My Pretend Fiancé

Lenina was told not to work again until the following Tuesday. However, Leonard was worried about her reaction two nights ago, and decided to console her. It definitely did not take much to make her smile or laugh; she was like a child stuck in an 18 year-old body, but a part of Leonard honestly liked the aura of childishness surrounding him when Lenina was close. It was so easy to let loose around her, fearing no judgment from a little girl.

Making his way up to her floor, he smiled briefly to himself, already imagining the unpredictable day ahead of them. Most of all, he thought before knocking on her door, he was glad that his tenant would be a part of it. Hearing no usual, immediate joyful response, Leonard cleared his throat and called out her name with another knock. He waited a few moments, and then finally took out his key to unlock her door. “I’m coming in!”

Scrutinizing every room of her apartment, Leonard grew nervous when he found them empty. “Lenny!” Glancing at his wristwatch, he ran back downstairs and checked another clock on his kitchen wall; 11:43 a.m. Lenina was usually awake by this hour, but as he ironically predicted, nothing would be predictable with Lenina. Wasting no more time indoors, he rushed outside, grabbing another shirt, which was limply set down on a chair as he went. The adrenalin coursed through his body momentarily, but he was uncertain about what he could do with it. He left the front door open and hysterically stood in front of his home, his head glancing from left to right, right to left and once more before dashing off to his left.

“Oh, I wonder where he’s going?” Lenina asked curiously as her cab parked right in front of the house. The driver tilted his head a bit as Leonard’s back disappeared around the corner.

“Who’s he?” he asked and watched Lenina through the front view mirror.

“Oh, he’s my landlord,” she answered politely as she got out of the car. The driver got out, too, to help her with the grocery bags.

“He seems worried,” he commented as he pulled three bags from the backseat and only had her carry a small one with no more than a dishwashing detergent within it. She led him to the front door and asked him if he could carry them all the way to the second floor. He smiled and said that he’d be much obliged to, and closed the door behind him.

--

“Lenina!” Five minutes of searching for her on that same block seemed useless on so many levels. First of all, she was not a dog that would suddenly come running to him if its name was beckoned, but she did not seem like the type to run away from home, either. After all, he thought as he unlocked the door, this is her new—

Leonard’s eyes widened with surprise as his hand held the knob still. I left this door open… Rushing inside, he started to call her name again, but this time in a more demanding tone as he instinctively ran to the second floor. A few seconds before her door would have faced oblivion against his force, Lenina opened it as she was showing a guest out. Leonard gave a look of confusion but quickly recovered his composure. “Who is he,” he asked sternly at her, giving the man before him a belittling glance.

“This is Danny, he brought me home,” Lenina answered gleefully.

“Well, it seems you’ve made a…friend, then.” Looking Danny over once more, he then reached for Lenina and she took his hand, allowing him to encircle her in his arms. “Where were you all this time, sweetheart?” He tried to ask her discreetly in front of the driver, but what Leonard wanted most for him to hear was his endearment towards her.

“Um, I went shopping so I could cook for you and stuff,” she answered and was stunned when she received a kiss on her cheek from him.

“My, how sweet of you,” he said, exaggerating a bit. “Now, why don’t you show this man out and we can have a talk, alright?” She nodded dutifully, and smiled at Danny, but before he followed her once again, he made sure that he caught one last look at the man he would later on call his competition. Leonard only smirked at his opponent.

Leonard did well in keeping his emotions at bay, but what frustrated him more was that he could barely stop himself from snatching Lenina away from a stranger who would surely never appear in their lives ever again. His defensive actions spoke louder than words and he couldn’t help but feel like a fool. Leonard Kingsley was never one to hold on to women. On the contrary, it was always the other way around. A part of him even feared that Lenina might possess something other women never did. And that was dangerous. He had a whole life ahead of him, and it involved no woman in its schedules.

When Lenina came back, she found Leonard sitting on the stairs waiting patiently for her. “I do not want you to invite anyone into this house ever again without my permission, do you hear me?”

She did not know why he suddenly acted this way, but she knew it made her want to cry, but all she could do was nod. He then walked past her and shut his bedroom door downstairs.