Page 68 of My Fake Fiancé

“I found myself wishing it wasn’t fake...,” He whispers softly against my lips and I find myself leaning into his warmth when the bell above the door chimes and I jolt back and away from him, my heart pounding wildly.

“Ooo, well, well, well, what do we have here? Did I interrupt something?” A smug voice says, and I can hear the smirk on Tatyana’s face before I even look up. I quickly gather all my newly found books into my arms and stand up, Kurt wrapping his hand around my elbow to help me up. I nod my head as a thank you then scurry to stand by Tatyana.

Kurt clears his throat and I feel the butterflies in my stomach again and wonder why the butterflies seem to like him clearing his throat so much. “Hi, Tatyana.” He says, in lieu of an answer. Then he turns to face me, “It was nice running into you today. Let me know if you ever need anything.” He hesitates before leaving and watches my face, searching for a reaction. All I can do is nod and look back down at the floor. I hear him sigh quietly, “Bye, Tatyana.” Then the bell goes off again and I know he’s left.

I look up and see Tatyana staring out the door until he’s out of sight then she whips around to face me. “Damn! What did I walk in the middle of??”

Blushing, I move to the counter and pay for all my books. I clear my throat before responding to her. “Someone texted him a picture of Callum and me when we went out to dinner.”

“What the -? That’s weird.” Tatyana digs through the bins on the counter trying to see if there is anything interesting.

“That’s what I thought too. They sent the picture along with a message asking if he knew where I was, like making the accusation that I was cheating? I don’t know. It’s so messed up.” I thank the cashier and take the bag of my books. Tatyana tosses a few little goodies onto the counter and leans her hip against it, facing me while the cashier totals everything out. “It’s just strange…” I let out a breath and wave my hand. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Tatyana picks up her bag of goodies and the bell on the door rings as we leave the shop.

Chapter 59

Kurt

Running into Juliana in the bookstore was a happy accident. I had been wanting to reach out to her but ever since our goodbyes at her apartment, I felt the need to wait for her to approach me. Everything had seemed so final, yet I found myself wishing she would reach out. When I saw her sitting there, on the floor of an old bookstore, my breath caught in my throat and I couldn’t move for a second. I watched her shift through the books and watched as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

I shake my head trying to get rid of the images that my mind seems to have immediately stored away. There’s no point in reliving every little moment. She and I are only friends now if we are even that. The thoughts subside as I head down the sidewalk towards my car, when I near it, I see someone leaning against it.

“Dave, how are you doing?” Dave grins at me and we shake hands as I unlock my car.

“I’m alright, man. How are you and Juliana doing? Nicole keeps bugging me about getting you two over for a dinner or barbeque or anything really. She doesn’t really care what, she’s just so excited to have another couple to hang out with…” He trails off when he notices my expression. “What? Trouble in paradise? Don’t tell me that.”

“You could say that,” I hold off on telling him the truth. Honestly, I haven’t told anybody the truth yet. Maybe I just don’t want it to be true.

“Okay well get over whatever that issue is because Nicole wanted me to invite you over for dinner Thursday night. Don’t ask me why Thursday, that’s just what she decided. Okay? 7 o’clock sharp. You don’t need to bring anything, she will have the whole meal planned out.” I can’t come up with an excuse without having to tell him what’s happened, so I just nod.

“Sure, sounds good. Now, get off of my car.”

Dave laughs as he pushes himself up. “See you then.”

“See you at work tomorrow.” I remind him and he waves, laughing.

“Right, right, work. See you tomorrow.” He walks off and I get into my car.

After turning on my car, I reach for my cell phone to call Juliana. I scroll through my contacts finding her under W for Wifey. I smile, she must have changed that at some point. When I look up from my phone, I notice a car, with its turn signal on, waiting for my parking spot. I decide to call her later and put my phone down to head back to my apartment.

The light turns red and I ease to a stop. My eyes dart to my phone. “No, it can wait. I’ll call her when I get home.” I nod, trying to convince myself. I can’t. Reaching for my phone, I swerve a little bit. “Okay, that convinced me.” Hands at ten and two, I grip the wheel and concentrate on the road. The call can wait.

Finally, I pull into the parking lot of my apartment building. With a turn of the key, the car shuts off, letting out one last huff.

“It can wait,” I repeat after sitting in my car for a few minutes. I grab my things and head into the building, stopping briefly to talk to Marvin, once again trying to distract myself and calm my thoughts. It only lasts for a minute before I excuse myself to make the call.

Once in my apartment, I drop everything and pull out my phone. Clicking on Wifey, the phone begins to ring.

“Hello?” I hear her voice answering her phone without checking who’s calling, it makes me smile.

“Juliana? It’s me, Kurt.” I add for good measure.

“Oh, hi,” she seems surprised or confused, I can’t tell. “It’s been a while.” She chuckles.

“Hah, yeah. Sorry to call, I ran into Dave right after I saw you.” I pause and I can hear her tapping her nails on a keyboard before they stop.

“Dave? Oh, Dave, you work with him, right? I met him at the house party...” She drifts off remembering that evening. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Dave and Nicole, his wife, have invited us over for dinner. This Thursday. He was very adamant, or well, his wife was very adamant on wanting us to come over. So, unfortunately, I was not able to say no.” I stop talking and listen to her calm breathing and I hear the tapping on the keys continue.

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