Episode 3

Alex was very nervous. In fact her inside was shuddering with anxiety as she waited for Peter and his friend to arrive.

Peter had called her last night telling her that he wanted to meet her for coffee and that he'd be bringing his friend. His name was Jay, and Jay, Peter had said, could help her with her problem. Peter had hinted that it was about her dad.

Alex picked up the cup of hot chocolate and took a sip. The warmth and sweetness of the liquid soothed the coldness inside of her being.

Who could Jayden be? She wondered as took another sip. And how could he help her and her dad?

She glanced outside through Starbuck's window and saw that it was raining again with a bitter cold wind. She watched as people wearing thick jackets with scarves around their necks rushed back and forward in a hurry, though it was a Saturday. She supposed they were trying to get away from the bitter, cold wind and rain.

She glanced at the door and saw Peter opening the entrance door. Her heart skipped a beat. It did that when she was nervous. She straightened herself and stood up just a bit to get his attention. That was when she saw him.

It's him. Her heart did a triple skip. Then it started to beat faster and faster...

So he was Jayden. The hot guy she had spilt tea on.

Gosh, she thought, he looked so non-Kiwi, not that she was a full Kiwi herself. She was half-blood after all. Her mom had been a refugee Cambodian who had migrated to New Zealand years ago just after the Pol Pot regime. Then her mom had married her dad who had been one of the many refugees' supporters.

Peter saw her after a quick scan around the coffee shop.

"Hey, Alex," Peter said as he and Jay advanced toward her. "How are you?"

Alex nodded and said, "Fine, thank you." She couldn't help noticing that her voice was shaking just a bit from nervousness.

"Alex, this is Jayden McCartney," Peter said, nodding his head toward the handsome American man.

"Hi," Alex stood slightly, giving him a fleeting smile, avoiding his eyes.

Jay said, "Hey," and offered his large hand in the air.

Alex looked at it as though she had just seen a pig fly. Jay watched her, his hands still in the air. Peter glanced at Alex and then at Jay.

Hesitantly Alex put her small, cold hand into his large, warm ones. They shook.

She had very cold hand, Jay thought, and she was way too thin for his liking. She still looked plain, wearing that skinny jeans and purple jersey. She must be very cold because she still had her pink scarf on that was wrapped around her neck even in this cosy cafe.

As they took their seats, he saw her snuggling her chin deeper into the thick scarf. Was she that cold?

"Did it come of?" she asked him, her vice low, her eyes watching him through her glasses.

Jay had just notice that she was wearing glasses. He didn't remember her wearing one yesterday.

Peter glanced at Jay with raise brows. Jay caught the quizzical glance and said, "It did." Not bothering to enlighten his friend of what did come of.

"Oh good. I was so worried it wouldn't," Alex said. In fact she had been worried about his expensive jacket all that afternoon once she had returned back to the lab that she weren't able to concentrate on her work properly.

That, in actual fact, had not been the only reason. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him, the way he had touched her and the looks he had given her. And soon, of course, she had started daydreaming about meeting him again. Only she hasn't expected it to be so soon. Of course she had never really daydreamt about a guy before because she had always been too busy dealing with family stuff.

"Don't worry, it came off," Jay confirmed, though he knew not how because he hadn't been the one who had done the cleaning. The washing machine did, and Peter's mom, Mrs. Thompson the judge.

"So, Alex, how's Mom and Dad?" Peter asked.

"They're okay," she replied, avoiding his eyes and playing with her hot chocolate. "Hey, don't you want something to drink?" she changed the subject.

Jay could tell that she didn't like talking about her family. He wondered why. He thought she look hurt. He thought he could sense a hint of pain, sadness, and frustration in her soft, husking voice. Not a singing voice. Just a plain, simple voice. Just like the rest of her. Very plain and very simple.

"Yeah," Peter said, getting up. "What do you want, Jay?"

"Just coffee, thanks," Jay said, leaning back in his chair.

Peter nodded and walked off to the counter to order. Only he wasn't the first in line because there was a bunch of uni students before him.

Alex picked up her cup and started to nervously sip the hot chocolate again.

Jay watched. He thought she suddenly became even more nervous with him studying her.

Alex swallowed the warm liquid hard. It nearly choked her. She tried not to make a scene of herself and calm down.

He is not going to eat you, you ninny--she told herself. Stop acting stupid just because this is the very first time in your twenty five years that a very hot dude is sitting right next to you.

Just as that very thought popped up in her head, she glanced at him and saw him smiling at her, a very hot smile that sent her inside shuddering with excitement.

Firework! There was firework in her being!

She lowered her cup and cleared her throat. "Sorry about that tea stain again," she said, couldn't think of what else to say. "I promise it won't happen again."

"Can you guarantee it?" Jay asked playfully, his eyes twinkling.

She blinked at him. "Say what?"

"Is it guaranteed?" he repeated.

"You mean me promising not to spill tea on you?"

"Yup."

"I don't' know. It's human nature," she said, not sure where this was going. Of course she would never spill tea on him again, ever. She was never going to see him again anyway.

Such an odd conversation, she thought, to have with a very hot dude. She was pretty sure that when a girl goes on a date with a guy like Jay, she'd properly talk about something else. She wasn't sure what, but she was pretty sure it's not about spilling tea.

"Human nature, and therefore, not one hundred percent guaranteed," Jay said, nodding his head and folding his arms across his chest. "Which means there must be some type of compensation."

"A compensation?"

"Yup," he said, leaning toward her, his elbow touching hers.

Alex bit her lip.

Clam down, old girl--she told herself silently. She tried not to notice too much just how good-looking he was, and the fact that he was sitting beside her, very close to her, his elbow touching hers.

"What do you think?"

"All right," she said, glancing at him. "I'll wash the shirt for you if I were to split tea on you again."

Jay chuckled. "You mean with your hands?"

Alex loved the sound of his laughter. Her heart felt light and happy. She felt like the sun was shining again in this miserable day. She flashed him a smile. "What about washing machine?" she asked.

Jay's face suddenly became serious. He simply stared at her. He realised right then that her eyes just kind of lit up when she smile. It was like there was an inner glow that had been waiting for a very long time for the right moment to burst out, through her eyes.

He cleared his throat and said, his gaze still fixed on her face, "What if the washing machine destroyed my shirt?"

"Well," Alex said as she cocked her head to one side. "I'll just have to buy you another one. But I can't guarantee that it'll be the same one. Maybe similar and cheaper."

Jay threw his head back and laughed. "That sounds fine by me."

Alex couldn't help but smile back.

"Sorry, guys," Peter said, taking his seat. "Apparently it's rather busy. It's going to be a little wait."

Alex nodded. Lucky she came in early because there hadn't been a lot of people half an hour before. But now, however, the tables were almost filled and there was a long line of people at the counter, waiting for their turn to order. The majority were university students, coming in in groups and the minority were families. It was a Saturday. Town was always busy on a Saturday, even in winter. The three young women at the counter looked very busy, rushing back and forward taking orders and making drinks.

"So, Pete, how's your holiday so far," Alex said. "Did you enjoy Sydney?"

"Yeah," Peter said. He knew Alex was wondering why he had asked her out for coffee.

Odd that he didn't want to get into that subject just yet. He felt as though he wanted to back out now. He felt unsure because up until that very moment, the solution to Jay's problem seemed fine. But now, however, as Peter watched the independent, stubborn Alexandra, he wondered if their plan was ludicrous after all.

On the other hand, Pete thought, he had to stay put. This was also the only solution he could think of to help his friend who he loved like a sister. He had, after all, known her since she was a wee girl, being seven years older than her. Her family was not well off, not like his. She had been taught to value everything in life as precious, especially money, which they had very little of. She had worked hard all her life.

"What about you, missy?" Peter asked. "Isn't it about time you get yourself a holiday?"

"I have been warned," Alex said. "I have too many annual leave left."

"Sounds like a holiday around the corner," Peter said. "Ah, our coffees."

The waitress placed two small, white cups in front of them and then left again.

"Didn't take long at all," Peter said, handing one to Jay.

Jay lifted the small cup to his lips and took a sip. He grinned and relaxed back in his chair. He straightened, and accidentally, one of his long legs touched Alex's.

"Oh, sorry about that," he said.

"That's okay," Alex said, shifting back. "Pete? Can we like talk?"

"Hmm," Peter said. "Let's get on with it then."

"No wait," Jay said to Pete. "I'll do this." He turned to look at Alex.

Alex glanced from one man to the other, wondering what was going on.

"Alex, may I call you Alex?" Jay asked.

Alex nodded, her eyes on him.

"Alex, I have a proposal for you. Just think of it like a business term. Actually it's more like I'm hiring you, an employee," he said, watching her carefully.

Alex blinked as she listened, not knowing where this was going. "The problem is I already have a job," she said, her eyes questioning.

"Yeah, well, I know that. But this isn't like a real job." Jay sighed as though he found it hard to voice what he was about to say next. "I need your help."

"What kind of help?"

"It's kind of personal. It's family related." Jay leaned toward her, looked deep into her eyes and said, "Can you pretend to be my girlfriend?"

Alex just stared at him. She got the word girlfriend and that was about it. She blinked.

"Sorry?' She had to ask. "I don't get it. I'm lost."

Jay looked at Peter for help.

Pete understood and leaned toward Alex. "Look, Alex, Jay is having a hard time at the moment. His parents, well more like his mom and grandmom are demanding that he bring home a girlfriend. Otherwise they'd start match-making him again,"

"So?" she queried, still not understanding them.

"So? Alex," Jay said, "it's a big deal. I'm simply sick of them trying to sort out my life. I'm thirty-three." That last bit Jay said with an exaggerated frown and a big shrug of his powerful shoulders, which told Alex of how really annoyed he was. "I know we've just met, but..."

Alex looked down at her now almost empty cup. Slowly she began to understand everything. She said, "But what about your real girlfriend?" She did not dare look at him when she asked Jay that question.

"We broke up," he said.

She studied him then, her eyes questioning him.

Jay understood her quizzical gaze. "It's personal." When he saw her hesitation, he said, "Look I'll pay you. Like I said, you're like my employee. I'm hiring you to do this. You just name the price."

Alex blinked. Money! The dollar sign suddenly appeared before her eyes along with the ding, ding, ding sound like Scrooge McDuck.

Was Jay rich? Well, she didn't need to ask him that question. She could tell by his expensive clothing and his powerful aura. He walked and acted like he own the world. Well maybe he did--parts of it anyway.

He did say that he'd pay her and that she just needed to name the price. Suddenly her dad's heart surgery didn't seem so out of reach after all.

Okay, she thought, so what if she agreed?

She licked her lips nervously. "So, err, what do I have to do to pretend to be your girlfriend. Hypothetically that is, if I were to agree with this, err, plan of yours?"

Peter and Jay glance at each other. Jay said, "You know the usual girlfriend stuff. I'll take you back to New York and introduce you to my family. It's my sister's wedding. It'll only be three weeks max. I promise."

"All the way to New York, huh?' she murmured, her eyes large behind her glasses.

"Yeah," Jay said.

Okay, Alex thought, girlfriend stuff. Intimate stuff like going out dating, movies, dinner and all, stuff that she wasn't familiar with. Well considering the fact that she never had a boyfriend before and the fact that she had never dated before, she shouldn't really blame herself for being so ignorance about this boyfriend-girlfriend stuff.

But what if she really fell for him when they were fake dating? And then his ex-girlfriend decided to come back into his life? That would sure be a real big problem.

She glanced at Jay watching her. No, she thought, it wouldn't be that hard for her to fall head over heel in love with him. She thought that she was actually starting to do it right now.

Oh God, she didn't want to get hurt. Yeah, Alex might be a romantic, always dreaming about some hot guy like Jay coming into her life and making a difference, but she was also a realist. Nothing like that ever happens in real life, and if it did, there would sure be a real, big heart-break to follow.

She pushed her cup away from her and put on her jacket.

Jay and Peter eyed each other and then both watched her. Jay thought she was getting colder because she was putting her jacket on. Peter, however, thought differently. He knew she was backing out and there was nothing he could do about it. At least there was nothing he could right then. But later...

She picked up her satchel and said, "I'm sorry, Jay, Peter. I don't think I can help you." She got up and rushed to the door.

Jay shot up and was about to go after her when Peter caught his arm.

"What the hell happened?" Jay asked, confused. It wasn't like he was going to eat her up, for God's sake, he thought. The girl was truly odd. One minute she was sitting there, listening to them, and then the next--poof--she was gone.

"She needs time to think," Peter said. "The offer is too much for her."

"Lubricous more like it. I think she thinks I'm nuts," Jay said, lifting his coffee cup to his lips.

"Maybe," Peter said.

"So tell me about her," Jay said, setting his cup down and relaxed back in his seat. "What is she like?"

"Sweet, innocent, quiet, and loyal," Peter said. "There, I've summed it all up for you."

Jay narrowed his eyes. "Very funny, Pete. Has she had any boyfriend before?"

"Nope," Peter said. "Zippo."

Jay cocked his head to one side in thought. "Maybe that's why she's scared."

"What?" Peter looked at his friend.

"She's afraid of men. That explains her nerves around me. She's probably afraid that I might hurt her. That explains why she has never had a boyfriend. Tell me, has she been abused by any man before?"

Peter had to try very hard not to laugh in front of his friend's face. As far as he knew, Alex had a very loving family. Jacob, Alex's dad, was the best. He loved his wife and children to bits. He was in actual fact very proud of them for the mere fact that they were half-blooded. And Chan, Alex's mom, that woman had lost all of her family and relatives after the war in 1979 back in Cambodia and had been through so much that the mere thought of anyone abusing her children would probably raged her so much she'd kill the bastard herself.

No, Peter thought, Alex had never been abused by anyone. It was probably more the culture of which her mother had taught her, the Cambodian culture which made Alex the way she was. He wasn't sure what was involved in their culture, but he knew that not dating and changing multiple partners was one of their many morals.

Peter said, "No, at least I don't think so."

"You have to convince her to help me, Pete," Jay said.

"Me?"

"You're close to her. She'd probably run away from me again if I approach her," Jay said.

"You're right," Peter agreed.

"Tell her something that'd soften her heart toward me. Anything," Jay said.

"Anything, huh?" Peter said, nodding his head. He smiled. He knew just how to go about it. Oh boy, he thought, this is going to be fun.

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