I'd like to thank my first reviewers: Huddytheultimate, HouseAddiction, csi7, TeresaB, L'insomnie des etoiles, BlkDiamond, and samanthaon.
Lots of love and thanks.
LISA, Yasmin and Greg decided to have coffee at Starbucks for a nightcap.
Lisa was quietly sipping her black coffee while both Yasmin and Greg ordered some iced coffee with frappe. She doesn't want to open her mouth for fear that she would say something that would give Greg a wrong impression of her. She knows that she is already in his 'hate list' so far for reasons unknown to her. She even thinks that his opinion about her is something like 'she's a college party girl who picks up a guy in a bar'. That kind of impression won't be good for her because she really is someone far from that.
"About your research, does it really involve being harassed by guys?" Greg broke the silence.
She blushed. She doesn't know how she would try to explain to him her plans without getting through his judgmental opinions about her. She looked at Yasmin as if asking to be saved but she just shrugged her shoulders.
By that she doesn't have a choice but to explain. She breathed in. "Actually, it was just a crazy idea that popped in my mind. My thesis drafts were rejected by the Dean and she told me I need to experience love firsthand before I could write a good Psychopathology paper about my chosen topic. But since I don't have a boyfriend or any suitors at the moment, I cooked up a plan to hook up with a guy to be my 'pretend boyfriend' or 'constant date' for a month so that I would experience having a relationship with the opposite sex," she explained.
He shook his head. "You're crazy. Who in his right mind would agree to your idea? Unless there is some reward involved."
"Precisely. That's why I will pay him if he would agree to what I want."
"You'll stoop that low?" Tsk, tsk, tsk. "How much are you offering?"
She threw a confused look at Yasmin who's silently listening to their exchange of words.
"Ten thousand?" Yasmin suggested.
"Ten thousand." Lisa said.
"And what does the work entail? Is sex involved?" Greg said teasingly.
"What? Of course not! Actually, I haven't ironed out the details yet but DEFINITELY sex will NOT be involved." Lisa is turning read in annoyance.
"Ten thousand and no sex, no guy will take that." He looked at her from head down.
"What I want with that plan is to experience companionship, like having a decent conversation with someone, a dinner and a movie, only the getting-to-know-someone stuff." She said, eyes-rolling.
He smirked. "So, what you want is a sugar coated version of what a true relationship is?"
"What do you mean?"
"Simple. Party-pants wants to experience the highs of a relationship. When a problem arises, Party-pants walks away." He said, sarcastic.
"Party-pants?" Yasmin said, fascinated.
Lisa looked at her, baffled.
He turned to his cousin. "I heard one group of guys beside me practicing a pick-up line to use on her, one with 'Is your father an alien, 'coz your pants are out of this world."
Yasmin laughed hysterically while Greg winked at her. "Well, Lisa really has nice ass."
"I second that."
"Shut up!" Lisa said to Yasmin and then turned to Greg, "Why are you so bitter? I am not asking you to be my 'pretend boyfriend.' I am not even considering you! And if in case someone will take my offer, I will make sure that he will understand that we are just having some casual dating that will never lead to a real relationship."
"Do guys really find you repulsive that you have to show them money so they will go out with you?"
Lisa was annoyed now, more than ever. "You know what? Just forget it. Forget I ever said anything about this. Forget we talked."
"Sure. Nice meeting you!" Then he stood up and walked out of the coffee shop.
Yasmin watched Lisa as she sip what's left of her hot coffee. Lisa held her head down a time longer than she should have. Yasmin lifted up her chin and saw a teardrop fall. She panicked. "Hey, Lisa, are you okay?"
She remained quiet. She can't take off her mind Greg's face when he looked at her as if she is someone in desperate need of affection. "I just wanted to finish my paper. There is nothing wrong with that."
"Sorry, Lisa, I don't know what's with him. He was just teasing but I guess he's way out of line in that last comment. I am apologizing on his behalf."
Lisa wiped another tear. "Yas, I think I better go. I'll take a cab. Let's talk tomorrow."
Yasmin did not bother to stop her. She's way too upset to reconsider.
By the time Lisa was outside the coffee shop and was about to call a cab somebody grabbed her arm. She panicked and instantaneously looked at who's hand it belong and have seen that it was Greg's.
"Let go." She barked at him.
"Look, Lisa, I'm sorry about what I said. I realized I was way out of line there. I am angry at the world and not at you. Please don't take it personally. Let's start over."
She looked at him in the eyes and examined him if he really is serious about apologizing to her. "Greg, I want us to at least be civil with each other. Yasmin is my best friend and I know that she will be more than happy if we get along. I don't know what is it about me that makes you want to annoy me every time we get close, even just physically close, but I really want us to get along. For Yas, I am willing to start over."
They shook hands, Lisa felt some attraction by the way he looked at her but she decided to just let it go. She feels awkward around him.
Greg asked her to get in the shop again. "Lisa, if your research offer is still on. I'm volunteering my services to you. I can be your 'constant date' and 'pretend boyfriend' for a month."
She stopped dead on her tracks. "You want to volunteer?"
"Yes. But I have some conditions."
"And those are?" She asked out of curiosity.
"Don't fall in love with me and don't expect me to fall in love with you."
