10. Graham
GRAHAM
B rian: Come on, we want to meet her.
I stare at the text. Brian’s message sits in my phone unanswered.
Brian: Just do it.
The sigh that leaves me as I stare out the window from my penthouse is filled with both agitation and apprehension. I shouldn’t have fucking told Brian anything. He badgered me for an update and now this. I watch the cars move below me before deciding to text her.
It seems to me that it could be woven into the verbal contract that she would accompany me to social gatherings.
After all, I do enjoy her company. The small sighs she makes when something romantic happens on the television and the way she bites down on her bottom lip, her brow scrunched, when she gets an email from work that something didn’t go well.
It’s…noticeable and quite distracting in a good way.
I find myself enjoying her and it’s quite possible she’ll fill a need within my friend group as well.
Graham: You have plans tonight?
Maddie: Tonight?
Graham: I need a date.
Maddie: Ooh, a date for what?
I can practically hear her response. The touch of excitement. It warms something inside of me and I bite the bullet. Why shouldn’t I after all? She’s mine when I desire and if it’s something she doesn’t prefer, we’ll make that accommodation.
Graham: I’m getting together with my friends. Three of us. Small group, but they’re bringing their wives.
Three dots bounce on the screen while she types his answer.
Maddie: You can’t be the only one there by yourself.
Graham: That’s what I thought.
Graham: Will you join me?
Maddie: Of course I will. What time?
Graham: I’ll stop by your place at seven.
Maddie: See you then.
The moment she agrees, there’s a relief that’s unreliable, but it’s quickly followed by unwanted nerves.
I shake them off and do the best I can to focus, but for the rest of the day all I’m able to think about is whether or not she’ll enjoy herself tonight and what Brian and the others will think of her.
It’s unsettling and given that I’ve never brought a date or had a girlfriend I’ve been interested in long enough to introduce to my friends, I’m not quite sure how to get rid of the anxiousness or what to do with it.
I remind myself she’s not my girlfriend, this is different.
Even if it all goes to hell, I can simply keep them separate.
It’s not until I knock on her door, wearing a suit and tie with no jacket, and she opens it that all apprehension falls away.
Her little black dress and kitten heels are both casual and yet elegant.
“Is this all right?” she questions, and I murmur that she’s perfect.
She’s stunning. Once again I find myself wrapped up in Madelyn Cunnigham.
It’s odd how everything slips into place when she’s with me.
How the uncertainty fades away. She puts her arm through mine, and I guide her to the elevator and then into my private car.
I find myself thinking I would feel even more at ease and these little hiccups like earlier wouldn’t occur if she would move in with me.
I recall her stipulation about time apart initially but that was weeks ago, and I’m almost certain she’d agree things have been easy between us and that we are spending more and more time together.
With the streets dark and the city lights surrounding us, I take glances at Madelyn the entire drive to the restaurant, wondering what she would say if I offered.
Maddie
All the nervousness in my belly keeps me relatively quiet, although I have a million questions on my mind.
Graham lays his hand palm up in the middle of the seats and I slip my hand into place. I can’t help but smile as he rubs soothing circles on my wrists as if he can sense I’m nervous.
“So. Tell me about your friends. Have you known them a long time?” My heart pounds as he nods.
I almost ask him, ‘this isn’t like a test or anything right?’ but then my lips slam shut. A test of what? We enjoy what we’re doing and that’s all there is to it, I lie to myself, knowing damn well this is different but not wanting to jinx it.
Graham answers more thoroughly, “I’ve known Scott and Drew since college and Brian since grade school. We’ve never lost touch. I don’t have siblings, so they’re the closest thing I have to brothers.”
My throat gets tight at the subtle emotion in his voice. “That’s really nice, Graham. My friend Suzette is like that. Basically a sister to me.”
“Suzette?”
“Maybe you could meet her sometime,” I offer. “I owe her a drink since she helped me get my new job.”
He hesitates, then says, “I’d like that.”
“I would, too.” I scramble around for another question before the conversation can get too deep. “Do you get together with these friends often?” The car hums as we move through traffic.
“A few times a year.” Graham says and then confides in me a little more and the small talk is more than helpful.
My nerves settle as he tells me more about his friends, the classes they took in college, and the things they got up to on the weekends. The driver pulls us into a curved drive that takes us off the city street and close to the door as we arrive at the restaurant.
It’s on the first floor of a skyscraper with manicured plants in the front and lights glowing above the windows.
A pristine awning covers a door made from dark wood that shines like it’s been polished.
Uniformed valets wait to park cars for people, and everything I can see looks freshly painted and lovingly maintained.
“Wow,” I breathe. “This is a nice place.” I nervously look down at my dress and wonder if I should have opted for something more…delicate or detailed or higher heels. I’ve been to a number of high-end banquets for charities and exquisite dinners and events with my ex, but this is… more .
“You look beautiful,” Graham says, and offers me his arm. “Stunning even,” he adds with a charming smirk that eases my mind.
He holds my hand in his as the hostess takes us through the restaurant.
We walk past people at candlelit tables to a private room in the back.
Graham’s friends sit at a long table with their wives.
When we step inside, all of them get up from the table to shake Graham’s hand, slap his back, and sneak in hugs.
The atmosphere is easy and friendly. They’re more than welcoming.
“Graham, who’s this?” one of his friends asks, barely concealed excitement in his eyes. “You’ve never brought a date before.”
A blush heats my cheeks and I do everything I can to not let my nerves show as I give a little wave.
Graham rolls his eyes. “I told you I was bringing someone. Everyone, this is Maddie. Maddie, this is everybody.” He goes around, telling me his friends’ names and the names of their partners.
The man who asked the question is Scott.
He’s tall and has dark hair like Graham.
Drew has lighter hair and a quick smile. Brian’s a redhead with a big laugh.
I know I’m supposed to play a part—to fill the space so Graham doesn’t have to be the only single one here—but as soon as we sit down at the table, it all starts to feel… real .
All Graham’s friends are married, and all the wives are friendly, open, and funny, and they include me in their group without hesitation. It’s easy to imagine how it would be if I was Graham’s wife and not just his stand-in date.
Too easy.
I remind myself throughout the night that this is fake. They call me his girlfriend and I swallow down the lie as I answer their questions.
Graham brushes his knuckles over the back of my neck as everyone’s chatting between dinner and dessert. It’s an affectionate gesture. It’s casual and intimate, and I like it.
“You okay?” he asks in a low voice as the appetizers are passed around the table and dinner menus are swept away. “Having a good time?”
“The best time,” I answer honestly, trying not to think too much. Doing my best to simply play my part and not let my heart make my head think this is something it isn’t.
“Really? Because we could duck out early, if you’re not.”
“Your friends are great.” On an impulse, I lean in and kiss his cheek.
It’s a risk I can’t help but take. As he smiles down at me, a friend at the end of the table tells him to get a room and I blush violently.
The table laughs and I laugh along too, and as the night goes on, with every small kiss and touch from Graham, I feel less and less like a fraud.