Strip Search (Tap That)

“My plan is we have a whirlwind romance and we get married on Saturday.”

Leighton needed to sit down. She also needed a stiff drink, the kind her father said would grow hair on your chest. She might also need some oxygen because she suddenly could not breathe.

“You want to get married?” she managed to choke out. Never, ever in her wildest dreams did she envision being pseudo proposed to over the phone by a man she barely knew.

“Well, fake married. We can use someone for the ceremony who isn’t really ordained. Think about it. The ratings for a wedding after a quick romance will be huge.”

It would be. There was no doubt about that. A clandestine love story. An immersion romance. Everyone would love it. Jill would love it. Viewers would eat it up.

Oddly, Leighton thought she might love it too. A whole week with Axl the police officer? Having him fawn over her and dote on her? What woman wouldn’t want that?

But it was lying. She would be letting her friends and family and co-workers think that she had a hot boyfriend who was madly in love with her.

Though now that she thought about it, that was appealing too. Everyone always felt just a little sorry for her. Sorry that she wasn’t skinny, sorry that she was shy, sorry that she didn’t date a merry-go-round of men. It might not be the most humble quality to want everyone to see her as capable of making a man fall head over ass for her in a week flat, but there it was. She was never quite enough for everyone and this would make her seem like she was. It was tantalizing.

She had to question if she was a good enough actress, though, to convince people she wan

ted to get married on five days’ notice. “I’m kind of a nervous Nellie if you haven’t noticed,” she said. “I’m not sure I can pull something like that off.”

“I can take the lead.”

“What’s in this for you?” she asked because this was his home town. Having a romance and wedding that then ended as abruptly as it began would disrupt his life big time. “There could be big consequences to your personal life doing something like this.”

“I care more about my job than my personal life. I don’t really see myself getting married and having kids. I’m kind of the guy destined to go through life alone.”

He didn’t sound upset about that. Just matter of fact. But it made Leighton’s heart melt in sympathy and understanding. She often felt that way about herself. That she was destined to be alone. Instantly, she felt calmer. Sinking onto the bed, she said, “Oh. I totally get that.”

Everything inside her felt squishy when she thought about a man like Axl feeling lonely. The strong, stoic man who hid his emotions. The quintessential Minnesotan. Did his duty and went home to his empty house. Who didn’t date because women wanted marriage eventually and he didn’t want to mislead them.

“I can meet you at the hotel you’re staying at tonight after my shift and we can talk about it.”

Leighton shivered in anticipation. A fake romance meant very real kissing, and she had no qualms about that. “I thought you said you work until eleven.”

“What better time to kindle a romance than at night?”

That made her feel warm. She wondered how real the fake would be. The kiss had been amazing. Axl had made her feel delicate and desirable and she had been caught up in the moment. “Sure. Okay. I can meet you in the hotel bar.” It was poky and dark and a little dated but it would do. She wasn’t ready to just invite Axl into her hotel room.

“Perfect. I’ll be there by quarter after.”

“Great, see you then.” After Leighton ended the call she sat on her bed wondering what the heck she was supposed to do. Could she pull this off? A fake courtship. A hot cop. She touched her fingers to her lips, remembering the sizzle he had inspired in her with that kiss. “Holy moly, I’m in trouble.”

This called for a best friend. She instructed her phone, “Call Zach.”

Zach Collins had been her best friend since they were three and he had been a star on the pageant circuit, the only little boy who loved the glitz and glamour as much as the girls. His confidence had known no bounds and he did some fabulous routines to nineties classics like the Spice Girls and “What a Girl Wants” by Christina Aguilera. When Leighton had frozen on stage more than once, it had been Zach who had run out and held her hand and made up a routine on the spot for her to follow.

These days he was making a name for himself in makeup design on a hit TV show.

He was still fabulous.

He was still her source for confidence.

“Hey, sugar, what’s up?” he said instead of a basic hello. “Are you rusticating in the wilds of Minnesota?”

“So, the groom bailed on next week’s wedding and Jill is going to fire me if I don’t find a replacement. Sadie thinks I need to ‘bring it’ more and I thought she was setting me up with some kind of test and I got pulled over and assumed the cop was a stripper and did a horrible job of flirting with him.”

“I have no fucking clue what you just said to me. Start from the beginning. And Jill can suck my dick. She’s not firing my Leighton.”

His attitude always made her laugh. When it came to f bombs, he swore at a rate of a thousand to her one. “If Jill sucks your dick that will be the first woman to do that in how long?”