My Girl
I.
Lena glanced over her shoulder for the second time to get a better look at the brooding figure in the corner. She adjusted in her seat to make it a little less obvious that she was staring. The guy was around her age, twenty-two or twenty-three, and had curly blonde hair gathered up into a bun atop his head. It wasn’t his fair hair, his sun kissed skin, or his narrow hazel eyes that caught her attention, though; it was the cuts and bruises on his knuckles that were so brilliantly red, she could see them from her seat twenty feet away. There was a matching scratch on his thin bottom lip and a bluish bruise on his cheek. Considering his clothes, although ratty and all black, were clean, it was hard to tell how old the wounds were.
He was perfect, Lena thought as her dark brown eyes roamed down the stranger’s slim denim-clad legs to his scuffed high top sneakers. If he didn’t turn out to be a rough and tumble hooligan, he still certainly looked like bad news and that was exactly what she needed to put her father, Leonard Upton, in his place. Lena had always been a dutiful daughter, obedient and quiet. Even during her college years, she didn’t party, experiment with drugs, or sleep around. In fact, she had never even been kissed until her father tried to set her up with Tyson Hollis Jr. They had gone to high school together and Lena hardly remembered him as anything more than the guy who helped win all those basketball games. Unfortunately, Ty had years of people stroking his ego so by the time Lena’s father and Mr. Tyson Hollis Sr. thought they’d be a good match, Tyson Jr. had turned into a grade A douchebag.
“He’s bound for greatness,” Leonard would say to his daughter. “He compliments you.”
Lena knew the match was only a small aspect of an intricate business deal her father and Tyson Sr. were trying to close. She wanted no part of it but as resolute as she was about not seeing Ty, her father was equally adamant that she would grow to like him.
Not likely.
So, as crazy as it sounded, Lena needed a beard, and not just any beard. She needed one that would make her father (and Ty) go crazy, one that would finally get everyone to realize that Lena was, indeed, her own person with her own desires and aspirations.
Lena was so lost in thought about her grand scheme that she almost missed the guy getting up to leave. She gathered her belongings into her leather tote bag to hurriedly follow him out the door of the coffee shop. The Mary Jane heels she wore slowed her run to a frenzied shuffle.
“Hey! Excuse me!”
The guy slowed to glance back at her.
“Yes, you.” She caught up to him and smiled. “Hi, I’m Lena.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Do I know you?”
“No, but if you get to know me, you won’t be sorry.” A sly grin spread across the stranger’s pink lips and she realized what her statement may have implied. She held up her hands. “Wait, sorry, that came out wrong,” she said, but his hazel eyes were already giving her a once over. Lena was a petite young lady with the sort of shapely body that came with years of dedication to daily Zumba classes. Suddenly, her plaid skirt felt much shorter than it did before and her shapely legs felt especially naked. She closed her cardigan over her low-cut camisole in an effort to cover her cleavage but it made no difference.
“My name’s Austin and I’m willing to hear whatever proposition you have.”
Lena sighed but smiled despite herself. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here, Austin. I didn’t mean… what you thought I meant. I meant to propose something else, something not… unwholesome? Can I just start over?”
Austin was smiling with amusement- a stark difference from the gloomy expression he wore a few minutes ago inside the coffee shop. “I’m all ears, Lena.”
“Well, first, I couldn’t help but notice that it looks like you’ve been in a fight recently…”
Austin ran his tongue over his bottom lip where the cut was. “Yeah, but you should see the other guy.”
Lena let out a chuckle. “I don’t want you to beat anyone up but I would like to take you home to my father where you’d pretend to be my boyfriend so I can get out of dating this wretched prick.”
The pair stood silently looking at each other for a minute and Lena realized how much shorter than Austin she was.
“Let me get this straight… daddy’s little girl is being forced to date someone she doesn’t like and so she needs someone presumably from the wrong side of the tracks to ruffle up enough feathers so that she’ll be left alone to make her own decisions about her life?”
She nodded slowly. “In a nutshell, yes.”
“You do realize that I’m a complete stranger, right? Don’t you have any friends who can help you?”
Lena had one friend, Mira, who had taken pity on her freshman year of undergrad and brought her into the fold. Sure, she’d made a lot of acquaintances over the course of those four years thanks to the plucky and outgoing Mira, but she never considered any of them to be her friends. Also, Mira was in Europe studying art and enjoying adventure so Lena was on her own. “None that would be willing to help,” she said.
Austin sighed. “This is crazy.”
“I know and if I wasn’t desperate, I wouldn’t go to such lengths.”
“What’s in it for me?”
Lena cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean in it for you?”
“I’m no philanthropist, lady. If you think I’m going to do this out of the goodness of my heart, you’ve got the wrong guy.”
Lena shrugged, letting her hand fall from her sweater. “What, you want me to pay you?”
“There’s a start…”
She fought hard not to roll her eyes. She didn’t know how often she would need Austin to make an appearance but a single flat rate should be enough to satisfy him. “How about I give you forty bucks every time I need you to show up somewhere?”
Austin smirked and turned on his heel to walk away. Lena shuffled after him. “Ok, ok, ok, wait. I can do seventy-five. Please. I really need this.”
The blonde turned back around and stuck his hand out. “Flat rate of seventy-five bucks.”
Lena shook his hand and found it to be rough but warm. “If you’re not busy right now, we can start right away.”
“Damn, girl,” he said with a laugh. “This guy can’t be that bad.”
“Trust me, he is,” Lena said as she pulled out her phone. “And I really think your cuts and bruises are a stunning touch. I can’t miss out on those. Who’d you get into a fight with anyway?”
“Listen, I’m fine with pretending to be your boyfriend in front of Daddy Warbucks but I don’t think it’s necessary to actually get personal.”
“Fine. I’ll just make something up.” She raised her arm with her phone’s front-facing camera aimed at them. “Your hobbies include wrestling bears, long midnight walks through cemeteries, and getting tattoos.”
Just as Austin smiled, Lena snapped a selfie.
“That was so cute,” she cooed when she saw the picture.
Austin looked over her shoulder. “It’s alright, I guess.”
Lena rummaged through her bag as she spoke. “So, I don’t exactly need you to be anywhere today but I would like to write out a list of my likes and dislikes for you to look at for preparation. Feel free to do the same for me.” She brought out a notebook and two pens.
Austin groaned and she could tell he was beginning to regret signing on for this so Lena went back into her purse and pulled out her wallet. Luckily, she had two fifty dollar bills folded inside and she waved them in front of Austin’s lightly freckled face. He took the money from her, not bothering to give her change.
“Let’s limit the list to ten things, please?” he asked as he tucked the money into his pocket.
“Sure.”
They met at the coffee shop over the next few days to study and quiz each other on the likes and dislikes of the other. It was all a ruse and she was paying him for his time but Lena found herself enjoying Austin’s company. For all his wit and sarcasm, he didn’t smile often so she would well with pride whenever she managed to make him laugh. Despite his outward appearance- the unruly hair, the sleeve of tattoos she saw on their second meeting, and affinity for riding his dangerous motorcycle- there was something about the way they vibed together that got Lena excited to spend time with him. Maybe, by the time he met her father, they would have a genuine friendship. It was an optimistic thought but she kept it tucked away in the back of her mind.
He was perfect, Lena thought as her dark brown eyes roamed down the stranger’s slim denim-clad legs to his scuffed high top sneakers. If he didn’t turn out to be a rough and tumble hooligan, he still certainly looked like bad news and that was exactly what she needed to put her father, Leonard Upton, in his place. Lena had always been a dutiful daughter, obedient and quiet. Even during her college years, she didn’t party, experiment with drugs, or sleep around. In fact, she had never even been kissed until her father tried to set her up with Tyson Hollis Jr. They had gone to high school together and Lena hardly remembered him as anything more than the guy who helped win all those basketball games. Unfortunately, Ty had years of people stroking his ego so by the time Lena’s father and Mr. Tyson Hollis Sr. thought they’d be a good match, Tyson Jr. had turned into a grade A douchebag.
“He’s bound for greatness,” Leonard would say to his daughter. “He compliments you.”
Lena knew the match was only a small aspect of an intricate business deal her father and Tyson Sr. were trying to close. She wanted no part of it but as resolute as she was about not seeing Ty, her father was equally adamant that she would grow to like him.
Not likely.
So, as crazy as it sounded, Lena needed a beard, and not just any beard. She needed one that would make her father (and Ty) go crazy, one that would finally get everyone to realize that Lena was, indeed, her own person with her own desires and aspirations.
Lena was so lost in thought about her grand scheme that she almost missed the guy getting up to leave. She gathered her belongings into her leather tote bag to hurriedly follow him out the door of the coffee shop. The Mary Jane heels she wore slowed her run to a frenzied shuffle.
“Hey! Excuse me!”
The guy slowed to glance back at her.
“Yes, you.” She caught up to him and smiled. “Hi, I’m Lena.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Do I know you?”
“No, but if you get to know me, you won’t be sorry.” A sly grin spread across the stranger’s pink lips and she realized what her statement may have implied. She held up her hands. “Wait, sorry, that came out wrong,” she said, but his hazel eyes were already giving her a once over. Lena was a petite young lady with the sort of shapely body that came with years of dedication to daily Zumba classes. Suddenly, her plaid skirt felt much shorter than it did before and her shapely legs felt especially naked. She closed her cardigan over her low-cut camisole in an effort to cover her cleavage but it made no difference.
“My name’s Austin and I’m willing to hear whatever proposition you have.”
Lena sighed but smiled despite herself. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here, Austin. I didn’t mean… what you thought I meant. I meant to propose something else, something not… unwholesome? Can I just start over?”
Austin was smiling with amusement- a stark difference from the gloomy expression he wore a few minutes ago inside the coffee shop. “I’m all ears, Lena.”
“Well, first, I couldn’t help but notice that it looks like you’ve been in a fight recently…”
Austin ran his tongue over his bottom lip where the cut was. “Yeah, but you should see the other guy.”
Lena let out a chuckle. “I don’t want you to beat anyone up but I would like to take you home to my father where you’d pretend to be my boyfriend so I can get out of dating this wretched prick.”
The pair stood silently looking at each other for a minute and Lena realized how much shorter than Austin she was.
“Let me get this straight… daddy’s little girl is being forced to date someone she doesn’t like and so she needs someone presumably from the wrong side of the tracks to ruffle up enough feathers so that she’ll be left alone to make her own decisions about her life?”
She nodded slowly. “In a nutshell, yes.”
“You do realize that I’m a complete stranger, right? Don’t you have any friends who can help you?”
Lena had one friend, Mira, who had taken pity on her freshman year of undergrad and brought her into the fold. Sure, she’d made a lot of acquaintances over the course of those four years thanks to the plucky and outgoing Mira, but she never considered any of them to be her friends. Also, Mira was in Europe studying art and enjoying adventure so Lena was on her own. “None that would be willing to help,” she said.
Austin sighed. “This is crazy.”
“I know and if I wasn’t desperate, I wouldn’t go to such lengths.”
“What’s in it for me?”
Lena cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean in it for you?”
“I’m no philanthropist, lady. If you think I’m going to do this out of the goodness of my heart, you’ve got the wrong guy.”
Lena shrugged, letting her hand fall from her sweater. “What, you want me to pay you?”
“There’s a start…”
She fought hard not to roll her eyes. She didn’t know how often she would need Austin to make an appearance but a single flat rate should be enough to satisfy him. “How about I give you forty bucks every time I need you to show up somewhere?”
Austin smirked and turned on his heel to walk away. Lena shuffled after him. “Ok, ok, ok, wait. I can do seventy-five. Please. I really need this.”
The blonde turned back around and stuck his hand out. “Flat rate of seventy-five bucks.”
Lena shook his hand and found it to be rough but warm. “If you’re not busy right now, we can start right away.”
“Damn, girl,” he said with a laugh. “This guy can’t be that bad.”
“Trust me, he is,” Lena said as she pulled out her phone. “And I really think your cuts and bruises are a stunning touch. I can’t miss out on those. Who’d you get into a fight with anyway?”
“Listen, I’m fine with pretending to be your boyfriend in front of Daddy Warbucks but I don’t think it’s necessary to actually get personal.”
“Fine. I’ll just make something up.” She raised her arm with her phone’s front-facing camera aimed at them. “Your hobbies include wrestling bears, long midnight walks through cemeteries, and getting tattoos.”
Just as Austin smiled, Lena snapped a selfie.
“That was so cute,” she cooed when she saw the picture.
Austin looked over her shoulder. “It’s alright, I guess.”
Lena rummaged through her bag as she spoke. “So, I don’t exactly need you to be anywhere today but I would like to write out a list of my likes and dislikes for you to look at for preparation. Feel free to do the same for me.” She brought out a notebook and two pens.
Austin groaned and she could tell he was beginning to regret signing on for this so Lena went back into her purse and pulled out her wallet. Luckily, she had two fifty dollar bills folded inside and she waved them in front of Austin’s lightly freckled face. He took the money from her, not bothering to give her change.
“Let’s limit the list to ten things, please?” he asked as he tucked the money into his pocket.
“Sure.”
They met at the coffee shop over the next few days to study and quiz each other on the likes and dislikes of the other. It was all a ruse and she was paying him for his time but Lena found herself enjoying Austin’s company. For all his wit and sarcasm, he didn’t smile often so she would well with pride whenever she managed to make him laugh. Despite his outward appearance- the unruly hair, the sleeve of tattoos she saw on their second meeting, and affinity for riding his dangerous motorcycle- there was something about the way they vibed together that got Lena excited to spend time with him. Maybe, by the time he met her father, they would have a genuine friendship. It was an optimistic thought but she kept it tucked away in the back of her mind.