“Tate!”He slaps the steering wheel once.“That’s it!Her name was Tate.Do you know her?Does she still live there?”
I feel my jaw tense.“Nah, she left.”
Jerry, picking up no clues, just continues.“That’s too bad.She was special.”
Don’t I know it.
We spend the rest of the cab ride in silence.When we pull up to the curb at Terminal C, Gabriella’s already there.She smiles wide under her large glasses, and I force myself to do the Southern thing and get out to grab her things.
“Hi, honey!”she yells before throwing herself around my neck, her mouth crashing into mine.Gabriella is very attractive, and I should only be so lucky to have a girl like her throwing herself on me (literally), even if it’s all for show.Speaking of show, I spy a couple cameramen hiding behind pillars, while others aren’t hiding at all.This kiss is lasting forever.
I try to pull back, but she stays latched, so I say into her mouth, “I think we should go before it looks staged.”Not breaking character, she gets up on her tiptoes with a final kiss to the cheek before getting in the car.She has two bags, and both look innocent enough, but I’m sure she’s smuggling thousand-pound weights in there.Jerry comes to assist, grabbing one from me.I watch as the weight surprises him too.
“Man, what does she have in here?”
“Honestly, knowing her, tons and tons of clothes.”
I get in on the other side of the car, wishing I wore a short-sleeve shirt all of a sudden.Gabriella is on her phone with the concentration of someone disarming a bomb.
“How was your flight?”My voice couldn’t be more awkward.
“It was fine.You know, nothing has to change between us.We were barely friends before this, and we will be barely friends after, so you can relax.”
“Oh, thank God.”I collapse back, feeling the weight of Gabriella’s entire suitcase come off my chest.
“Are you done?Also, most people would love to fake date me.”She takes off her glasses, tucking them into a purse at her feet.She’s got a Cleopatra thing going on with her eye makeup, sharp corners.
“I know.I’m sorry if I’m being a dud.”I let out a gust of air.“It’s just...”
“Tate.Levi, I get it.You’re fine.I’m not trying to replace her.Have you talked to her?”She turns to face me, and I get a weird feeling that underneath all the hair, makeup, and attitude is actually a really nice girl.
“Nah, I texted but got nothing back.I didn’t even know she was upset, and I certainly didn’t know she was leaving, or I would have tried to stop her.What about you?You guys are close...have you talked?”
She rolls her lips into one another a couple times.“No, I don’t know what to say.I’m taking her spot, fake dating someone she really likes.No matter how incompatible you two are, her feelings are real and she was crushed when she saw you with Kim.Now I’m the new Kim.”She looks out the window to hide the building emotion in her eyes.
I let my hand cross the threshold of the middle seat until it covers hers.She takes it and smiles.
“Can you believe Kim is Jan’s daughter?”she says, her voice half water.
“Stop!It makes me nauseous to think about.”I groan.Gabriella’s laugh is relentless though, falling out of her in bursts.
“We’re here,” Jerry announces as we pull up to the curb of a restaurant and bar called STIR.From the cab window I can see dim lighting, a red velvet rope, and a line snaking around the building.Quite literally a place I would never go.
“Are you sure this is it?”I ask Jerry hesitantly.
“Yep.And I’m instructed to tell you that you two have a reservation at 7:30 under the name McGregor.”
Gabriella’s wide eyes turn to me, and I swallow my fury.
“It’s okay, it’s to draw attention, because...you know.”
She nods and I fling open the door to a wall of flashing lights.
