Chapter 23 - Becca - Picture Perfect
I’m standing in the sunshine, in the middle of a field of wildflowers, watching two sexy, shirtless guys manhandle a vintage couch off the back of a truck and into position for me. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday, if I do say so myself. And with the added weightlessness I feel in my chest from telling Johnny about Milo and my scars, this day is just about perfect.
If I didn’t have another set-up date tonight, it probably would be perfect. It’s too late to cancel, though, so I’ll just have to tough it out. I may have a fake boyfriend now, but I still have manners. Even though I’d rather do anything at all with my fake boyfriend than go to dinner with whichever loser my mom has picked for me this time.
“How’s this?” Travis asks.
Johnny pulls his t-shirt from where it was tucked into his back pocket and uses it to wipe the sweat from his face. It has me thinking decidedly unfriendly thoughts about the man who is supposed to be just my friend. By my choosing.
True to his word, Johnny has turned out to be a great friend. Who else but a friend ropes his brother into moving a couch in the sweltering heat of a sunny afternoon? No one, that’s who. It’s a good thing we’re friends now, too. Not that I think Alex and I wouldn’t have been able to manage the couch, but I don’t think the families I have booked for photo shoots today would appreciate me being a sweaty, disgusting mess, either.
But no matter how much I appreciate all the work they’ve already done for me, I still need them to move the couch a little. I spotted a small clearing with a dense crop of wildflowers about fifty metres away and I need the couch over there.
“Actually,” I say with an apologetic grimace, “Can you move it just a little more that way?” I point over to the crop of wildflowers. “Just in the middle of that dense grouping of wildflowers? The colours will photograph beautifully.”
“Of course we can,” Johnny volunteers. “We’re at your service today. Right, Travis?”
Travis laughs and shakes his head. “I can help you move the couch over there, but I have to run soon. I promised Mom and Dad I’d go over and do some work outside while the weather is still nice.”
“Oh, you’re leaving so soon?” Johnny asks. He turns to look at me. “Do you mind if I hang out here with you?”
I hadn’t actually thought about it, but it’s probably a good idea if someone stays here with me. I’m out in the middle of nowhere meeting people I’ve never met before. That’s the start of a horror movie if I’ve ever heard one.
“Yeah, that would be great, Johnny. You can be my assistant. But what about the couch? How will we get it back if you leave with the truck, Travis?”
“Here, catch,” he says, tossing me a set of keys. “I’ll drive your car and you guys can keep the truck. Your car will be at our parents’ house for you to pick up later.”
I throw him my keys. “Perfect. Let me make sure I have all of my equipment out before you leave, though. I’d hate for you to have to turn around and come back right away.”
Johnny helps me unload the last couple of items from my car and then Travis is on his way.
The clients start arriving shortly after Travis leaves, and the afternoon proceeds smoothly. Johnny has to put his shirt back on when the mother in the first family can’t stop ogling him. I’m not sure who was more mad, me at the woman for looking at him, or her husband at Johnny for looking so good shirtless that his wife couldn’t keep her eyes off of him.
Johnny is the perfect assistant. He delivers cold, bottled water to the clients as we work, helps position them properly, moves props, and even fans them while I’m shooting. He’s been recognized a few times, but everyone is respectful and aside from asking for autographs, and one family paying to add him into one of their family pictures, there are no incidents or mishaps. His requests that they not post about it on social media until later in the evening are heeded and we’re able to finish all the appointments without being mobbed by fans.
Afterward, while we’re packing up my equipment, I can’t help but think how lucky I am that Johnny agreed to be my friend even when he’d wanted more. We’ve texted a few times since that day, and he’s always been kind. He hadn’t even asked about my scarring, not that I’m too surprised. It took Alex twenty years before she asked and I don’t think Johnny would have been much different. If I hadn’t told him about it last night, to help this whole fake relationship we’re having, I probably never would have told him.
And he never would have asked.
Once we’ve finally finished wrestling the couch back into the back of the truck, we sit on the open tailgate for a minute to catch our breath. Well, so I can catch my breath. That couch was a lot heavier than I expected. They really built things to last back in the day. No wonder I was able to rent it from that prop company. One day, when I have enough room to store my own props, I’m going to have a couch just like this. Maybe more than one, for different seasons.
“What are you up to tonight? Want to grab dinner or something?” Johnny asks.
“Ugh.” The groan escapes my lips before I can stop it. “My mom is setting me up on another date and I already agreed to it before you and I came up with our plan. I’m sure this one is just as much of a loser as the last guy. She doesn’t seem to get that I don’t want to date.”
He bumps his shoulder into mine. “You mean you haven’t told her about your one night rule?” He chuckles. “Or your new boyfriend?”
“Yeah, no. She wouldn’t be understanding of that. At all.” Considering I never told her about what happened with Milo in high school, she really wouldn’t understand at all. “My mom is… let’s just say she’s not a very nice person. It’s easier to just go along with her plans sometimes than it is to resist and put up with her guilt trips and manipulation. But having you as my boyfriend will help, I’m sure.” My therapist doesn’t agree with my methods, but it’s what works for me, so it’s what I’ll do until it doesn’t work anymore, I guess. “She’ll need to see you in person, though, or she probably won’t believe you’re real.”
“That sounds shitty,” he says. “Didn’t you say it was just the two of you, too? Your dad left when you were little? It’s got to be hard enough with a single mom, but I can’t imagine what it would be like with one who isn’t even motherly.”
“Well, that’s how you get someone like me. Completely messed up, just a little nuts, and probably not very well-adjusted.” I laugh. “But it is what it is. That’s all I know. I probably wouldn’t even know what to do with a motherly mother. It would be strange, for sure.”
Johnny hops off the tailgate and holds out a hand to help me down. Just like any other time we touch, almost always accidentally, tingles shoot through my hand and up my spine, leaving me with a pleasant buzz in my body. Johnny feels like what I imagine a proper home would feel like. Warm, welcoming, caring. Makes me wish I could hold on to him, keep him for my own. But I already know that someone like him isn’t meant for someone like me. We may look like we’re similar on the outside, but on the inside he’s mushy and loving, and I’m broken and hurt. Johnny can only ever be my fake boyfriend. Certainly not my real boyfriend, let alone anything more.
“Well then, let’s get your car back so you can get ready for this date.”
“Great. Just what I’ve always wanted.” I snark. Johnny laughs and makes his way to the passenger door, holding it open as I climb in.
Sexy, loving, and a gentleman. Johnny is going to make some woman very happy one day.
If only it could be me.
