His Name is Derek

The next day, I woke up with one thought on my mind:

I need a boyfriend.

I told Tyrone I had a boyfriend. A whole human being. Named Derek. And now I actually had to find him. Good thing Tyrone didn’t ask me what Derek did for a living—because I would’ve lied and probably said he was a skydiving surgeon or something just as ridiculous. I didn’t just have to lie about having a boyfriend... I now had to lie about our relationship, how we met, the details—everything.

I got up, got dressed, and left the house with no plan, just a mild panic.

Then, while walking, I got a call. From Tyrone.

I stared at my phone like it had betrayed me.

Why is he calling me? What more does he want from me after dragging me into this wedding-dress circus and emotional confusion?

I answered anyway.

We talked, and he said, “Hey, about the dress. I told Christine and she’s over the moon. She’s really happy you’re designing it. Thank you again.”

I smiled through clenched teeth. “Yeah... no problem.”

After we hung up, I decided to head to the mall. If I was going to see Tyrone again to discuss this wedding dress, I needed to look good. Actually, no—I needed to look unforgettable. Christine needed to see what he lost.

I was walking around, stressed, borderline frantic, when—surprise—I bumped into Derek. Again.

At this point, I was convinced the universe was literally throwing him at me.

I stopped and said, “Oh! Hi. I forgot to thank you for the other day.”

He smiled, warm as ever. “It’s okay. Really. And hey, crying’s not a crime.”

I laughed nervously. “Yeah... still kind of embarrassing.”

Then he said, “If you’re not too busy, would you want to grab tea or something?”

I paused. Then I said, “You know what? F*** it. Let’s go have tea.”

We went to a small café nearby and sat down. The vibe was nice, calm, and easy. We started talking. I asked, “So... how’s life?”

He smiled. “Doing good. Work is busy. Life’s quiet. Still single.”

I nodded. Then he looked at me. “Are you single?”

And my brain? Short-circuited.

Out of nowhere, I blurted, “Do you want to pretend to be my boyfriend?”

He blinked. “Wait—what?”

“I mean—not like, for real. Just temporarily. It’s just that I may or may not have lied to someone that I had a boyfriend. And now there’s a double date happening and—long story short, I need a fake boyfriend.”

He looked amused. “And you’re asking me?”

“I don’t know why, okay?” I said, almost laughing at myself. “But I figured... you were nice. You didn’t run when I cried in public. That’s kind of rare these days.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Okay. Walk me through the plan.”

“I meet the guy tomorrow. Come with me, and I’ll explain everything on the way.”

He smiled. “Alright. I’m in. Let’s fake date.”

I grinned. For the first time in days, I felt... light. I gave him my contact details, he gave me his, and we said goodbye.

And then I left to go meet with Tyrone.

Right as I walked up, Tyrone looked at me and said, “Oh, by the way—there’s something I should tell you…

I blinked at him, my heart already halfway up my throat.

What now? What could he possibly want to tell me now? Maybe Christine changed her mind and doesn’t want the dress anymore. Please. Let it be that.

He looked at me, his voice dropping just slightly. “Christine really wants you to be involved in more than just the dress… she wants you to help plan the bridal party's looks too. Bridesmaids. Accessories. The whole aesthetic.”

I stared at him, nodding slowly, while internally I was like, Oh. So not only do I have to help them walk down the aisle, I now get to coordinate the people walking with them.

“Wow, okay,” I said, forcing a smile. “That’s… a lot.”

“She’s really excited,” he added, looking at me too closely.

I bit my lip, sensing there was still more. And I was right.

“She’s also asked if we could all do dinner together soon—me, her, you, and... Derek.”

Derek.

There it was again. The fake name, echoing in the air like a fire alarm.

I laughed—too loudly. “Yeah, of course. Derek and I are just... really busy right now, but we’ll make time. Totally.”

He nodded, and we walked together for a bit through the mall, discussing the theme, color palette, and venue details. I took mental notes. Not about the wedding, but about how this was going to be the most intense acting role of my life.

After we parted ways, I called Sasha.

She picked up on the second ring, already yelling, “Girl. You better not be dead, missing, or secretly engaged to someone you didn’t tell me about.”

“I told Tyrone I had a boyfriend,” I said flatly.

Dead silence.

Then: “Oh my god.”

“His name’s Derek. As in, the real Derek. You know, the one we saw at the reunion party. I accidentally made him my fake boyfriend.”

“You accidentally—?”

“Long story. Too much panic. He asked me if I was single. I asked him to be my boyfriend. He said yes. Well, fake boyfriend. Not a real boyfriend. But still. Boyfriend.”

There was a pause. “I love this for you.”

“I don’t.”

“Girl. You’re about to go on a fake double date with your fake boyfriend and your real ex-crush who’s marrying someone else and asking you to sew the gown. This is literally a Netflix series.”

I groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“You know what this means, right?” she said.

“What?”

“You’re going shopping. We’re getting you an outfit that screams, ‘Look at what you gave up, loser.’”

I laughed despite myself. “Fine. But if I die, bury me in couture.”

“You’ll die hot. That’s all that matters.”

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