What happened when you dated someone out of your league?
The Offer and the Confetti
Victoria’s parents offered to pay for my entire college if I left her, promising she’d get her trust fund early if she dumped me herself.
When I looked at her, she tore the papers to confetti and said, “I’m not for sale”.
I stayed silent.
That was nine months ago. Last week, her father was arrested for tax evasion.
Victoria cornered me after bio and slid $500 across the lab table.
“I need you to be my boyfriend for 3 weeks,” she whispered.
I didn’t even know why she was talking to me. Victoria drove a white Mercedes to school. I took the bus.
When she saw how confused I was, she finally explained.
“My 18th birthday is in 8 months”.
“That’s when I’ll get access to my trust fund”.
She leaned in closer.
“But I want it now”.
“And if I’m dating someone inappropriate, then they’ll probably offer me some deal to dump you”.
“They always think cash fixes everything”.
She said it like a joke, like her parents trying to buy her off was funny.
“So, you in?”.
I stared at the money. $500. That’s 2 months of groceries.
“When do I start?”.
She smiled, different from her usual popular girl smile.
“Tomorrow, I’ll pick you up at 7:00 for dinner at my house”.
Then she walked out, leaving me with five bills and no idea what I’d just agreed to.
First time at her house, I thought I was being pranked. The driveway went on forever. They had a fountain with actual koiish.
I counted six cars, all different brands. Her parents were in the formal living room.
“Mom, dad, this is Dakota”.
Her mom’s smile died. Her dad’s eyebrows went up, way up.
“My boyfriend,” Victoria added, grabbing my hand. Her palm was sweaty.
“Yo,” her dad cleared his throat.
“And what do your parents do, Dakota?”.
Straight to the job question.
“My mom’s a nurse,” I said.
Didn’t mention the second job cleaning offices. Didn’t mention my dad hadn’t been around since I was 10.
Her mom’s smile got tighter.
“How nice”.
After that disaster, Victoria set up our routine. Pick me up every morning. Handholding between classes.
“We need to be seen together,” she said.
“Make it believable”.
She even made me an Instagram so she could tag me and stuff.
But something shifted the second week. She started doing this thing where she’d play with my fingers while we talked, probably for show, but it felt real.
We went to this party at her friend’s house. Mansion, obviously, pool the size of a lake.
She stayed by my side all night, introduced me to everyone proudly.
“This is Dakota,” she’d say like I was someone special, not just the hired help.
When some douchebag made a comment about me shopping at Target, she shut him down hard.
“At least Dakota worked for his money,” she said.
“What do you do besides spend daddy’s cash?”.
The guy had nothing to say. That’s when her phone buzzed.
“My parents saw us this morning,” she whispered, showing me the text.
“They’re furious”.
Her soft hand grabbed mine.
“Let’s go somewhere quieter”.
We ended up on this balcony overlooking the city. Lights everywhere, like stars, but on the ground.
She was wearing this dress, blue, simple. Probably cost more than my mom’s rent, but she made it look easy. Normal.
“3 months till my birthday,” she said. Random.
She turned to me. Close. Really close.
“Dakota, I need to tell you something”.
My heart did this weird skip thing. This was it. She was going to say this was more than just fake. That somewhere in all the pretending it became real, like it had for me.
“What?” I asked.
She bit her lip, looked away, then back.
“My parents want to meet with us tomorrow, both of us”.
“Oh”.
“They said they have a proposal about my trust fund”.
I bit my tongue so hard it tasted like copper. The meeting was at their house. Formal dining room this time. Felt like a court hearing.
Her parents sat on one side, us on the other. Papers between us. Actual printed papers.
“Dakota,” her dad started.
“You seem like a practical young man”.
I nodded, throat dry.
“We’d like to make you an offer,” her mom added, smiling. Fake smiling.
Victoria grabbed my hand under the table, squeezed hard.
“We understand you need money for college,” her dad continued.
“We’re prepared to pay for your entire education”.
“Any school, any degree?”.
My brain stopped.
“Any school?”.
That was hundreds of thousands more money than I’d ever seen before.
“In exchange,” her mom said, still smiling.
“You end this relationship today, right now?”.
“No contact after”.
I looked at Victoria. She was staring at the table.
“That’s not—” and her dad interrupted.
“Victoria can access her trust fund early today if she ends this herself”.
The room went silent. Victoria’s hand in mine, trembling.
“The choice is yours, sweetheart,” her mom said.
Victoria stood up so fast her chair scraped against the floor. She grabbed the papers from the table and tore them in half, then in half again.
Her mom’s mouth fell open. Her dad’s face went red.
Victoria kept tearing until the pieces were confetti size. She let them fall like snow onto the expensive rug.
Her mom started to say something, but Victoria was already walking out. I followed her.
