Page 31 of My Fake Fiancé

"Oh, so you own this place?" She guesses correctly, and I can tell she is impressed but also confused as to why he would choose to own this bar.

"Yes, ma'am. Owner, chef, bartender, lawyer, you name it, I can do it."

"Speaking of, we would like two baskets of your famous chicken strips and fries combo. And yes, I am ordering two because neither of us will want to share, I can promise you that." I give Juliana a look and she nods, licking her lips hungrily and I can tell she is excited.

"Alright, two chicken strip baskets coming up. Any drinks I can get you before I get started?" Benny asks as he slowly backs away from the table, his fingers twitching and ready to get back to the kitchen.

"Did I mention he also has a passion for cooking?" I look across the table at Juliana and her smile brightens the room. "No, go have fun in the kitchen, I'll help ourselves to some water." I confer with Juliana and she gives a nod of approval so I slide out of the booth and make my way to the side of the bar where Benny keeps a full pitcher of cold water and clean glasses.

"This is kind of a family-style bar, you just help yourself to whatever you need. There are, of course, limitations to that, because of the health code, like not going in the kitchen. We try to make sure the bar wouldn't be shut down but of course, Benny and I, and other friends from law school would be all willing to fight for this place." The glasses make a clank on the table as I set them down, Juliana takes the pitcher and fills both cups. She nods while I talk and she watches me closely.

I sit back and take a breath realizing that I am the one now rambling. Normally, I am not one to ramble. I’ve always been able to speak clearly and concisely but ever since Juliana came into my life as my fake fiancée, I have been stumbling over myself trying to figure everything out; I need to find my eloquence again.

Once I pause, Juliana's eyes dart around the room, taking everything in. She notices every little detail and her eyes stop on a photo of our group of friends that was taken right after we passed the bar.

"That's you," she gets up and makes her way over to the photo. I follow behind her to look at it as well.

"Yep, that's us. That group right there is the only reason I made it out of law school and passed the damn bar." I let out a puff of breath remembering all the late nights and tough exams before the big one.

"That's cool," she says, admiring the picture a little longer before drifting down the wall to look at more of the pictures and posters, some new from Benny and some older from the previous owners.

I hover back a few steps but follow her and point out funny sayings or explain posters to her on the way. By the time we make it around the whole bar and back to our seats, Benny is headed our way carrying two baskets overflowing with fries.

"Dinner is served," Benny announces and slides our steaming baskets onto the table, pulling a ketchup and ranch bottle out of his apron pockets and plopping them on the table. "Enjoy," he says and takes a bow, winking at Juliana before he walks off to talk to a group that just entered the bar.

"Wow, this looks delicious." Juliana reaches for her chicken strip splitting one open and watches as steam comes billowing out, she blows on them gently before greedily taking a big bite. I wait for her reaction and smile as she closes her eyes. "Wow, and it tastes as good as it looks."

"Homemade too," I comment before beginning to devour mine as well. We fade into silence as we both realize how hungry we are.

Chapter 31

Kurt

After our dinner in silence we find ourselves seated at the bar making friends with every customer that comes in. Juliana was shy at first but this atmosphere is too inviting and getting food in her has really opened her up. Benny has been steadily supplying me with beer but Juliana doesn't seem to notice. I find myself leaning into her with each beer and my hand rests on her thigh. She flinched when I first touched her but I didn't back down and she eventually relaxed and her hand is now perched on top of mine, her thumb gently rubbing my hand while she chatters aimlessly to her new companions. The gesture seems almost absentminded and I don't mind.

At one point in the evening, I lean over and plant a kiss on her cheek, which quickly turns a shade of pink while the women in the group give a collective sigh. I turn back to make further conversation with the gentleman to my right but overhear the women telling Juliana how cute we are together. I smile, we are cute.

"Kurt," I feel Juliana tug on my hand gently and I turn to face her again. I look into her eyes and notice how tired she is. "It's getting late." I look at my watch and see it has gotten late. It's almost midnight.

"Wow, how did that happen? We've been here almost four hours." I stand up, staggering a little and Juliana gives me a look that I can't quite read. But the look passes quickly and she wraps her arm around my waist, I toss my arm over her shoulder enjoying the feel of her up against my side.

"Leaving so soon?" Benny teases, I nod and put my card down on the bar sliding it to him but he just shakes his head and pushes it back to me. "This one's on me. But not for you," he stops me before I can protest or even thank him. "For Juliana, you're one lucky guy." He winks at Juliana and grins at me. I pocket my card and give him a nod.

"Thanks, man. I am pretty lucky." I turn and plant a kiss on Juliana's forehead and pull her close to me. She puts her hand on my abdomen to keep me from wobbling and I am grateful because I definitely should not have had that final beer. The warmth of her hand stays on me as we walk down the street.

"I texted Dave to let him know we were up for that dinner invitation." I let her know and she smiles looking at the ground, watching where her feet are going. "He said his wife is excited to meet you. I made sure to let them know that they shouldn't judge a book by its cover." I tease and she lets out a loud laugh that echoes across the empty street.

"Thanks for that." She bumps her hip against mine, making both of us stumble. We laugh together as I regain my footing and straighten her out too.

"Hey, careful, if I go down, I'm taking you down with me." I eye her evilly and this earns me another laugh. She pats my stomach, leaving her hand there again until we make it to the car. Juliana holds her hand out for the keys, and I hand them over willingly. She helps me get in the passenger seat and then she drives us back to our apartment. Her warm hands return to my body and I let her help me to the apartment. She fumbles with the lock but I know I would do a worse job so I wait patiently, leaning up against the wall.

"Juliana.." I start and she looks up at me just as she gets the door unlocked, she holds it open for me and I try my best to walk like I am not as drunk as I happened to be. She follows behind me and locks up the apartment, I sit on the couch and she busies herself cleaning up the leftover food and drinks that Marvin must have brought up. I left him a note to do so if my guests left a mess, even though I had planned to go back to clean up.

Once Juliana is finished putting everything away in the kitchen, I hear the sound of ice being scooped into cups and then the sound of running water. Juliana comes back into the living room and hands me a glass which I gratefully accept, downing most of the water quickly as she drops onto the couch letting out a sigh.

"That was fun," she smiles, her eyes shining while her eyelids begin to droop from exhaustion. "Benny is really funny. He was telling me some stories of your law school days. They were quite interesting." She teases me but I like it.

Feeling bold from the alcohol intake, I reach over and pull her onto my lap. She doesn't protest and straddles me, sitting back so we can look at each other. "Hi."

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