Page 18 of That First Date
I wish I knew what she wanted so I could offer her something, anything, for helping me with this. I decide to shoot her a text even though she is sitting at her desk right near me.
Have you given any consideration to helping me out?
I keep my head down, facing my phone but lift my eyes to watch her through the glass walls. Her phone chimes on her desk, and she stops what she’s typing to look at it. She doesn’t lift her head to look at me and does an exceptional job at keeping a poker face as she types back.
Avery
I’ve been thinking about it.
Can you elaborate on that?
Avery
It means the organ inside my skull called the brain has been considering it but hasn’t made a decision yet. ??
You have to know that this is a lot to ask of me. Pretending to be your fiancé for one event wasn’t a big deal, but now you’re asking me to fake a relationship for the entire summer.
She’s right. Dammit, she’s so right. I am such a dick to not think about how this is a lot to ask and how this would affect her life. She would be giving up her summer of doing whatever she normally does, with whomever she normally does it with… for me.
But I would be a lying son of a bitch if I said the thought of her doing whatever with whoever doesn’t have the temperature of my blood rising with jealousy. I haven’t been with anyone since Avery. I don’t do casual hookups, like Oliver and Logan. That night with her in the supply closet was outside of the norm for me.
I know. You’re right.
If you consider it… I’ll give you whatever you want, Avery.
Avery
About that…
I don’t waste another second after her text hits my phone before I am out of my chair and storming into Avery’s office.
“Name it, Avery,” I tell her. “Whatever you want. It’s yours.”
She looks up at me with a shocked look on her face that quickly morphs into a smirk. She leans back in her office chair while she crosses her leg over the other.
“So… I’ve been looking at this building—”
“Done,” I cut her off.
“You didn’t even hear the rest of it, you wack job,” she snorts.
“I don’t need to.”
“Let me get this straight,” she sits up straighter. “You just want to give me some two hundred story building across town that is probably worth millions of dollars to play this game for the summer?”
“First of all, there are no buildings in the city that are two hundred stories high.” That earns me an eye roll. “Second of all, if that’s what it takes to make you say yes, then I would find someone to build you one tomorrow.” I shrug my shoulders.
“You’ve completely lost your mind!”
“Avery.” I scowl.
“Okay, Marc.” She sighs. “Relax. I will do this for you… under one condition.” I feel my shoulders relax and the stress from the last couple of days starts to drift away just hearing the words slip from her tongue. “I have a favor of sorts. Something you can help me with while I help you this summer.”
“What do you need?”
“I would like to take a course so I can obtain my real estate license.”
I feel my head whip back and my eyebrows pinch together at her confession. Thiscan’tbe all she’s asking for out of the deal. I had no clue that she ever wanted to become an agent or that it was ever part of her future plans.