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“Trying to make sure that I stay out of the kitchen,” I tease. “What a way to start our fake relationship.”
“I have to keep a roof over your head. That won’t be possible if you burn it down,” he tells me, with a laugh. Then he turns and wishes me a good night, waving over his shoulder and heading off towards the path that leads back to his property.
Grant has a real piece of lakeside living, with an outdoor second-floor deck that directly overlooks the water. It’s the kind of place that anyone would love to stay in—and he’s the kind of guy that anyone would be lucky to stay with.
The thought of that person being me, even temporarily, is oddly satisfying.
I sit there for a little longer, just watching how the wind causes slight ripples out at the center of the lake. Eventually, I get up and head back towards my house, knowing that it must be creeping somewhere toward eleven.
But there’s nothing but a good feeling following me there. I think that the idea of pretending to date Grant, as silly as it might sound, could actually be the start to reducing a lot of our stress. It might just be the missing piece that we were both looking for. With my parents hounding me, I haven’t really been able to find myself. This will change that.
I won’t complain about anything that gets me more of Grant’s cooking, either, which means that there are plenty of reasons for me to look forward to our meet-up tomorrow. Should I count it as the first of our hopefully many dates?
As I step up to my front door, I decide that I probably should. With any luck, this silly little idea of mine could solve all of our problems.
A girl can hope, right?
Chapter three
Grant
Ashleycomesbyaroundten minutes after noon, just like we had made plans for. I didn’t bother to dress up for it, but I did go ahead and make us a great lunch, cooking some trout that I got at the fisherman's market and making us mango salsa to pair it with. Fish tacos are my favorite thing, but I can’t justify going through all of this effort when I’m the only one that’s going to be eating them.
I also whipped up a white, cilantro and vinegar sauce in case she doesn’t like the other one. I grab two bottles of cold beer to bring along. We eat outside at the table on my second-floor deck. Bright sunlight beats down warmly on our skin. We’re at the tail end of summer, meaning that the nights are cool and the days are hot.
Ashley is wearing a lovely red and white sun dress as a result. It accentuates her curves and her breasts and—yeah, she’s just a friend, but that doesn't mean that I can’t enjoy the way that she looks.
I’ve never thought of her as anything more than that, and a really great neighbor, because she’s so much younger than me. She is only twenty-four.
“Alright,” I tell her, setting out the blue and white dishes. “I guess this is the best time to figure out this fake relationship.”
“I know that I’m going to be the hardest one. This would be much simpler if I didn’t still live at home,” she says, with a little huff. “Also, I think that we should get married right now, so you can cook every meal for me.”
I laugh and sit down. “You haven’t even started eating yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve seen it, I’ve smelled it, and I know your killer track record with food,” says Ashley. She’s quick to start building her tacos. I wasn’t totally certain what she would like to eat, so I just went ahead and put it all in separate smaller dishes so she could build her own.
To my great pleasure, she ends up piling them full of the mango salsa. It’s a really great stroke to my ego. “Whatever you say. I’m just glad you like it.” And then, “So, down to business?”
“You’re a businessman at heart,” says Ashley, with a laugh. She makes a sound that’s almost lethal when she takes the first bite, her eyes fluttering shut and a look of bliss settling on her face.
With an expression like that, it’s hard to imagine that she’s never had a boyfriend. Ashley’s said before that she’s holding out for the right guy. She just hasn’t found him yet.
“Alright, so—we’re going to need to make this convincing. I’m thinking tomorrow I could take you out to dinner, and you can make a big deal out of it with your parents?” I suggest. “And that way, they’re going to expect you to be spending more time over here.”
Ashley nods. “That sounds like a good start. I was also thinking—Grant, you should invite me to move in after we’ve been ‘dating’ for a little while.” With a cheeky look on her face, she uses her fingers to make the quotation sign as she emphasizes the word dating.
“Are you just trying to secure more of my cooking?”
“Yes, you caught me.”
Despite what my family believes, I do date, but it’s more on the casual side. The thought of sharing my space and my day-to-day life with someone has never appealed to me. I mostly work from home, either from my home office, or the kitchen, or the patio. Having someone here would mean I’d have to either lock up myself in the office for hours, or that my partner would have to tiptoe around me until I’m done working for the day. Not to mention that a special someone would want to actually spend time with me. With my workload, and now with Brooke, I don’t know how I would juggle it all at once.
And maybe I am a bit of a grump. I want my peace.
The rewards of this whole thing though might be worth the sacrifice. Not that spending time with Ashley feels like a sacrifice. She’s a ray of sunshine. I doubt we’ll be bothered by each other’s presence.
“It’s a good idea,” I tell her. “It will be more believable like that, and it will get you out of your house. Which, no offense, sounds a little stifling right now.”
