“Wh-what?”
She was staring at me with a completely calm expression on her face. No way was Joanna kinky enough to be implying that she was okay with an open relationship… Was she?
“What do you mean by that?”
She sighed and folded her hands in front of her, giving me a stern look.
“Come on, Ryan. I know what this is. I don’t really need aboyfriend.I just need someone that my parents deem appropriate to accompany me to family functions. It keeps the pressure off of me to… marry.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Wait, so you… this was never real for you?”
She let out a soft chuckle. “Was it ever real for you? Ryan, we haven’t spoken to each other in over two weeks. I’m almost certain that real couples converse more frequently than that.”
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never really been in an actual relationship before.”
She gave me a look that made me feel extremely uncomfortable. It was close enough to pity that my stomach soured.
“Well. I apologize then, Ryan. I assumed that you entered this arrangement for the same reasons I had.”
“So you were just using me as a decoy for your parents? Areyouseeing someone else?” I asked. I didn’t really care if she was. I just suddenly felt like I had been bumbling around, thinking I had everyone around me fooled, but really, I was sticking out like a sore thumb.
“Not at the moment, no. I’m honestly not interested in dating anyone right now. When I met you, I was just coming out ofsomething with someone that… let’s just say my parents didn’t approve.”
Jesus, even Joanna had more relationship experience than I did.
Fucking Christ, I was pathetic.
We stared at each other for a long moment, and I wanted so badly to ask if her parents hadn’t approved because the person she had been seeing was a woman, though it didn’t feel appropriate.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I muttered awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
“Don’t be. They deserved better. I wasn’t ready to be the person they needed me to be.”
For some reason, that struck a little too close to home.
Did Cal deserve better than me? Was I the Joanna in this situation? Oh god, I definitely was the Joanna…
The longer this conversation went on, the more and more crap I was beginning to feel, and this time it had nothing to do with the hangover.
“Anyway. With all that being said. I’m sure you can understand now what I mean when I say it’s not a problem for me if you’re interested in seeing someone else. However, I do wonder if you would still be willing to keep up our arrangement? All you would need to do is show up to a few family gatherings and pretend to be my date.”
I opened my mouth to explain that I didn’t think that would be a good idea when a massive tattooed hand slammed down in the middle of the four-top.
We both jumped, and I looked up to find Cal scowling down at us, his angry brown eyes locked on Joanna.
“Abso-fucking-lutelynot,”he snarled, and Joanna’s face went white.
Everyone in the cafe was staring, and I was getting that strange feeling in my chest again.
I fuckinghatedbeing observed. However, I was beginning to find that Cal commanded attention everywhere he fucking went. If there was attention to be had, he always seemed to be in the center of it.
“Cal, there’s no need to?—”
Cal pointed his finger in Joanna’s face, his lip curled in an angry snarl.
“You listen to me, blondie. You’re done using Ryan as your fucked up arm candy. If you come anywhere near him again, I’ll send you to meet that God you have such a lady boner for.”
Joanna’s face was paper white, but to her credit, understanding seemed to dawn as she glanced back and forth from Cal to me.
