Boyfriend for Rent by Jamie Lake Page B

together.
    “You weren’t planning on going to that , were you?”
    Casey gritted his teeth. The asshole clearly didn’t remember at all. His voice was polite as he answered, “I don’t know, we might.”
    “We?”
    “That might not be such a good idea for either of us , would it?  I mean, who would you bring?” he inched closer as he spoke in an almost threatening way.
    Casey stared at the ground, “We’ll see.”
    “But listen, I wanted to invite you two over some time for dinner.” McDermott said.
    “Dinner?”
    “That way, you can get to meet Jessie and...”
    “Jessie?” Casey interrupted.
    “Yeah, that’s the name. What do you say?”
    “We’ll talk about it.”
    Hunter honked the horn.
    Casey gave McDermott a half smile that he hoped didn’t reveal how nervous he was about getting into the truck. “I guess Hunter is in a hurry. I’ll let you know. Keep in touch,” Casey said, waving from his seat in the truck.
    “All right. Or as you country boys say, ‘Y’all come back now , ya hear?’” McDermott chuckled.
     
     
     
    _________ o _________
     
    CHAPTER 19
     
    H unter didn’t say a word to Casey nearly the whole ride. The two sat inches apart on the cool, torn leather, but it felt like miles, just sulking in the sea of tense silence. Casey tried looking at the scenery as they drove past. He was still mesmerized by the way the city turned into the country. Houses further and further apart while more and more trees sprouted up. The mountains grew closer, looming over him and reminding him of how small and insignificant he was. Even all of that beauty, however, couldn’t capture Casey’s attention, not with this growing distance between he and Hunter.
    “Look, I’m sorry,” Casey said finally, unable to take it any longer. “I wasn’t thinking.”
    Hunter kept his eyes on the road, pressing the gas a little harder.
    “I know how you feel about lying , and I’m sorry to have dragged you into it.”
    Hunter kept driving.
    “We don’t have to ever see him again. If I run into him, I’ll just say we broke up or something.”
    “Then you’d be lying again,” Hunter finally answered.
    “Yeah.”
    “When you moved in, I told you I hated...”
    “I know , I know. I fucked up. I’ll fix it. When we get back to the house and I get some reception, I’ll call him and tell him the whole truth: all of it. I’ll tell him I was desperate, that I still haven’t found someone, that I was hurt that he'd moved on so quickly, that I’m still a loner who doesn’t even have a place of his own, and that I'm leeching off someone else.”
    “Stop,” Hunter said. “You’re not a leech. You’ve been pulling your weight. The guy’s a douche. McDermott, what kinda stupid name is that? Father, my ass.”
    Casey paused as a smile grew. “That’s for sure.”
    Hunter sigh ed and after a moment of silence, and slapped Casey on the leg. Casey jumped, the sting from the playful blow turning into a tingle of a different sort spreading across his skin.
    “We’ll go to this thing of yours; that reunion , and we’ll make the fucker jealous,” Hunter said.
    Casey stared, not daring to believe that he was hearing and understanding correctl y. He asked the question slowly, “What do you mean?”
    “He thinks you’ve got a boyfriend,” Hunter said, his tone implying that this was just common sense. “We’ll do it just for that night. Then we never have to see the fucker again. I can break my rule if it means showing up that asshole.”
    “Alright,” Casey said, his eyes locked onto the side of Hunter’s face.
    “People don’t treat people they love like shit. Ain’t right.” With his eyes still on the road, Hunter reached over and patted Casey on the shoulder in a completely non-romantic way. “‘Sides, told you before. I got you.”
     
     
     
     
    _________ o _________
     
    CHAPTER 20
     
    C asey brought the freshly made ham and cheese sandwiches to the table as Hunter stepped