Tangled Beauty

Chapter 10

“THIS IS NEVER GOING to work,” I told my friend, Jesse, as I slid into his Jag a couple of hours later. “Trust me, we will never fool anyone.”

He reached over and patted my kneecap. “Sweetie, it will work. It has to work.”

I pulled my hair back behind my ears. “Then you’d better stop calling me ‘sweetie’ and quit primping yourself every five minutes. You’ll never fool your parents if you keep acting like a princess.”

Jesse threw his perfectly chiseled face back and laughed. Then he stopped abruptly, and glared at me with faux venom.

I smiled. “Hey, I’m just saying...”

“God, you’re such a snotty little bitch.”

I shook my head. “No, you’ve claimed that title, honey, and I wouldn’t dare try and take it from you.”

Glancing into the rearview mirror, he ran his fingers through the top of his short, blonde highlights – the ones I’d given him last night. “And that’s why you’re my best friend, Sinclair. You know just how to sweet-talk me.”

I laughed. “Seriously, though. What were you thinking by inviting me?”

“Well, since it’s their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, they expect me to bring a date of the female persuasion. I certainly can’t bring Alex, Sin. My parents are assholes. Both of them. They’d never accept the fact that I’m gay and would no doubt freeze up my trust fund if they found out the truth.” He bit one of his fingernails. “And I know it sounds shallow, but I can’t live without that money.”

I put on my seatbelt. “So, you’re just going to keep lying to them? How long do you propose to do that?”

He started the car and the engine purred to life, like an eighty-thousand dollar kitty. “As long as it takes, Sin, as long as it takes.”

Forty-minutes later, after listening to him rant about his friends, his career, and his s*x life, we finally pulled up to his parents’ summer home on Huntington Beach, a luxurious oceanfront property that took my breath away.

“Wow,” I breathed, staring at the massive white structure that screamed “Wealth”, “Power”, and “Dream on, losers!”

“I know,” sneered Jesse. “They’re disgustingly rich, fortunately for me. But it’s also old money and even older ideals. Not fortunate for me.”

I’d only known Jesse for eight months, ever since he’d walked into Tangled. From the moment he’d plopped his Armani-clad butt in my chair, we’d clicked and I’d become his personal stylist and he, one of my very best friends.

“So, what exactly did you tell them about me?” I asked, feeling nervous now that we were actually going through with it.

The ruse had sounded like fun at the time – a weekend of parties, celebrities, and a chance to escape my own hum-drum life. It had been almost a year since I’d found my ex-fiancé in bed with another woman and I’d basically taken on the habits of a hermit soon afterwards. My life now consisted of work, taking care of my finicky black cat, Felix, and reading trashy romance novels. It was boring and sometimes lonely, but safe, which was what I needed after having my heart crushed by Shawn.

Jesse unwrapped a piece of gum and slid it into his mouth. “Okay, so you and I have been dating on and off for the last six months. Nothing serious yet.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Yet?”

“Well, I mean we’ve f****d and everything,” he said, snapping his gum a little too obnoxiously for a twenty-four-year-old.

I feigned a look of shock. “We have? Was it good?”

He puffed out his chest. “Damn right. That’s why you won’t leave me alone, you crazy, horny bitch.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Oh brother, you’re so freakin’ arrogant.”

He blanched. “Arrogant? Gawd... I hate that word.”

I stared at him and wondered how in the world his parents could think he was anything but gay.

“Well, you might want to pretend to be ‘arrogant’. That’s a trait you’ll find on a lot of manly men,” I said, deepening my voice.

“Sin, I’ve never been a manly man, and my parents have known me all of my life. They just think I’m a very creative and outgoing guy.”

I understood that because Jesse really was very creative. He was also a talented graphic designer which, unfortunately, hadn’t particularly sat well with his parents. They’d wanted him to become a doctor or lawyer, like his older brother, Reed, who I’d had yet to meet. Supposedly, Reed was an arrogant, cocky lawyer who had little time for his younger brother.

“So, you get to act natural while I’m the one who has to be totally enthralled by you?”

He smiled. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that difficult. You know you’d ‘do me’ if I was straight.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, here we go...”

“What? I’d probably ‘do you’ if I was straight.”

“Enough,” I said, raising my hand.

He sighed. “Sinclair, you really need to work on your self-confidence. I know it’s hard because of what f**k-head did to you, but you really need to get over it. I mean, you’re attractive, funny, and have crazy skills when it comes to hair. You’re an awesome catch, girlfriend.”

“Tell it to the straight guys,” I answered dryly.

“Honey, if they can’t handle a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind,” he said, “then they certainly don’t deserve you.”

Jesse was being kind. The fact was that I had a little bit of a temper and sometimes didn’t know when to keep my mouth shut, which coincidently, was a trait we both shared. After I’d caught Shawn cheating and kicked him out of our apartment, I’d vowed to never let anyone manipulate or take advantage of me, ever again. So now, if I didn’t agree with something someone said, I let them know or if I felt threatened in any way, I usually pounced first. Surprisingly, it sat well with my customers because they kept coming back and asking me for advice. Even Jesse had laid his problems out for me, which led to where I was sitting right now – his newest partner in crime.

“How does Alex feel about all of this?” I asked. “Is he still giving you the silent treatment?”

He sighed. “Yes. He’s still pissed off that I’m hiding him from my parents. He just doesn’t understand. His parents are so freakin’ cool, and mine are just... well,” he sighed, “mine.”

I was having a hard time understanding why he didn’t just ‘come out’. Jesse had a decent job and his partner, Alex, was very well off. The only thing I could fathom was that Jesse’s monthly allowance from his trust fund was pretty damn considerable.

“Well, you’re going to have to break it to them someday.”

“You don’t understand how intolerable my parents are, Sin. But,” he bit his lower lip, “you will.”

“Great, can hardly wait,” I answered, now wondering what in the blazes I’d gotten myself into.

We slid out of the Jag and into our roles right away, by strolling hand-in-hand towards the front door, where we were greeted by a very eloquent, grey-haired gentleman.

“Young Mr. Eddington,” beamed the older man. “So nice to see you again.”

Jessie stood straighter than usual. “Thanks, George,” he answered in a slightly deeper tone. “This is my girlfriend, Sinclair Jeffries.”

I looked at Jesse, trying to hide my surprise. The transformation from a prima donna to a heterosexual male was comical, considering I knew he hated every minute of it.

One of George’s eyebrows lifted as his eyes darted between us. “Charmed to meet you, Ms. Jeffries,” he said.

“Same to you,” I greeted him. “Just call me Sinclair or Sin.”

George’s eyes studied both of us for a few seconds and then he nodded. “Very well, Sinclair.”

“Crap, I forgot our bags,” sighed Jesse. “They’re still in the trunk.”

“No problem, Mr. Eddington. I’ll go retrieve them,” said George, holding out his hand for the keys. “Will you be staying in your old bedroom, or,” he glanced at me, “one of the guest rooms with Ms. Jeffries, sir?”

“Sinclair,” I corrected him.

“Of course,” smiled George.

“I’m sure Mimi would prefer that we sleep separately,” said Jesse. “So, for her benefit, I think we can handle two nights apart.”

Deciding to have a little fun, I slid my arm through Jesse’s and pouted. “But, Jesse, I don’t think I can handle a night without your strong, manly arms around me.”

He smiled wickedly. “Now, Sin, I doubt my parents want us banging the headboard against the walls from dusk until dawn. You’ll have to live without this guy,” he said, pointing down towards his crotch, “for just a couple of days. Then, I’ll take you back home and rock your world.”

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “Okay, but it’s going to be so hard, not being together at night.”

He slapped my butt. “I’ll show you hard come Sunday night, lover.”

George cleared his throat. “Very well, I will prepare the guestroom for Ms. Jeffries.”

“Thank you, George,” said Jesse. “Come on, Sin, I’ll show you around the palace.”

“Okay.”

He pulled me away from George, who was still watching us curiously.

“Oh, my God,” I whispered, giggling. “I think your butler almost lost his composure there for a moment.”

“No, not George. He’s used to my brother bringing his trollops over.”

“Trollops?”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine, his slutty, gold-digging girlfriends.”

I pulled my hair over to the side. “I knew what you meant, goofball. You’re just acting so different now that we’ve entered your parents’ domain.”

“Sorry,” he said, picking a piece of lint off of his light blue Dolce and Gabbana shirt. “Something comes over me the minute I walk into my parents’ home. It’s like I become an entirely different person. Maybe that’s why they don’t have a clue that I’m gay. I just can’t seem to let myself really go when I’m around them.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry, Jesse, I can still see the real you behind those baby-blues.”

“That’s a relief. If I get too stuffy, however, drag my a*s out of here.”

“You got it, sweetheart,” I said, grabbing his hand.

***