Page 2 of Fake Fiancée for Dad's Best Friend
He turns to look at me and scoots closer. Winding an arm around my shoulders, he says with a smile that could easily charm off a girl’s pants, “Come with me, Viv, we can share an apartment. You don’t have to pay me rent.”
I’ve never felt anything other than friendship toward Cody, but I’m so moved at the moment. “Thank you, Cody. That’s very generous of you. But I can’t accept that.”
“Why not?” he asks. “You can work for me in return. Cooking, cleaning, laundry.”
“You mean, be your maid?” I laugh.
“Or my girlfriend,” he pulls me to him.
I block him when his lips almost touch mine and stand up, giggling. “Stop it!” We’ve been through this, and I know he isn’t serious about me or any girls. “I’m going to bed.”
He pouts. “Okay, Viv. Give it a thought, all right? I want us to be together. We make great partners. You’re smart, and I’m rich. We’ll adjust to Paris easily and graduate smoothly.”
“I’ve already accepted Pierson’s offer,” I remind him.
“I know that. But you can still cancel it and go to AFAP.”
I have to come up with the tuition. I don’t say it out loud because I’m afraid he’ll offer to help me. Twenty thousand dollars is a small amount to Cody, but I don’t want to owe him anything.
“I’ll think about it,” I say. “Good night!”
“Night,” he says, standing up to hug me. “I’m going to meet with my mom tomorrow morning, so I might not see you before you leave. Keep in touch, Viv. I’ll miss you.”
“Same here.” I kiss him on the cheek before going to my bedroom.
I toss and turn in my bed and think about Cody’s offer. It could work, couldn’t it? I’ll be his maid in exchange for free room and board. I have two years’ French back in high school, so I can speak enough French to get a part-time job at a pub or a restaurant… But what about the tuition? I need to pay the first installment, five grand, before the semester starts, but I only have a hundred bucks in my bank.
I sigh. It won’t work. Even if I had the money for the tuition, I wouldn’t want to take advantage of Cody’s generosity. He’s a friend. A sweet pal. I could fall in love with him if he weren’t also a man whore and a spoiled kid. He’s too immature and pays too much attention to what he wears. True, we’re in the fashion business, but I still find it hard to stand when a man spends an hour in front of the mirror to get ready to go out. Ashley often jokes that Cody should become a model instead of a designer. How true.
Cody’s words ring in my ears again. “We made perfect partners. You’re smart, and I’m rich.”
He suggested once I should marry him and I’d take over the family business after his mom. I knew he was joking, and I asked what he would do then, and he said he would be my model. In short, he would take the easy work.
Honestly, I have imagined a life with Cody, although there isn’t anything more than friendship between us. It’d be ideal like he said, wouldn’t it? But it sounds too good to be true. Besides, it just won’t work between us. I want a man more mature and who builds his career instead of living off his mom.
When I wake, my head feels groggy. It’s already noon. Ashley and Cody are both gone. I get up, have a quick brunch, and start packing. I don’t have much but still end up with two large suitcases. Subway is out of the question. I need to call a cab.
Less than an hour later, the cab stops in front of a blue Victorian house in Midwood. I pay the fare and pull my luggage out of the trunk. Dragging my suitcases across the sidewalk, I drink in the sight of the house I lived in throughout my school years and smile. I can almost see my mom watering her plants in the yard, although she is no longer with us. So much has changed since I left the house for college. My parents got divorced, and my dad remarried.
I feel like an outsider whenever I come home in the past two years, and that’s why I prefer not to come home at all.
The house's front door opens before I knock on it, and my dad steps out to greet me.
He gives me a bear-hug. “How’s my little girl?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Dad! I’m twenty-two years old.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re always my little girl,” my dad says, chuckling. He gets hold of my suitcases and carries them into the living room. “You should’ve called me to pick you up.”
I thought about it but didn’t want to interrupt his precious family time on a Saturday. I imagined he would be playing with the baby and all that, but the house is quiet. The living room looks different from what I last saw it. My dad told me he was having a renovation a month ago. The old furniture, including the leather couch and the coffee table, remains the same, but area rugs covered the entire hardwood floor, obviously for safety. There’s a playing pen right in the middle with toys scattering inside. As much as I miss the spotless living room it used to be, I’m delighted by the lively new look.
“Where are Lisa and the baby?” I ask. I missed my baby brother. Although I envy my dad’s affection for him, I’m grateful for the smile the newborn brought to my dad’s face as well.
“Oh, they went to her parents’ house for a party.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
“I was going to, but Alex called about an hour ago and wanted to come over.”
