4. Cole

"So,where did you and Jenna meet?" A hand slapped me on the back between my shoulder blades, and I blinked in surprise. It took me a second to realize where I was and what I was doing. I was standing at the bar waiting for drinks I'd just ordered for me and Jenna.

I'd gotten distracted when I saw the wedding planner across the room and forgotten where I was and what I was doing. I'd assumed she wasn't working this wedding because the reception was nearly over and I hadn't seen her. But I'd been at the bar, and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned around, and we'd locked eyes. It had only been for a second, but that's all it took for the rest of the world to completely disappear. All I'd seen was her.

I turned around, and a balding man who looked to be in his fifties with a beer belly was staring up at me expectantly. I'd been introduced to him earlier and ran through the mental Rolodex I kept of relatives. Balding. Beer belly. Bert. This was Jenna's Uncle Bert.

"We met online." I smiled.

"Oh, one of those dating apps?"

"Yeah." In a matter of speaking, Jenna had contacted me through my app. We'd decided to go with the backstory we met on a dating app because it was a version of the truth.

"How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"Not long. It's pretty new."

"There you are, Uncle Bert!" Jenna walked up beside me as the bartender set our drinks down on the bar. "Aunt Suzie is looking for you."

He exhaled loudly. "What did I do now?"

Jenna shrugged. Uncle Bert walked away looking like a defeated man as I handed Jenna the mojito I'd just ordered.

"Thanks." She lifted up on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear, "I was just talking to Nan and Aunt Cleo; everyone loves you."

That was sort of the point. I played well with families. Growing up, before Sara got legal custody of me, I'd stayed for prolonged periods of time in about six different extended family's houses, crashed on more couches of my mom"s "friends" than I could count, and been in and out of group and foster homes. Before high school, I'd attended fourteen different elementary and middle schools and was always able to make friends.

Jenna took a sip of her drink and then set it down. "Can we dance?"

"Of course."

A hopeful gleam lit in her eyes as she took my hand, and I led her out onto the dancefloor. A gleam that told me she might be thinking this could start out as a job but turn into something real. It couldn't. I had no room in my life for romance. Not any real romance. People close to me thought that I didn't date because I'd been burned so badly by Lindsay, but that wasn't it. The truth was, my life was too complicated for any sort of romantic relationship.

Besides living on a couch, and being a plus one for hire, there was also my sister's health to consider. Aside from work, which was a necessity, I never made plans that couldn't be canceled at the last minute. My priorities were my sister, niece, and nephews. Their well-being came first.

Looking back, I could see the toll my responsibilities had taken on my relationship with Lindsay. I'd gone from being an attentive, fairly carefree boyfriend to having to help my sister raise three kids while also being a caretaker.

It hadn't happened overnight. First, Peter got sick, then died. Then the twins were born, and my sister's health deteriorated. All those things slowly chipped away at mine and Lindsay's relationship. Honestly, I didn't blame her for bailing—it was more the way she'd gone about it.

Jenna lifted her chin to meet my eyes as we swayed in time to the music. "So, how often do you do…this?"

"I stay busy." In the contract that every date had to sign, it specified that I didn't share personal information about myself. This was about them and their experience. I was whoever they needed me to be. I used the example that I was an actor they were hiring. That was part of the reason I used Cole, instead of CJ, which all my family and friends called me. It helped me stay in character.

Inevitably, my dates would ask about me and my personal life. I understood. It was human nature. These ‘dates' could feel real. Dancing, laughing, and even kissing on some occasions. I didn't kiss all my dates; only when situations arose where kissing wasn't just appropriate, it would raise red flags if it didn't happen.

As we moved around the dance floor, I couldn't stop my eyes from scanning the room for the fair-haired, green-eyed wedding planner. Not that I had any clue if she actually had green eyes or blonde hair, for that matter.

Had I really mentioned her to Sara? Why would she have said it if I hadn't? Did I seem happier after I'd seen her?

Since just thinking of her had the corners of my lips lifting, I guess I did.

The first wedding I'd seen her at was a little over a year ago. I'll never forget it. I was the MOH's plus one, and the bride was losing it on her. She stayed so calm, cool, and collected, which I suppose was her job, but when I witnessed it, it drew me in like a magnet. Like a moth to a flame. When I looked at her face, she made me feel calm. Like she was an angel or something.

"Can I cut in?" Holly, the bride, grabbed her sister's arm as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sniffed.

"Of course." I stepped to the side and Holly broke down in tears.

"What's wrong?" Jenna asked her as I left the dance floor.

"I lost it. I lost Gran's earring."

While Jenna comforted her sister, I figured this would be a good time for me to use the restroom and regroup. Sara pointing out that the wedding planner had gotten in my head—it was throwing me off my game.

I walked out of the ballroom into the hallway and went in search of a bathroom when I saw the man who looked like he should be a lead on a crime procedural. He reminded me of a younger Taye Diggs.

I'd seen him talking to the wedding planner, and I was very tempted to ask him what her name was. But I didn't. I was here with someone—someone who was paying me. And even if I wasn't, my life did not have room for a relationship.

"Oh, hello." The man's face split in a million-dollar smile.

"Hey." I grinned.

"How are you?" he asked in a familiar tone.

Had I met him before? I was usually good at remembering faces, and even as a heterosexual male, I had to admit this man was strikingly attractive. He looked like a movie star and possessed whatever that ‘it' quality was that they had.

"Good, how are you?" I responded, trying to place him.

"Good." He was eyeing me up and down, and although I believed I was his type, I didn't think that was the reason he was checking me out. It was more like he was sizing me up. Reading me. Assessing my worthiness. "Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"I was just…looking for the bathroom."

"The one downstairs is out of commission. But there's one on the second floor. Third door on the right. Make sure to shut the door behind you so people know it's ocupado."

"Thanks." As I headed up the stairwell, I felt strange about the interaction I'd just had. It was just a hunch, but I was pretty sure Taye Diggs' doppelganger was on to me. He knew that I wasn't with Jenna, and that we weren't really a couple. He'd definitely given off a cat-that-ate-the-canary vibe.

The more ‘dates' I went on, the more paranoid I got that people would find me out. The Bay Area, specifically San Francisco, was not as big as people might think. And there was even a smaller pool of people who could afford to hire me.

Thankfully, it wouldn't be much longer until I had my contractor's license. My test was in six weeks, and I nearly had the fifteen thousand dollars for the bond and insurance I would need to start my own business. Once I passed my exams and got everything in order, I wanted to branch out on my own. I'd loved working for Vaughn Construction for the past six years, but so did ninety-nine percent of the employees, which meant opportunities for advancement were limited. Foreman positions rarely came up, and when they did, they were always snatched up by men who had more years in than I had.

My plan was to pick up work on the weekends and nights. Now that the twins were older, they were more independent, and I felt like I could be away more. Being gone more would put more responsibility on Carly, but I hoped that I could make it up to her by making sure she had everything she needed, like new school clothes, extracurricular activities, and a car when she got her license.

Even though that was still a few years away, I was already thinking about it—not just for her but also for the twins. I needed to make more money to give them the future and present they deserved, not to mention to give myself some privacy.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I counted three doors down and saw that the door was being propped open by a chair. I pushed it to the side, then walked into the small room and pulled it shut behind me.

"Don't close the?—"

I heard someone yell and turned around to find I wasn't alone. The wedding planner was there, on her knees, just like she'd been in my fantasy. Except in that scenario, neither of us were clothed.