Anna steals a kiss from an unsuspecting Joe and runs away. He catches her soon and makes her pay. Read how the hopelessly romantic Anna and the strictly casual Joe try to get along.
As soon as I close my car door and head towards the school building with Peter and David, I see Alan running towards us. Panting, he says, "What the fuck, man, you got a girlfriend?"
I don't remember him getting hit on his head at yesterday's football practice. "What're you talking about?" I ask.
He shows me his phone. At first, I see a girl and a guy kissing. Then I look closer. "Is that you, Joe?" Peter asks leaning into my shoulder to take a better look at the photo. It is me.
"Who's the girl?" David asks.
"I don't know. Some crazy girl out of nowhere came to me at the mall a few days ago. She suddenly kissed me and ran away."
"Damn, girls are getting scarier by the day," David says. "She's not your girlfriend?" Alan asks. "Why would you think that?" I say.
"Look at the caption. All the girls in our school have gone crazy after reading that. Seriously, how come you haven't seen the photo till now?" Alan says. I look below the photo. It reads, "Her new boyfriend ;)"
"Come on, dude. She's not my girlfriend. Someone must've taken a photo of us there and thought she was."
"Not someone," Peter says, "Probably that girl's friend. They must've staged it to make it look like that."
"Why?"
"I don't know what crazy stuff goes on girls' minds, dude," Peter says. "If she's not your girlfriend, say something about it. Rumors are spreading you're dating now!" Alan says.
I sigh. I don't know why anyone would believe that. I don't date. Period. I once had a very clingy and annoying girlfriend in middle school. Never again.
I make sure all the girls I hook up with know it's only about sex. So no one expects me to act like their boyfriend. "Ask them to take it down," Alan says. It sounds too much of a hassle. "Leave it," I say, "It'll die down."
It's been a week since I'd seen that photo. It turned out to be more troublesome than I thought as some of the girls I'd hooked up with before kept bothering me to know if it was real.
Tired from the late practice I get out of my car in front of my house. Seeing my dad's car at the side, I groan inwardly. My relationship with my strict and orthodox father is somewhat strained. No matter how much I succeed he always treats me like I'm a disappointment. He doesn't like my lifestyle or my friends.
Ready to take a shower and hit the bed, I head straight for my room. But before I could even reach the stairs, my mom comes to me all excited. "You didn't tell me you're dating, Joe!" she says.
I'm getting a deja vu vibe here. "What're you talking about, mom?"
"You don't have to pretend anymore. Your sister sent me the photo. So, who's the girl? Bring her over here one day," she says smiling. Now I'm really pissed off at the girl who kissed me. She's causing me more trouble than I'd like to handle. "Mom, she's not my girlfriend."
"If you want to keep it a secret, fine. I'm just glad you're dating someone," she says. I drag down my palm across my face. I'm too tired to do this.
I hear my dad come in from his study room with his PA. "You're home this late?" he asks. "I'd practice," I tell him. He presses his lips tight and nods. "I know you like to play football and stay late with your friends. But don't forget you've responsibilities at home, too, and towards our business. You need to start making time to drop by the office and learn a few things."
"Yes, dad," I say. He doesn't like me playing football and wants me to take part in helping him run his company. I've nothing against getting into our family business. But I'll cross that bridge only after college. I don't want to be burdened with work from now itself. But he doesn't see it that way.
"There will be a business dinner on Saturday night. We are all going," my dad says. I nod. "Your sister will be bringing her fiancé," he says. Unlike me, my dad has always been proud of my elder sister. She is now engaged to a surgeon. "Bring your girlfriend, too. I'm sure your mom would like to see her," he says and leaves without waiting for my response. Not that I have one. "You told dad?" I ask my mom shocked.
"You know how your dad felt about your — relationships — before. I thought if he learns you're now properly dating someone he'll know you've become more responsible. And I thought right, he invited you and your girlfriend to the dinner!" she says squeaking.
"Mom, she's not my— Never mind, I'm going to my room."
"Are you serious? Your family thinks you're dating her? Why didn't you tell them she's just some girl who kissed you and ran away?" Alan asks.
"Like that's going to make my dad happy. He asked me to bring her to the dinner. If he found out the truth he'll only be disappointed in me. Not that I'm not used to that already."
"Don't say that," Peter says, "See it like this: Maybe this could get you some points with him. If he sees you're in a real relationship he might go easy on you regarding the office visits he wants you to do, which means more practice hours with us."
Peter makes sense. It's worth a shot. "Do you know who posted that photo?" I ask Alan. "No, but I can find out," he says grinning.
"Do it."
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