My encounter with Elise haunts me all through the work day and even at home in my apartment, causing my attention to drift from re-watching one of my favorite shows.

After all the weeks it's taken me to gather up the courage to speak to her, this was really not how I expected things to go.

I lied to her to get her to go out with me. There's no getting around that.

What should I do now? Should I call her and tell her the truth, beg her to still meet with me?

Knowing how enamored she seemed with the bad boy type, I have a feeling she'll never speak to me again if she knows I'm just ordinary.

On the other hand, it's doubtful I'll be able to keep up such a ridiculous pretense for very long. One day she'll find out the truth, and surely will hate me for tricking her.

I suppose it's too much to hope that lying can be construed as bad, as the kind of thing she's into.

I sigh. At this point in the movies, I'd be calling up my fellow male friends for some advice right about now: one of them would be a blatant womanizer and the other would've never touched a girl in his life. Through a conversation filled with mishaps and cringe, I would somehow find my answer.

Unfortunately, I don't have any friends like that. I do, however, have a sister.

Close enough.

The phone barely gets a chance to ring before she picks up; James must not be home from work yet. "Ian? What's up?"

"Hey, sis, quick question for you. Is it good to start a relationship off by lying about your identity?" I say, while lounging on my couch, resting my feet on the nearby coffee table I purchased from a flea market.

Her familiar laugh flows through the phone into my ear, a comforting sound. "Oh, definitely. I have a copy of 'Love for Dummies' right in front of me and tips for lying profusely take up the majority of the first three chapters."

"Great! I knew my conscience was a worthless piece of shit."

"Yeah, just toss that thing in the garbage." I hear a garbled coo, and her voice suddenly raises a pitch. "Uncle Ian is so funny, isn't he? Isn't he, baby?"

"Ooh, is Charlie awake? Put him on the phone, he's actually way better at giving dating advice." I'll take any opportunity that arises to talk to my favorite-but-only nephew, he's just so freaking cute.

"Offence taken, you brute of a brother! But sure, one sec."

It doesn't take long for the four month old little dude to spew out pure wisdom. "Mmmblargh!"

I nod enthusiastically for the benefit of everyone in my empty living room. "Couldn't have put it better myself. I was actually thinking that too."

I can here my sister Serena giggle as she moves the phone back to her ear. "So you're having lady trouble, huh? It's been awhile..."

"Yeah, let's not delve down that conversation topic any further. Present-day only."

God knows it's a lot better than the past.

Fortunately, Serena obliges, returning to our prior subject by saying, "Okay, so tell me about her! Which Bennet sister is she like?"

"Hmm, she seems to be more of a Marianne Dashwood type actually. She's a dreamer, head in the clouds."

Of all my glances over at Elise in the coffee shop over the past few weeks, she's almost always been reading something, looking so wistful. It's drawn me in; I want to know what she's reading, what she thinks about.

"Aha! I knew you read my Jane Austen collection. Busted, little bro."

I groan. She got me. "Tell no one."

"I will tell all your past and future lovers at the earliest opportunity."

"You will not!" Despite my declaration, there's a huge grin on my face.

"Fine. I'll just tell Charlie."

"That's fine. He'll understand, he gets me." Another attempt at human speech from the little guy is audible, all the confirmation I need to know he doesn't judge me for my literary misadventures.

"And James!" Serena adds, raising the stakes.

"No, he already thinks I'm lame enough!" I groan, remember all the times I've already made myself look like such a dork in front on my brother-in-law.

"Well, you shouldn't have talked his ear off about all your anime recommendations. Or tried to get him to play Dungeons & Dragonborns with you."

"Hey, I stopped playing that!"

As far as she knows.

"Sure, I totally believe you flat-out quit your warlock right after finally learning level five spells."

...she knows me too well. Like I would ever stop meeting up with the guys over at the comic store on Monday nights. Best thing to happy to Mondays in the history of mankind.

"Anyway, a hardcore romantic like Marianne Dashwood sounds like trouble. Is she into you? Tell me you're not playing the part of the boring nice guy she'll begrudgingly get with in the end. You're more than that, Ian."

"That's...where the lying part comes in."

"What? That wasn't just playful banter between two sibs?" She's attempting to hide the worry in her voice, but having shared a childhood allows me to see through it.

"I'm afraid not. She thinks I'm the CEO of my company." With bated breath, I nervously await her answer nervously. Her opinion of me means so much.

"...and why does she think that, Ian?" Serena asks, and I can hear baby Charlie start to fuss in the background.

"Because I told her I was. But it's not as bad as you think! After all, I only did it to manipulate her into going out with me. It was the only way." I hope to distract her from my disreputable actions with humor.

It doesn't seem to work.

There's a long and uncomfortable pause where I expected more banter to be. There are some rustling noises, filling me with hope the silence is more about maneuvering to feed the baby, and less to do with Serena being disappointed in me. Finally, I hear her voice again. "This sounds like it's going to end badly, Ian."

"I know." There's little doubt in my mind that it will.

"And like it started badly."

I sigh, remembering how Elise rejected me outright when I told her the kind of guy I am. "It has."

"I wouldn't expect the middle to be all that great either."

"I don't." In all honesty, I expect to spend the majority of my time with Elise anxious she'll see through my facade.

"So then...why? Why her?" Serena asks, and I could swear I hear her garage door go up in the background. I probably don't have much longer with her, but I still don't have any answers.

"That's a good question."

Maybe it's because of the way she brushes her long, dark hair behind her ear so that it doesn't obscure the view as she reads on her phone. Maybe it's how she smiles at the staff and makes sure to wipe down her table before she heads off to work.

Maybe it's that for once in my life I seem to have found a girl who's just as much of a romantic as I am, a girl who thinks relationships and love can be magical if it's with the right person.

I wanna be the right guy for her. Even if I'm not.

~~~