Chapter 12
DANNY
I stand nextto the window in Eden and Kayla’s apartment and try to take up as little space as possible.
This is a hell of a crowd that showed up tonight. I scan the guys in the standing room-only space of their living room. Of the twenty here, excluding Ian and Jamie, about half are my adjunct and college professor friends. It didn’t take much to pique their interest in possibly working for Dream Guy. We all make pennies on our academia salaries and could definitely use the additional income. Next to the pay, the actual job was an easy sell. Going out on dates with fun, attractive women? I’ve never convinced a group of guys to do anything so quickly.
The rest of the guys must be Eden and Kayla’s friends. They all look on the young-ish side—and in ridiculously good shape. Even in their jackets and sweaters, it’s clear they’re all ripped. Must be all the rock-climbing.
My adjunct friend Paul nudges me with his elbow. He looks down at my hands, which, despite the three times I washed them, are still covered in flecks of acrylic paint.
“Inspiration hitting hard?” he asks.
“Yeah, finally.”
Ever since I started working at Dream Guy and making a substantial second income, that creativity block I’ve been struggling with has dissipated. In my free time, I’ve been filling canvas after canvas with my work. The entire back of my parents’ garage is loaded with my artwork.
And it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Eden.
I think about the current painting I’m working on—an acrylic painting portrait. I blink and visualize those saucer-like brown eyes and the wild brown-black hair that contrasts so starkly and so beautifully with the neutral hue of the canvas.
When I think about the fact that it’s Eden, I have to fight back a cringe. Yeah, it’s probably weird as hell that I’m painting her, given she doesn’t know it. Maybe even creepy. But it’s like something inside of me needs to do this. There’s a rush of energy and focus that surges through me whenever I work on her painting. I can’t remember the last time I felt so enlivened while painting, even in the other works I’ve done lately. Eden is just incredible—beautiful, smart, hardworking, funny, and literally every other wonderful quality a person can have. I have my inspiration back because of her.
Damn, is she my muse?
I catch Paul giving me a curious look and focus back on our conversation. “I guess I can start calling myself an artist again.”
“Have you thought about showing at a gallery?” he asks.
I hesitate for a second, but before I can answer him, Kayla and Eden walk out of the kitchen clutching armfuls of drinks. I start to move to help them, but a few guys grab the drinks out of their hands and start passing them out.
Ian gestures to the array of finger food-sized pastries he brought with him, which are sitting on trays on the coffee table.
“Help yourself, everyone,” he says. Eden scoops up a cream puff and shoves it in her mouth. I chuckle at how her cheeks are puffy as she chews. God, she’s cute.
You really need to get it together, Darden.
I can feel my face heat up as I think back to how I so openly flirted with her the other night when we were here brainstorming the expansion of Dream Guy after Ava’s Instagram post helped the app go viral. Definitely not the most professional thing in the world to chat up my boss.
But Eden seemed into it, at least by the way she was looking at me. Almost like she was hungry—for me.
But before we could really take it anywhere, Kayla walked back into the living room and it was back to business.
My shoulders hunch as I feel myself deflate. It was probably for the best that things didn’t go any further. It’s one thing for us to flirt a bit—a totally different thing if we were to act on it. We’ve got a good setup right now with the app taking off and me being her lead Dream Guy. I’d have to be an idiot to mess it up by making a move on my boss.
Eden moves the ottoman over at the front of the living room near the front door and stands on it so she can see everyone.
“Thanks so much for coming on such short notice, you guys. I know you all are busy, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. The app I created, Dream Guy, has taken off. We got a huge boost in subscribers recently and need a slew of Dream Guys to go on dates—both fake and real dates—with our users.”
Just like she did when she pitched to me, she explains how the site works and that as the Dream Guys, it’s one hundred percent up to them whether they want to go on a Dream Date or a real date.
“You can reject anyone for any reason, no questions asked.”
She talks about pay and the schedule. For a second, I just stand there in awe. Here she is, commanding an entire room of people as she pitches her own company that she created from the ground up. She’s still herself though, still gesturing animatedly as she speaks, still sporting her nose ring, her half-sleeve tattoo on full display in the t-shirt she’s wearing. She’s a badass boss, but still one hundred percent Eden.
A guy with shaggy light brown hair standing near the front raises his hand.
“You have a question, Gavin?”
“Yeah, so like, I get to go on dates with hot chicks and get paid?”
“Yes, if that’s what you want.”
“There’s no limit? I can go on as many dates with as many people as I want?”
“Yup.”
A dazed look flashes across his face. “Whoa. That’s pretty awesome. You’re doing god’s work, Eden.”
Her full cheeks go pink as she laughs. I notice that her chest flushes too. Damn, that’s sexy. I wonder just how much of her body turns pink when she’s flustered.
I clear my throat. Another guy speaks up.
“So, wait, we’ll get paid even if we want to go on real dates, not just fake ones?”
“Absolutely,” Eden says.
“Damn. That’s way better than any other dating app I’ve used. This rocks.”
“Any other questions?” she asks.
She’s in the middle of answering when the door opens to reveal a tall guy with a short, dark beard. “Sorry, I’m late,” he says as he scurries off to the side.
I catch Kayla scowling at him. “Nice of you to show up on your own timetable as usual, Brendan.”
A heavy sigh rockets from Brendan. “I was at work, Kayla.”
“Oh really? You sure you weren’t just taking your sweet time doing whatever it is you do with your life, only showing up whenever it suits you, completely unconcerned with other people’s schedules or their feelings?”
Kayla’s pointed, impatient tone has me and the rest of the guys in the room quiet. Clearly, these two know each other. My guess is that they’re exes.
Eden turns to Kayla and leans down to place a hand on her shoulder. Kayla nods and crosses her arms while glaring at some random spot on the floor.
“Brendan, be sure to have someone catch you up, okay? And from now on, if you’re going to be working with us here at Dream Guy, when there’s a meeting scheduled, it’s necessary that you be on time.”
Brendan mutters a sorry and nods.
“Okay so it sounds like all of you are on board?” Eden asks, to murmurs of agreement. “Great! Here’s the catch: I’m gonna need you to start as soon as possible.”
More murmured yeses.
“Tonight Kayla’s going to take headshots and we’ll both help all of you fill out your profiles for the app. Danny, Ian, and Jamie will too.” When she points to me, I wave. “Danny is who we have to thank for Dream Guy being the sudden success that it is.” She starts to clap and everyone follows her lead, which makes me crack up. “If you want any Dream Date tips, he’s your guy.”
She winks at me and flashes a thumbs up. “Let’s get started!”
The next few hours pass by in a flurry. Kayla directs photo shoot after photo shoot with her phone while Eden and I type furiously on our laptops as we set up profiles for all the guys.
“Wait, can I take my shirt off for a photo?” Gavin asks.
Kayla rolls her eyes while chuckling. “You’ll use any excuse to take your clothes off, won’t you?”
Gavin winks at her. “You know me so well.”
I catch Brendan, the guy who walked in late, scowling at the back of Gavin’s head while Gavin sheds his long-sleeve t-shirt and flexes his biceps.
“God, you’re ridiculous,” Kayla chuckles.
“But do I look hot?” Gavin asks.
Kayla aims a deadpan look at him. “Do you even need to ask? You know you’re hot, Gavin.”
He grins wide and playfully touches Kayla’s cheek, which makes her laugh. Brendan stands off to the side, watching with a murderous stare.
“Blame the rock-climbing,” Gavin says as he offers another muscle pose, this time flexing his back to camera.
“Is that gonna be your area of expertise on your Dream Guy profile?” Kayla asks as she snaps a bunch of photos on her phone.
“You know it. I can’t wait to take some hotties out climbing. Helping them get strapped into their harnesses, getting up close and personal to show them how to scale the rock face.” He spins around, his expression turning thoughtful as he holds his chin with his hand. “Pretty good thoughtful pose, right?”
Kayla rolls her eyes. “God, you sound like a creep. And relax your face a bit. Your frown looks a little on the angry side.”
Gavin takes her advice and eases his expression. “I was kidding,” he says after she takes a few snaps of his thoughtful pose. “I won’t be a handsy creep, promise.”
“You’d better not or Eden and I will have your balls.”
He wags an eyebrow. “You promise?”
A low grunting noise rips from Brendan’s throat. He looks like he’s going to rip Gavin’s limbs off his body with his bare hands. My eyes go wide, and I wonder if I’m going to have to step in Brendan’s way to keep Gavin from getting pummeled.
“Hey, Brendan,” Eden calls from the other side of the room. “Why don’t you let me help you fill out your profile?”
Brendan stomps off. Eden catches eyes with me and I mouth “close call” to her. She chuckles.
Just then, Ian pops over with a near-empty tray of pastries. “You want the last couple?” he asks Gavin. “I notice you didn’t have any yet.”
Gavin taps his washboard stomach. “Thanks, but I’ll have to pass. Gotta preserve the six-pack. It’s gonna be the main draw for my Dream Guy account.”
Kayla swipes the last cornetto. “Your loss, muscleman.”
“I don’t know how you do it, dude,” Ian says to Gavin, tugging on the sleeve of his chef’s jacket. He must have come straight from a shift at his restaurant job. “Butter and sugar are my weakness. It’s even become my Dream Guy specialty.”
The few times I’ve chatted with Ian, I’ve discovered that he’s managed to spin his stellar chef skills into a successful Dream Guy side gig. He’s hired to help teach app users how to improve their cooking skills for upcoming romantic dates and holiday dinners.
“We all have our talents.” Gavin raises his hands at his sides in an exaggerated shrug. “Mine’s looking good.”
Kayla tosses his shirt in his face. Ian and I laugh.
“God, you’ve got the biggest ego on the planet.”
Paul flags me down for help on filling out his profile. By midnight, we’re exhausted but done.
When everyone leaves, the three of us collapse on her couch, our phones in hand.
“Are we ready to go live with our new Dream Guys?” Eden asks, her smile giddy.
Kayla nods and I say “yes.”
The rest of the night, our phones buzz nonstop.