Fakecation

Chapter Ten

Daniel

After a day of enjoying local food and swimming, Daniel was exhausted and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He didn’t have a second to think about the way his arm had touched Amelia’s.

But when he woke up, she was all he could think about.

He’d shifted closer to her in the night. Both of them were in the middle of the bed rather than on their respective sides. They weren’t quite cuddling, but her cheek was pressed against his bicep and one of her legs was curled around his.

That urge he’d felt the day before, the one calling him to pull her closer, screamed for him to move his arm around hers. He wanted to press his nose into her hair and breathe in both her and this moment.

He shook it off.

These were not feelings he should have for a coworker, not even a coworker who he was pretending to date. He wasn’t even a cuddler. With Lucinda, they’d never gravitated toward each other during the night, only away.

Amelia let out a soft noise in her sleep, her leg hiking farther up as she got comfortable. This time, her head lay on his arm. It was then that he realized another part of him was very interested in this new proximity.

Twisting his eyes shut, Daniel tried to think of everything but her body next to his, but all he could see was how she’d looked in her swimsuit jumping into the pool.

This was not good.

He needed to get away and think. Maybe even jerk off. He wasn’t sure which would help more. He just needed to move before this quickly got awkward.

Amelia protested as he moved his arm, but thankfully, she fell back asleep.

He nearly ran to the bathroom. He turned on the shower, trying to clear his head, but to no avail. He stepped under the spray of the water, still seeing flashes of Amelia whenever he closed his eyes.

He was attracted to her, there was no doubt about it. He thought of her in a way he shouldn’t, yet he couldn’t stop it. She was what he wanted.

He didn’t have experience with wanting people. He liked Lucinda because she was pretty and seemed smart, but he never felt like this about her. He never had to throw himself into the shower simply because she moved closer in her sleep.

Get her off your mind, he begged himself. Think of anything else.

But none of it worked. Once he stopped thinking about her body, he remembered the tiny little noise, almost a moan, that she let out as she moved closer.

It didn’t matter what he tried to do. She wouldn’t leave him.

Daniel wrapped his hand around his length, but he made one rule.

Don’t think about her. Get this over with but leave her out of it.

The rule seemed simple in theory but difficult in practice. As his hand moved, he tried to think of anyone else he’d been attracted to.

No one came up.

He then decided to think of nothing, only the sensation in his body as he moved himself closer to release. His hand moved up and down his cock, his mind focused only on how it felt. He could feel himself getting closer.

His mind replayed how her skin had felt as he rubbed her back, except this time, he was only doing it for himself. He could see him taking her back to their room, her under him, as he kissed his way down her chest, her stomach, and then to her—

He came.

And then immediately hated himself for it.

That was not what he was supposed to do. He’d broken his one rule right at the last second.

Leaning his head against the bathroom wall, he sighed. No more of this. This was the one time he would allow himself to ever do that. The last thing he wanted was to be a creep.

Daniel cleaned himself off and got dressed for the day. He barely put any cream into his hair, his mind too distracted by what he’d just done.

Maybe he needed fresh air.

That should solve it.

He went to the balcony, where the wind was blowing and the call of the waves was loud, and sat.

That was when his phone rang. He pulled it out and his mood plummeted further.

It was his father.

“Hello?” Daniel answered, his voice sounding more annoyed than he wanted it to.

“My boy! I have some good news.”

“What?” Daniel rolled his eyes. He was unable to keep the frustration from seeping into his voice. Thank God he was alone for this. The last thing he needed was for anyone to overhear his tone and ask questions. Just how was he supposed to admit to Amelia’s family that his wife had left him for his father?

“Lucinda said yes to marrying me.”

His ears rang as his father spoke more.

Lucinda and his father were getting married? Only four months after Daniel and Lucinda’s divorce was finalized? This couldn’t be real. His father couldn’t be that cruel.

Then again, his father did sleep with her in the first place. Staying as boyfriend and girlfriend wouldn’t last for long. His father wanted a trophy wife, someone beautiful to parade around in his church. Lucinda wanted money, which her soon-to-be husband had plenty of.

“So, what do you say, son?” he asked.

Daniel blinked back into the present moment. “What?”

“Are you coming to the wedding?”

“What? You want me to come to my ex-wife’s wedding? To you?”

“I thought it would be helpful for moving on from her.”

Daniel couldn’t believe his ears. “No, I don’t want to go.”

His father sighed, as if he expected this. “Daniel . . .”

“No.”

“You need to move on from her, son.”

“I have moved on,” Daniel said. “I am literally at the beach with my girlfriend right now.”

“Oh, well, what’s the problem?”

“You still slept with my wife. While we were married.”

His father sighed. “We talked about this.”

“No, you talked about it,” Daniel said. “I don’t want to be a part of this.”

“You have to be. What will people say if my own son is not at my wedding? It will be televised, and millions of people will watch.”

Daniel shook his head. “No, I don’t care what people think, and besides, your daughter won’t even be there. You’re not inviting Terri.”

“She strayed from God.”

“And adultery isn’t straying from God?”

“I atoned for that.”

Daniel took a deep breath, resisting the urge to throw his phone off the balcony.

“I’m not going,” he repeated. “And I’m not changing my mind about it.”

“You’re still hung up on Lucinda, then?”

“I just said I’m dating someone else.”

“Does she know about your ex-wife? It’s okay to still be in love with your ex, especially when she’s a woman like Luc—”

“I’m not in love with Lucinda. I’m not sure I ever was, but that doesn’t mean I want to come to the wedding. Now, please leave me alone. I’m currently on vacation with my girlfriend,who I actually like, trying to have a good time.”

Daniel hung up angrily, gripping it tightly as he tried to get his emotions under control. Minutes passed, and just as he was finally beginning to breathe normally, he received a text.

Lucinda: Who’s your new girlfriend?

His jaw tightened again. Why did she even care? Didn’t she have the happy ending she wanted?

Of course not. She wouldn’t be satisfied until she knew he missed her.

The balcony door opened, and for a second, Daniel thought Amelia had woken up and come and found him. Instead, it was John.

“Hey,” John greeted.

“Hey,” Daniel repeated back, letting out a breath and trying to sound normal.

John looked at him quizzically. “Are you okay?”

“Not exactly.” There was no point in lying. “But it’s nothing involving your sister, I promise. You don’t have to kill me or anything.”

“If you pissed off Amelia, I’d let her do the killing anyway. Want to talk about it?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Then . . . would coffee cheer you up?” John asked. “If you’re dating Amelia, then you’re probably into coffee, right? I mean, I don’t exactly know about how relationships work, but you have to have something in common.”

Daniel laughed despite his sour mood. “No, I’m more of a tea drinker, but maybe going down to the coffee shop would help.”

“I’ll go with you,” John said. “I need my caffeine anyway.”

Daniel nodded. He needed to get his mind away from everything that had happened in the last hour.

“So,” John started as they walked down the stairs, “should we do some kind of small talk?”

“We can. I’m not very good at it, though.”

“Me either. Especially with guys my sister dates. I mean, there was only the one, but still. I knew he didn’t like me.”

“Why didn’t he?”

“I’m going to go with the fact that I have more skirts than Amelia does. Some people don’t like that.”

“Oh.”

“She tried to hide it, but I saw it. It’s kind of hard not to. So, good on you for not being like him.”

“You’re a person first and foremost. None of the rest matters to me.”

“See? You get it. My family does too. I think Amelia had bad luck with him.”

“We all have to have one bad ex.”

“Not me. I don’t usually date,” John said, rolling his eyes. He opened the door to the coffee shop, and Daniel stepped in. He glanced at the menu, deciding to take another risk and pick something new for Amelia.

“Ooh,” John said. “The barista is cute. How do I look?” He turned to Daniel expectantly.

John looked better than most people in the coffee shop, with one exception. “Are you wearing mascara?”

“Yes. Is it too much?”

“No, it’s just smudged.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” John said before putting on a picture-perfect smile.

Daniel tried not to listen as John flirted with the man, but it was almost impossible. After successfully getting the barista’s number, John put in his order.

“Oh,” John said. “And his order is on me.”

“What?” Daniel asked. “You don’t have to—”

“You’re the first potential brother-in-law I like.Plus, I owe my sister a coffee.”

“Since when?”

“Since I was a pain in her ass in high school. I try to make up for it sometimes. Now, tell the gorgeous man what you both want.”

Daniel didn’t argue but thanked John after he paid for the order.

As they headed back to the condo, John was already shooting a message to the barista, and Daniel took a moment to process all that had happened this morning.

He had to tell Terri what had gone down with their father. She’d want to know.

When they got to the elevator, Daniel gave John Amelia’s drink. “Mind giving this to your sister? I have a family call I need to make.”

“Oh, sure. You do what you have to.”

Once John was in the elevator, Daniel found a small table to sit at and sent his sister a message.

Daniel:Are you free? I need to call you.

A few minutes later, his phone rang.

“What’s up?” Terri asked.

Telling her the news needed to be like ripping off a Band-Aid. “Dad and Lucinda are engaged.”

“What the fuck?” Terri said slowly. “Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“How did you find out?”

“He just called me.”

Terri made a sound of disgust. “I hate him. I hate him so much. Honestly, Daniel, this is awful of them, but not surprising. Dad’s been wanting a trophy wife for a while.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t have to take my wife.”

“No, he didn’t, but you have to admit, Lucinda is the kind of person who wants to be someone’s trophy.”

Daniel sighed. He’d felt the sharp sting of betrayal when he’d first found out, and while this still hurt, he was glad Lucinda was getting exactly what she wanted.

If only she would leave him alone to do it.

“I just thought you should know,” he said.

“Do you want any advice?”

“Not really. I mean, I have enough sense to know it’s wrong, but that doesn’t make it any better.”

“It doesn’t,” Terri said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” At that moment, a child ran past. His voice was loud as he yelled for his sibling to give something back.

“What was that?”

“A kid,” Daniel said, sighing.

“Wait, are you at the beach right now?”

“I am.”

“So, you did go!” Terri laughed. “Finally! Some good news! How is it going?”

“It’s . . . something, that’s for sure.”

“Tell me about Amelia.”

“She’s . . . hard to describe.”

“In a bad way?”

“No, not at all,” he said. “She’s . . . incredible.”

“Incredible, huh? I need some details.”

“She and her family have been welcoming. They’re all so close-knit, but very welcoming.”

“That’s good. At least it’s not drama central. Are you having fun?”

“Yes. Amelia is fun in a way I’m not used to.” She was many things he wasn’t used to.

“Can you see herself dating her?”

“In a fake way? Yes.”

“Come on, what about a real way?”

“I just got divorced.”

“Sure, but you can look. Maybe this fake relationship can turn into a real one.”

“She said she doesn’t do relationships.”

“Fine. Then a rebound?”

“Not with a coworker.”

“Ugh. I just want you to move on. Call me when you sleep with someone,” Terri said. “Wait, maybe don’t. Maybe wait, until like, after.”

“That is not something a normal sister would say.”

“When was I ever normal? I just want you to find your fairy tale happy ending, that’s all.”

“For now, my happy ending is paused until I see how Dad announcing his new fiancée will go.”

“Fair enough. Then just have fun. Go mini golfing. Just keep your head on and try to enjoy yourself. That’s what I did when I got lost in South Dakota.”

“I thought it was Montana.”

“Oh, it was multiple states,” she said. “But this is good. It sounds like this might be a real vacation for you.”

“Yeah, maybe it is,” he said, nodding. “And maybe I do need to be more like you.”

“Well, you won’t really be like me until you fall in love on one of those adventures. But I’ll give you a few years to catch up on that one,” she joked. “Seriously, though—I’m glad you’re okay.”

Daniel smiled. “Thanks, Terri.”

“And call me if anything interesting happens. I swear, I always wanted you to do something like this. It’s better than reality TV.”