Page 19 of What the Doctor Ordered
Kiley
“Shut the hell up!”
I resisted the urge to place my hands over my ears as Lily’s voice threatened to pierce right through my eardrums and smirked at my best friend. I had just told her everything that had occurred a few days earlier with Kramer and then with Simon.
“Man,” Lily said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you ended up meeting two hot doctors in the same night and then went home with one of them! You’re wilder than I gave you credit for.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the couch cushions, growing exhausted as I was reminded of the insane events that transpired. “Too bad the first one turned out to be a cheating jerk,” I grumbled.
“But the second one didn’t!” Lily sang, giving me a mischievous look.
I laughed and shook my head at her. “I literally just met him, Lily,” I pointed out. “He could be a cheating jerk too, for all I know. It doesn’t matter anyway though since, as I’ve already told you, this is a business arrangement.”
Lily tilted her head and pursed her lips thoughtfully. Then she smirked at me. “Right,” she said, making little air quotes above her head with her fingers. “Just a casual business arrangement. Okay, I get it.”
“Lily, I’m serious!” I protested. “He needs someone to pretend to be his fiancée, and I could really use the money. We’re just helping each other out. I couldn’t even call us friends with how businesslike this is going to be!”
Lily, who had been painting her nails while I told her about Simon and Kramer, examined the finger she had completed before blinking at me. I could only describe her expression as skeptical. “But the two of you slept together,” she pointed out, pointing her newly manicured finger at me.
I blinked at the digit that was pointed at me. “Yeah,” I said slowly. “So?”
Lily’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean ‘so’?” she demanded. She threw her hands up in the air roughly, causing her swirly blonde ponytail to bounce. “Having sex with a guy you just met is like naming a stray animal. As soon as you do, you’re locked in. There’s no escape!”
I just stared at her. “What kind of bullshit is that?” I asked in dismay. “There are plenty of people who have sex with someone and then don’t end up staying with them.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Lily said impatiently. “Think about it, Kiley. You literally saw this guy naked and he saw you naked.That’s like the definition of vulnerability. You had everything on display. This guy is connected to you now, even if you don’t end up in a relationship with him. But to be fair, you are his fiancée now.”
“Fake fiancée,” I corrected immediately. If nothing else, she was going to get that straight. “I don’t even really have to do anything except go with him to boring social functions. That’s how casual it is. In fact, that’s what I’m doing tonight. Simon’s probably on his way to pick me up right now.”
Lily frowned at me. “But if you don’t want this to be casual, if you want more, you do have the power to do something about it.”
“I want this to be casual,” I told her firmly. “Going on that date with Kramer made me realize that I really shouldn’t be dating right now. I need to focus on school so that I can graduate on time and not accumulate even more debt.”
“She says as she leaves to go on a date with the guy,” Lily muttered.
My phone chose that moment to vibrate, signaling an incoming text. I glanced down at it and read the message from Simon telling me that he had just parked out front.
“Want me to come to your apartment to get you?” Such a gentleman.
I had purposefully left out the number of the apartment so that he wouldn’t show up at the door. I winced as I imagined the look on Lily’s face if she had Simon in front of her.
“No, thank you,” I typed quickly. “I’ll be right down.”
I knew I had made the right decision when I looked up and Lily was giving me a knowing look.
“That your fiancée?” she asked mischievously.
There was no point correcting her at this point. I just nodded. “Yeah, he just got here. Gonna go down and meet him. I’ll probably be late tonight.” I stood up and checked my reflection in the mirror, making sure my hair wasn’t mussed from me lying on the couch.
“You go, girl,” Lily said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling. “We’re literally just going to a business dinner. I’m obligated to attend as part of our agreement.”
Lily’s eyes grew serious all of a sudden. “Maybe you should try to take some time off of work,” she suggested. “We have midterms coming up soon, you know.”
I flinched. That did sound nice but until I got that tuition money from Simon, I couldn’t just stop working. I had bills to pay. “I can’t really afford to right now,” I said regretfully. Then I turned, waved at her, and grabbed my keys. “See you later, Lily!”
Lily just shrugged and beamed at me. “Have fun!” she sang as I opened our apartment door.
