Damn, our order still hasn't arrived!

It had already been several minutes since I sat down with this guy, who introduced himself as Allen Flynn, a.k.a. Tooth Fairy-the only person crazy enough to respond to my ad looking for a fake lover. So far, I'd say our meeting has been going well, despite being a little awkward at first. We'd already gone over his first request and a few ground rules for his role as my lover before the engagement.

But we still have so many things left to discuss, and yet the silence between us was starting to get thick and suffocating. You know what I mean? The kind of silence where you suddenly feel the urge to check your phone just to look busy...which, ironically, only makes everything even more awkward than it already is?

However, I still can't let our conversation continue like this.

I have to say something.

"Okay..." I finally spoke up, breaking that thick wall of stillness between us, "What about your second term?"

Thankfully, that got his attention.

"Ah, yes. About that..." Allen said while his arms were still folded across his chest, like he was the one conducting the job interview instead of me. "When exactly do I start being your lover? And when is this engagement you're talking about?"

"Next month," I replied, leaning back slightly on my chair. "On the death anniversary of my future fiancée's father, who just so happens to be my dad's best friend. And if you haven't guessed already, the only reason my father's forcing this marriage on me is because he made a promise to his dying best friend that he'd take care of his only daughter. He just conveniently forgot to mention that I would be the one doing the taking care part once we became a couple..."

Allen's dispassionate expression didn't change, but his reply was immediate.

"You're so unlucky."

"I know, right?" I let out a humorless laugh. "Glad to know we're finally on the same page about something."

But Allen didn't even crack a smile with that joke, not even a hint of interest or amusement. That's when I suddenly found myself in yet another awkward position. Why did talking to this guy make me feel so uncomfortable?! It's not like he was being rude or anything. Maybe it was his expression, or the way his responses were so short and restricted. Either way, he somehow made me doubt every word that came out of my mouth. And honestly, it made me feel so fucking dumb!

But just as I was about to open my mouth again, Allen suddenly spoke, and said...

"In that case, I just want to be updated on any changes to my schedule as your lover, like where I'll need to be, and when."

Finally! A sensible response!

At least now I knew he was capable of everyday conversation.

Still, there's something about what he said that caught my curiosity.

"Wait, how about your schedule?" I asked him, "Are you busy with something right now? Do you have work? I thought you were already retired? That's what you said on your résumé, right?"

I wasn't sure, but Allen seemed to look away when I mentioned his work.

"I just do sidelines now." He answered me sparingly.

Sidelines?

That could mean freelance jobs, right?

With that kind of face and body, I bet his previous job probably had something to do with security. Could this guy be a bodyguard? Nah, I'm not so sure. But look at those huge scars on his arm, he can't be just an ordinary bodyguard with that kind of injury, right? A bouncer? No...he can't get injured like that from just shooing away drunk customers at a bar.

Whatever his job was, it definitely wasn't something ordinary. However, from his reaction, it was clear that he didn't want to discuss it, so I decided to change the topic before I could step on something I shouldn't have mentioned in the first place.

"So," I said, trying to sound casual, "How about the boundaries you've mentioned earlier?"

"Right." Then Allen's gaze fluttered back to me. "Regarding that, how far are we supposed to go with playing lovers?"

I suddenly paused to process that one.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked.

"Since we're pretending to be in a relationship, I need to know exactly what I can and can't do as your lover. I don't want you freaking out later when people start watching us in the open, doing things like normal couples do."

Wait. Hold up.

What did he just say?

Doing what couples do?

"Wait-hold that thought for a sec!" I raised my hand quickly to stop him before he could go any further. "Do you mean like...being lovey-dovey and stuff like that? Do we really need to do that? I mean, there are a lot of couples out there who don't do anything like that, right? So, is that really necessary?"

Allen gave me that long, judgmental stare, the kind of look that made me feel like I'd just said the dumbest thing imaginable.

"Look, if you really want to annoy your father to the core, then what's wrong with making your little pretense realistic enough to make him despise it, right? Holding hands and kissing probably isn't that difficult for you, unless..."

"U-unless...what?" I asked.

His gaze lingered on me a little too long, as if he was judging me already with just one, quick look...

...and it was scary.

"Unless you've never actually done any of that before."

I knew it!

I knew he was going to say that!

And annoyingly enough...he was right.

I've never had a romantic relationship before, nor have I felt the slightest interest in women, men, or anyone, and I'm totally fine with that. But what I can't entirely accept is how embarrassing it was to hear how 100% virgin I am from someone like this guy, who thinks he's an expert in dating.

I wanted to protest, at least, to tell him I'm not that inexperienced in those kinds of things, but who was I kidding?

I totally was!

And Mr. Tooth Fairy here-no, Allen Flynn, knew it without me saying a damn thing, all by just looking at me.