The Fake Girlfriend Rules

“No,” she says, shaking her head fast. “Not that one, definitely not that one.”

“Okay, I guess I'll go with your pick. I'll save this for the day I get married.”

“I'm sure your future wife will absolutely love you in a puke green suit.”

“You're just jealous you can't pull off this color.” I throw my arms out and tug at the cuffs of my sleeves as I walk back and change. I pay for the black suit, hanging it over my shoulder as we head out of the store.

“So, now what?” she asks.

“Dinner?”

“I think dinner sounds really good right now.”

“How do hot wieners and beer sound?”

“Greasy and delicious,” she answers. “I could go for one all the way.”

“I bet you could,” I say playfully.

She slaps my arm and huffs loudly. “You're terrible.”

“I know, I can't help it. I'm excited today. You're going to be starting a new job, I've got a big project we're trying to land. Things are good, we should enjoy ourselves.”

“You know what, I think you're right.”

“I am right.” I grin at her and wink.

Lyllian shakes her head, and looks down at the ground as we walk, but she's smiling, that little smile I sometimes find myself going out of my way to see.

I get this feeling of satisfaction when I make her smile. As if I did something good for her. I made her happy, and that means something to me.

We get to the restaurant and take a booth in the back. She slides in one side, and I slide in across from her. The waitress comes up and we already know what we want. She orders her food and a beer, I order almost the same thing, except I get my fries with vinegar.

Her phone pings in her purse and she pulls it out. “Oh, I got an email from Harrison and Harrison.”

“That's the law firm that's hiring you, right?”

“Yeah, I hope this is my start date. I mean, I had my final interview last week, and Mr. Brennan was going to send over a reference letter today or tomorrow.”

“And you didn't blow up over the muffins and call him a dick, did you?”

“No, even though I wanted to.”

“That's good then, you didn't give him any fuel to throw you under the bus. Open it up, see what they have to say.”

She bares her teeth and sucks in a deep breath. “Okay, here we go.” Lyllian slides her finger over the screen. The light glows against her face, and I can see her eyes as they move down the page reading the email.

“What does it say, Lyl?” She's quiet, just blankly staring at her phone. “Well? When do they want you to start?”

She sighs, her expression turning dull. The color drains from her face and her eyes lose all their luster. “They don't,” she says, dropping her phone on the table and pushing it away.

“Wait, what? What do you mean they don't?”

“They're not hiring me. They decided to go with a different applicant, someone who's a better fit for the position. Here, you can read it yourself.” Lyl pushes the phone closer to me.

I pick it up and read the email. My heart sinks for her. As I look up at her, she's hanging her head between her arms, pushing the pads of her fingers against her temples. Her shoulders roll forward, and it looks like she wants to cry.

“I'm sorry, Lyl, but don't let this get you down, it's not the end of the world.”

“What the hell am I going to do now?” There's panic in her voice as she scrapes her nails through her hair, pulling it tight against her scalp. “I can't go back to Mr. Brennan, he already replaced me. I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have quit until I knew for sure. What the hell was I thinking? What the fuck am I going to do?” She lets out a long groan as her eyes still on mine. Tears bubble up over the edges, threatening to pop if she blinks.

“Lyl, don't worry, everything is going to be fine.”

I hate seeing her like this. It crushes me inside when she's sad.

She lets her hands fall like stone to the table. “No it's not, Doug, I'm out of a damn job, that's not fine, that's not even close to being fine.”

I reach out and curl my fingers around her hand. “I promise you, everything is going to be fine. You'll find a new job, and I bet you're going to love it. Don't let this get you down, it's their loss, not yours.”

Her eyes drift back and forth over mine. I want her to know that I'll never let anything bad happen to her. It doesn't matter if she has no money, I'll always make sure she has everything she needs. That's what best friends do. I'm here for her. I'll always be here for her.