Fake Summer Boyfriend

“May I check all of the windows?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I started with the living room, which had a sliding glass door to a tiny balcony. The lock was flimsy, and I didn’t like that she was only on the third floor.

“Hey, do you have a broom?”

Her purse dropped onto the table as she gave me an odd look. She went into a closet and pulled out a solid wooden broom. “Will this do?”

“Perfect. May I?”

Taking the broom from her, I showed her how to wedge the bristles along the track of the sliding door, and the end of the handle against the other side. “This way, if anyone tries to open the door without removing the broom inside, it will tighten and jam.”

“Oh, wow. Cool. Thanks.”

I went to check the bedroom window, which had a good lock, and the bathroom window, which didn’t, but was so narrow no adult could fit through it.

Coming out of the bathroom chuckling, Hayden raised an eyebrow. “I love your map of the world shower curtain.”

She laughed lightly, the sound doing strange things to my stomach. I’d never felt this sort of electricity around a woman before.

“Thanks. I had to get something cheap, and it was that or ducks.”

I shrugged. “Ducks are cute too.”

Taking another look around, I couldn’t think of any more excuses to stay with her a bit longer, try as I might. “All right. Stay away from the windows, and send me a text after you arrive so I know you got to work safely in the morning. Okay?”

“Sure.”

Hayden began to giggle and couldn’t stop for a few seconds. I grinned while she composed herself. “What is it?”

“I was just thinking that for a fake boyfriend, you’re awfully bossy.”

Smiling, I reached out to brush her hair from her eyes. “If you were really my girlfriend, I’d take you back to my place, so that I knew you were somewhere with a high tech security system.”

The thought of her spending the night with me was doing interesting things to my pulse.

“If anything strange happens, anything out of the ordinary at all, you message or call me immediately, all right? Or if you’re scared for any reason. I have a guest bedroom if you need it, and don’t mind being woken up. Really. I mean it.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate this.”

I loved the way she was staring at my lips. Was she thinking of kissing me?

“This weekend, you can pay me back with an ice cream cone on the beach,” I said. “Have a good night, Hayden.”

I leaned in slightly as her eyes grew wide. But instead of kissing her, I brushed my lips over the top of her hair. “Boyfriend practice,” I said with a grin.

Closing the door behind me, I waited until I heard the click of the lock. I walked down to the second floor, then snuck a peek out the small window. Craig’s car was still out there. If he saw me leave, he would know that Hayden was alone. I didn’t want him to think that for a second.

Walking down to the main floor, I found the back exit and slipped out. The black car was parked directly under a street light, so when I snuck around from the back, I was able to get a decent look.

Pulling out my phone, I took a photo of the car, then zoomed in to get shots of both his profile, and the license plate.

I walked home quickly, grateful for the fresh night air that always helped me think as I developed a plan. Confronting him would be the most effective move, and I didn’t quite understand why Hayden was so paranoid about it.

What harm could it do her for Craig’s professor father to find out that he was stalking a girl? How on earth could he blame the girl for that? It didn’t make sense. But on the other hand, she seemed a bit timid. Maybe she was just afraid of everything.

I could certainly try to help her with that. Bring her out of her shell. At the very least, I was going to make it my duty to ensure that she got outside and enjoyed the last four weeks of summer.