The Fakers

2: Gemma

Using my teeth, I removed the olive from my toothpick and fought the urge to use said toothpick to stab the bastard staring at my mouth beside me. "This bar is full of creeps," I said to Mia, but glancing pointedly at him. The man dropped the smug smile, picked up his drink, and walked away in a huff.

Mia laughed. "I know, isn't it great?" she asked. "I can practically smell the desperation in the air. I am so getting laid tonight."

"You're right," I said, pretending to sniff the air. "I can smell the desperation, too." I raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Ha, ha," Mia said dryly. "You're hilarious."

"Why, thank you."

We were out celebrating Mia's divorce, but despite how much money I made the both of us, I was not in a celebratory mood. The dissolution of her relationship hit too close to home. Plus, if Mia – whose one goal in life was to be the perfect wife – couldn't make marriage work, surely there was little hope for the rest of us.

Mia looked at me with her big brown eyes and batted her false eyelashes. She was an absolute doll with her honey blonde hair, apple-shaped cheeks, and button nose. The problem was, she knew it.

"Gemma," she said in her sweetest voice. "I am officially a divorcee. Please be my wingwoman? You're so good at it when you want to be."

I'm good at everything when I want to be. "Fine," I agreed, but I sighed loudly for dramatic effect. Celestial was not a bar where respectable women went to meet decent men, but I owed it to Mia to put on a happy face. After all, she had been there for me when I wanted to make bad, drunken decisions after my own breakup.

"Yes!" she cheered. "I'll order another round of martinis."

"One more martini and one more hour at this God-forsaken bar," I said sternly. "That's all you get. I should honestly be in bed by now. I have a depo-"

"Shh!" Mia interrupted. "Don't talk about your job. You'll scare the men away with your intelligence."

"Okay, okay," I laughed. "So who are we tonight and what's our story?"

Before she could respond, the bartender set two martinis down in front of us. "This is from the gentlemen over there," he said, nodding at a table behind us. "And they picked up your tab."

Mia swiveled her head in the direction of our generous benefactors and I rolled my eyes. "That won't be necessary," I said coolly to the bartender. "I'll be paying for our drinks. Put these two on my tab as well."

He froze, not knowing what to do. It wasn't a difficult request, but it was one he definitely wasn't used to hearing at this particular bar.

"Gemma," Mia scolded, turning her attention back to me. "They're absolutely gorgeous. Let them pay for our martinis. I want to go over and thank them."

"Mia," I said, mimicking her, "If they pay for our martinis, they'll feel entitled to our time and you'll feel obligated to give it to them because they paid for our martinis."

"Hmm." Mia chewed on her lower lip, mulling over my words.

I glanced over at their table. She was right – they really were gorgeous. "Trust me on this," I said. "They're probably awful human beings."

I paid for our drinks, although I had to twist the arm of our poor bartender.

"We can still go over there and thank them if you want," I said to Mia. "But do another thorough scan of the room first."

She did as she was told and our benefactors began to fidget in their chairs. They didn't look like they were used to waiting for anything.

"Anyone else catching your eye?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head.

"All right," I sighed. I looked over at the men who were now whispering to each other in bewilderment. "Which one do you want?"

Mia studied the prospects.

"The blonde," she said finally. "The other one is way too pretty and I can't do that to my self-esteem right now. But you like them pretty, right?"

My mind immediately went to Jesse. If I remembered correctly, he was on-call for the evening but not working at the hospital. I made a mental note to text him and find out.

"Generally speaking, yes," I admitted. "But my interest in this pretty boy will be purely for show." I glanced over at their table again and accidentally locked eyes with him. Startled by how attractive he was, I felt the pulse in my neck quicken. His light brown hair was styled to look effortlessly messy, and he had bright blue eyes, which were a weakness of mine. His thick, expressive eyebrows gave his otherwise perfect face a somewhat devilish appearance. He flashed me a boyish smile – he had dimples because of course he had dimples – and I looked away, feigning indifference.

"Oh, wow. Okay." Mia adjusted her cleavage and nervously smoothed the skirt of her little black dress. "They're coming over here now. Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready," I said truthfully.

The real question was, were they?

* * * * * *

What are your thoughts on Gemma? And on this chapter in general? Let me know in the comments, and if you are enjoying The Fakers so far, please don't forget to vote!