Maybe, Just For Pretend

I.

"Dude you have to go with us to Hawaii! It's my birthday!" Zane exclaimed to me for the hundredth time in the past hour.

"I know but I promise, we'll celebrate when you guys get back."

Going to Hawaii is a dream but Zane also invited Liza. Liza and I broke up a little over a year ago and we're still friends. The only problem is that she's moved on and found herself a boyfriend. Don't get me wrong the dude is  a great guy but I don't want to be around them when I'm single and alone. I need to show her that I moved on too.

One little issue with that is that I haven't found anyone that I want to date seriously yet. I never have time for things like that, which was one of the reasons Liza and I broke up. I spend all my time with Natalie and filming the vlogs.

I don't want to disappoint Zane but I don't have it in me to go to Hawaii with my ex-girlfriend and her new man. I can't do it alone.

"Bro, you're one of my best friends! You have to come celebrate with me!" Zane insists.

After a long hard thought, I reluctantly agreed. I shouldn't be selfish and push my insecurities onto his birthday trip. I was friends with Zane before I was in a relationship anyway.

Once Zane left I laid down on my bed and began dreading this birthday trip I agreed too. I knew I was going to spend my time either avoiding the new couple completely or being a try-hard. I laid my head down for twenty minutes before it clicked. If I was in a relationship, then Liza would know that I also have moved on and I wouldn't feel insecure on the trip. But how in the world will I get someone to be my girlfriend in two days?

Natalie walks in to my room dressed in sweats and a tank top looking down at her phone.

"Hey Dave, you got a call with Seatgeek in half an hour. Please be on time." The more I look at her the more I realize that she would be perfect as my girlfriend. My pretend girlfriend that is. She already knows me and she gets along with the whole friend group. 

"Hey Nat, can I ask you for a favor?" I ask.

"As a boss or as a friend?"

"As someone who is in desperate need."

"Okay, shoot."

"Can you be my girlfriend in Hawaii?"

"Wait...what?"

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend so Liza can think that I moved on too."

"You've lost your mind."

"Please, Nat. I can't go on this trip with her thinking that I'm still stuck on her."

"Well, are you?"

"No! Absolutely not! I just don't want to seem like a loser." I know I was being very honest with Natalie about my feelings, it's because she's my best friend. I don't have to hide anything when it comes to her.

It felt like years passed by when in reality it was only a few minutes that passed before she answered with a hesitant, "Fine."

"Thank you so much Nat! I owe you my life!" I exclaimed feeling relieved.

"Wait... I have a few questions."

"Yes? I'll answer anything you want to know."

"Liza knows who I am. How are we going to fool her into thinking we're dating?"

"We haven't really spoken in a while so it'll just be a surprise for her."

"What about the rest of the group? The group that we see everyday and know everything about?"

"Hmm.. we'll just say that we've been keeping it a secret for a while."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just be honest and say you haven't found anybody yet?"

"No Natalie, I can't. It's humiliating."

"I guess we're going to Hawaii then."

The next day was the last full day before Zane's special birthday trip. It was also the day that Natalie made me buy her a million outfits for it. She called it payback for the favor she was doing me and honestly I would have bout her a million more if she asked.

We spent the whole day at the mall going store by store. My wallet did not have a good time but I had more fun than I thought. It's very rare that I get to spend time with Natalie, just the two of us. I gotta admit, it's kind of nice. 

When we got home she packed her suitcase with all her new things and then helped me pack mine. Everything is so natural between us that I forget that she's my assistant and I'm her boss sometimes. Because above all we're best friends.

We left for the airport around noon since the flight was at three. We decided to start our fake relationship from the beginning, so we walked hand in hand to meet our friends at the terminal.

The look on their faces were in shock at the sight. There were always rumors around me and Nat's actual relationship since we are extremely close. It looks like they all just got confirmation for what they were already thinking. 

"Are you guys dating?!" Zane exclaims.

"Woah, I should have bet on this!" Jason adds.

"Yes guys, Nat is my girlfriend. We've been dating for a while now." I say calmly. Natalie just nods in agreement.

"Well well well. What made you two finally get together?" Zane asks.

"I don't know, I guess it was always there. I just needed to act on it."There was a slight pause before I added,

 "She's everything I've ever needed and more."