Chapter Text
"Thank you, Miss Clayton!" one of the kids said as he ran out of the classroom. Being a teacher wasn't easy, but it made Dani's heart happy. It was something that gave her some way of stability, after all she'd been through. It's been a year since she left everything back in the US: her family, friends, her old belief system. And Eddie. Her dear Eddie.
She thought she'd marry him, after knowing each other for life. They thought they were made for each other since the day they became friends on the school playground. But as they grew older, time revealed who they were and what they truly wanted. Eddie stayed almost the same: he dreamt of being a successful lawyer, having a family of his own and living in a big house. But for Dani, time made its thing. For the last few years, she was confused about who she was. She tried to picture herself happily married, with a loving husband and maybe even kids, but deep down it felt wrong. She felt bad for herself and for Eddie. Maybe she should've realized earlier, and not when she was already engaged. But destiny orders things so that it all makes sense later on. It was a long time before she accepted that she never wanted Eddie romantically because she never wanted a man romantically. It was hard, at first, but as she decided to leave everything behind and start again in England, she had some time to make up her mind.
She hadn’t dated any women since then, but she knew her feelings were true. She often found herself daydreaming about the pretty lady she met on the subway, or the nice lady from the hotel she stayed at before moving to her flat; and it didn’t feel wrong. Instead, she felt like a teenager who’s experiencing butterflies for the first time. It felt lonely at times, as well. How could she let other women know? She had no idea. Maybe only time would tell, she thought.
She finished putting her classroom in order, picked up her bag, and closed the door as she got out. She went to the entrance to sign out, waved goodbye to some of her colleagues, and walked to the subway station. It was a Friday, which meant she had some time to rest after a long week. She often stayed home, watching television or reading, and other times she went out to dinner with friends; but she’d stay this time, as she felt exhausted.
When she finally arrived at the station near where she lived, she got off the subway and walked to her flat. Thankfully, it was just a few blocks away. She stepped into the building and went up the stairs to the second floor, as she simultaneously reached for the keys in her purse. There were only two flats on each floor, one on each side. They weren’t very large, but for one person, it was perfect. And she was more than grateful she had a nice neighbor, a woman her age named Jamie, who worked at the local botanic garden. Dani met her the day she moved in. She kindly helped her carry out the boxes on the stairs and build some of the furniture she’d purchased. Dani considered her a very good friend, and besides that, a really attractive woman.
She stepped inside her own flat and closed the door behind her. Everything was in order as she left it before she went to work. She took off her coat, placed it on the hanger, and sloped down on the couch, as she let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she’ll have some time for herself. She stayed there for a while, until she heard the phone ringing. She got up and walked to the kitchen table to answer. She didn’t recognize the number. In fact, the area code showed it was a number from the US. Maybe it was her mother, she thought. She picked up.
“Hi?”
“Danielle? It’s Eddie”
Her mind went blank. Eddie? How did he even get her number?
“Oh, hi Eddie, how’s it going?” she asked back, still confused.
“All good, how about you?” he said in his usual neutral tone.
“Everything’s fine, thank you! Now, may I ask, why is this call for? I mean, it’s not like I don’t want to talk, but I just wasn’t expecting-”
“No, it's okay. I understand” he cut her off. “See, I know how it all ended when you decided to go, and I did wrong for not apologizing over what I said. I’m so, so sorry”
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m also sorry for not telling you anything before I, um, ended everything” Dani said as she started to feel nervous. Recalling all that made her feel guilty in some way.
“At least it was for the better, isn’t it? I mean, you’re now happy and far from here” Eddie replied with a nervous laugh.
“Yeah, you’re right” Dani said, slightly smiling to herself.
There was a brief pause until Eddie spoke again.
“Well, now that we’re okay, I wanted to tell you something”
“What is it?” Dani asked, feeling confused once again.
“I’m going to England three days from now for business, and I’m staying for a month”.
Dani’s eyes widened as she listened. Why? Why him? and why was he telling her?
“What?”
“The company I’m in needs us to take some courses and well, the main offices are in London. your mom told me you lived near there, right?”
Dani took everything in her to answer without sounding as shocked as she was.
“Yeah, London’s an hour or so from here”
“Great! So, what do you say if we have some coffee when I’m there? I can take a train any day”
Eddie sounded more than excited. Why did he want to meet her? She literally left him when they were engaged, and he wasn’t very accepting of the reasons why. If she accepts, he’ll know she is fairly the same person he knew. But she couldn’t make up silly excuses. She had to face it, somehow.
She took a deep breath before answering.
“Of course, that’ll be great” she replied, regretting every single word.
“Okay then, I’ll call you whenever I arrive to decide on a day. Can’t wait to see you again, Dani” he said in a genuine, soft tone, which Dani recognised because that’s how he spoke to her when they were dating.
“Take care, Eddie. See you soon” Dani replied, quite cold, compared to him.
“Bye Dani. Take care” Eddie replied as he hung up. Dani took out one of the chairs of her small dining table, sat down and closed her eyes. I’m an idiot, she thought. How could she accept going out for coffee with the man that made her question her own life choices? How could she come back to her past after finally moving on?
She wanted to show Eddie she had her life together. She wanted him to see how happy and fulfilled she felt, even if in reality she was still suffering and still healing. She didn’t know if it was mere revenge, but she wanted him to see she now had a perfect life, away from all the toxic things and people she left in her hometown. But there was specifically just one thing that was worrying her: her love life. She wanted Eddie to see she didn’t need a man. In fact, she wanted him to see how happy she felt not loving a man, but a woman. She had to make up something. She knew it was childish, and there was nothing wrong with being alone, but she wanted Eddie to feel jealous.
After several minutes of just thinking about the endless possibilities, she had an idea. She knew Jamie, her neighbor, could help her. She always gave her good advice.
She put on her shoes, which she’d left by the couch, and went out to the hall. She closed the door but didn’t lock it, since she won’t leave the apartment floor. Besides, it was really calm on Friday nights.
She walked to Jamie’s door and rang the doorbell.
“Coming!” she heard her shout a few seconds later. Meanwhile, she looked at the plants she had on the entrance. They were really beautiful and well-taken care of. She didn’t know which plants they were, but they looked nice.
After a while, she heard some keys unlocking the door and lightly swinging it open.
“Hey, Dani, what’s up?” Jamie said with a smile. She was wearing a hoodie and some dark pants, which meant she was relaxing as well. Dani smiled back at her.
“Hi, Jamie. I’m sorry to interrupt you” Dani said. Jamie chuckled at her reply.
“Not at all, I was reading and just chilling out. But what about you? What can I help you with? Wanna come inside?” she said, gesturing for her to come in. Dani agreed and stepped inside. Jamie didn’t close her door.
“It’s something very stupid, actually, nothing serious”
“Oh Dani, you never change. Always excusing yourself. Come on, you can tell me or ask me whatever”
“I kinda need some advice” Dani said as she looked down, a little nervous
“Ooh, are you with a lady?” Jamie asked back as she raised an eyebrow, trying to lift Dani’s mood.
“Not that advice, Jamie” Dani rolled her eyes at her, making Jamie chuckle at the reaction.
“What is it then?” Jamie asked after a brief pause.
“Remember my ex-fiancé I talked to you about? Eddie?”
“Yeah. What did you do? Don’t tell me he booty-called you or I swear I’ll-”
“No, it’s something more serious than that. He’s coming to London in three days.” Dani cut her off.
“What?” Jamie’s eyes widened.
“Apparently he has to come for business. And he wants to see me. We agreed to set up a date when he arrives”
Jamie noticed how nervous Dani was. Why was she so afraid of seeing someone from her past?
“But” Dani kept on, “I want him to see that I’m better off now. I want him to believe I now have a perfect life. I know it’s childish but I don’t want him to see me exactly how I was before I left home. And that’s why I need your help” she added, in a more calm tone. Jamie was a bit confused.
“Okay. What do you want me to help you with, then?”
“I, I need you to pretend we’re dating” Dani said, switching her gaze to the floor again. She now felt embarrassed.
Jamie took a moment to realize what she’d been just asked. Dani, the blonde American teacher, whom she’d had a massive crush on since she arrived at the building, was asking her to fake date her? This seemed too good to be true.
“Are you serious?” was all Jamie could answer. She looked at Dani, who was still looking at the floor, with her now bright pink cheeks.
“Yeah. I mean, we’re good friends, and I trust you. A lot. And it’s just once, just to prove Eddie wrong” Dani started speaking quickly, as if in a hurry. “Of course, you can say no, as well. I won’t be mad”
Jamie waited until Dani looked up at her.
“Don’t be silly. Of course, I would love to be your fake date. It’ll be just like in middle school when the girls planned their fake weddings” Jamie said with a light chuckle, lightening the mood. Dani let out a giggle as well.
“You really sound like you’re excited about it” Dani said, smiling.
“Come on, Dani. It will be fun. Since it’s all made up, we can literally invent anything. What do you want? Monthly trips? Expensive dates? Beating the shite out of men who tries to have sex with us?”
Dani just laughed about everything Jamie was saying. She really lifted her mood every time. Jamie laughed as well, as she took a sip from the beer she was drinking before Dani arrived. She wasn’t lying, fake dating sounded like a fun idea. Even though, deep down she wished it was true. But she’d keep those feelings for herself. At least this time.
“Okay, okay. I’ll let you make part of the plan” Dani said. “We still have the weekend to think about how to set everything up”
“Can’t wait” Jamie replied.
“Thank you so much, Jamie. I was very scared about this” Dani said, now being more serious. She really felt a weight being lifted off of herself.
“Well, now I’ve got to go. I wanna rest for a bit. It’s been a rough week”
“Okay, okay. See you soon, Dani” Jamie said as they approached the door. As usual, Jamie embraced Dani in a friendly hug.
“Take care, Jamie. I’ll call you if I have an idea for our ‘relationship’ ” Dani said, adding some air quotes while raising her eyebrows.
“Same here! Now go get some rest” Jamie said as Dani started walking away to her apartment door.