13. Deacon
Chapter thirteen
Deacon
Lyla was exactly how I remembered her. She wore shorts that cut off right before her ass, and by the way she kept tugging on her sweatshirt jacket, I assumed she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her hair was messy and slept on, and she illuminated the same carefree glow she had the morning we met.
As striking as she was, I remembered her eyes the most. They were a beautiful shade of green, and even though they were skeptical, she was intrigued with what I had to say.
“Hear me out,” I said slowly.
She blew out a long breath and ran a hand through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and rounded the kitchen counter, her shorts riding up to reveal a sliver of black lace. I averted my eyes to the steaming cup of tea in her hand and sat on the bar stool across from her. She peered over the rim of the mug and waited for me to continue.
“You need to convince your dad that you’re dating a reputable guy. Someone who has his shit together, correct?”
She nodded, taking another sip of her tea.
I smiled. “I can be that guy.”
Lyla leaned over the counter until she was inches away from my face.
“Okay,” she pondered. “And how is it I’m going to help you ? ”
The words gathered in the base of my throat. If things went south, I could exit the apartment and never have to see this girl again.
“I need to make my ex-girlfriend jealous,” I admitted, unashamed of how pathetic it sounded. “If she thinks I’m dating a girl like you, my crazy idea might just work.”
Lyla stood up straight and cocked her head. “A girl like me, huh?”
Fuck. That sounded terrible with no context.
“You caught my attention the morning I met you,” I said quickly, trying to save my chance before it crumbled onto the counter in front of me. “You’re fun and witty and cute and, from what I saw in that video, a decent dancer—”
“So this has nothing to do with the fact that you saw my ass on a phone screen?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked down to ensure she was covered. When she looked up, I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing.
“What?” I exclaimed. “No!”
Lyla started toward the door. “Look, Deacon, this was fun, but—”
“Lyla.” I rounded the counter and reached for her hand. She didn’t fight my touch, but I could tell she was unsure. I dropped her hand immediately and took a step back. “I’m sorry.”
She gestured to the space between us, and a slight smirk crept into the corner of her mouth. “You’re witnessing all of this, right? Like, you’re here for this? You actually believe you could pretend to be in a relationship with me?”
I didn’t know at this point if I was winning or losing. I thought Lyla was getting ready to kick me out, but now she looked a little disappointed at the way I tried to stop her. Either way, if there was one thing I knew how to do, it was being in a relationship. I couldn’t give up now—not when the perfect girl who checked Cassie’s jealousy boxes stood before me.
Lyla was the opposite of the type of girl Cassie would want me to move on with. She was sexy and funny, and she didn’t have to try. I had only seen this girl the morning after a night out, and even with her thrown-together appearance and sleepy expressions, I found her adorable.
I needed to persuade her with logic. I turned up the charm and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ears. She kept her eyes locked on mine.
I shook my head slowly and looked her up and down. “I don’t have to pretend to be in a relationship, Lyla. When I want something, I work for it, and right now, I want Cassie to want me back. If she wants to explore her options, that’s fine. But I want her to know that while she’s dealing with little college boys, I’m dating a woman who is everything she wouldn’t want me to be with. I have my shit together, and I promise I’ll be the best fake boyfriend you’ll ever have.”
Lyla’s eyes narrowed as she read my face for any hesitation. She took a deep breath, and from what I could tell, she was going over the last fifteen minutes in her head. She was considering it, and I needed to keep her going.
“You said your dad wants to meet your new boyfriend, right? Parents love me. Cassie will think we’re dating, and your dad will get to see you with a—how did you describe it before? A knight in shining armor?”
Lyla chuckled, and before I knew it, she was belly laughing. It was impossible not to smile at the sound of it.
“Cassie, huh?” she said once her laughter died down. “She’s not gonna come stakeout my apartment looking for you, is she? ”
Cassie would never. That would require her to do an outdoor activity with no photographic evidence. She couldn’t be thriving if she was peeking in on her ex-boyfriend from a bush.
“So you’ll do it?” My question came out as a hopeful statement.
Lyla tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. My breath caught at the base of my throat, and suddenly, the adorable girl drinking tea a few moments ago was playfully reminding me that we were alone. The most dangerous part about her? She wasn’t even trying to turn me on.
“Oh, I’ll do it,” she stated confidently. She gave a dismissive wave of her hand in my direction and shrugged. “I can work with all of this.”
I smiled. “What time is your first class tomorrow?”
“Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday,” she pondered. “Tuesday is Shakespeare, so noon?”
“Noon,” I confirmed. “Wait, noon ?”
Lyla stared at me like I was speaking a different language.
I narrowed my gaze. “You don’t get to campus until noon on Tuesday?”
“I’m not understanding the issue here.”
“That’s like right in the middle of the day!”
Lyla sucked her teeth. “And?” She moved around me to return to her mug on the counter.
“Campus is a lot busier in the mornings,” I explained. “If we want to get this going before fall break, we need to be seen together by as many people as possible.”
“But—”
“Meet me in front of The Union at ten, Lyla.” I drummed my fingers on the counter and walked toward the door.
“Ten?” she whined .
I pointed at her from across the room and winked. “Your knight in shining armor will be waiting for you.”
I caught a tiny glimpse of her smile before I closed the door behind me. I knew what I needed to do to chip away at Cassie’s brand-new exterior. For the first time since the Grounds for Thought breakup, I felt like my plans were finally back on track. Lyla needed a boyfriend, and Relationship Deacon was back.