have been able to answer. Partway through, Lauren leaned over and said, “Put your arm around me, ya dork. We’re supposed to be swooning over each other, remember? This is a new relationship.”
He hesitated. Maybe he should have chosen the old-relationship option. Suddenly, trying to remember random, memorized details about her life seemed far less dangerous than putting his arm around her. He took a deep breath and stretched one arm across her chair back.
She leaned over again and whispered, “Really? That the best you can do?”
He grimaced and lowered his hand until it rested on her bare shoulder. From that point on, nothing on the screen registered with him. All he could feel was the warmth and softness of her bare skin against the palm of his hand. His heart beat way too fast, and his head began to spin. He told himself it was just nervousness caused by how unused to physical connection he was. After all, it had been many years since he last dated, and his roommate wasn’t the hugging type. But nervousness didn’t explain the urge he had to pull Lauren into his lap and kiss her until she, too, was unable to watch the movie they were there to see.
Wesley told himself to stay professional, even as he curled his fingers just enough to caress her skin for a split second. The way his body reacted had him slouching in his seat, despite his usually having impeccable posture. Lauren reached over and aggressively tugged him closer, resting her head on his shoulder long enough that he could smell the perfumed product in her hair.
After the show, he tried to pull away when she held his hand. This was getting dangerous, and she had no idea. Wesley was mentally beating himself up for being too weak-minded to feel the difference between a fake relationship and a real one. But his brain and body were not cooperating just now, and he had no way to let Lauren know.
The entire event went about like that, with Wesley avoiding physical contact and Lauren insisting on it. Her expression revealed her confusion and, if he wasn’t misreading her, a little hurt as well. He wished he could just tell her the truth, but he could already hear the ridicule she would throw at him for being too immature to handle a fake relationship without getting emotionally confused.
So he stayed quiet. And he held her hand. And he tried to muffle the sound of his own pounding heart.