Chapter Fifteen
Caleb
In the water cooling off from the hot day, I couldn’t stop looking at Hailey. She was so hot in the pink bikini. Her stomach was flat and toned, and her full breasts were practically calling to me. I couldn’t stop staring at her round bum, which her bikini bottom was hugging nicely. She was incredibly sexy, especially when she would laugh – and she laughed a lot. All I wanted to do was collect her in my arms and never let her go.
How did I get so lucky that this beautiful girl is going to be in my company for a few months? I kept having to remind myself that it was just pretend, but she was a great person to pretend with, that’s for sure. She was everything you could want in a situation like that.
I wasn’t the only one checking her out, either. Men on the beach were checking her out more than I was getting checked out. That was a different feeling for me. They were probably wondering if she was some kind of celebrity that they didn’t recognize. Where had I plucked this new girl from? The questions were probably already circulating the social media sites. Who was the mysterious girl hanging out with Caleb Harris? She was getting a lot of attention.
Thankfully, she was there with me and couldn’t be taken away. Though I doubted that she would want to be taken away; she seemed pretty happy in my company. Her cheeks were flushed from the sun, or maybe it was the champagne, but she had never looked more beautiful.
I moved closer to her and put my arm around her pulling her close. She smiled up at me. It was the perfect scene for photos. Two lovers out in the water, embracing each other. I couldn’t have planned it out better if I’d tried. The water was cold, so it felt nice having our warm bodies close together. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me closer.
“Are you having a good time?”
“The best; what an awesome day. Thank you.”
“Do you want to go in and dry off?”
“Yes, I do. Maybe we can have another glass of champagne.”
“Sure, anything you want. I can grill us up some dinner, too, if you want.”
“That would be great. I should probably eat something with all I’ve had to drink.”
I laughed, “No problem. Let’s go in.”
We started walking back to the beach, and she shook off her feet after we got out of the water. It wasn’t long before our feet were covered in sand. I noticed people staring at us and taking pictures, so I pulled her close to me for a hug and squeezed her tight. She giggled and let me hug her – we were supposed to be lovers after all. It felt good to hold her close, and I warmed up her skin that had cooled from the water.
I knew we were getting our photos taken, but I tried to act as casual as possible. There were times when it felt awkward to be that close to her. After all, I barely knew her, and this was a scene that was more romantic than sexual. I was totally out of my element. I couldn’t remember the last time that I had even taken a girl out on a date.
Hailey was definitely drawing in all the attention I needed for this new change of lifestyle. I could imagine that the news would have a field day with these pictures. The sooner word got out about us, the better it would be. Then maybe we could start having a little bit of fun.
A girl approached and asked for my autograph. I was more than willing to oblige. I let go of Hailey, and she turned and smiled at the girl. She was completely sweet and gracious as a few people approached us to talk. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to show her off to everyone. As I signed autographs, one girl piped up and asked, “Are you guys dating?”
I smiled. “This is my girl, Hailey. So, you’ll be seeing a lot more of her around. I’ve decided to give up my party ways and try a new way of living, and this girl has been beside me the whole time. I’m ready for something better.”
“No more party videos,” one girl said with a pout.
I laughed, “Sorry, those videos are behind me. My only goal right now is winning the majors. It’s going to be a hell of a year.”
There was some clapping as the group before us got bigger. Everyone had their phones out, and I wasn’t sure who was taking pictures and who had videos going on.
Hailey looked up at me and smiled just the way a girlfriend would who was proud of her man. I grinned down at her, looking forward to sitting on the patio with her and making some dinner. We would be on the covers of magazines the next day, for sure. I would be surprised if they weren’t already posted online.
I felt like I might be overdoing it a little bit, but I had to do what it took to get noticed right now. I had a lot of negative attention on me and needed to turn that around as soon as possible. This was the way to do it, and I knew as soon as Aria saw the pictures, she wouldn’t be able to stop grinning. She might even hire me to be an underwear model – she really should after all she was putting me through. I should probably suggest it after the pictures went live.
There were a few squeals, and a couple of people asked if they could take pictures of us together. Hailey agreed, and we posed for a couple of pictures. It was perfect, and I knew that we would be the talk of social media that evening.
Things were finally starting to go my way. It would be nice to get my father off my back for a while. Dealing with him could be so exhausting at times. He acted like he never partied a day in his life, but I had heard some of the stories of his youth. He was no angel, that was for sure.
“She’s so pretty.”
“Aww, thank you,” Hailey said.
“Well, we have to get going. I promised my girl that I would make her some dinner.”
They backed away as we headed towards the house. I took Hailey’s hand in mine, and we made our way back up onto the porch. I turned and waved to my fans, and they returned the wave, calling out that they loved me. I chuckled as we started climbing the stairs.
Once we were on the porch, Hailey laughed, “Wow, that was intense. So, that’s your life, right?”
“I guess so. You might want to get used to that if you continue to further your acting career.”
She smiled, “Yeah I guess you’re right.” She seemed lost in thought for a minute there. She didn’t talk much about her career, and I didn’t want to pry. I started to brush the sand off my feet with a towel before I went into the house.
“Have a seat. I’m going to get another bottle of champagne and get the grill heated.”
“Thanks.” She took a seat as I went to the BBQ and turned it on. I let it heat up as I went inside the house.
I went to the fridge and took out some chicken. I took it out of the wrapper and seasoned it for the BBQ. I quickly chopped up some vegetables that could be grilled, as well. I didn’t want to leave her out there for too long on her own. Chicken and vegetables was a nice light dinner for a hot day. I left the food inside while the BBQ heated and grabbed another bottle of champagne from the fridge and headed outside.
I poured us both another glass.
“Everything okay in there?”
“Yes, I just got some chicken and vegetables together.”
“Oh, cool. Do you need any help?”
I smiled, “No, I have things under control, thanks.”
She nodded and looked out at the water. In the short time I had known her, I had never seen her looking more at peace and genuinely happy than she did right at that moment. She was beautiful in any light, but right then, she was stunning. I sat down beside her and sipped at my own champagne. Things were going amazingly well, and I felt almost blessed to have her there to help me with my bad reputation.
“I just want to thank you for being here.”
She looked up in surprise.
“I mean, I know this is a job for you, but I think you are doing a fantastic job already. I just want to thank you.”
She grinned. “It’s no problem. I’m having a great time, so it makes this job very easy. I’m glad to have this opportunity. It’s all very exciting for me.”
“Great, I’m glad it’s not torture for you.”
“Of course not.”
“Do you want to go have a few drinks later? After we eat?”
She giggled. “I guess we will have to see how I feel after this. I don’t want to get too wobbly.”
I laughed, “I guess we have been drinking all day already. How about we hit up a restaurant and have coffee and dessert, instead?”
She smiled. “That sounds perfect, actually. Let’s do that. Are you sure you don’t just want to stay here?”
“No, let’s go in public. That’s what we’re doing together, after all, isn’t it?”
“Sure, no problem, whatever you want. You’re the boss.”
I frowned. Yes, that was true. There was nothing more between us than that. I could live with that; it really wasn’t a big deal. I just wanted us in the limelight as much as possible that day so that the word would get out fast that I was making changes and had a girl in my life.
Once that happened, people’s opinions of me would start to change. Not only that, but Under Armour would take notice and then they would get off my back. They might even increase their sponsorship, they would be so happy with me.
I went about putting the chicken on the grill and adding BBQ sauce to the pieces. The vegetables were in a separate container with spices and olive oil. The meal would be quick, but delicious. When things were ready, I served them up on plates and handed her one.
“This looks great. A chef in the making.”
I laughed, “Hey, what can I say? I try.”
I could tell that she was hungry when she dug in. Maybe I should have cooked for her the moment we got to the beach. I was just so excited to have her there and to get the media going at us. I was already a terrible host, and I would have to check myself for the future. She deserved to have a great time, and it was my job to provide that for her.
She smiled at me as we ate, and I couldn’t help but smile back; it was infectious. I started to formulate a plan for that evening; word had probably already got out, so there was no need to do anything crazy...but maybe crazy was what we needed. I couldn’t help but smile again.