The Unwanted Affair

She had to make it stop...didn't she?

"I feel out of place here," Lauren confessed to Mikayla as they hunkered down in the hotel bar before the Internet Influencer welcome dinner.

"What? This is TOTALLY your scene!" Mikayla said, taking a long slug of her fancy, locally brewed craft beer.

"This is totally YOUR scene," Lauren replied, taking a tiny sip of her own beer. Corona. Light.

"Well, that's for sure. I love this kind of stuff. Meeting new people, hobnobbing with Internet celebs, winning awards. What could be better? Come on, at least it's a fun girls trip away from the kids, right?"

Lauren felt a pang of homesickness. She thought of her little boy, Adam, who was only 4 and didn't understand that sometimes Mommy's job meant she had to leave home for a few days. Lauren's ex had run out on her when Adam was a baby leaving Lauren alone to fend for herself. That's when Lauren had become a blogger—out of desperation. She needed SOMETHING to keep her going. It was a huge blessing that her Internet presence had become so lucrative.

"But Mama! My needs you home!" Adam had protested when he saw her packing her suitcase.

"Sweetie, I'll only be gone for two sleeps."

"Two sweeps only, Mama? Pwomise?"

Sitting in the bar now, Lauren tried to re-direct her thoughts away from home. 

"You know what?" she said, smiling at Mikayla. "You're right. I need to soak up this trip. It's kind of a big deal that we won these awards, right?"

"There's my girl!" Mikayla crowed, triumphantly. 

"Thanks for kicking my butt a little bit," Lauren said. "I needed to snap out of it."

"OH MY GOD LOOK WHO THAT IS," Mikayla said, suddenly dropping her voice to a dramatic whisper. "It's Hilary Barnes! THE Hilary Barnes! The supermodel turned farmhouse girl! Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD."

Lauren glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, there was Hilary Barnes. And she was surrounded by a gaggle of fans.

"I have to go talk to her," Mikayla gushed. "Can you watch my beer for me?"

"Sure, go for it."

Mikayla hopped down off her barstool and hurried across the room. Pretty soon she was lost in the mini-crowd surrounding Hilary. 

"Did she just abandon you?"

It was Dex, arriving at the bar freshly showered and smelling like after shave.

"Oh. Well. She wanted to meet Hilary Barnes."

"Isn't it funny that her last name is Barnes?" Dex said. 

"You mean because she lives in a farmhouse with a barn?"

"Yeah. That's not her real name, though, right? That's just her Instagram handle?"

"I don't know, to be honest," Lauren said. "Everyone knows her as Hilary Barnes so even if she has a different legal name I think they'd still call her Hilary Barnes."

"Maybe she runs a funny farm," Dex said, waving at the waiter to bring him a beer.

"Ha ha very funny," Lauren said. 

"I know. Lame joke."

"You joke a lot."

"I like to make people laugh," Dex said.

"Well, it works," Lauren agreed.

Dex leaned across the table, placing his hand on top of hers. "But does it work for YOU?" 

"Um."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Lauren flushed. "Well...."

"Look, I'm not gonna lie. I'm sure you can tell my marriage to Mikayla is anything but happy. We've been unhappy for years."

"Should you be telling me this?" Lauren asked. She took another long drink of her beer. She needed the liquid courage.

"You just seem like someone I can trust. I've watched you online. You're the real deal. No baloney."

"Well, seeing someone online is different than seeing them in real life."

"Yeah, but I feel like I know you."

"See, that's how I feel about you and Mikayla," Lauren said. "But now I'm finding out something entirely different."

"You seem happily married," Dex said.

Lauren laughed. "And you can tell that, how?"

"I don't know. Because you seem so....settled."

"So, clearly you DON'T follow my Instagram," Lauren said. "If you did, you would know I'm not married. I'm a single mom."

It was Dex's turn to look awkward. "Oh! I'm sorry. I just assumed..."

"It's OK," Lauren said, not wanting him to feel bad. But she wasn't about to forget that his flattery had been a lie. He didn't follow her on Instagram. He had said that she was "one of the most genuine" online celebrities but in reality, he knew nothing about her. But why would he lie to her? What did he possibly have to gain by pretending he was well acquainted with her online presence? 

Lauren knew the answer. He was unhappy and he wanted to impress her. 

"God, I'm such an idiot!" Dex said and swallowed half his beer in several swigs.

"Easy there, tiger," Lauren said.

Dex leaned across the table again. His face had changed once more. There was a pleading look in his eyes. An adorable, apologetic smile on his lips.

"I guess you can tell I'm unhappy," he said. "And I'm making a fool of myself."

If only you weren't so irresistibly handsome, Lauren thought.

"Can you forgive me for being a total bastard?" Dex said. "The truth is..." he paused and suddenly he looked embarrassed. "The truth is...I think you're absolutely gorgeous and I was trying to impress you."

Lauren felt her heart flutter. So maybe he was a liar, but he was also charming as hell. And gorgeous. It was a deadly combination.

This time it was Lauren who reached across the table and placed her hand on top of his.

"It's OK," she said. "I understand. After all, it's impossible to resist someone as amazing as myself."

Dex burst into laughter. "Thank you," he said. "No, really. Thanks for that."

"We share a common language," Lauren said and squeezed his hand.

"Sarcasm?"

"Bingo."

She knew it was risky, but she let her hand linger just a few seconds too long. He was just too gorgeous. Dex flipped his hand over and squeezed back.

Lauren felt that current of electricity coursing through her body once again. Was this really happening? She had to make it stop. She had to slow things down.

Didn't she?