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“Gotcha,” I nod.
“You’re going to go upstairs and find her to say hi?” My sister continues to tease me.
“And if I was going to say hi, what would that matter?”
“Nothing, just nice to know she has a gentleman caller.”
“I’m going to say hi now, Heidi. I’ll talk to you later.”
She makes kissy noises at me, batting her eyelashes quickly.
I ignore her and make my way upstairs to Pisco, which I’ve never been to before. Unlike On the Rocks, this bar is inside, but I only find it because of the signs pointing me in the direction.
I walk through the double doors to the entrance, seeing it’s much darker inside. The ambiance screams ‘Secret New York bar,’ with some calm jazz music playing overhead. There isn’t really anyone in here, and I’m grateful for the quiet. There are colored lights behind the bar lighting up the different bottles, and nearly the entire room is made of wood. Wood floor panels, a mahogany wood bar that connects to the drinks stand. The bar stools are dark blue velvet cushions, and I sit on one just as Jada comes in from the back.
“Hi,” I say, not sure what else to say.
“Hey, Carter,” she beams, and I’m grateful that she’s not wary of my presence after the last time I saw her. “Can I get you something?”
“Yeah, can I get a Manhattan?” It’s the same drink I got on our first date, and Jada gets to work making it. We start talking, catching up on how each of our situations are going, Jada mentions another terrible date. Even after she puts down my drink, we keep talking as she gets other things done around the bar.
After a bit, she tells me she’s going on her break, and I stop her. “Actually, can I speak to you about something?”
She looks surprised but nods. I finish up my drink, and we decide to take a walk. Jada takes me down by the third floor pool, which is moderately full. But hearing the sounds of splashing water and the giggle of children makes me feel a little more at ease.
As we walk, I begin to tell Jada everything.
“I saw my mom yesterday. And she’s stressed about the fact I still don’t have someone to marry. All she wants is to see me get married, help plan the wedding. And I know we said before that it would just be ridiculous to get fake married. But…I’m having second thoughts. It would make things easier for both of us. Would you be interested in, well, at least a fake relationship?”
She stops in her tracks to look at me, and I see the look of hesitation lingering on her face. I don’t blame her for the look, but I’m still holding out hope.
“Carter, a fake marriage is…alot. I mean, I’m genuinely tempted, because my parents are driving me insane. But we agreed that this wasn’t a good idea.”
“I know,” I agree. “But my mom, it’s all she wants. And I’m inclined to want to give her what she wants. She has been trying to match me with someone for a while. And at least if the two of us do this, if we create a fake relationship with a fake wedding on the way, she’ll be happy.”
I decide to tell her the morbid truth. “I don’t know how much longer she has. I really wanna do this for her.”
“I don’t know, Carter.”
“We don’t have to get married tomorrow, I swear. But this would help you out the way it’ll help me out. Jada. Think about it. If you could just pretend to be my girlfriend? It would make my mom so happy. We could go visit her, talk to her, tell her we have plans for a future, but we don’t have to actually get married anytime soon.”
She thinks for a second. I know it’s senseless. I know that it’s completely crazy to think this is the right answer. But Jada understands what I’m dealing with.
“So, you just want me to meet your mom? Pretend to date you, meet your mom, and that’s it?” She looks around the resort, and I see couples sitting together, happily holding hands while tanning or reading, watching kids run around with their parents.
“It would make her so happy to see that I’ve finally met someone that I care about.”
Jada sighs. “Okay. Here’s the deal. You need me to meet your mom? Well, then you need to come to my house for dinner with my parents, too. I don’t know, like once a week? This is the only way I can get them off my case. I love them, but this is driving me up a wall.”
“Absolutely. That’s no problem.”
She holds out her hand for me to take. “Then we’re in agreement. Fake relationship, visiting each other’s parents to convince them we have got things covered and tell your mom that we’re getting married.”
I grasp her hand, shaking it. “Absolutely.”
“Then you got yourself a deal, Carter. Let the fake dating begin.”
10
