Thanks to everyone who's reading. Here's chapter 2.
I'd love to hear what you think.
Puck sat on the coffee shop looking around, to see if he could spot a blonde in a tight, short dress. He would have to identify himself, she wouldn't know who he was.
A few minutes later, a blond wearing a sundress and sunglasses entered the shop. She seemed to be looking for someone too. Probably him. But she wasn't wearing a tight dress, high heels and heavy makeup, like he thought she would. Aren't escorts supposed to be dressed like that?
The blonde noticed that Puck was staring at her and approached him.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Puckerman?"
"Yes, that would be me."
She took her sunglasses off and smiled, offering her hand for him to shake.
"I'm Scarlett, nice meeting you."
He looked straight at her eyes and still, he couldn't tell if they were hazel or green. He invited her to sit and she did just that.
Puck kept staring at her. She had that girl next door look. She was perfect for the job, his mom would love her.
After a few seconds, he realized that he was staring, making Scarlett uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. You just look different from what I thought you'd look."
The girl raised her eyebrows, not knowing if that was a compliment or an insult. Puck seemed to notice this. "But in a good way!", he said smiling.
"Ok, good. Thanks, I guess." Answered the girl. They smiled and held each other's gaze for a moment, until a waiter asked if they were ready to order.
After they ordered and the waiter went away, Puck felt the need to fill the silence immediately.
"So, is Scarlett your real name?"
The girl smiled, looking at him like he was the most naive person she ever met. That made him feel very uncomfortable. He wasn't naive. He was the opposite of naive. He was a experienced guy, and knew a lot when it came to women. Ok, he shouldn't have asked if that was her real name, it was a stupid question.
"I'm sorry, I just, I don't know how this works. I never had to pay anyone to go out or have sex with me. I mean, not that we'll have sex, I'm definitely not paying for that, sex makes it more expensive, right? Not that I don't wanna have sex with you." Puck was rambling, and suddenly, he felt like a teenager, instead of the confident, self-assured man he was. He looked at Scarlett and she had an amused look on her face.
"Ok, I'll just tell you what you'll have to do and you tell me if you're ok with it or not." The girl nodded and waited for him to continue. "My sister is getting married in two weeks, and I need a date to her wedding. I could get a date on my own, of course, but it has to be someone my mom will love, so I didn't want to risk it and decided to hire someone."
"Ok. That's it?" asked Scarlett.
"Well, basically, yes. But the wedding is in Ohio. So, we'd have to drive there and spend the weekend at my mom's. We'd have to leave on Thursday and we'd get back on Sunday. Does that work for you?"
The blonde nodded. "Yes, sounds good".
"Oh, one more thing." Said the boy. "You'll have to pretend to be Jewish. That's the most important thing to my mother. Actually, that's why I asked about your name. We'll have to change it to a more Jewish one."
"No problem, you can choose whatever name you think fits. And don't worry, I'll do my homework. I'll be convincing and your mother will love me." Scarlett said, smiling.
She named her price and Puck agreed with it. Happily. His mom would love her and would stop bothering him about it.
"Is there anything else I should know? Subjects I have to avoid, questions I'm not supposed to make, your mother's hobbies...?" Asked the girl. She wanted to be prepared to anything.
"There is, but we'll have plenty of time to discuss it. It's a ten hour drive to Lima."
"Oh, do I have to pack anything special? Will we attend any other party besides the wedding reception?"
"Maybe, I'm not sure. The only requirement is that you look hot. We've got a few people to impress." Said the boy, winking at her. Of course, the main goal was to please his mom but, if he could rub in the other guest's face (specially his childhood friends) how hot his date was, even better.
She smiled at him. "I'll see what I can do."
The next couple of weeks flew by. Puck was swamped at work and before he knew it, it was Thursday. He and Scarlett agreed that he'd pick her up on the coffee shop they had their first meeting, at 8 am.
Puck drove to the place they agreed to meet and Scarlett was already there, holding a suitcase and two other bags. He got out of the car and opened the trunk, so he could put all of her stuff there. "You know we'll only be there for three days, right?"
She smiled at his rhetorical question. "All I need is in the suitcase. These two other bags are not for me. They are gifts, for your mother and your sister. Or did you already bought them something?"
He looked at her dumbfounded. "No, I forgot to buy my sister's gifts. Thank you, by the way. But why are you giving my mom something too?"
"Well, we're staying at her house. It's a 'thank you for having me here' gift."
Puck smiled at that. "You're good. She's gonna love you."
Scarlett smiled back at him. "I know. I told you that. By the way, you owe me 150 bucks. You can pay me when we get back."
He nodded as both of them got in the car. Their road trip was officially starting.
The first 20 minutes of the trip were spent in silence, until the girl spoke:
"So, I need some information. If we are going to pose as a couple, I need to know about your family, your job…"
He nodded his agreement and she continued. "Ok, so tell me about your mom."
"Her name is Ruth Puckerman and she's a nurse." Scarlett noticed the small smile on his lips as he talked about his mother. It was obvious to her that he loved Ruth very much. "She raised my sister and I by herself and worked her ass of so she could give us everything we needed growing up. She has two older brothers, that always helped her look out for us. The thing she wants most in her life is to see me and Sarah be happy, and she thinks that the only way I'll ever achieve it is getting married and starting my own family."
Scarlett nodded as she listened attentively to him. "What about your father?" Inquired the girl.
"He's not around". She noticed the change in his features as he answered, immediately becoming could. Clearly, he didn't want to talk about it.
"So, I guess this is one of the subjects I should avoid?" She asked. He simply nodded.
He realized the change in the mood and decided to lighten up. "But one thing she loves to talk about is babies. She calls me daily to ask me when I'll give her grandchildren. She'll probably ask you too, once we're there."
"Ok, is there any particular answer to that that I should give her?"
"No, be creative. Surprise us." Puck answered, smiling.
"Ok. Sarah is your sister, right? Tell me about her."
"Yes, she's six years younger than I am and it's a pain in the ass most of the time. She's bubbly and talkative, although she had any reason not to be, growing up without a father and all. She had a hard time from kids at school back then, but she turned out alright."
Scarlett noticed the tone in his voice, protectiveness. He probably had to be protective of her growing up.
"And does she have a job?" the girl asked.
"Actually, she just graduated. She studied to be a nurse, just like my mom, and she was waiting until she finished college to get married."
"Ruth must be very proud of her."
"She is. Not only because she's a nurse now, but specially because she's getting married. Sarah started dating Ted on her senior year of high school. He's an engineer, and works with his dad."
"Do you like him?"
Puck paused and thought for a little bit. "Yeah, he's alright."
"Good. Good for Sarah. And what about you?"
He had a confused look on his face. "What about me?"
"Tell me about you. I don't know anything! And you could start by telling me your name. I don't think we'll be very convincing as a couple if I keep calling you Mr. Puckerman."
Puck smirk and looked at her before speaking. "But it would be hot if you kept calling me Mister. Or Master, if you prefer."
Scarlett couldn't help but smile at his flirty tone. This guy was smooth, charming, even. "Is that what you're into? Dominance, submission?"
He tilted his head to the side and had a flirty look on his face. "I could be."
She giggled at his response. She could have fun with this gig. This guy seemed to be a great company, fun and very entertaining, despite the cocky attitude he got sometimes. It didn't hurt that he was eye candy. "Do you think your mom would appreciate me calling you master around her?"
"Ok, then you can call me master when it's just the two of us." Puck said, winking at her.
"So, what should I call you while we're around your mother?" asked the blonde, still sporting an amused smile.
"Call me Puck. Or any pet name you want, my mom will like it. She says it's a sign of intimacy."
"Your name's Puck?" asked the girl, raising her eyebrows.
"No, it's Noah. But only my mom and my sister call me by it."
"It's a pretty name. I'll call you Noah too. I think your mother will like if I do."
Puck wasn't a fan of his name. He thought it was lame and it made him feel old. But Scarlett was right, his mother would like if more people called him by the name Ruth chose. Besides, it would be another sign of intimacy. His mother loved those.
"Ok. And what should I call you?"
The blonde shook her head. "No, let's talk about you first. What's your job?"
"I'm a lawyer."
"That's it? That's all I'm getting?"
"There's not much to it. I'm an attorney. There's nothing exciting about it. I work for a big law firm and there's a possibility I make partners. They are choosing someone for the position and there's a possibility I make it."
She looked impressed. "Well, that sounds exciting. Tell me more about it."
They spent the next two hours talking about Puck's job, his boss, his colleagues and some cases he had worked on. They were getting along pretty well.