Hayden just stood next to me and smiled brightly as he brought an arm up and placed it over my shoulders, hugging me to his side. My whole body froze.
"Oh...who’s this?" one of my girl friends asked with clear interest.
"He’s so hot...he’s so hot..." another one whispered to the girl next to her.
"Who is he, Malissa?" Jenny asked as she stared at me.
Why did he have to turn up here? I just told these girls that I was completely single and had no time for dating. This is so misleading...
"Umm...this is..." I said as I struggled to come up with something that would be believable.
Now what? Do I tell them that he is my friend? My distant cousin...?
"I’m Malissa’s boyfriend. My name is Hayden," Hayden said loudly and clearly as he pulled me roughly against him. I felt both of his arms around my neck as he hugged me from behind and rested his chin on my head.
Oh...shit.
"Wow! Really?" Jenny exclaimed excitedly while the other girls had similar reactions of shock.
"Malissa...you never told us that you had a boyfriend?" a girl said as she narrowed her eyes at me.
Well, that’s only because I didn’t have one. I mean, I still don’t have one.
I got her hidden message immediately. They’re going to grill me for not telling them and get me to tell them all the details about this later. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell them anything about the debt, the contract, or the mafia.
I glanced at Hayden and cursed him internally. While I was worried about being discreet, this guy was so used to attracting attention.
"Oh, sorry about this. I didn’t know that you were bringing a plus one. Seriously, you should have told me so that I can book another seat," Jenny quickly said politely after recovering from her initial shock at Hayden’s sudden appearance.
"That’s ok. I’ll bring a chair over," Hayden said as he smiled his angelic smile at my friend.
I sighed softly to myself as I watched a bright red blush take over my friend’s face at the sight of Hayden’s mesmerizing smile. Another victim down. I guess this was why they say the devil is bewitching.
I sat back down in my seat as I tried to figure out how to deal with Hayden. He’s not going to say anything weird that will expose our twisted contract, right? I glanced over at Hayden who was bringing a chair over to our table.
"Hayden, please...let’s go," I whispered to him.
"You owe me one," Hayden whispered into my ear once he got up to his feet.
"Bye girls. It was great catching up with you. I’ll see you girls another time soon," I said.
"It was good seeing you all. Thanks for taking care of my Malissa," Hayden said before flashing the girls his killer smile.
"Did you hear that he called her ’my Malissa’ just now?" my friend started teasing.
I couldn’t stop myself from blushing a little at their teasing. Without further delay, I started dragging Hayden behind me out of the restaurant.
"Why did you come here? How did you find this place? Did you follow me?" I fired questions at him the moment we stepped out of the restaurant.
"Chill out. Too many questions at once..." Hayden said lazily.
"Why did you come here? What do you think you’re doing? Why did you introduce yourself as my boyfriend?" I asked rapidly.
"I just told you...too many questions all at once..." Hayden said, still refusing to answer any of my questions.
"You can’t do this to me..." I hissed angrily.
"Let’s go home. I’ll drive," Hayden said and this time it was his turn dragging me.
"Wait! The men can drive me back," I said as I tried to pull my wrist away from his grip.
"They’re no longer here..." Hayden replied, sounding bored.
"What? Why?" I asked with a mix of shock and confusion.
"I sent them back already. Let’s be environmentally friendly and carpool," Hayden said with a small laugh.
He sent them back?!
--To be continued...