“Conscious?” Zack snorted. “At work? Isn’t that part of his job?”
“You’ll figure it out. Here’s the video.” I pulled it up and tilted the screen toward him. As it played, I stared beyond my phone, praying he wouldn’t read the comments.
Heat radiated off him through that button-down. At least he wore deodorant. Old Spice again. I ran my fingers over my lips and waited for the video to end.
He snickered and straightened his spine. “That’s it?”
“Yes. Apparently, your presence indicated I’d been looking for a new man.”
He arched his brow. “And he thought I’d meet those standards?”
“Y-yes.” I darkened my phone screen. Was I considered high-maintenance? Or did a beefcake like Zack seriously think he wasn’t attractive? “You were just a disembodied voice to him. He didn’t know we were friends.”
To be fair, I didn’t know what we were either. The last few days had muddled our non-relationship.
I rubbed my screen on my leg. “Hopefully, now that he’s seen a muscle man, he’ll back off.”
“Just in case he doesn’t, here’s my number.” He scrawled his digits on a leftover receipt. “Anytime you need a fake boyfriend, you call me.”
“Really?” I smiled.
“Really,” he promised.
That was awfully solid of him. Not that I needed the quarterback to save the day. We had loss prevention and security who could help me out to some extent. Still, I smoothed the paper and added his contact to my phone. There were other reasons I could call him. Shoveling. Nagging. Having someone take me down a peg. “Is this only for Theo or can I call on you for other fake boyfriend purposes?”
He frowned. “What do you mean, like scaring off other guys?”
“No.” I rocked on my heels and tapped the paper on the counter. “This might sound stupid, but our video was actually kind of a success.”
“At what?”
“Um, engagement. For my brand.”
He tugged his ear. “I don’t really understand monetization and all that, but congrats?”
“I didn’t make money off it.” I wasn’t using him. Especially not without his permission. “But I was thinking maybe I need to rebrand. Especially post-Theo. I want to attract the right kind of…”Men?“Brands. Um, audience. And you seem like an All-American, non-jerk I could make content with until I figure out the algorithm.”
He tilted his head. “You want to get drunk on camera so I’ll make fun of you again?”
“Uh, no.” That was a huge embarrassment.
“I’m not a model or a cameraman,” he said.
“I know, that’s not what I’m asking for.”
“Well, be straightforward, then.” He huffed through his nose.
“Fine. I want you to be my boyfriend.”
Oh shit. Here we went again.
16
Clarifying Before Commitment
Flames crawled up my chest. That wasn’t what I meant. I didn’twanthim. We’d barely re-met. I tugged at my shirt. “F-for content. Like I said.”
Zack stared at me, those thick eyebrows askew. “Are you talking about sex tapes or–”
