Page 37 of Pretend Girlfriend

“Right, just the two of us.” I paused. “And Austin.”

“Shit. I forgot about him.” Theo glanced sideways at me. “You seemed to have put him in his place, though.”

“I hope so. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

We walked another block in satisfied silence.

“Listen, Joanna. I really like you. I know we have some long-term incompatibilities, but as a counterpoint: who cares? All I know is that I want to see you again. And again after that.”

“I feel the same way,” I said. It was like Theo was reading my thoughts out loud to me. “I just have one question.”

“Shoot.”

“Why won’t you tell the Cozart family that you’re a dentist? I can understand downplaying your career on Bumble, but these are people you’ve known for years. Don’t you want them to know what you do for a living?”

I was expecting him to brush it off again. He’d already made it clear that he didn’t want to talk about it. But hell, I had to ask one final time. Nowadays, everyone bragged about everything they did. That’s all social media was: people showing off their hobbies, careers, and lives.

“I was kind of a party animal in college,” Theo began.

Oh shit. He was actually going to tell me.

“I didn’t care about grades. I failed a few classes. My GPA was always hovering around the line that would lead to academic suspension. I couldn’t afford a plane ticket home to see my family, so I went home with Bradyn for most holidays. They loved me because I was a goofball. I didn’t take anything seriously, but I was fun to be around. It pretty much became my identity.

“I graduated, but just barely. I didn’t get to walk at graduation with Bradyn and the rest of our class because I had to stay an extra semester to finish my degree. Staying back was eye-opening for me. It made me realize that I needed to take life seriously. So I buckled down and figured out the path I wanted to take in life. I was living off-campus with the Cozarts while finishing my degree, and I told them that I wanted to become a dentist.”

Theo’s laugh was bitter. “They thought I was joking. They didn’t take me seriously. In retrospect, I can’t blame them—it was kind of a ridiculous thing for me to say. But they laughed, and that stung. Like, really stung.”

“They laughed at you? Oh, Theo…”

“Honestly, it was probably the best thing for me. I wanted to prove them wrong. So I spent the next year studying for the Dental Admission Test. I aced it. Turns out, I’m pretty smart when I actually apply myself. My GPA was awful, but my high score on the DAT and a few recommendation letters helped me get into dental school. By then I was living on my own, and Bradyn was off working for his dad’s company. When I saw them again a few years later, after I had earned my DDS, I didn’t really feel like telling them about it. I didn’t want to make it a whole big thing. I lied and told them I was doing odd jobs here and there, like construction. They believed it because that’s all they ever expected of me.”

I pulled Theo to a stop in front of the Metra station. “That’s awful! I can’t believe you haven’t told them after all this time.”

He flashed a wry smile. “It’s fine. They’re good people, they really are. They just only remember the old me. It’s actually kind of nice. My parents ride my ass about my career, always grilling me about how many patients I have, how much I earn, if I’m planning on expanding my practice now that my mentor has retired. But when I’m around the Cozarts? Their expectations of me are super low. They’re impressed when I show up wearing a button-down shirt. It’s relaxing. And when I nail my Best Man speech tomorrow, they’ll act like I won an Oscar.”

“Is your speech really that good?”

“You’d better believe it. I’ve been practicing in front of the mirror and everything.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.” I glanced at the Metra schedule board. “My train leaves in two minutes. I’d better go.”

“Lucky. I have to wait ten minutes for mine.” He looked both ways, then reached out and squeezed my hand. “It was good to see you tonight.”

“You mean it was good to get a blowjob from me tonight?”

“That too. But just seeing you was nice. I’m glad I didn’t have to wait two weeks.” He looked like he wanted to say more, and I leaned closer. I liked hearing him talk, especially when he was pouring his soul out to me. I didn’t want the night to end.

Then he glanced at the schedule again, and squeezed my hand. “Goodnight, Joanna.”

I hurried to my train, a big smile on my face.

*

The wedding ceremony was at five o’clock on Saturday. Since Landon was a groomsman, he needed to arrive early, but I didn’t have to be there until three. That meant I had all morning to relax.

I slept in, waking up when my body decided to rather than my alarm. I sipped my coffee while doing the Wordle. I got it in three guesses, a good omen for the day. The sun was shining, so I was thinking about relaxing at my apartment pool until noon. Then I’d grab a sandwich at the deli next door and start the routine of getting ready. After that I would crush my assignment at the wedding, get that job at DefTec, and sail off into the sunset of professional fulfillment.

Yeah. That sounded nice.

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