I should probably learn her friend’s names…
Whoever was the designated driver only had one drink, and they tended to stay for several hours so they were clear to drive. Plus, they normally ordered food. So he had to wonder…
“Who’s the DD tonight?”
She slowly raised her hand. “I drew the short straw again.”
He put the beer on the bar. “That’s three weeks in a row, isn’t it?”
Nodding, she sighed. “It’s okay. I’m not much of a drinker anyway. Besides, Donna and Jen both had rough weeks so they deserve to kick back and unwind.”
“A minute ago it sounded like your week wasn’t so hot either. Don’t you deserve to kick back and unwind?” He placed the Cosmo on the bar.
“Well, my week wasn’t really bad, just today.”
“How come?”
“Just family stuff.”
Bracing his hands on the bar, he stared at her until she explained further.
“I lied to my grandmother and now I can’t go and see her for her birthday,” she said sadly. “This will be the first one I’m missing in like…ever.”
“Damn, Willow. Whatever you lied about, I’m sure she’d forgive you.”
But she shook her head. “It’s complicated. And on top of that, I can’t afford to fly down and see her. I’m still not working steadily so…”
“No leads on anything, huh?”
“Nothing I’m good at.”
“Any chance you’re good at waitressing?” For the life of him, he had no idea why he was offering. It wasn’t like they were hiring.
With a small laugh, she shook her head again. “I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time without hurting myself. I have a feeling I’d end up owing you money at the end of my shift.”
“Good to know,” he replied with a wink. “What kind of job are you looking for?”
“That’s the problem, I don’t know.” She groaned. “I graduated back in the spring with a degree in psychology, but it’s not what I want to do.”
“Then why get your degree in it?”
“It wasn’t my idea, trust me.”
“Ah. Gotcha. Parental pressure, huh?”
“Bingo.”
Placing her drink on the bar, he offered a small smile. “Want me to help you carry these over?”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
He used to think she accepted so they could keep talking, but now he realized it was because she was afraid of dropping the beverages.
Well, damn.
Stepping around the bar, he picked up the beer and Cosmo and followed her over to her table.
While admiring the soft sway of her hips, and how perfect her ass looked in her jeans.
“Good evening, ladies,” he said smoothly, placing their drinks down. “Having a good night?”
“Absolutely,” Jen said.
At least, he thought that was Jen.
“We’re just trying to cheer Willow up,” Donna chimed in.
“Oh, uh…really?” he asked, unsure of how interested he should sound.
Jen nodded. “We’re trying to convince her to go and see her grandmother and to stand up to her parents.”
“Jen!” Willow cried, her cheeks turning a furious shade of red.
“It’s true,” Donna stated. “We just need to find a way for her to get down to Florida and get everyone off her back.”
“Um…”
“You guys know why I can’t do that!” Willow argued, although really, there wasn’t a lot of heat behind her words. “I’m not going to argue with my parents and ruin Gammy’s birthday. That wouldn’t be fair.”
Gammy?
“Oh, please! You know they’re not going to care about making a scene. They’re totally okay with poking at you and picking at you in front of everyone, so why do you care about doing it to them?” Donna asked before taking a sip of her beer.
Willow glanced nervously in his direction and Levi thought maybe that was his cue to leave.
“Um…you ladies have a good night,” he said, taking a step back. “If you need anything, you know where I’ll be.”
“Levi, wait!” Jen cried, reaching out a hand toward him. “Can we ask you something?”
“Jen…” Willow warned.
“Oh, shush.” She grinned at Levi. “Let me ask you a question–do you think it’s wrong to lie about being in a relationship?”
“Uh…what?”
This time Donna spoke. “Yeah, like if it meant getting your family off your back, would you be opposed to making up a fake girlfriend–or boyfriend–just so they’d stop worrying about you?”
He glanced at Willow as some of this was starting to make sense.
“You told your grandmother that you had a boyfriend and that’s why you can’t go visit her,” he stated, waiting for her to make eye contact with him.
All she did was nod.
“It’s not a terrible lie, right?” Jen asked.
Shrugging, Levi said, “No, it’s not terrible. And it’s not hurting anyone either. If you go down and visit her, all you have to do is say your boyfriend couldn’t get the time off or say the two of you broke up. I don’t see it as a big deal.”
“That’s what we said,” Donna commented. “Hell, we even suggested she ask a friend–a guy friend–to go with her to play the part if she didn’t want to go with the breakup thing.”
Suddenly, Levi felt like he had the perfect solution.
For both of them.
And he was either completely crazy or absolutely brilliant.
“I’ll go with you,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What?!” All three women cried.
Nodding, his eyes never left Willow. “If you don’t want to go alone and you don’t want to admit there never was a boyfriend, I’ll go with you. I’ll be your boyfriend.”
2
As soon as Levi’s words registered, Willow wasn’t sure if she wanted to throw herself at him or throw up.
Definitely not both.
Her eyes went wide, and she couldn’t seem to make her mouth form any words, but her two BFF’s didn’t seem to share her problem. They were both positively chattering with glee.
“Oh, you are amazing, Levi!”
“That is super sweet of you, Levi!”
“Why aren’t all guys like you, Levi?”
“You are so lucky, Willow! Levi’s going to make the
