Summary: Charlie wakes up regretting her drunken proposition, but a new development regarding the wedding itinerary sways her in the other direction.
Note: A big thank you to @choicesarehard for making an edit for me based on the content of this fic which I have placed at the appropriate place within the text.
Charlie wakes up and can definitely feel the effects of her alcohol consumption the night before. She groggily stumbles out to the kitchen in search of coffee, and thankfully Sienna already has pot brewing.
“Good morn-” Sienna starts before she fully turns to see Charlie. “Ooh, you don’t looks so good. Coffee?”
“Yes, thank you. I think I’ll be fine once I get some caffeine flowing through my veins.”
“And some breakfast! Sienna slides a freshly made spinach and feta cheese omelet in front of Charlie.
Charlie takes a bite. “Mmm. Have I ever told you that you are the best roommate ever?”
Sienna laughs. “Not nearly enough. So…are you going to tell me any more about last night now that it’s just us?”
Charlie groans as all the details of the evening start flooding back. Did she really offer a stripper $10,000 to go to Katelyn’s wedding with her? “Well, there’s really not much to tell. He did his thing, I got embarrassingly flustered by his hotness, and that was that.”
“Oh, Come on! There has to be more to tell. He was totally into you!”
Charlie rolls her eyes. “Sienna, it’s his job to make every woman think that he wants her. My drooling must have just been a dead giveaway that I was an easy target.”
“Whatever you say,.“ Sienna checks the clock on the microwave. “Well since you obviously don’t want to talk about this, it’s lucky for you I’m leaving for a day date with Danny. Try not to mope around all day.”
“Okay, mom,” Charlie replies in a sarcastic tone. “I actually need to start packing and doing some stuff for the wedding. You just go have fun, and don’t worry about me.”
As soon as Sienna leaves, Charlie scrolls through her phone, slightly hoping she imagined or misremembered portions of the evening, but it’s there. She truly did try to hire a stripper as her faux boyfriend. She remembers him telling her to sleep on it and decide when she was sober, and he was right. As her thumb hovers over the screen while she contemplates deleting Bryce’s contact information, an email notification from Katelyn flashes across the top with the subject “Wedding Week Itinerary.”
“Oh god, here we go.” Charlie mutters. Katelyn had requested all of the wedding party arrive a week before the wedding for a full slate of activities, which felt excessive to say the least, but she couldn’t say no. She immediately opens the email to find out what kind of fresh hell she’s in store for and she pursues the list, reading some of the entries aloud to herself as she goes. “Wedding party welcome dinner, ballroom dancing lessons, kayaking, couples yoga…“ The list goes on with most of every day scheduled to the max, and there’s suggested attire listed for each event.
Not only does much of itinerary center around couples focused activities, but there’s a personalized message at the bottom of the email from Katelyn:
Charlie, I know you and Andrew broke up, but no need to worry. Landry’s cousin Bob is single too, so you two can pair up for all the couple’s event.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she mumbles to herself. Charlie only met Bob once at the engagement party, but once was more than enough. She has no desire to spend time in close proximity with an overgrown man-child who will probably be drunk and/or stoned off his ass the whole time. He’s still single for a reason. Suddenly going to the wedding with Bryce doesn’t seem so crazy after all.
Charlie Google’s Bryce’s name to see what she can find, but there isn’t much – some old articles on his high school basketball and football games, and some partially blocked directory info on sites like whitepages.com. She can’t even find any social media profiles for him, but she figures maybe he’s not using his real name there either, as she herself only goes by her first and middle name to keep her private life separate from her professional life. She decides to pay for a criminal background check and all that comes up is a speeding ticket five years ago. At least it doesn’t seem like there’s a high probability of him murdering her in her sleep. She summons the courage to text him and ask if he has considered her offer. Less than two minutes later, her phone buzzes with a new text:
I’m surprised you are up so early
It’s Noon. She replies back.
Yeah, but you were pretty drunk last night. You doing okay today?
I’m feeling fine, but you haven’t answered my question. Have you thought about my offer?
It seems like ages pass before she gets a reply, but it’s really only a few minutes.
We should discuss details in person first. Meet me at Pavement Coffeehouse on Commonwealth at 2.
~~~
Charlie arrives about fifteen minutes early to grab a coffee and get herself settled. She sits at a table off to the side with the door in her line of site and not so patiently waits. As two o’clock approaches, she drums anxiously on her coffee cup, looking up at the door expectantly every time it opens. She’s nervous about how her body will react to Bryce’s presence, as she could hardly handle being near him with a healthy dose of liquid courage in her, but maybe it was just the alcohol making her remember him as the hottest guy she’d ever met.
And then at approximately 2:03pm, not that she’s been fixating on the time, the bells on the door jingle. Charlie looks up, their eyes meet, and she is not okay. He flashes her his megawatt smile and she nearly burns up inside. She doesn’t know how its possible, but he’s even hotter than she remembers. It’s not just his looks – although his perfectly symmetrical features, unblemished skin, and chiseled body don’t hurt – but the confidence he carries. When they say someone lights up a room, they are talking about people like him.
Charlie stands up and wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans as Bryce approaches. She holds out a hand for him to shake, and he cocks his head to the side before accepting. “So formal of you.”
“Well, this is a business deal.” Maybe if she tries to keep it professional she can become immune to the inappropriate way he makes her feel.
Bryce smirks. “Right…So should I address you as Dr. Hawkins then?”
“No, Charlie is fin- wait, How did you know that?” She’s fairly certain that never came up last night. She can remember every last embarrassing detail.
“I did my research, as I suspect you did as well. I need to know who I’m getting into bed with…strictly in a business sense of course.” He looks like he’s trying to keep a straight face, but he can’t seem to suppress that cocky grin of his. If he’s trying to make her heart race, it’s working.
“Well, let’s get down to business then. Can I buy you a coffee?”
“I can get it.” Bryce reaches around to his back pocket before Charlie interrupts.
“No, I insist. All of your related expenses starting now will be paid for by me.”
“I guess I’ll have a double espresso then,” Bryce concedes as Charlie strides over to the counter. She returns to the table and places the coffee in front of him before taking her seat.
Charlie opens up her laptop, and stares at the screen, purposefully avoiding eye contact. “So before we get to the contract, do you have any specific questions or concerns?”
Bryce chuckles. “You really are all business, huh? What happened to the fun Charlie I met last night?”
“That was drunk Charlie.” She flits her eyes up to his momentarily but then shoots them back down. “This is the real Charlie.”
“Hey…” Bryce reaches across the table and places his hand over hers. She was so blinded by his gorgeous face when he walked in, she hadn’t really noticed what he was wearing. It’s nothing special – a black t-shirt underneath an open denim shirt – but he could probably make a potato sack look appealing. She zeroes in on his rolled up sleeves, and that flash of exposed, muscular forearm is almost as hot as seeing him nearly naked. “You don’t have to be so nervous around me.”
“I’m not nervous,” she says unconvincingly. Does he really have to call her out like this and make it worse?
His warm hand remains on hers for an uncomfortably long time, her skin tingling beneath his touch. Even though she’s not looking him in the eyes she can almost feel his gaze on her. He gently grasps her wrist, turning it on its side and lightly sweeping his thumb over the delicate underside, sending shivers down her spine. His thumb comes to a rest on her pulse point for several seconds at least before he speaks. “Then why is your heart beating so fast? You couldn’t have had that much caffeine.”
Charlie slides her arm out of Bryce’s grasp and buries her hands in her lap. “I’m sure you can figure it out. You’re doing that thing you’re so good at – what I’m hiring you for. You could easily fool anyone, including me, into thinking you actually want me. So if you could just turn down the charm a few notches, I think we’ll be good.”
Bryce opens up his mouth as if he’s going to say something, but pauses like he changed his mind. “Noted. I’ll try to tone down my charm to an appropriate, yet convincing enough to the outside world, level.”
“Great. So are you ready to get the contract hammered out? I’ve started with a few things, but we can add others as we go along if needed.”
Bryce flicks his wrist and throws his hand in the air. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“Alright, so first things first, the agreed upon amount is $10,000, as previously stated. This is separate from any and all travel related expenses which will all be paid for by me. Speaking of expenses…” Charlie hands him a printed out itinerary. “…This is the ridiculous itinerary my bridezilla cousin created. Unfortunately much of the week is highly scheduled, and I will need you to be at all couples events. You’ll notice there is recommended attire for some of the activities, so if you need some extra money for clothes, let me know.” She kind of hates the way she sounds right now, throwing thousands of dollars around like it’s nothing. She’s not normally one to flaunt her wealth or utilize her trust fund to the fullest, but desperate times call for desperate measures. She wonders if Bryce is questioning her wealth and ability to pay for these things when she’s just out of medical school, but if he found that out about her, he probably also knows who her father is too.
“Damn, you are making me feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman here, but I think I’m good.”
Charlie shakes her head. “Are you implying again I’m treating you like a hooker?”
“Only if you make me put out.” Bryce winks, and she can feel the flush of heat return to her cheeks once again.
“That will not not be part part of the contract…”Charlie looks down at the screen again. “…Anyway, since we are on the topic of physical contact, we can keep that to a minimum, but to be convincing we’ll need some. I’m thinking little things like hugs, hand-holding, maybe an occasional kiss on the lips, but not open-mouthed or anything. Any objections to that?”
“I’m up for whatever it takes.”
He’s up for it, but is she? She’s talking big game now, but she can barely survive his hand grazing hers at this point. “Fantastic. Lastly, if you leave early for anything other than say, a family emergency, you forfeit all of the money. Any objections or anything you want to add?” Charlie flips the screen around so he can read it.
“Sounds fine to me, except for one thing.” Bryce types another line item onto the contract and faces it back around to Charlie.
“Cliff diving?” She asks, perplexed.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of great places to go in Jamaica, and it’s something I love to do. I’ll need you with me for company of course.”
She supposes his commands could be much worse. “Deal.” She electronically signs the document and turns it around so he can as well.
“Wait, one more thing. Give me your phone.”
“This is becoming a habit with you,” Charlie remarks but hands him the phone anyhow.
Bryce walks around to her side of the table, squats down, and slips his arm around her waist. “Smile!” He holds the phone out, right before he snaps the picture he kisses her on the cheek. “Damn, we make a good looking fake couple.”
“Let me see.” Charlie holds her hand out.
“Just hold on a second.” Bryce messes with the phone another minute and gives it back to her. “There, now it’s official.”
Looking at the screen, a momentary panic sets in as Charlie reads the caption of the picture that is now posted to her own Instagram profile:
Can’t wait to hit the beach in Jamaica with my babe. T-minus one week!
“Oh my god, now everyone I know is going to think you are my boyfriend!”
“Isn’t that the point?”
“Well, I guess.” Charlie had been so focused on the immediacy of the situation, she hadn’t stopped to think about the long term implications. What happens when he’s suddenly not her boyfriend anymore? “But for future reference, I’ll be the one breaking up with you.”
Bryce’s lips curve into a smile. “Whatever you say, Babe.”