Mr. Twang: A Fake Relationship Romance

“It’s a little late for that.” Her tone was so fierce she practically growled like an angry lioness. “I really did try to like you, even after you offered to fuck me for real the night we first started this. I even tried to get over the fact you’re nothing but a fraud in a Stetson hat that Sawyer created to sell records. Perhaps if you were more like the man you pretend to be, you wouldn’t need a fake girlfriend.”

“I deserve that.” I nodded and stopped talking when our waitress brought our food.

“You deserve that and a whole lot more.” She actually managed to say her words through clenched teeth, while keeping a smile on her face.

“Let’s get through this interview and then we can spend some time apart. We’re supposed to be busy putting the finishing touches on our albums, and the interview will keep the rabid fans satiated for a while.” I reached for my cheeseburger and took a bite of it.

“Yeah, until I have the worst birthday in history because I’m spending it with you.” She stabbed her fork into the corner of her salad and shoved some lettuce in her mouth.

“It would look weird if you spent your birthday alone when we’re supposed to be so hot and heavy.” I sighed and shrugged. “But it should be the last one you have to spend with me.”

“Thank god for that.” She nodded quickly.

There was no getting around her upcoming birthday party. Sawyer wanted to make a big deal out of it and get some good sho

ts for the press since it would be so close to the release date of her album. We still had a couple of weeks, but the plans were already in place. Some of the fans had even started a countdown clock, speculating about what awesome gift I was going to buy her. Technically, it would be whatever awesome gift Sawyer bought and I gave her, but they wouldn’t know that.

I continued feeling like shit as I finished my food. It was clear that I had completely shattered any chance of even sharing a friendship with Lauren once the fake relationship was over. The sad part was that I had started to get slightly attached to her, despite all of my attempts at the contrary.

“God, we’ve still got another fucking hour until the interview.” Lauren checked the time on her phone and sighed.

“Why don’t we go take a walk and work off some of these calories before our big performance?” I motioned in the direction of the park that was near the restaurant.

“That’s not a popular spot for the paparazzi to hang out. That’s where normal people go.” She tilted her head and glared at me.

“I know. Honestly, I could use a little bit of time away from them.” I looked at the cameras and smiled.

“Fine. It’ll be better than sitting here.” She grabbed her purse, flashed a smile, and then started walking towards the door. “Oh wait, we’re in public—you have to get the door for me.”

“Of course.” I grabbed the door and held it open as she walked through.

“You know, I’m not always a jerk.” I walked beside Lauren as we strolled through the park.

“Oh really? So, I’m just some sort of exception to your normal personality?” She turned and glared at me for a moment.

“No.” I sighed and shook my head. “I went through a really bad breakup in Chicago. I was about to sign a record deal that would have let me make the kind of music I wanted when I found out that my girlfriend was fucking my bass player.”

“Well, if you treated her like you treat me, I’m sure you deserved it.” She paused for a moment. “Okay, that was really mean, I’m sorry.”

“No.” I exhaled with a grumble “I’m starting to see that I probably was a jerk to her too. I was always busy, always in the studio, and I never really paid her much attention. I took the relationship for granted and then it was gone.”

“So how do you go from that to Nashville where you start recording music you hate?” She tilted her head to the side. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Yeah, maybe it wasn’t the best decision.” I nodded as we continued to walk. “I saw it as a quick way to get back on my feet since Sawyer was one of my father’s friends.”

“I’m pretty sure this is the first time you’ve actually been honest with me since we first started this whole thing. It make me hate you a little less.” She smiled and chuckled. “You should try being yourself more often—but keep the accent.”

“I’m struggling to get rid of it.” I nodded and laughed. “I’m even talking this way in my dreams now.”

“Come on.” She reached out and took my hand. “Let’s go do this interview while we’re still amicable. I’m sure you’ll do something to ruin it soon enough.”

“Darling, that’s my specialty.” I winked at her and walked towards the exit of the park.

I really hadn’t opened up to anyone about my last relationship. Sawyer knew why I came to Nashville, but I didn’t go deeper than the surface when telling him my story. It felt good to actually say the words out loud and admit that I did have some responsibility for the way things blew up. I could have salvaged my rock music career if I hadn’t let the immediate darkness consume me. I decided that I was going to try and be nicer to Lauren going forward. It wasn’t going to make up for the way I had treated her, but I could at least make the last few weeks something less than torturous. I regretted that I had been such an asshole in the beginning, because there was something about the emerald-eyed blonde that was starting to stir something inside me that went deeper than lust for her delicious curves.

I may already be in trouble.

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