The Perfect Guy: A Romance Novel Read online

  Leah was lying on her back, playing with her phone while Jessica and I were putting the finishing touches on our makeup, when there was a knock on our door.

  The three of us frowned at each other since we had no idea who that could be.

  We walked to the door together, and when I opened the door, I found James, Ricky Black, and Benjamin Wright, Jessica’s volunteer, standing outside with their hands casually in their pockets as if it were a given that they would stand outside of our door.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Leah asked. We stepped to the side to allow the guys to come inside.

  “We are here to pick you up and escort you to room 105,” Benjamin replied with a smile. He was a dark-haired, incredibly cheery guy of medium height. Jessica had told us that he was born here in the states, but his parents were from Egypt where his grandparents still lived.

  “Why? We could have gone down ourselves,” I said and stared incredulously at what I first thought was a bouquet of flowers that turned out to be just one that James offered me. It was a pink flower that I had never seen before.

  “If this had been a real date, it would have been more than right for us to pick you up and take you to the restaurant,” Ricky explained and offered Leah his arm. She rolled her eyes at him but linked her arm through his anyway.

  Benjamin did the same with Jessica and the two couples left the suite. I looked at James and he winked at me before he did a ridiculous kind of low bow in front of me. “Milady,” he said with a horrible imitation of a medieval accent. “It would honor me immensely if you were to allow me to escort you to room 105.”

  I snorted unattractively and shook my head before I accepted his offer and placed my hand around his arm. “Well, since you insist, my lord,” I replied. James looked delighted that I played along and gave me a radiant smile.

  Even though we were in a school, I made sure to lock the door before we made our way downstairs.

  While we walked, I studied the flower he had given me. “I’ve never seen a flower like this before,” I said. “Why did you choose this one?”

  “It’s a coast rhododendron: the flower of your state. Since I don’t really know you yet, I went with a safe choice.”

  I was impressed. I had received flowers from guys before, but never with this much thought behind them.

  “You call the flower of my state a ‘safe choice’? Other guys would have gone with roses or tulips.”

  James shook his head while he wrinkled his nose. “Those flowers are for those without knowledge and the ones that hope of getting laid later in the night.”

  “And flowers with meaning behind them?” I waved the flower in front of his face.

  “When a guy makes an effort and tries to communicate with flowers, now that’s a keeper. He shows that he’s prepared and that he wants more from you than for you to warm his bed that night.”

  “Oh, really? I would say that it’s the other way around.” A small smile began to form on James’s lips. It was obvious he thought it was entertaining when I didn’t just go with what he said.

  “And why is that?” he asked, still with the small smile etched on his face.

  “A guy that buys roses or tulips is, to me, someone who thought about you before the date but since he’s no expert on flowers, he goes with the so-called ‘safe choice’, while a guy that buys flowers like these wants to impress, make the woman melt with his knowledge of flora and fauna.”

  I smiled, pleased with my conclusion. James, however, wasn’t done yet.

  “While I see your point, Miss Braun, let me ask you a question. Let’s say that you went out on a date with both of these guys. Both of them want a second date, which one would you choose? The roses that are common and disappear in the crowd, or the coast rhododendron?”

  “I didn’t know that you were one of the choices, Mr. Masen.” He left that one completely open for me, and I took the opportunity.

  James chuckled. “You’re very dangerous, Jenn. Did you know that?”

  Even though I had loved it when he used my full name that first time, a thrill went through me when he called me Jenn. “Yeah? How come?”

  He gave me his full attention and the intensity of his look made my insides flutter. “With each meeting, you make me like you more and more. If you continue like this, I might not let you go by the end of this program.”

  CHAPTER 7

  THE CLASS

  When James and I entered classroom 105, we were at least ten minutes late, but casting one look around the room made it obvious that we weren’t the only ones.

  The strange part was that it was half of the female volunteers that were missing. A few of them sat next to their students.

  I recognized the bleached blonde—I think her name was Lauren—as well as the girl with auburn hair and brown eyes, the one that Ricky Black cast glances on during the first day. I couldn’t remember the names of the remaining two, but Riley Biers and Ben Cheney sat next to them.

  I heard James sigh and shake his head as if he was disappointed. I didn’t comment on it because it was pretty obvious that, whatever it was, it bothered him.

  I think I even heard him mutter something that sounded like “what’s happened to common courtesy” but that didn’t make any sense, until Mr. Martin explained it to us all.

  “As you’ve probably noticed, we’re missing a few of the volunteers,” he began.

  I sat next to the dark-skinned guy, Tyler, and so I heard him mumble, “Girls and their makeup,” underneath his breath. I would have agreed with him otherwise, but it didn’t really add up that all of the missing girls were volunteers. There was something going on.

  Mr. Martin continued. “The reason behind this is because the first error of a first date has been made.”

  Every student immediately began looking around to see if it was any of them that had made the mistake. When I joined them, James leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry. It’s not you.”

  “How do you know?” I whispered back. I didn’t exactly aspire to be the perfect student in this program, but that didn’t mean that I wanted to be the first to make a mistake.

  James didn’t reply. He just nodded with his head toward Mr. Martin, so I returned my attention to him.

  With a patient smile, Mr. Martin turned toward the four guys that missed their volunteers. “There is an unwritten rule that, if nothing else has been decided, a guy should go to his date’s home and pick her up.

  Otherwise, it can cause a very awkward situation when the date shows up almost an hour late because she finally realized that she needs to get to the meeting place on her own, and she just spent forty minutes waiting for someone who never showed.”

  The four guys all blushed as if on cue, and I had to contain my laughter. It looked rather comical when they all stood up from their chairs and scrambled toward the door.

  “Just sit back down. My wife’s already on her way with the girls. They’ll be here shortly.”

  When the door to the classroom opened and the missing girls filed in, the guys squirmed in their chairs, but only one of them received the death glare. James Hunter cowered in his seat when his volunteer glared angrily at him before she took her seat beside him.

  Mr. Martin clasped his hands in front of himself while Mrs. Martin stood next to him with a notebook pressed against her chest.

  “Now that all of us are here, let’s begin.”

  The next ninety minutes that passed was filled with discussions about how a first date should go. We painted up dream-dates and revealed the worst dates of our lives.

  When it was my turn, I didn’t hesitate in telling everybody about my last lunch date with George, the one on which he broke up with me. In the end, everyone in the classroom gaped at me as if they couldn’t believe what I’d just told them. I hadn’t held anything back and listed everything George thought was wrong with me.

  I cast a glance in James’s direction and saw him looking just as distraught as everybody els
e, but there was something in his expression that was slightly off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew that it was there.

  After that, Mr. and Mrs. Martin went through a sort of “The Do’s and Don’ts” of a first date. Most of it was pretty basic and stuff you would know if you only used your logical sense, but there was one in particular that made me squirm a bit in my seat.

  “Don’t forget the spark! If you don’t feel anything at all for the person that you’re on a date with, don’t try to force it. If it’s there, good, but if it’s not, maybe you should reconsider a second date.” I tried to not let that one get to me, but it did hit very close to home.

  I remembered all too clearly how I’d felt absolutely nothing for George during our first dates. I had tried to force an attraction in some twisted hope of finally getting some acceptance from my mother if I chose a guy she approved of.

  Thinking of my mother, or the egg donor as I referred to her in my head, caused me to clench my teeth and my breathing became shallower, which did not go unnoticed by James. He turned his head and looked at me questioningly.

  He started to open his mouth in preparation of asking me what was wrong, but before he had the time, Mr. Martin demanded our attention.

  “For the next part of this class, each couple will receive a location where your ‘first date’ will take place. Afterwards, either my wife or I will sit down with each of you and discuss the day.”

  Mrs. Martin went around the classroom and gave each volunteer a slip of paper. When James unfolded ours, I leaned toward him so that I could read what was written, but he quickly placed it in his pocket when he’d read it.

  I frowned at him. “Hey! Am I not allowed to see the location?” I asked.

  James remained with his eyes directed toward the front while he answered. “I like to surprise, Jenn. You’ll have to get used to that if you’re going to be my girlfriend.” The smile that graced his lips was probably supposed to amuse me, maybe even make me giggle like some girls did when a guy charmed them, but it only annoyed me.

  “I’m not your girlfriend for real, and I hate surprises. I’ve come to despise them since my experience has told me that they’re no good. Just give me the location.” I held my hand out toward him, but he ignored it.

  “Just humor me, Jenn. I want to make this date fun for you.”

  “Why should I humor you? It’s not a real date. It’s an assignment, so you don’t actually have to feel any pressure,” I stubbornly replied.

  James turned his head and locked his intense green eyes with mine. I instantly felt stupid for fighting him and sighed in defeat, but a tingling in the back of my mind warned me to be careful. The glint in James’s eyes told me that he knew exactly what his eyes could do to a person, and he wasn’t afraid to use it to get what he wanted.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly even though I hadn’t given in verbally.

  I rolled my eyes and turned away from him with a huff. I wasn’t going to hide the fact that I was irritated with him.

  When we were allowed to leave, James led me toward the stairs that went up to the second and third floor, which was where we had our rooms.

  I had, although silently and unwillingly, agreed to let him surprise me with the location, but I really hoped that this surprise location wasn’t his room. That would be the tackiest thing I would ever experience.

  However, he continued up to the third floor and to my own room. I raised an eyebrow in question and he chuckled. “We’re going outside of the school’s premises. I thought you would want to get your jacket.”

  He gestured for me to go inside and brought a phone out of his pocket. “I’ll just call Seth and tell him to drive my car to the entrance.”

  Once downstairs again, my jacket folded over my arm since it was too hot outside to have it on, we walked through the entrance doors just in time to see Seth park a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz convertible at the bottom of the stairs. I had no idea what model it was, but one thing was for sure, it did not fit the image I’d created of James since I met him.

  I would have expected a sturdy Hyundai or maybe a smaller Saab. Not a snobby rich-kid car like a Mercedes convertible.

  “That’s your car?” I asked incredulously. My voice was colored with the shock that still lingered in my mind.

  “It sure is. She’s my pride. I worked my ass off from the moment I turned sixteen to afford her,” he said and it was evident in his tone that he truly loved this car.

  I immediately felt guilty for instantly believing that you had to be rich and snobby for owning a car like that. I didn’t know the background of how he bought it, or why he chose that car, so I had no right to judge.

  I had just been so shocked, because the sight of the car had caused an epiphany of sorts to enter my brain. I’d realized how little I actually knew of James, how inaccurate the image of him I had was.

  We had only known each other for a little over two days, but during that time, I had revealed quite a lot about myself while I knew nothing of him.

  He didn’t know about my background story, but he knew almost everything about my personality, which was a hundred times more intimate than the shallow knowledge of where you grew up.

  James pulled me out of my thoughts by escorting me to the passenger seat.

  I didn’t say anything as he started the car and drove out through the gates, not even when he turned in the direction of the city, which I hadn’t had a chance to really see when I drove through it toward the school.

  It must have worried James because he continuously cast glances in my direction.

  Eventually he broke the silence. “Is everything alright? You’re unusually quiet.”

  I blinked a few times to rid myself of the troublesome thoughts. They were probably nothing anyway. I’d known from that first day that James was a secretive person, but he had also told me that I would eventually know everything about him, so just because I didn’t know anything after two days didn’t mean that I wouldn’t get to learn a thing or two on this date that we were supposed to be having.

  “Have I told you that you look very nice today?” he tried again when my response didn’t come.

  The simplicity of the compliment caused me to meet his eyes. “Thank you,” I said sincerely. I had never received a compliment like that from George, and I appreciated it. It felt very nice.

  James smiled and turned his attention back to the road. “Now that I have your attention, would you be so kind and tell me what’s wrong?”

  I shrugged. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “Then how come I don’t believe you?”

  “Maybe because you want to be the knight in shining armor and save my day,” I retorted. His implication that he knew me so well that he could tell when something bothered me perturbed me.

  There was a few seconds of silence apart from the purring of the car’s engine, and then James started to laugh. It wasn’t one of his low chuckles either. It was a genuine, deep-in-the-stomach laugh that made me want to laugh along with him because it was so contagious.

  “You amaze me, Jenn. You have to be the most unpredictable girl I’ve ever come across.”

  I tried to determine if it was a good or bad thing, but I couldn’t, so I just asked him instead.

  “Definitely a good thing.”

  I heard a buzz and saw James reach into his pocket after his phone. He must have received a text for he looked at the screen for a few seconds before putting the phone back into his pocket.

  His expression changed radically after reading the text. The open, happy one was replaced with an indifferent and controlled look. His body had stiffened and his hands had tightened on the wheel.

  Now it was my turn to ask what was wrong.

  “Nothing important enough to let it ruin our time together,” James answered. “We’re here.” He put the car in park and I turned my head to look out the window.

  CHAPTER 8

  THE ”FIRST DATE”

  I let out a small
laugh when I saw the sign over the entrance. Feeling both amused and excited, I turned to James.

  “Are you serious?”

  “I wasn’t the one that chose the location, but I have to admit that it will be fun.” He was looking out through the windshield, but when he met my gaze and saw the light in it, he smiled widely. “You really like it?”

  “Are you kidding me? I love going to places like this, but I haven’t been to one in years.”

  “Well, then let’s get going.” He climbed out of the car and hurried around to my side, but I had already opened the door. It did not stop him from offering his hand and help me out though.

  We walked side by side to the entrance and the ticket booth, where we were greeted by a girl that couldn’t have been older than nineteen.

  “Welcome to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. How can I help you?” the girl asked with a smile that looked genuine, but was probably plastered on her face after hours of sitting in that booth. I had always felt sorry for those that worked in the service business. I remembered my receptionist position back home, and let me tell you, it’s always the receptionist that gets the crap for something the higher powers had done wrong.

  James leaned forward toward the Plexiglas so that the girl would be able to hear him better. “Yes, our tickets are pre-booked. They should be underneath the name of Mrs. E. Kellen from The PPP Academy.”

  “One second, and I’ll check that, sir.” The girl reached out for a clipboard and searched through the papers until she found what she was looking for. “Yes, here it is. Two Day tickets pre-booked.” She reached up and grabbed something from a box above her. It was two regular paper tickets with the zoo’s logo on it.

  After stamping them, she offered them to James. “You’ll have access to the entire zoo and aquarium for the day. Only give your name by every entrance and you should be fine.”

  “Thank you,” James said and accepted the tickets.

  “Have a pleasant day.” We left the line that had formed behind us and went through the gates. The first thing we saw was a huge fountain with a globe sculpture made out of steel in the middle. I felt my excitement grow with every second. I had never been to this particular zoo before, but I remembered when Dad, Nana, and Pops took me to watch all the animals when I was a kid. I’d loved it, and I was very fond of those memories. This “date” would be like a small trip down memory lane.