The Accidental Girlfriend

It bugged her more than anything that I was happy to be a builder. That I was content in my “little person’s job,” as she’d once called it.

It was no wonder that I wasn’t all for dating, really.

My phone buzzed with an incoming text message. Lauren’s name appeared on screen, and I picked it up to see her response.

LAUREN: Hi. I’m Lauren. Your sister said you’d text.

Jesus, was Kirsty striking up a friendship with this—admittedly witty—stranger?

MASON: Look, I need to be honest. She set this up entirely. I wasn’t looking for a date for the reunion.

Her response was swift.

LAUREN: Ah. I did wonder. So you don’t need a date?

MASON: She responded to your ad because my ex is going to be at the reunion. She hates her and thinks I should have revenge by taking someone with me. I’m sorry she wasted your time.

LAUREN: Don’t worry about it. Honestly, I only put up the stupid ad because my friends and sister were on my back about dating. I didn’t think anyone would actually respond to it, so the joke was on me.

I cracked a smile at that. If I was honest, it was the exact kind of ad I would have responded to if I’d actually needed a date.

MASON: For what it’s worth, I’d have responded if I needed one. It was pretty fucking funny.

LAUREN: Thanks. I was going for off-putting and unattractive, but pretty fucking funny works.

MASON: You probably shouldn’t have put the part about being dirty between the sheets. That’s not how to write an unattractive ad.

LAUREN: Yeah, in hindsight, that was the wine talking.

MASON: It didn’t help your cause.

LAUREN: I know that now.

LAUREN: Can I be nosy?

MASON: My sister wasted your time, so I suppose I can’t say no.

LAUREN: LOL. That’s the most begrudging agreement I’ve ever gotten.

LAUREN: Okay. What did your ex do that was so bad that your sister tried to set you up with a fake date just to get at her?

I should have known that was coming.

MASON: She cheated on me after six years with a co-worker. It was about six months ago.

LAUREN: Whoa, shit, I’m sorry.

MASON: Don’t worry. I’m over it—Kirsty apparently isn’t.

LAUREN: I guess your ex is going to be at the reunion?

ME: Yeah. We got together when she came home after college. Kirsty hates her, but I couldn’t care less. I’m not looking forward to seeing her, but it’s not the end of the world.

LAUREN: I’m sorry.

MASON: It’s ok. Really. I guess Kirsty thought me taking a date would get under her skin.

LAUREN: Would it?

MASON: Maybe. She’s that kind of person. If she can’t have it, nobody can.

LAUREN: Wow. You’re a good person. I’d be finding the hottest person imaginable and climbing them like a koala in a eucalyptus tree in front of my ex if I were you. I’d rub it in their face so hard they’d get a free facial.

I laughed. Shit, she was a hoot.

And was she right? Was I a good person for not wanting to rub anything in Claudia’s face after what she did to me?

LAUREN: Look, I’m just throwing it out there: I changed my shift anyway and I don’t have any plans. If you decide that you want to be petty, I don’t mind being your fake girlfriend. I’ll even climb you like a tree if you want me to.

Fuck it. I had nothing to lose. If nothing else, she sounded like she’d be a really good time.

MASON: All right, you twisted my arm. They rented out the function room at The Beachside. Send me your address, and I’ll pick you up at six-forty-five.

CHAPTER FOUR – LAUREN

In hindsight, this had all been a terrible idea, from beginning to end.

What in the ever-loving fuck was I doing? I knew nothing about Mason Jackson except what I’d learned from our brief text conversations, and even that had been the basics so that I didn’t look like a total fool when I pretended to be his girlfriend.

He was twenty-eight and worked as a builder. His grandpa had recently moved in with his parents, Mason’s favorite movie was The Equalizer, and his favorite food was buffalo chicken wings.

That was all I needed to know to get through the night.

In return, I’d told him that I was twenty-five, worked as a bartender, lived alone, and had a new baby niece. My favorite movie was Mean Girls and my favorite food was cheeseburgers.

That was all he needed to get through the night.

I was a little more comfortable knowing that the reunion was at the bar where I worked. It meant I wasn’t totally alone, because Stella would probably be working the bar in the function room.

It was weird to think that, if I’d kept the shift, I likely would have met Mason anyway.

I shuddered that thought off and looked at myself in the mirror. My strapless, bright-pink dress seemed a little overkill, but it was my date dress. Not that it was a lucky charm or anything, because if it was, I wouldn’t be single and wouldn’t need a date dress, but it was The Dress.