Page 64 of My Fake Fiancé

“This looks amazing,” is all she says before her mouth is full with steaming hot chicken. She chews with her mouth open, blowing the steam out as she chews. My eyes widen, impressed and a little scared.

“Wow,” Benny chuckles before turning his attention to me. “So how are you doing? How’s Kurt? I had expected to see you again but I figured Kurt would be with you,” Benny comments and I shove a fry into my mouth to give myself time to think of something to say.

When I swallow, Benny is still looking at me for a response. “I’m alright. We’re alright. We’ve both been pretty busy.” It’s a lame excuse and even worse response but Benny just nods his head.

“I get it,” he says. He stops and chuckles, looking around the bar. “Okay, well no, I can’t say that I get it. But I understand. Man, Kurt was having the time of his life with you here last time. He was practically glowing with you by his side. I almost vomited every time he looked at you or snuck kisses.” Benny pretends to gag and I blush but try to laugh to cover it up.

“Hey, it wasn’t that bad,” I protest, thinking back on that night. I don’t remember anything too showy. Kurt did act more into me that night and I loved it but it wasn’t overly affectionate.

Benny holds up his hands in surrender. “Not that there's anything wrong with a little PDA but damn, that man is in love with you. I’ve been around for a bit and he’s had a couple of girlfriends, but you sweetie, you take the cake. I guess that’s why he made you his fiancée, huh?” Benny chuckles, grabbing a rag to wipe down the counter.

I sit, stunned by his comments. “I-I guess so,” I stutter, not wanting to leave the conversation with awkward silence.

“Good thing too, because it looks like you love him too,” Benny says, giving me a soft smile, a happy smile. The man from earlier waves at Benny from down the bar so Benny excuses himself, walking away from.

“Well that was interesting,” Tatyana comments and I jump a little, having completely forgotten that she was there.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, nonchalantly as I dig into my chicken basket.

“Oh nothing, just that everyone else can see that you two are in love with each other,” Tatyana hums before shoving another fry into her mouth.

“Does it really matter at this point?” I ask with a sigh, swirling a chicken around in a little cup of ranch.

Tatyana narrows her eyes at me. I know she wants to point out that I didn’t deny being in love but instead, she chomps down on some chicken.

“Tonight is about us girls,” she says eventually and I nod.

“To us, and our chicken!” I cheers her, tapping my chicken against hers.

“Don’t forget the fries,” Tatyana holds up a fry so I grab one too and we ‘cheers’ again.

We chat aimlessly while we eat and once we are done, Benny comes back over to us, collecting our empty baskets.

“Refills?” Benny asks and I can see Tatyana considering it, I laugh and shake my head.

“No, thank you. And thank you for the delicious chicken strips but I think it’s time we headed home.” I smile at him and he nods, his lips quirked up at the edges.

“Do you two need a ride?” He asks, looking around the bar.

“We should be fine. I’ll request a car.” I pull up a ride-share app on my phone and put in the request. “Five minute away,” I say, holding up the phone so Benny can see. He peers at my phone then nods his head approvingly.

“Here, drink some water while you wait.” Benny puts two glasses of water on the counter in front of us. I thank him and chug half of the water and gesture for Tatyana to do the same.

While we wait, Benny goes off to help other customers. The bar only has a few other patrons but they still require his attention. I twist in my stool, facing Tatyana. She finishes her water and sets it on the counter.

“He’s nice,” she says and I agree. “He really went to Law School?” Tatyana sounds a bit shocked which makes me chuckle. I had a similar reaction when I found out.

“Right? And made millions creating video games,” I tell her and her eyes widen.

“Man of many talents,” Tatyana says appreciatively and I agree again.

“Oope, the car is here. Let’s get going.” Tatyana and I slide off of our seats and head toward the front door. “Bye Benny! Thanks for everything!” I call out as we pull open the big front door.

“See ya!” Benny waves from behind the bar.

The ride back home isn’t too long and before we know it, the car is stopped in front of our apartment. I thank the driver, leaving a 5-star review then drag myself and Tatyana out of the car.

It takes us a little while to get up the stairs but once we do, we both fall onto the couch.

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