"No, I did."
Looking away from Knox I found a girl no older than 18 standing next to the table. She was severely pretty and it only took a glance at her eyes to find the resemblance. She was clearly Knox's sister with the similar face structure and bright green eyes, but while he had brown hair hers was blonde.
Does their entire family have good genes? Was my first thought.
"Olivia?" Knox questioned, turning to his sister. I watched as she took a deep breath and straightened her spine as if she was getting ready for something.
"I replied to the ad." She looked directly at her brother as she spoke before she glanced over at me.
"What was the ad for?" Each word was clipped as they felt Knox's mouth. I could tell he was trying to reign in his anger.
"To be her fake boyfriend for christmas." With each word Olivia's voice got softer and higher pitched. As soon as the words left her mouth Knox glanced back over at me. I couldn't help but blush under his intense glare.
"That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard." He ground out. I knew it wasn't the best idea but the way he said it made it sound like I was I was some idiot who didn't know my right from my left. I opened my mouth to snap back at him but he was already turning back to his sister.
The hard look he sent her was enough to make me want to cower, I couldn't imagine what it was like if it was directed at me. The look he had was one of authority and dominance. As Knox started whispering to his sister I looked over my shoulder towards Leah and Oliver. The two of them stared at me in confusion. Leah gesturing towards Knox and his sister. I just shrugged not even sure what was going on. By time I turned back around Olivia was sitting down glaring at her brother.
"This seems to be a misunderstandin
"You know you could have politely declined instead of being rude about it." I crossed my arms across my chest.
He continued on staring at me as if doing so could get rid of me. This wasn't going to work but with this guys attitude I wasn't sure I wanted him as my fake boyfriend anyways. Turning away from his glare I met the eyes of his sister. She sent me a small that held an apology in it. I sent her one back before pivoting on my heel and walking away from them.Moving away from their table I felt my irritation grow. How rude was that!? He could have said no more politely instead of being an ass, and making me feel like an idiot.
The moment my butt hit the seat Leah was firing questions at me."What was that about?"
"God he was such a jerk!" I instantly ranted. "Apparently his younger sister replied to the ad and he didn't know about it. So when I went up to him he was confused but then he turned into the biggest jerk." I looked over my shoulder at Knox, glaring but he wasn't even facing me anymore.
"You don't want a guy like that Aub." Leah reached across the table and softly patted my arm. I agreed with her but I couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by the way he spoke to me. Like I was a bug on his shoe he couldn't scrape off."Whatever." I muttered, grabbing my coffee."Do you have any more guys interested?" Oliver asked.
"No." Knox Mikelson was the last option. There wasn't enough time to find someone and get to know them a bit before leaving in four days.It seems like I'll be going home for Christmas alone like every other year. On the plus side I wasn't out anything but time at this point. Sighing as disappointment washed over me I stood up.
"Where are you going?" They both looked up at me in confusion.
"I have a proposal I need to work on. I'll catch you guys later." Before they could respond I grabbed my coat and bag, and headed for the door.
I knew they both didn't know why this whole fake boyfriend thing was a big deal. They had no idea how important it actually was to me.
Not wanting to think more about it, I stuck my hands into my coat pockets and walked the three blocks to my apartment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Knox"I can't believe you did that Olivia." I said through clenched teeth as soon as we got home.
"I had to!" Olivia turned around and glared at me. She looked so grown up at that moment. It threw me for a second seeing my little sister so grown up. It went away quickly as my anger came back.
"You replied to an ad behind my back! The person could have been a creep."
"She isn't a creep."
"Someone asking for a fake boyfriend over the holidays screams creep Liv. You don't know how people are."
"Knox I looked her up okay! I found her on all her social media accounts, I found out where she works too. She isn't some weirdo." Olivia rolled her eyes at me."Someone who puts an ad like that in the newspaper is a weirdo. How did you even get my computer?" I questioned, following her into the kitchen
"It was open on the counter when you got home from the store." Olivia's voice going soft. I pinched the bridge of my nose as she spoke, trying to stop the headache that was already forming."Why did you do it?" I've wanted to know since the moment the attractive woman walked up to the table earlier.
"I..." She trailed off. Opening my eyes I found Liv standing there arms wrapped around her middle, a sad expression on her face."You can tell me Livvy." My anger instantly vanished and I moved around the counter to stand closer to her.
"I just thought we could maybe go somewhere else for Christmas instead." Knowing exactly what she was meaning I moved and pulled her small frame into a hug. Seconds later she was sobbing into my chest, clinging onto my shirt.It had been a hard year. A very hard year actually, and I could see Liv not wanting to be here for Christmas. But to go with some stranger to their home for Christmas?
"I don't want to be here without them." Olivia sobbed as I barely made out her words. I held on tighter to her as I swallowed thickly. Knowing how hard this past year had been on her I found myself saying,"I'll...think about it. Okay?" Liv just nodded into my chest as a reply.Inwardly I sighed. There was so much to think about but with Christmas only a week away I didn't have much time to think it through much. But if I was going to agree to this I needed to find out more about this Aubrey lady and exactly why she wanted a fake boyfriend for christmas.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
AubreyIt was once again 8 o'clock at night and I was watching Love Actually while eating a tub of cookie dough. I had eaten all the ice cream last night so onto the cookie dough! I was wallowing once more about my stupid boyfriend plan as well as some other things. The cookie dough was helping but the cute holiday movie was not.I was still kind of pissed at the way the guy from earlier acted towards me. All day his face kept popping into my head, reminding me of how attractive he was but how horrible his attitude was. I had to keep reminding myself that even though he was hot he had a shit personality. Saying that only worked the first few times.I was in the middle of sending Leah a text when my phone buzzed with a new email notification. For a split second I hoped it was another guy interested but then I remembered my boss was suppose to send me some files about a new website.Finishing off my text I opened my emails only to pause. Right at the very t
The next morning I went to met Knox by myself. I didn't want to tell Leah in case it didn't work out. Plus I wasn't so sure how happy she'd be if I woke her up early again today for this. Sunday's were her sleeping in days. I've learned years ago to never bother Leah when she's sleeping.So despite the freezing temperatures outside I trekked from my apartment to The Busy Bean yet again. I was a regular here since it was so close to my place but this past week I've been here way too much. I think the waitress's were starting to wonder what I was really doing there; especially with different guys each time.Having gotten no sleep last night I was in desperate need of some coffee. For some reason I couldn't get my mind to shut off. I thought about work and the huge promotion which just stressed me out. Then I thought about today and Knox which made my stress levels go even higher. It was literally just one thing after another last night.Walking through the door of t
Because Knox apparently had to get back to work, we had to exchange numbers so we could meet again before we leave. I had hoped we would spend the entire day getting to know each other so this whole thing could be believable.When I got home from the cafe I was still reeling that he said yes. Knox was the exact opposite of someone who I thought would agree to this. He was actually the last person I thought I'd 'date'. He had this hard exterior and this impenetrable wall around him.Knox with his gruffness and intense personality was definitely someone I'm not usually into. I mostly found myself going towards the jock type of guy. Which of course never ended well. While Knox kind of had that golden boy look about him with the blonde hair and green eyes, he was definitely the 'bad boy'. Which just equaled troubled.I knew I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean this whole situation was unusual and any normal person would act the same way. So as I sat on
The next three days flew by. Between two sudden work projects, I hadn't had much time to talk to Knox. We've been texting back and forth a bit but the two of us have been too busy to really talk about the upcoming trip to my home town. We leave tomorrow and there was still so much to do."Excited to go home tomorrow?" Leah asked, laying on my bed with her feet up against my headboard. She was suppose to be helping me pack but ever since she got here an hour ago she hasn't moved."Yeah and no.""Do you and Knox have your story down?" Despite the fact that she couldn't see me I shrugged. Moving from my closet to the suitcase on my bed I answered."Yeah somewhat. We haven't really had time to get all the details down but enough to hopefully pass the whole thing off.""Think your mom will see through it?" Leah questioned."I hope not. But its only for a few days. And with Knox's sister Olivia coming it should take some of the pressure off."
The next day I was a mess. It was at 11:30 and I was running around my house like a fish with its head cut off. I was adding last minute things to my suitcase, while finishing up a few things for work, and stressing about meeting my family in a few hours.I was fine until Leah left last night. One second I was calm about this whole thing and the next I was stressing that this whole plan wasn't going to work. Afraid my family wouldn't believe Knox and I were dating and then disappointing my mom once again. And then on top of that getting this promotion.It was like suddenly everything was falling down onto my shoulders and the weight was getting too heavy to hold. Now here I was, Knox almost here and freaking the fuck out."Its okay Aubrey you can do this. Everything will work out. It has to." I told myself as I stuffed the last of my toiletries in my bag. My little pep talk did little to calm me down."This entire plan is stupid and here I am finally real
After thirty minutes of complete silence I broke. I couldn't take it anymore. Turning a bit in my seat I looked over at Knox. He looked so in control sitting there, one hand gripping the steering wheel while the other was casually draped on the arm rest. He didn't seem at all concerned about the snow alongside the road. If I was driving I would have been white-knucklingit the entire time."Tell me some things about you." I suddenly spoke."Like what?" His voice was gruff."Did you grow up in Burlington?" Lets start off simple."I did.""Woah, easy there on the information." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes."What do you want from me?" Knox snapped, finally turning his head to look at me. I froze at those cold green eyes staring at me. Somehow he managed to glare at me and still keep an eye on the road.I wasn't going to let him get to me though. No I am going to take the high road."I want to get to know you. We are
AubreySending my mom a quick text telling her we were 20 minutes away, I started to ready myself for this week. Seeing my family after 10 months was going to be....odd. I've always come home to visit every few months but this past year I haven't. With work being so busy, and after...everything else I couldn't bring myself to do so. Only sticking to calling my mom every few weeks, and exchanging texts between my brothers.I had horrible daughter down pat."Just a fair warning..." I glanced over at Knox then at Olivia who just woke up. "My mom can be a bit too friendly. So if she asks something you don't want to answer, then you don't have to." No doubt my mom would try and learn every little detail about Knox."And if you guys are at all uncomfortable and don't want to stay, you are free to leave. You don't have to stay if you don't want. I will give you the two grand no matter what." I didn't want Knox or Olivia thinking they had to stay if they w
By time I came out of the bathroom Knox was gone. Olivia's suitcase was gone which meant he already put it in her room. I sat on the edge of my bed, tugging at the sleeves of my sweater. I've only been home a total of 20 minutes and yet it felt weird being here. Almost like years and years have passed when its really only been 10 months.Not wanting to let Knox or Olivia to get stuck with my mom, I made myself get up and head downstairs. Walking down the stairs I found myself smiling softly at the pictures once more. I paused at one of us as a family. It was about two years old and it was taken on Christmas. All 5 of us dressed in matching PJ's, grinning like idiots with wrapping paper scattered all around us.I quickly looked away and walked the rest of the way down the stairs. My stomach growled loudly as I followed the smell of food in the kitchen. The smell of cinnamon bread made my mouth water. I fully planned on pigging out this next week on my mom's food.