Just Rent Me

7

Nathan looked at his phone with an absent mind. Why did he propose that plan to her? What the hell was he thinking? He rolled his eyes and scrolled through his Instagram feed like the jobless person he was.

She was the best option.

"Hey," the low yet audible voice made him look up from his phone to see Willow standing there with a shy smile. She was dressed a light blue sun dress that stopped below her knees and her hair was packed in a half-up ponytail making her look as cute as ever.

"I thought you were going to ditch me on our first date," Nathan commented with a grin as she took her seat across him. Willow rolled her eyes and placed her small white purse on the table.

It has been a week since she agreed to that plan. They hadn't met since that day and the was their first meeting.

"Why did you send me that money?" she asked him when she was settled. Nathan's grin widened, knowing that was what she was going to say. "I presume you haven't heard of a signing bonus," he said and she rolled her eyes. "I know what a signing bonus is," she said and he chuckled.

"But a thousand dollars, Nathan? Isn't that a bit too much?" she asked him with a frown. He rolled his eyes. It felt like nothing when he transferred the money to her so why was she making it a big deal?

"It's fine, Willow," he said and she nodded.

A waitress approached them.

"Hello, would you like to order?" the woman asked. "We'll have burger and fries with coke," Nathan said. "A chicken burger," Willow added and the woman nodded before leaving.

"This restaurant is fancy," Willow muttered as she looked around. "You don't like fancy places?" he asked her. She shrugged, "I don't know." She turned her attention to him, "So how are we doing this thing?"

Time for business.

"You do not tell anyone about our agreement, not even your closest friend," Nathan said. "But I tell Evelyn everything, she's my best friend," Willow pointed out with a pouted. He rolled his eyes. "You can tell her that we're dating. Tell her I asked you out after giving you a heartfelt epistle of how much I love you and you couldn't say no," his smirk made her glare at him.

Willow then said, "You don't seem like the type of guy to do something like that." "Exactly, I am not," he confirmed and she glared at him again. "Then how the fuck is she going to believe me then?"
"She'll believe you, don't worry," Nathan said and the waitress came back with their food.

"I pray it tastes as good as it looks," Willow mumbled as she picked up one of her fries and began to eat.

"How long is this going to be?" she asked him. "Till I graduate and start working. I'll tell my parents we broke up and then they'll let me find the person I actually want to be with," he replied as he bit into his burger. "What about Crystal?" Willow couldn't help but ask.

"What about her?"

"Isn't she your girlfriend?" she asked and he laughed. "Fucking her a few times more than the others doesn't make her my girlfriend, but she thinks otherwise," he said with an eye roll and Willow smiled.

"So let's something clear, shall we?" he said and she nodded.

He leaned forward and pointed his French fry at her, making the situation lighter. "I stay out of your business and you stay out of mine. In public we act like the normal couples that are in love and all that shit. Our lives don't have to mix," he said and she shrugged.

"Can I ask a question?"

He motioned for her to speak. "Why me of all people? I'm sure other girls are dying to be in this spot," she said.

"That's the reason it's you. You don't like me and I don't like you. Other girls will fall for me and that's not what I want," he said and she rolled her eyes. "Egoistic much," she said and he grinned. "I'm a guy and I'm aware of the lust filled admirers I have," Nathan said. "I hope you're aware that I'm tempted to dump my fries on your head," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's so nice of you," he laughed and she rolled her eyes.

When they were done eating and he paid the bill, he led her out of the restaurant. "So what do we do in public?" she asked as she followed him to his car. Without saying a word, he held her hand and her eyes widened.

She looked up at him, he kept his gaze in front of him and then she looked at their entwined hands. His big hand enclosed her small one and it looked so perfect. Her heart skipped a beat as memories of her past relationship filled her mind.

"Your hand is pretty small," Nathan commented when they got to his car. "But it can throw a good punch," she said as he opened the door for her and he laughed. "Oh really?" he helped her in. "Want to do a test run?" she raised a brow and he shook his head with a chuckle.

He got in the driver's seat and roared the engine to life. "Nice car," Willow said. "Thank you," he said and began to drive. "So where are we going? The movies? Hollywood? My grave?" she asked and Nathan gave her a puzzled look.

"What?" she asked with a shrug.

"Your grave, Willow?" he raised a brow and she rolled her eyes.

"Do you want to re-watch oppenheimer?" he asked her and she grinned. "Yes please!"

∞

"Thank you for today, even though you didn't have to," Willow said as they walked towards the dorms. It was already nighttime; they had spent the whole day watching movies at the theatre (as funny as it sounds).

"Why won't a guy take his girlfriend on a date?" Nathan teased and she playfully punched his shoulder making him laugh. They got to the building and she turned to face him.

"Bye," she waved at him with a smile. "Hmm," he said and her eyes met his before they fell on his lips. She quickly looked away as her cheeks heated.

"No, don't be stupid!" she thought to herself.

When was the last time she kissed someone?

"I know what you're thinking."

Her breath hitched when he pulled her closer and placed one hand on her waist. She placed her hands on his chest and struggled to breathe. When was the last time she had this kind of contact with someone?

"Are you sure about this?" she couldn't look up at him.

"If I say yes, will you look up at me?" Nathan seemed to enjoy the vanilla scent of her hair. "Maybe" she mumbled and he chuckled before placing a finger on her chin, making her look up.

Their eyes locked and Willow found herself drawn to those green orbs. "Can I?" he asked as he leaned closer. "Yes," she whispered and he closed the distance.

Her eyes closed on instant and she felt him puller her closer. Being short had its disadvantages sometimes. Her hands flew to his hair as she dug her fingers in it making him groan into the kiss.

They pulled apart to catch their breath and Willow tried to regain her senses.

Knowing things would go awkward, Nathan gave her a peck on her lips and whispered goodnight before walking way.

Not wasting any more second, Willow ran into the building and ran up the stairs in search of her room.

She ran into her room and shut the door.

"Oh my God, what just happened?" she gasped in horror as she pulled at her hair. She then sat on the floor and kept quiet. The sensation of the kiss was still on her lips and she couldn't help but be surprised that she actually wanted to kiss him again.

"You must not fall in love!" she hissed to herself and climbed her bed.

"Tomorrow is Monday!" she cried out in agony and a sigh left her lips afterwards.