The Pretend Girlfriend
By: Lucy Lambert"I wouldn't," Aiden replied.
She sniffled and realized how puffy her face must look when she was like this. She changed her mind; it wasn't a good thing that he was here. It would be just her luck for him to suddenly decide she was ugly and dump her or something.
"Why not?" she said, regaining some composure.
"Because your stuff is fine."
"Oh? You know the burglars? Are they clients of yours?" she said, irritated at his cavalier attitude. Not everyone was rich like he was.
"Actually, I'm their client."
"What?!" she said, pushing away from him. A few neighbors had poked their heads out of their doorways to see what all the commotion was about. She ignored them.
He held up his hands in surrender, but his smile belied the gesture. "Yes, and they're not burglars. They're a moving company. Beatrice recommended them to me. I gave them that spare key you gave me; they came in while you were in class."
She leaned back against the doorframe. "What are you saying?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise, but now I'm sort of regretting it... I didn't realize it would upset you so much..."
"What? What surprise?"
Looking bashful, scratching at the back of his head, Aiden replied, "I bought us a new condo. It's overlooking the park, just like you like, I had them take all your stuff over. Though, I hope you don't mind if we use my bed instead of yours..."
Everything clicked in her head. "You're moving in with me!"
His smile grew, "Well, I think it's more like you're moving in with me. But you can put it that way if you want."
Gwen felt the pressure behind her eyes and couldn't resist it. The tears started falling down her cheeks in big, fat drops.
Alarmed, Aiden pulled her close. "Are you okay? Really, I'm sorry. I thought you'd like the surprise..."
"It's not that," she said.
"It's not?"
"No, I just love you so much."
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too."
