Hello My Fake Fiancé (Book 1)

HMFF3-Bed Wars

Chapter 3...Bed Wars

Transitioning from living alone to living with a man is a drastic change. I'm not over-exaggerating here. Men are dirty creatures that God put on this earth to remind us that not everything evolves. I swear it's true. I was absolutely tired of tip-toeing around him and picking up after him. I know he has a housekeeper or maid or whatever she is, but it's really not that hard to put the dirty clothes in a basket. I mean, it's the decent thing to do if you throw them at the basket anyway. It's genuinely not that hard of a task. Time schedules were another pain in my ass. Dawson got up extremely early to work out, and I liked sleeping in as long as possible. That's hard to do when his alarm goes off at 5 a.m., and he forgets to turn it off. I got so mad one morning that I unplugged it and shoved it in the bedside table drawer. It was lucky to live another day. In Texas, I would have taken it outside and used it for target practice. But the biggest fight we had of all was over the bed. In particular, who slept on which side? Dawson and I both generally slept in the middle of the bed. So, picking a side was a new concept for both of us.

"I want the left side," I stated.

"But I want the left side," Dawson stated bitterly. "I've always favored the left."

"Fine, I'll take the right side," I stated, trying to resolve this stupid issue.

"But then again, on the left, the sun will be in my eyes. No, I changed my mind. I want the right side," Dawson stated, smiling.

"That's fine with me," I smiled back.

"Wait a second. Did you just use reverse psychology on me?" Dawson asked looking me up and down as I moved my things to the left side of the room.

"You're the one with the PhD you tell me," I smirked. My smirk was short lived.

"Don't you mean M.D.?" He stated, smirking.

"You knew what I meant; don't try to turn this on me," I stated. I wasn't going to let Dawson get the best of me. I didn't do anything, but it felt nice that he considered me wise enough to trick him. I really enjoyed seeing him confused for once. 

Maybe confidence was the key all along. Who knew?

"How about we compromise and both sleep in the middle?" He stated. "Hear me out. I'll sleep in the middle, and you can sleep on top of me."

That pig! That was it!

"In your dreams," I stated, throwing a pillow at him. I laid down on the left side of the bed. I was tired and going to try to get some sleep. 5 a.m. came really early.

I've never had to share a bed before. It felt so weird, so intimate. I've never had to pick a side before. I scooted to the corner of the bed. I really hoped that Dawson wasn't a cuddler in his sleep. Sleeping in a bed with a Dawson about killed me the first few nights. Dawson had promised he would be on his best behavior, but sometimes, I could feel that his southern friend had a mind of his own. I noticed he took many showers for the first two weeks. He was messing up my schedule. I didn't like not having control over my life. That was primarily one of the reasons I broke off my engagement, well, that and the fact that he had cheated on me.

What made things worse was that Dawson took forever in the bathroom. He was always primping, and I truly mean primping. It made me feel rushed because I could never get in the bathroom to get ready. Sure, there were other bathrooms, but all my clothes were in the adjoining closet.

"Dawson, hurry up!" I yelled, banging on the door. What could he possibly do in there?

"Just a minute I'm almost done," he sighed. He was probably brushing each tooth individually for ten minutes. He seemed like the O.C.D type.

"Dawson, I really need to get ready. I still have to do my hair and makeup!" I yelled again.

"I promise I'm almost done," he stated in the same tone. I was getting really irritated. That was it. Then, I decided to open the door and enter at my own risk. I covered my eyes and headed to where I thought I remembered the shower to be. I used my free hand as a guide.

"Danielle what are you doing?" he laughed.

"I am trying to find the shower while still keeping the innocence of my eyes intact," I stated flatly. I thought I felt the shower door. It was smooth, with drips of condensation rolling down the front. I let my hand follow the droplets.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Dawson asked. He sounded a lot closer than he did when I entered the bathroom. "Ms. Meeks, if I didn't know you any better, I would think you were trying to seduce me."

I removed the hand covering my eyes to find myself rubbing my other hand down Dawson's steamy, wet abs muscles. The look of pride on his face made me want to go hide under a rock. It didn't help that he stood there with a towel around his waist. Part of me wanted the towel to fall, and another part blushed because of my previous thought. I ran out of the bathroom, deciding that dry shampoo and just some mascara would do the trick this morning.

Dawson one, Danielle zero.

Work was hectic. I was always behind on my lesson plans because Suzie wouldn't leave me alone, filling me in on all the latest "family gossip." She felt that if I was going to marry Dawson, I needed to know everything I could. To most people, this would seem harmless, but at the moment, it was just annoying. It wasn't that I hated Suzie or the gesture. It was just she never shut up. The woman really had a hard time picking up on social cues. She talked so much that, at times, I felt like my ears went numb. I would pull my hair out if I heard one more story about her cats.

"Oh, and you need to watch out for Aunt Darlene. She's not blood-related but married two of Dawson's uncles. It's like if one doesn't work out, she divorces them and moves to the next brother," Suzie stated, filing her nails.

"Suzie, I'll keep an eye out, but can you do me a favor?" I asked politely.

"Sure, anything Cuz to be," she smiled nudging me in the ribs with her elbow.

"Can you go to the store and find me a yellow stripped calligraphy pen?" I asked with a serious face.

"A what? That sounds made up," She stated.

"No, it's a real thing, and it's in tomorrow's story, and I'd really like to have one to demonstrate how it works," I lied through my teeth. Suzie just looked at me, then got up and left. That should keep her occupied for at least until tomorrow. I sighed and let my hair down. I needed a drink.




After work, I agreed to meet up with my sister, Abby, for dinner. I told her I had found a new apartment and roommate because I felt like I was being a burden and truly wanted a chance to make it on my own. It wasn't all a lie. I felt like a burden since she had her plate full, being a hard-working single mom. The woman was superwoman in my eyes.

"Okay, Dani, I want to hear about your new apartment!" Abby squealed as she cooked. "What area is it in again?"

"There's not much to tell. The bedroom is kinda cramped, but other than that, the other shared living spaces are fine," I replied, hoping my answer was adequate to her liking.

"Where did you find your roommate?" she questioned. She was an excellent cook and tended to get really into it. It was easier to get away with my little fibs since she wasn't looking at my body language.

"They're related to one of my coworkers at work," I replied. Dawson was Suzie's cousin, so that wasn't a lie.

"How awesome is that?" Abby stated. "Though I'm not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss you being here. Although I understand that you need to spread your wings."

"I knew you would understand, Abbs," I sighed. I hated keeping secrets from her. I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt and realized I was still wearing my fake engagement ring. I slowly slipped it off and into my jeans pocket, hoping she hadn't noticed it.

"So, enough about buildings, have you noticed any guys yet?" Abby teased taking a big sip of her wine. "What about that cute postal guy I tired to set you up with...Trey? Trevor? Travis?"

"Abby, just the fact that you're not even sure what his first name is makes me lose all guilt of standing him up," I laughed. I loved my sister. There was no one else like her, and she meant everything to me. That's why she must never know about Dawson.