Fake Boyfriend

- Pagan -

Awkward. That’s what I felt like lately. Awkard, awkward, awkward. Ever since that morning I woke up in Jesse’s arms I’ve mastered the art of feeling awkward.

===

I stretched my body out and curled over to lay on my other side. There was a weight across my hip which was new, but I passed it off as my covers being too heavy. I snuggled deep into my bed, surprised when I laid my head down on a solid mass that felt like a body. I woke with a start, eyes flying open in mere milliseconds. I tilted my head slowly upwards to see Jesse sleeping. My head rose and fell with his breathing and I could hear his heartbeat. Slow and even. I nudged his arm off of my hip but he just pulled me in closer with his other arm. I could feel the heat from his body. As much as I wanted to let myself stay in the moment, I had to get up.

“Jesse,” I whispered and then said again when he didn’t wake.

“Hmm,” he said, his voice reverberating in his chest. I looked up at him again and his eyes started to flicker open.

“You awake?” I said. He let my body loose and sat up. He had this dazed look on his face, like he didn’t remember where he was exactly.

“What time is it?” He asked. I glanced over at the clock on my nightstand.

“It’s nearing 10. Do you want some breakfast?” I asked, trying to break the tension between us.

“I think I’m going to go home,” he said. I walked with him to the front door and we gave each other an clumsy hug. We stuttered out our goodbyes and he left, leaving me feeling confused at the front door.

===

Life went on as normal. We still ripped on each other every chance we got but Morgan seemed tired of our antics. I told her most of what happened that night, excluding the near miss of a kiss we had in the fountain and sleeping in the same bed. My bet was that she was tired of us not being together.

As the next few months passed and Morgan’s wedding date approached, I was starting to agree with her.

“Pagan Gallan if you don’t start paying attention I will seriously think of kicking you out of the wedding,” Morgan said as we stood in the lobby of the church where she was getting married the next day.

She was right, I was barely paying attention to anything she had been saying. I mumbled my apologies and let her go back to having a nervous breakdown.

“Okay so my sister Maddie will be walking with Craig’s brother Stephen. Danica you will be walking with Braxton, you can thank me later. Pagan, you’ll be walking with Jesse. So line up and let’s get this rehearsal on the road,” she said. Craig stood in line first, then Maddie and Stephen, Danica and Braxton, Jesse and me, the flower girl and ring bearer, and bringing up the rear was Morgan and her father.

“You sure you’re not going to kill yourself wearing those heels?” Jesse whispered into my ear as we walked down the aisle towards the alter.

“Silence!” Morgan yelled from the back of the church.

“As long as you don’t trip and fall Lacey, I’ll be fine. So don’t mess it up,” I said.

We separated at the alter and Morgan walked in. Even without her wedding dress on she was the epitome of a blushing bridezilla. The rehearsal seemed to take forever and a day. My feet were killing me but I knew that tomorrow I would be in heels again. I had to tough it out. We ran through it again and by the time we were ready to leave for dinner, my feet ached with fire.

“You okay?” Jesse said as I was walking gingerly towards the pews.

“These heels are killing me. And I still have to wear some more tomorrow,” I said. I sat down the pew and started rubbing my feet. Everyone had seemed to leave already, leaving Jesse and I alone in the church.

“Can you walk or do I need to get you a wheelchair?” I shot him an icy glare.

“I think I can manage,” I said. As I took each step, a slight whimper slipped through my lips.

“That’s it Pagan. Get on my back,” he said, crouching over slightly.

“You sure?”

“I think I can hold your weight Pagan. Just take off those shoes and get on my back. If this will get you to stop whimpering, I’ll take one for the team,” he said.

I slid off my shoes and climbed onto his back. I had somehow managed to maneuver my dress so it didn’t so anything that didn’t need to be seen especially in a church. He drove to the restaurant, following directions Morgan had given him. We didn’t know which restaurant she had picked but we quickly found out when we pulled onto the curb. We stood outside the place, staring at it. It was the same place where I was supposed to have my date with the guy who stood me up. It’s only a few blocks from where the fountain was. My stomach was a bundle of nerves now. Jesse held the door open and we stepped inside. The familiar smells hit me and sent my mind racing. Morgan waved us over and we joined them at the table.

“Jesse said he liked this place when you two ate here that one night so I thought it’d be the perfect place for the rehearsal dinner,” she said.

“Oh you two went on a date!” Morgan’s mother Beth chimed in. I figured she would throw her two cents in.

“No it wasn’t a date. Well, it was for me. I was stood up and Jesse just happened to be here. So we ate together,” I said. Her face fell.

“Oh it’s too bad that guy stood you up. At least Jesse was here to save you,” she said.

“I was doing fine without him. I was just about to leave, go home, and dive into a pint of ice cream when he showed up,” I said.

“Oh come on, you know I’m your Clark Kent,” Jesse said.

“I’m not Lois Lane. This girl is not a damsel in distress. I’m more like a girl who gets put into awkward situations,” I said. This made the whole table laugh. My nerves were starting to ease but there was still this lingering sensation that I was missing out on something.

Danica and I slept over at Morgan’s while the guys were sleeping over at Braxton’s. I had suggested we go on a boxer raid but Morgan’s deep breathing indicated that she was fast asleep.