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

Chapter Seventeen

Callie

Of course I spend hours after work figuring out what to wear to my…well, thing with Lincoln. What exactly is it? Not a date, because can one go on a date with a fake boyfriend? That would make the date fake. But this…thing isn’t fake. So it’s just a hang?

“Why are you obsessing so much?” Emily asks after telling me for the hundredth time that my outfit is perfect. It’s a light green top with jeans that I think makes me look really cute. But is it too cute? I mean, I don’t want Lincoln to think I’m trying to seduce him or something.

“Yeah, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself for someone you don’t have feelings for,” Alex says from where she sits on my bed, scrolling through an online cooking magazine.

“That’s the thing,” I say as I study myself in my vanity mirror and turn from side to side. “Tonight is two people just hanging out and having fun. No pretending or putting on an act. I don’t want to be weird.”

“Of course you won’t be weird,” Lizzie says. “Lincoln clearly likes being around you as a friend. And since you have no feelings for him, there’s no reason for you to be nervous.”

“Okay, you guys are being really subtle about that,” I say with a playful eye roll. “How many times do I have to tell you that he and I are just friends? I’ll sound like a broken record soon.”

“I just don’t understand why he would want to hang out with you if he didn’t have feelings for you,” Alex muses. “Guys don’t usually go out of their way like that unless they like the girl.”

“Ever heard of platonic relationships?” I ask.

“They never work,” Emily says. “Believe me, I’ve read enough romance novels to know that. Usually one of the two secretly has a crush on the other one.”

“So does that mean Lincoln secretly has a crush on Callie?” Lizzie asks with wide eyes.

“Would that happen so fast after such a short amount of time?” Alex says. “He didn’t even know she existed until last week.”

“But they spent so much time together,” Emily argues. “And we know how amazing Callie is. Any guy would fall for her.”

“Yeah, right,” I mutter.

“Would he be so obvious, though?” Lizzie asks with pinched brows. “Don’t guys like to keep things cool?”

“Maybe Lincoln doesn’t like playing games,” Emily says.

“So wouldn’t he tell her the truth if he had feelings for her?” Alex asks.

“Who’s obsessing now, huh?” I say with a laugh.

They stop talking and offer me apologetic smiles. “Sorry, Callie,” Emily says. “For a second, it felt like we were dissecting a relationship in a book, but it’s not right for us to dissect your relationship. Um, friendship. Or whatever it is.”

“Yeah, whatever it is.” Not wanting to obsess about it anymore, I glance at the time. “I need to get moving.”

My friends wish me to have a good time, and after thanking them, I get in my car and drive toward Atlanta. Lincoln texted me his address a few hours ago. Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of traffic, so I’ll probably get to his house in under an hour. I listen to an audiobook and spend basically the entire drive squealing and cheering, and even crying. Wow, the hero and heroine have one heck of a roller coaster love story.

And then I reach Lincoln’s apartment. Every part of me beats with excitement as I make my way toward the door. I’m really looking forward to watching the movies with him, especially after our fun conversation earlier today. It’s nice to have a male friend in my life, even if it’s only for a few more weeks.

I ring the bell. After a few seconds, Lincoln’s voice asks, “Hello, who’s there, please?”

“Hi, it’s me Callie,” I answer.

“Hey, Callie. I’ll buzz you in.”

“Thanks.”

Once he does, I find his apartment on the second floor. He’s standing at his door with a grin. “Thanks for coming.”

“You kidding? You promised me snacks,” I joke.

“That, I did.” He widens the door for me and then closes it behind me. “I have to confess, though. I think I bought enough snacks to last us for weeks.”

“Then we’ll just have to get together for movie nights more often.” I freeze when my ears hear what my mouth said. “I mean....” I laugh lightly. “I’m sure your friends would snatch up free snacks.” I cringe. Why the heck am I so nervous?

“No way am I giving your snacks to my friends,” he says with a chuckle. “I guess you’ll just have to come over more often. Or I can come to you.”

Is he already planning another…er, date? Hang. Whatever.

He purses his lips and crosses his arms over his chest, like he, too, feels how awkward this is. Then he clears his throat. “Do you want to start? Or do you want a tour of my apartment? Don’t worry, I spent the last few hours cleaning up the place.”

“Did you really?” I ask as I follow him deeper into the apartment.

“Nah. My place is always clean. My mom ingrained into me since I was a kid how important it was for me to clean my room.”

“Smart woman.”

“Definitely. Let me give you the grand tour.”

His apartment is decent sized, with pretty paintings on the walls and matching furniture. When I ask him if he chose the décor on his own, he admitted that his mom and dad helped him out.

“And here is the kitchen that I barely use,” he adds with a chuckle. “Well, if you don’t count the fridge, where I keep all my takeout and frozen meals. I should probably learn how to cook.”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” I assure him. “If not for my friend, Alex, all of us would starve.”

“She loves to cook?”

“Yeah. She’s the head chef at a restaurant. She’s been cooking and baking since she was a teen.”

His brows come together. “Wait, was she the one who baked those delicious homemade caramel chocolate bars for the charity event our school did in junior year?”

My brows fly up. “You remember that?”

“Of course. Those things were amazing. I swear half the money we raised was due to me.”

“Heck no. That was my dad.”

He chuckles. “I didn’t realize back then that I had competition.” He opens the fridge. “Would you like a drink? I set up the snacks in the living room, but I don’t know what your poison is.”

“Let’s see what goodies you got in here.” I peer inside and notice that he does have a lot of takeout containers. The bottom shelf is filled to the brim with beverages. Beer, soft drinks, energy drinks, you name it.

“I hope you didn’t stock your fridge just for me,” I say.

“Most of it was already here, for when the guys come over to catch a game. I only bought a handful of drinks. Please pick what you like.”

I don’t like the taste of beer and am not much of a drinker, so I settle on a bottle of Coke. Lincoln leads me to the living room, where he decked out the coffee table with a whole assortment of snacks.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” I say as I gape at all the varieties. “It’s enough to feed a whole movie theater.”

His cheeks grow pink. “Yeah, I did overdo it, didn’t I?” He sits down on the couch and gestures for me to join him.

I lower myself on his left and say, “Which movie are we watching first?”

“Since you’re my guest, you decide.”

It’s extremely tempting to go with the romance because that’s what I eat, drink, and breathe, but it would be fun to watch something he loves. Plus, I’d like to get to know him better. “Let’s watch your action movie.”

“Cool. I think you’ll love this one.” He reaches for the remote and finds the movie. After he hits play, we both get comfy on the couch and choose our snacks. I grab a plate and dump on it some Twizzlers, a handful of potato chips, and a few chocolate bars. Lincoln loads up his plate with nearly every variety.

I’ve watched action movies in the past, but it’s been a while. I forgot how suspenseful they can be. There isn’t a lot of romance, but there are so many scenes that have me sitting on the edge of the couch. I don’t realize I’ve shifted so much that my body touches Lincoln until a spark shoots up my arm.

I startle and mutter, “Sorry,” before sliding a few inches away. He gives me a quick nod and smile and then focuses back on the movie, eyes barely leaving the screen. I put my attention back on the movie, too, trying really hard not to dissect what that spark was about. Did he feel it? It doesn’t seem like it.

Then there’s this sudden loud explosion that nearly busts my ears open. Both Lincoln and I jump in fright and his shoulder hits my chin.

“Ow!”

He quickly pauses the movie and turns to me with worried eyes. “Are you okay? Sorry, I’ve watched this movie a million times and still jump at this scene. Is your chin okay?”

I rub it and give him a reassuring smile. “I’m okay, thanks. Don’t worry about it. I’ve been through worse.”

“You have?”

“Um…I can’t really think of anything specific right now, but I’m always getting into accidents. I’m a little clumsy. Which you would know about, since you were present when I knocked into you at the café. Which started the journey we are currently on.” I drop my gaze to my lap as my cheeks heat up. Seriously, why am I always finding myself in embarrassing situations?

A chill runs down my spine when warm, rough fingers gently touch my chin. Lincoln angles my chin upward to study it for damage, forcing my eyes to raise to his. I didn’t realize how close we are. Which should be a “duh” because we literally just knocked into each other.

He moves his face closer to me as he continues to study my chin. “It’s a little red. Do you want ice?”

“No thanks,” I assure him. “I’ll heal.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, thanks. Like I said, I’ve been through worse.”

He still looks worried, but he nods and plays the movie. He does keep some distance between us, which is probably for the best. I’m sure we’ll jump again throughout the rest of the movie.

After nearly two hours, and after my snack plate is half empty, the movie is over. Lincoln exits out of it and smiles at me. “So what did you think?”

“I enjoyed it a lot. But there should have been more romance.”

He laughs. “I should have anticipated you’d say that. Maybe next time I’ll pick an action movie with a stronger romance plot.”

There’s that next time again. Which makes me super happy because I want a next time, too.

“So am I being treated to the most epic romance movie of the year?” he asks me, his eyes bright with joy. It makes him look so darn handsome.

“Not the most epic movie of the year,” I correct him. “It’s the most epic movie of all time .”

He whistles. “I really am in for a treat.”

He hands me the remote and I search for the movie. I lean back on the couch with my snack plate and a happy sigh. “No interruptions, okay? No answering phone calls or texts.”

He takes his phone and throws it under a cushion. “Yes, ma’am. How many times have you watched this movie?”

“Probably more than two hundred.”

His eyes bug out. “Really? And you never get bored?”

“Heck no. You don’t get bored when you watch this movie. Trust me.”

He leans back, too, and pops some popcorn into his mouth. I play the movie and bite into a Twizzler. As soon as the opening scene starts, I feel all giddy and like I ascended to the clouds. I think I even bounce in my seat because Lincoln glances at me with a smile.

And then the next two hours pass in the blink of an eye. It’s a fantasy romance that’s kind of also a fairytale retelling. The romance is so freakin’ epic that I’m either laughing, crying, cursing, or yelling. Even Lincoln curses when the evil sorcerer kidnaps the heroine and turns her into a rat. The poor hero has no idea what happened to his love and thinks she abandoned him. He’s so broken that he leaves her land and returns to his, turning his land into a desolate place. When the heroine finds out what happened, she enlists the help of small, talking creatures to take her to his palace. As soon as he realizes who she is, he’s so overcome with joy that tears shoot out of his eyes. His tears mix in with hers, and the spell is broken. And the fact that it’s also a musical is just icing on the cake.

It might sound a bit out there, but it really is so amazing. By the end of it, I swear I see some tears in Lincoln’s eyes.

“So what do you think?” I ask.

“I’ve never watched a movie like that before,” he admits. “It was…” He scrunches his brows like he’s trying to find the perfect word.

“Epic?” I ask.

“Yeah, epic. But more than that. Magical.”

I smile. “Magical. That’s the perfect word to describe it.”

We sit on the couch for about half an hour discussing the movie. Lincoln isn’t delving deeply into the plot like I do with my friends during book club, but he has many thoughts and feelings about it. It’s great to hear a guy’s perspective on it. Well, it’s great to hear his perspective on it.

“You think real relationships could be as intense as theirs?” he asks as we stand up and start cleaning up the snacks and drinks. “We obviously don’t have to deal with evil sorcerers, but their connection was so strong. They were the definition of soulmates.”

“‘A part of one soul, forever linked and never severed.’” I lightly sing a few verses from one of the songs.

Lincoln smiles. “Exactly. I wonder if anyone in real life feels that way.”

“I’m sure some do. My parents have always been super in love.”

“Yeah, the same with mine.”

We’re both quiet, each of us thoughtful.

“Well, anyway, thanks for helping me clean up,” he says. “And for coming over. I had a lot of fun.”

“Me, too. Maybe next time I can come over to your place.”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

My heart flutters and goosebumps pop up all over my arms. Which is ridiculous because we had a wonderful time as friends. Friends. Friends .

“By the way, you owe me a story,” I tell him as we throw out our trash in the kitchen.

His eyebrows shoot up. “I do?”

“You promised you’d tell me about some cowboy boots.”

He laughs as he shakes his head. “Oh that. You never heard about Lincoln and the cowboy boots? I’m sure it was trending all over social media last year.”

“I don’t think so. It could be I was making a deadline and didn’t have time for social media.”

He rubs his forehead. “It’s kind of a crazy story, though.”

“You have to tell me now.”

“Okay.” He leans back on the kitchen counter. “I once got a present from a fan who loves country music. It was the cowboy boots. In her letter, she begged me to make her a birthday video of myself dancing to her favorite song while wearing those boots.”

“She didn’t send a cowboy hat?” I ask.

“I think she wanted to see my face clearly without a hat in the way,” he explains.

“Did you do it?” I ask.

He shuts his eyes for a second and nods. “I did. And I sent it to her. And then she posted it on social media.”

“Oh my gosh.”

He hangs his head. “So feel free to look it up whenever you want. Though I have to warn you—it’s not my finest moment.”

“I won’t watch it if you don’t want me to,” I promise.

His face fills with surprise. “What?”

“It sucks you had to do that just to please a fan.”

He shakes his head. “I love my fans. I know some might be a little um, enthusiastic, but it was kind of funny. My other fans seemed to like it.” He gets his phone from the living room and searches social media for the video. “You can watch it. I don’t mind. The rest of the world has seen it anyway.”

“I promise not to laugh,” I say as I take his phone.

The video has over eighteen million views. Wow. I tap on the screen and play the video. There is Lincoln wearing the boots. Before he starts, he says this video is dedicated to one of his fans. Then he wishes happy birthday to Lenore. The country song plays and he starts to dance, sometimes reaching for his imaginary cowboy hat. The way he dances in those boots is pretty sexy. And he wears a bright smile on his face the entire time.

When it’s over, I smile at him. “I don’t know why you’re embarrassed. This is one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s hilarious and sweet at the same time.”

“Thanks. I’m glad I was able to make that woman happy. You never know what a person is going through in life. If I could make her happy, even if it’s just for a day, or maybe an hour, it’s worth it.”

I just stare at him as a warm and fuzzy feeling overtakes my body. “That was so beautiful,” I say. I clear my throat. “I mean, that’s so kind of you. You really care about your fans.”

“Yeah, I do. I care about people in general. I used to be so caught up in myself and my own life because I was so stressed about everything, like football. But trying to include other people in the thing that stresses me out makes it less stressful. I hope I’m making sense.”

“I get it. It’s less stressful when you have people rooting for you.”

We’re both quiet again.

I glance at my phone. “It’s getting late and I have a long drive home.”

“Right. Of course. Do you want to take home any snacks?”

“Maybe bring them with you when we watch a movie at my place?”

His face softens with a grin. “You bet.”

He walks me to the door, and after we wish each other good night, I get in my car and drive home. Of course the only thing I think about on the drive is the amazing evening we had. How refreshing was it to just hang out with him without cameras or whispers or pointing or social media posts? I’ve never had such an enjoyable time with anyone before, not counting my family and best friends. I assumed he and I would no longer be friends after our fake relationship is over, but maybe I’m wrong. I can’t imagine not being friends with him anymore.