It all started a sixteen months ago, when my friends started treating me differently just because I didn't have a boyfriend. The parties they would attend, the clubbing they would go to, wherever I went I was left out all alone. Boys doesn't excite me, never has, never will but my friends just won't understand.
So, before they started calling me gay, I told them a huge lie, that I have a boyfriend. He's hot, he's in college, he's rich, he's fun loving, everything about him was exactly like a girl dreams about in guys.
It went well with my chain of long made up stuff about my imaginary boyfriend for a while; a couple of weeks to be precise. But now, they were starting to see through my lies.
My friend, Al challenged me to bring my boyfriend. She started saying things like, "You and your boyfriend seems to be so fake. If you really have a boyfriend and if he's really that great, why hasn't anybody seen him yet?"
I was caught off-guard, we fought a lot upon this... and finally, since I had no evidence to prove my lies as my truth, my friends became my nightmare. Entire highschool started making fun of me. People started calling me a liar, a gay and other names.
I thought everything will settle down after a couple of weeks but, it didn't. Infact, it got even more worse. Somebody spread a rumour about me that I was looking for a boyfriend... and that I was a slut.
That rumour was the worse of all. The way boys at school would look at me, talk to me, touch me inappropriately, without my consent.
I NEEDED TO PROVE THAT I REALLY HAD A BOYFRIEND.
Because of the ill-treatment at school, I started skipping and strolling around like a loner on the streets of the city. I even begged my mom to change my schools. I didn't have it in me to tell my mom the truth. My mom didn't help me change my school. I was stuck. With only one option left for me; find a guy, exactly like I described my boyfriend as and get him to be my fake boyfriend.
Approximately a week later than me skipping school, one day I was helping my mom clean up when the doorbell rang. Mom asked me to get the door while she was busy in moving around the chairs.
I was the only daughter of my mother. My dad disowned us both when my mom couldn't give him a son like he had always wished for. It's me and mom since then. My dad may be the reason why I'm not exactly comfortable around guys.
I opened the door to spot this drop dead handsome guy standing at the door with a tea cup in his hand. I was spellbound for once when I looked at his appearance. He was really a gorgeous man; jet black hairs, long eyelashes, hazel nut eyes, perfect stubble. I'm not sure about his chest and abs but what I could see through the sweatshirt that he was wearing, I was pretty sure he sweats it out a lot in gym.
One look at him and I couldn't help but notice how similar he appeared than the imaginary guy I define as my boyfriend amongst my friends.
"Hey there. I'm Vincenzo Martinez. I moved next door a couple of nights ago. I haven't been able to shop and just recently ran out of sugar. Can I have some of yours?" He asked pointing at his cup.
I stood there spellbound, not exactly mesmerized, just wondering how exactly he looked like the guy from my imaginations and how if he could agree to be my boyfriend, that would just shut up everyone at school and I could manage to live peacefully once again.
"Tessa? Who's at the door?" My mom called out to me walking back at the door herself.
My mom is in her late thirties but she doesn't look a day older than 29. She was beautiful, very beautiful. When she walked down the streets people did turn back checking out just how beautiful my mom was. Exactly like how this guy, Vincenzo was checking my mom out. I could exactly sense the spark between these two standing at the door there.
On a second look, this guy was an impeccable beauty only the fact that he was older than I had described him to my friends... about 27-30 years old?
Maybe, this won't work. I could see he was interested in my mom and not me.
Disheartened, I went back and left my mom alone to talk to the man at the door and started moving the chairs. I didn't expect it but, a small encounter at the door and here he was a few minutes later in my living space moving furnitures around with me and mom.
I really liked him, but I could see how he was not interested in me but my mom. Mom seemed happy too, after a long long time. I never saw her with dad and I was happy for mom. I wanted to be and I could have been if only my imaginary boyfriend wasn't a problem back at my school.
My mom and Vincenzo were hitting it off really well. Its been a week now and I couldn't help but notice things and be happy for my mom. She meant the entire world to me and I was happy to see my world happy and feeling lucky. But my problem still continued to become my nightmares.
The pals at school had all stopped talking with me. Yesterday, I asked for a pencil since I accidentally forgot to bring one from one of the guys there and he asked me to sit on his lap in exchange for that. The humiliation, the ignorance, everything was just so intolerable for me.
But one Monday morning, Vincenzo accidentally came home early in the morning, right when I was leaving for school. He offered to drop me to school and mom pressed me to take his offer.
