Chapter 7
Seven
After yoga class, Kayla grabbed a coffee and bagel from Dunkin’ Donuts and went to her parents’ house.
They still lived in her childhood home in the neighboring community of Troy, and she visited them often.
Her older brother, Collin, had gone to college on the west side of Michigan and stayed there.
He was newly married with a baby on the way.
The front door was unlocked, and Kayla went inside. “Mom, Dad, it’s me. Are you decent?” she called out.
“We’re in the kitchen,” her mom, Sue, replied.
Kayla shucked off her shoes and set her purse and jacket on the bench in the foyer. It was the same bench she’d been using since elementary school. Some things never changed. “Hey,” she said, entering the cheery kitchen.
“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here?” her dad, Tim, asked.
Kayla sat next to him at the kitchen table and took a blueberry bagel out of the bag. “I just stopped by to say hi.” Liar.
Sue had just poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from Kayla. “This is a little early for you, isn’t it?”
“I went to yoga this morning,” Kayla explained. “So, what’s new with you guys?” She wanted to delay the inevitable as long as possible.
Sue shifted uncomfortably and stared into her coffee cup.
Kayla eyed her parents with concern. “Is something wrong?”
Tim sighed. “We’re not going to be here for Thanksgiving.”
Kayla placed a hand over her heart. “Oh. I thought it was going to be something really bad.”
Tim chuckled. “See, Sue. She’s fine with it.”
Sue gave him a weak smile. “Your grandparents aren’t up to making the trip this year, so we’re going down to see them.”
Kayla’s maternal grandparents lived in Knoxville. “I’ll miss seeing them, but I understand.”
“You could come with us,” Tim suggested.
Kayla sucked in a breath. “I can’t. I have other plans, too.”
“Oh. With whom?” Sue asked.
“It’s a funny story, actually,” Kayla began.
“Tell us,” Tim prompted.
“You know how I’ve been complaining about Josie lately?”
“Your noisy roommate,” Sue said.
“Yes. Well, my coworker asked me to move in for a while, and I agreed.”
“Which coworker?” Tim asked.
Kayla shifted uncomfortably. “Jack.” Her parents had never met Jack, but she’d often mentioned him.
“Jack,” her mom repeated, looking confused.
“Yes, but it’s not what you think. He asked me to move in as a favor, and it’s only for six weeks.”
“Are you house-sitting?” Tim asked.
“No. Jack’s parents are coming into town for the holidays, and they wanted to stay with him.”
“What does that have to do with you?” Sue asked.
“Jack told his parents he had a girlfriend who just moved in with him …”
“And you are the girlfriend,” Sue said, like she’d just solved a mystery.
“Yes, but I’m only pretending to be his girlfriend—”
“For six weeks,” Tim finished.
Sue frowned. “Why would he lie to his parents?”
“When we were that age, would you have wanted your parents staying with us for six weeks?” Tim asked.
Sue scowled at him, but she didn’t refute it.
“Jack loves his parents, and he plans on seeing them a lot while they’re here. He just didn’t want them—”
“Living with him. We get it,” Tim said.
Sue tilted her head and studied Kayla closely. “Why would you agree to this? If living with Josie is that bad, you can move back in with us. At least, until you find another place.”
Kayla loved her parents, but she didn’t want to move back home. “While I’m living at Jack’s, I’ll look for another apartment. It’s only temporary.”
“I still don’t understand why you have to pretend to be Jack’s girlfriend.” His deceit obviously disturbed Sue.
Tim averted his eyes and took a long drink of coffee.
“Jack’s parents, his mom in particular, have been nagging him about settling down. They want him to get married and have kids like Collin.”
Tim nodded, but Sue shook her head. “That’s still not a good reason to lie to them.”
Sue’s disappointment rolled off her in waves, threatening to pull Kayla under. Of her parents, her mom had always been the stricter one.
Tim reached out and patted Sue’s hand. “It’s not our place to judge. I’m sure Kayla knows what she’s doing.”
Kayla wanted to lean over and hug him, but she refrained. She understood Sue’s point, but her course was already set. She wasn’t going to back out on her promise to Jack now.
“Anyway, thanks for telling us,” Tim said to Kayla.
“When are you moving in?” Sue asked.
Kayla winced. “I already did. Last night.” Thus, her real reason for stopping by this morning. “I wanted to give you my new address.”
“Your temporary address,” Sue corrected.
“Right.”
Tim took out his phone. “Shoot,” he said.
Kayla rattled off the address, and he typed it into his phone.
“I’ll add it later,” Sue said dismissively.
Somehow, Kayla had managed to finish her coffee and bagel during their conversation. “I should get going.” She stood, gathered her garbage, and put it into the trash can. Then she faced her parents again.
“Will we get to meet him?” Sue asked.
“Yes,” Kayla assured her. “After you get back from Tennessee.”
“We’ll look forward to meeting him,” Tim said.
“I’ll miss you guys,” Kayla said.
Sue visibly softened. “We’ll miss you too.”
Kayla went over and kissed her dad on the forehead.
“Love you, sweetie,” he said.
When Kayla went to kiss her mom, Sue stood and gathered her in a tight hug. “Don’t be mad at me for worrying about you,” Sue said softly.
“You don’t have to worry,” Kayla said, hugging her back just as tightly. “I’ll see you when you get back. Have a safe trip.”
A few minutes later, Kayla backed out of their driveway, feeling a mix of emotions.
She was almost thirty years old, but she still hated disappointing her parents.
Hopefully, once they met Jack, they’d discover that despite misleading his parents, he wasn’t a bad guy.
Kayla wanted her parents to like him, even if they were just friends.
When she returned to Jack’s condo, his car was gone. Good thing he’d given her a house key. Kayla smiled at the recollection of him standing outside in his underwear. Stop thinking of Jack half naked!
Kayla went inside, wondering where he was, and how long he’d be gone.
Normally, his whereabouts weren’t her concern, but now she was curious about how he spent his free time.
Kayla went into his bedroom, intending to gather some things and go upstairs to take a shower.
Glancing at Jack’s neatly made bed, her face heated as she recalled him lying there in his underwear.
He’d acted like his erection was a regular morning occurrence, but she couldn’t help wondering if it had anything to do with her.
She shook her head vehemently. Don’t flatter yourself!
Kayla went to the dresser and took out a bra, panties, and socks.
Then, she went into the closet and selected a sweatshirt and jeans, her standard weekend wear.
Kayla entered the bathroom, intending to grab some bath products, but paused and eyed the jacuzzi tub.
Soaking in a bath sounded heavenly, and Jack had said she could use it.
I probably shouldn’t. She had no idea when he’d return and wasn’t keen on him catching her in the tub. It was too tempting to pass up, though.
Kayla locked the door and turned on the water.
While the tub filled, she stripped off her clothes and piled her hair atop her head.
She sank into the warm water and turned on the jets.
“Ahh,” she moaned as the water massaged her neck and shoulders.
She hadn’t realized how tense she was until now.
Telling her parents about moving in with Jack had been harder than she’d thought.
At her age, she hadn’t expected to care about their opinion so much.
It’s only six weeks, she reminded herself for the umpteenth time.
Six weeks of Jack. Six weeks of sleeping under the same roof, meeting his parents, pretending to be in love with him, and seeing him in his underwear.
Why did it keep circling back to that? Yes, he was hot, and yes, she’d had a crush on him for a long time, but that didn’t mean she had to act on it. I am in control of my own destiny.
The longer she lounged in the bath, the more relaxed she felt.
After washing with her favorite coconut scented body wash, she rinsed off and climbed out of the tub.
Pulling a fluffy, white towel off the rack—Jack had good taste—she wrapped it around herself and tucked it in over her breasts.
Kayla hadn’t heard a peep, but she cracked open the door and poked her head out to make sure she was still alone.
“Jack?” There was no answer. Kayla opened the door all the way to let out the steam and defog the mirror.
Since Jack wasn’t home, she might as well get ready in his bathroom instead of lugging her stuff upstairs.
Kayla let down her hair and applied a leave-in conditioner to the ends.
Then she took out her high-end blow dryer and went to work.
While she dried her hair, she hummed a Taylor Swift song, forgetting that the sound of the dryer would block out other noises.
Kayla dipped her head down and was drying the underside of her hair when she felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck.
Whipping her head up, she turned toward the door, and there was Jack staring at her. She quickly turned off the blow dryer.
“Hey,” he said, smirking.
Kayla slapped a hand over her chest, partly to make sure that the towel was still securely in place. “You scared me!”
“Sorry.” His gaze traveled over her, from her damp hair to her heaving chest to her bare feet on his cushiony rug. “I expected you to be dressed by now.”
“I took a bath,” she explained.
He glanced at the tub. “How’d you like it?”
“It’s very big.”
“Plenty of room for two.”
Kayla raised her eyebrows.
“Not two, as in me and you. I meant—”
“It’s fine, Jack. I know what you meant.”
“I’ll let you finish getting ready,” he said, and turned away.
“Where’d you go?” she asked.
He slowly turned back around.
“Not that it’s any of my business. I was just curious,” she muttered.
“I went for a run with my friend, Ryan.”
“Ryan. I met him once. Tall, blonde, good looking?”
Jack frowned. “You think he’s good looking?”
“Yeah, from what I recall.”
“Well, don’t get any ideas about him. He’s committed to being single.”
“Just like you,” she said, semi-teasing.
“Right,” Jack conceded.
“No worries. I already have a boyfriend.”
He chuckled. “Me.”
Kayla nodded. “By the way, I told my parents about us.”
“Us?”
“About me moving in with you.”
“What was their reaction?”
“At first, they were confused, but they want to meet you.” She omitted her mom’s disappointment.
“I’ll meet them at Thanksgiving, right?”
Kayla shook her head. “They’re going to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. My grandparents live there.”
Jack must have picked up on her sadness. “Do you want to go with them? If you do, I’ll just tell my parents they’ll meet you when you get back.”
“No. It’s fine. I promised I’d be here with you.”
Jack visibly relaxed. “Thank you.”
Kayla smiled. Then she glanced down at the towel. “I need to get dressed.”
“Right. I’ll wait in the living room.” He sounded flustered.
“I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Take your time.” Jack disappeared as silently as he’d arrived.
Kayla looked at her reflection and sighed.
Pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend was the craziest thing she’d ever done, and her emotions were all over the place.
Yet, it also felt like an adventure, and she decided to embrace it.
That didn’t include embracing Jack, though.
As long as she kept reminding herself this was fake, everything would be okay—right?