Hire a Boyfriend (Dean Winchester)

The Second Date

The party has just started when I see him, my ex James is standing by my cousin joking about who-knows-what. I'm not surprised, I was expecting he'd be here since he's a family friend. However, that does not prevent the growl of displeasure that comes out of my mouth. James has been the only stable boyfriend that I've ever had. We went to the same middle school along with my cousin. They befriended since they were older than me, and then she introduced us. At first, we didn't really care for one another, it was until after college that we tried to date. It didn't end well. I do not feel for him any longer, but the bad blood is still there.

"Is there a problem?" Dean, who is by my side, asks. He is wearing a nice tux with a bow tie. His hair is slick back, and he has a small beard that only makes him look more handsome.

"No problem, I just saw someone unpleasant" I answer, eyeing James. He follows my gaze.

"Ah, ex?" He smirks, is he making fun of me?

"Is that obvious?"

He chuckles charmingly, "only a bit." And then he proceeds to take my hand and lead me in the opposite direction. I guess greeting my cousin will have to wait. We walk hand in hand to the bar, where he orders a beer and I ask for a cocktail. While we wait, I see my mother approaches us and I whisper in Dean's ear, "incoming." He shivers, and I hope it's not in dislike.

"Darling, you left the church in quite a hurry, we didn't really have time to talk!" berates my mother as soon as she's near us. What she said is true. We arrived at the ceremony just in time to sit before it started, and we left as soon as it was over. Then, the party started two hours ago, and we just arrived. I do not mention that we have plans to leave as soon as possible.

"Yeah, well... I left the present back at home" I lie, we spent all that time driving while listening to rock music on repeat. We also had a very serious argument on who is better, Asia or Kansas. I just wanted to kill time.

"I see" she gives me a mischievous look and I don't think she really 'sees'. She turns to my fake boyfriend, "so, Dean, right? How come we've only heard about you now?"

Dean smiles handsomely, and my mother brightens in her spot. I guess I know now why he is so expensive. "We wanted to make sure what we had was serious before meeting our families." I choke on my drink. We did not talk about saying we're serious. I give him a warning glance, but he seems to ignore it. "Are you alright, honey?" My mother seems to swoon over him even more at the pet name. She gives me a subtle nod and I have to restrain my eye roll. She barely knows him! I guess she really is desperate for me to settle down.

I calm my coughs and murmur, "excuse us, mom". I don't wait for a reply and drag Dean towards a secluded space. The music is louder here, and I almost have to yell when I say, "what the hell was that?" He gives me a look as if he doesn't understand, and I specify, "you told my mom we were serious, now she's definitely going to expect you at family gatherings."

He has the common sense to look regretful, "are there a lot of gatherings in your family?"

His face is so genuine that I have to force myself to calm down. "No, not a lot, but we get together more than the average." I sigh, "it's ok, whatever, I'll figure out something later."

Right after that, we decided to share a few dances together. Our time on the dance floor is kind of awkward, I can tell that he is not much of a dancer and neither am I. So after three songs, we decide that is enough and head to the bar instead. We both seem to be happier at the bar. Time passes by quickly, and four hours later we're still drinking while he tells me a funny story about a customer at his workshop. I try not to laugh very loudly when he gets to the ending. I know that I've been unsuccessful because of the glances that the barman throws at me.

During those hours, my mom tried to gain our attention once again, but we managed to deflect her questioning about our relationship into my cousin's wedding dress. My aunt has also tried to sneak up on us a few times, and even my uncle, who first started the conversation with Dean about cars and then about our relationship. Who said that men didn't like gossip?

I'm still laughing when a man's voice sounds near us. "How long has it been since I last saw you smile?" Dean is looking behind me in curiosity, I don't need to turn around to know that it's James. I know his voice. Still, I look his way.

"Hello James, fancy seeing you here." I greet him out of manners. I don't want to see his ugly face.

"Ronnie, you look as lovely as I remember." He says, and the sarcasm is so obvious that even Dean notices.

"Well, I wish I could say the same."

He's about to say something back at me when Dean cuts him off. "Hi I'm Dean, Ronnie's boyfriend, and you are?"

"Your predecessor," he smiles devilishly, "you should run away while you can, man." By now, I'm so used to James' antics that his comment doesn't even hurt anymore, but I can see that Dean is bothered by it. He's creasing his brows in anger.

I don't want things to escalate, so I interfere. "Get lost James, the only reason you are in this wedding is because Hillary still puts up with you."

Before he even has the time to think of a comeback, the bride (my cousin) comes to our spot. "James, I hope you are not bothering the guests," Hillary says with a warning tone.

"No, no," he says, "I was just getting to know Dean, Ronnie's new boyfriend."

The mention of my name next to the 'boyfriend' word seems to catch Hillary's attention. She looks up and down at Dean and then back at me with a wink. So, another approval I didn't need. "Well, I hope you guys are enjoying the party."

Even though she is still looking at me, the question seems to be directed at Dean, so he answers. "Yeah, it's ah, very entertaining. Uhm, congratulations."

I already said congratulations earlier, so I don't add anything more. "No problem guys, keep having a good time, James and I are you gonna go over there to chat a bit". And then she drags James away, he protests at first but then complies. I don't know how I ended up dating him back in the day. He's too much of a child.

"Well, that was interesting," mumbles Dean.

I sigh, "well, that was too much". Dealing with my family is always tiring, and I'm reaching my limit. "I think I'm ready to go, if that's ok with you."

Dean watches me carefully. "Yeah, no problem. Why don't I drop you off at home?"

I'm too exhausted and drunk to question him if that's allowed in the renting-boyfriend system, so I let him take me to his car. I climb in the passenger seat and give him my address. It's not like he's going to stalk me later, right? This is supposed to be the last time we'll see each other.

I must have dozed off for a moment because next time I know, he's shoving a burger in my hands. "What?" He says, "don't give me that look, you barely ate anything at the party." I'm about to protest, so he adds, "just put it on the bill, you'll pay me tomorrow through the app." Fair enough, I shrug and take my first bite. The surprised sound I make is very noticeable because Dean smirks at me. "Pretty good, right? Best burgers in Kansas."

We don't say anything else the rest of the way to my house. We just eat burgers and listen to soft rock music. The night is warm when the Impala parks home.