Single And In Love With My Fake Boyfriend (Single Girls Club #1)

Chapter Nine

Lincoln

I take an elevator up to the third floor of the building where my fake girlfriend works. I’m a little early and figure I’ll kill some time scrolling on my phone as I wait. But the minute I step off the elevator, one of Callie’s coworkers spots me and rushes over.

“Are you taking Callie to lunch?” she asks with excited eyes. “That’s so adorable. She usually sits all alone at lunch with a book, so this is awesome.” She squeals. “I’ll tell her you’re here.” She bounds away.

I drop down on one of the chairs in the waiting area and inspect the place. I didn’t have a chance to get a good look at it earlier today due to all the attention from Callie’s coworkers. This looks like a very friendly place, and from what I’ve seen so far, she seems to love her job.

It’s not long before Callie walks over to me, purse pressed to her side, a shy smile on her face.

I stand, a smile on my face as well. “Hey.”

“Hey. Were you waiting long?”

“No, I just got here. Sorry for taking you away from work early.”

She waves her hand. “It’s okay. I kind of need a break. To get away for a bit, you know.” We both turn and find everyone in the room staring at us.

“I know what you mean, but I doubt it’ll be any better out here.” I pat the cap on my head, but then I remember I’m not wearing it. The point of our fake relationship is for people to see us together, hence no longer hiding from the public.

She laughs. “True, but at least I can escape from people outside. I can’t really escape my coworkers.”

I laugh, too. “For sure. Are you ready?”

She motions for me to lead the way. We step into the elevator and take it down to the parking lot. It’s quiet. She looks at me and I look at her. All we manage to do is give each other small smiles. I’m very out of practice because it’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship. And I know this is difficult for her because of her ex.

“So,” she says at the same time I ask, “How’s it going?”

We fall silent again after awkward chuckles. I gesture to her. “Go ahead.”

She leans against the wall. “I was just going to ask where we’re eating.”

“I was thinking that we can’t go far because you have to be back at work within an hour, right?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

I shake my head. “Nothing to apologize for. So I was thinking somewhere close to your office, like maybe Rico’s Diner.”

“Yeah, I love Rico’s. They have the best onion rings.”

The way her eyes light up with so much glee makes me smile. I’ve been around many women and none have had such a contagious smile like hers.

“I know,” I tell her. “My friends and I used to hang out there all the time in high school. Especially after football games.”

“Same with me and my friends, but not on football nights. Everyone knew it was reserved for the team.” She smiles. “The football team was the high school and town’s pride and joy.”

“It was an honor for me to be on that team, same as it’s an honor for me to play for the Atlanta Armadillos.” The elevator doors open to the parking lot and we make our way to my car. “Sometimes I wonder if all this is a dream.”

“You deserved it. I remember how hard you worked. Like, you made sure to keep your grades up, but you were still the captain everyone needed.”

“Thanks. I don’t think many people noticed that.”

Her cheeks go red as her eyes widen. “It’s not like I kept tabs on you or anything. I was just impressed that you were on top of your schoolwork. Most of the jocks didn’t care about school.”

I nod as I open the passenger door for her. “My parents made it perfectly clear since I was little that I could only play football if I kept my grades up.”

“Thanks.” She climbs in. Once I’m buckled in the driver’s seat, she asks, “So if not for your parents, you wouldn’t care about school?”

I shrug as I start the car. “Meh, probably not. But I’m glad they pushed me. I can’t play football forever.”

“What do you want to do after?”

I tap the steering wheel. “Something with kids. I majored in education, so I’ll probably go down that route.”

“A teacher?”

“I’m thinking more like one-on-one teaching. Maybe a tutor or a teacher for kids with special needs.”

She smiles. “I love that.”

“Thanks. What about you? Why did you choose journalism?”

She rests her head on the back of the seat. “I like meeting new people and sharing their stories with the world. Right now, I mostly review books and movies, but I hope to do a lot more.”

I give her a crooked smile. “Like interview the most eligible bachelor of the year?”

That gets a laugh out of her. “I still don’t know why the editor-in-chief asked me to work on such a high-profile interview. I’ve only been with the paper for a few months.”

“Well, she must have seen something special in you.”

She scoffs. “Special? Me? I told you I’m boring.”

“And I told you I doubt that’s true.”

She doesn’t say anything, just shakes her head.

We don’t say much before we reach the diner. I park in the lot, run around to her side to open the door for her, then hold out my hand.

She places hers inside and I help her out of the car. Before she’s even fully out, someone shouts, “It’s Lincoln Walker!” and a large crowd of people surrounds us.

I wrap my arm around Callie, tugging her to my chest. Her eyes nearly pop off her face as she takes in the many people around us, shouting, squealing, and taking photos.

Smiling pleasantly, I nod and weave my way around everyone, making sure not to let go of Callie. The last thing I want is her getting lost in the crowd, or getting hurt.

They demand to know if we’re really dating. Some groan that she’s so lucky to snag “the sexiest guy on the planet.”

I shield her with my arms as best as I can as we head for the entrance of the diner. It’s not long before a security guard shoos the crowd away and we have a chance to breathe.

“I’m really sorry about that,” I say to Callie as we watch the people slowly dispersing.

She pushes a wide smile on her face. “It’s fine. Part of the game, right?”

I’m still bothered that she has to deal with this, but at the same time, I want her to feel good about herself. And if that’s by getting back at her ex, then I’m all for it.

My arm is still wrapped around her as we choose a table in the back.

“What’s wrong?” Callie asks after we sit down and open our menus. “You look worried.”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay, that’s all.”

“That’s kind of you, but I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me or apologize all the time. I know what I’m getting into.” She shrugs. “Besides, we’re both gaining from this, not just you.”

I frown. “Yeah, except now they’re jumping on you.”

She waves her hand. “Remember what I said about them getting bored of me?”

I open my mouth to argue, but decide to drop it. We just started fake dating and I don’t think it’s a good idea to argue. Especially over something so silly.

As we contemplate what to order, I feel eyes on us. The people from the surrounding tables gawk at us, many taking photos. But after a bit, they go back to whatever they were doing.

Callie lifts a brow. “Told you.”

We give our orders to a server, then stare at each other. She smiles shyly, tucking some hair behind her ear. “You think we should do something more couple-ish? I mean, we need to sell that we’re really together, don’t we?”

I place my hand over hers that’s resting on the table. “What do you have in mind?”

She shrugs. “I’ve only been in one relationship, so I don’t know. He wasn’t exactly the romantic type.”

From the tone in her voice and look in her eyes, I get the feeling that she’d like someone to be romantic with her. Like she’s been yearning for it all her life. I hope she finds a guy who will do that for her one day, but for now, she has me. And I’ll do everything I can to keep my end of the deal and help her get over the pain of her breakup.

I stand, walk around the table, and place my hands around her, gently taking her in my arms.

She clutches onto me. “What are you doing?”

“Just holding you for a bit. People are watching us.”

Callie’s eyes are wide as they stare at us. “Oh.” She snakes her arms around me, returning the hug.

“Is this too much?” I ask softly in her ear.

She shakes her head so quickly her long hair slaps my cheeks. “No, not at all. I just wasn’t ready for that.” She takes in the bulging muscles in my arms. “Dang. You picked me up like I weigh less than a feather.”

“Years of football.”

“You didn’t look like that in high school.”

“What?”

Her body goes stiff. “Nothing.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, just tell me.”

“I’m okay, thanks.”

We remain hugging for a few more minutes before sitting back down. Though I drag my chair close to hers and sit down, not leaving more than a few inches between us.

I notice a table a few feet away, where a group of four women around our age are giggling and taking photos as they watch us.

“I can’t believe he chose her,” one of them mutters to her friends. “She’s not even pretty.” She says it quite loud, enough for most of the diners to overhear.

What in the world is she talking about? Of course Callie is pretty. She’s beautiful.

I glance at her and find her playing with a loose thread on her shirtsleeve. She’s making it seem like the words don’t bother her, but I’d have to be an idiot to believe that.

“I read some of your previous articles from The Spring Falls Press ,” I tell her. “I was hooked and I loved them.”

She turns to look at me. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“This was after the interview, before we decided to fake date. It bothered me that I couldn’t remember who you were, so I thought reading your articles would jog my memory.”

She shrugs. “We barely interacted, so I’m not surprised you didn’t remember me. You hung out with the jocks and popular kids and I was with my friends.”

“I should have paid more attention to kids outside my friend group.”

She shrugs again. “It was high school and a long time ago.” Her gaze drifts to that table, where the young women are still making fun of her. They’re picking on her outfit now. She’s dressed in business attire for work and I don’t see anything wrong with it.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” I ask her.

“We didn’t get our food yet.”

“I know, but those women are ticking me off.” I tilt my head toward their direction. “They’re making fun of my girl. I ought to say something to them.”

She places her hand on my chest to stop me. “No. The last thing you need is people hating you. It’s fine. Just ignore them.”

I search her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Believe me, I’m used to people crapping on me. Story of my life.”

I slip my hand in hers and squeeze it. “I’m really sorry.”

She shrugs, giving me a smile. “That’s life.”

I’m about to say something else, but she tells me we need to discuss the details of our fake relationship, like how we got together and other things. As we eat from our food, we try to cover as much as we can, figuring we’ll just wing it when a situation we aren’t prepared for arises.

Then it’s time for her to head back to work. I hang my arm over her shoulder, pressing her close to me as we walk toward the entrance. As we pass the table with those nasty women, I press my lips to Callie’s cheek, saying loud and clear for everyone—especially them—to hear, “You’re my world, Callie. The most beautiful person in my life. I can’t bear when we’re apart.”

She just stares at me. I wink, pulling her even closer to me. I’m not just doing this for me and for our show. I’m doing this for her. Even though I don’t know her well, no one deserves to be spoken about in such a manner.

We’re quiet as I drive her back to work. She seems to have a lot on her mind and I don’t want to interrupt her.

“Thanks for…you know,” she says when we’re in the parking lot.

“Of course.”

She watches me for a bit before getting out of the car and heading toward the elevator.

“Callie?” I call.

She turns around.

“Would you like to come to my game tomorrow?”

“I kind of have to, don’t I? It’s something a girlfriend does.”

I smile. “Sure, but I’d like you to come as my friend as well.”

She walks back to the car. “I didn’t know we’re friends.”

“Friends with fake benefits?”

She giggles, then widens her eyes. “I have no idea where that came from. Sorry.”

“You have an adorable giggle and a very pretty smile.”

She plays with her sleeve. “Oh, um. Thanks. You have a pretty smile, too. I mean handsome. Sexy…you know. Um, see you later.”

“Have a good rest of your day.”

“You, too. Don’t go hanging out with other girls.”

I know she’s kidding because one of the rules we decided on was that we’re not allowed to date other people.

I wave. “See you later.”

“See you.”

I drive off, a smile on my face. I had a good time with her. I wish I could have known her in high school. I think we would have gotten along great. It’s too bad I stayed in my friend group and didn’t meet other people. Was I so absorbed in my own world that I ignored everyone else? Especially the sweet bookworm who sat behind me in some classes.