Page 17 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“Hey, are you taking the shuttle to the resort?” he asked. “Or does a guy like you have a limo showing up?”
“No, I’ll be getting a ride to the resort once I get my plane taken care of.”
“We should get together for drinks tonight,” he said. “We really need to catch up. You’ve got to tell me all about this airplane thing you have going on.”
It was laughable. He didn’t give a shit about my airplane thing. He had made that clear back in high school. Him and his buddies made it pretty clear they thought I was an idiot. They thought my love for all things airplanes was never going to get me anywhere. They used to talk a lot of shit. We knew who was laughing now.
“I have plans tonight,” I said.
“Plans?” Tony said and looked at his buddies. “Shit, you move fast! Which one? You have to watch out for Ginny. That one’s been married twice. One baby from each and she rakes in the alimony and child support. You don’t want to be number three.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “I don’t have plans with any of them.”
“You have an actual date?” Derrick asked with disbelief.
And that was the tone I was used to. They were mocking me right to my damn face. “I do,” I said and tried not to take it personally.
It brought me back to high school. One moment in particular. I was sitting by myself at lunch. I was minding my own business, reading a new pilot magazine. Tony and his band of followers decided it was a good time to give me shit.
They wanted to know who I was going to prom with. It was no secret I had asked one of the more popular girls in school to go with me. She shot me down and I became the laughingstock for the week. They all thought it was funny, and that was exactly what they were reminding me about now.
“Who is it?” Tony asked.
“I need to talk with the manager here,” I said. “I’ll see you guys at the resort.”
I grabbed my bag because I wasn’t entirely sure I could trust them not to fuck with it. It didn’t appear they had done much growing up in the last fifteen years. I put nothing past them. They might very well pee on it, spit on it, or steal it in general.
I pulled my sunglasses on and walked away. If they wanted to talk shit about me, that was fine. It didn’t mean I had to stand there and take it. That was one thing I had learned over the years. I didn’t have to stand around and take shit from anyone these days. That was the benefit of having money and the power that went along with it.
I pulled open the door of the office and was hit by a welcome blast from the AC. The manager that I had met earlier rushed forward. “Mr. Jones, we’ve got the paperwork ready for you.
“Thank you,” I said and put my bag in the corner.
“Would you like some water?” he asked.
“Yes, please. It’s hot out there.”
He laughed and handed me a bottle. “You get used to it.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“So, are you a movie star?” he asked.
“Me? No. Why?”
“All those people seemed to think you were,” he said. “They are your fan club.”
I smirked. “Not quite.”
“Are you here for the same reunion?”
“I am,” I said and quickly filled out the paperwork. I was renting hangar space for the duration of my time on the island.
After filling out the paperwork and paying the fee, I headed out to one of the waiting shuttles. The next wave of visitors would be in soon. I would hitch a ride on a shuttle. I didn’t want to make another grand entrance at the resort. I was pretty sure none of them would have even given me a second look had I not come in on the plane. I wanted to go incognito as much as possible. I didn’t like the attention. It was probably why I was so bad at dating. I really struggled to put myself out there. I liked to move under the radar.
When I got to the resort, it was like I was invisible. The group from earlier was nowhere to be found in the lobby. I checked in and got the key for my room. I had upgraded my room. That was a luxury I could certainly afford.
I made my way to the room and checked it out. I had a great view of the ocean. I stood in front of the windows for several minutes and just absorbed the view. My home out in California had a similar view. I loved the ocean. It didn’t matter what ocean. I loved them all.
The alarm on my phone beeped. It was time to shower and get ready to meet the woman who was going to pretend to be my date. I didn’t know why I was going to get ready. It wasn’t like it mattered if she liked me or not.
This was a business transaction. Emotions had nothing to do with it.
