Page 101 of Fear of Falling

I’d gotten used to the attention over the years, but Josie hadn’t had the chance. The last thing I wanted was to throw her in with the wolves. Reaching the table, I pulled out Josie’s chair before sliding into the one next to her.

“Well, aren’t you popular?” Josie said after the hostess gave us our menus, purposefully lingering longer than necessary. “Does it get annoying at times?” I watched her glance around at the people seated around us, most not even trying to hide that they were staring.

“Yeah, it can be a lot. Some people don’t understand personal space.” I wanted her to know that despite all the stares, I was fully focused on her tonight. “But none of it matters because I’m here with you.” I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips.

“That was cheesy,” Josie said but her voice was a little breathless. I smiled against her hand before putting it back on the table. Grabbing the menu with one hand I rested my left on her thigh.

Almost immediately, our waiter appeared at our table. I ordered us a bottle of wine while the two of us looked over the menu. Josie was quiet, her eyes darting over the menu and then around us. The stares had subsided a little, but a few lingered.

When the waiter came back with our wine, I saw Josie hesitantly reach for it. I could tell she was uncomfortable being here. Maybe it was the atmosphere, that you had to be well off to afford this place, or all the stares, but regardless, she wasn’t having a good time.

Seeing her tug her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked at the menu, I knew I’d made a mistake bringing her there.

This isn’t us.

“Let's get out of here,” I said, grabbing my wallet and putting down a hundred-dollar bill. Standing, I reached for her hand.

“We just got here.”

“Not really in the mood for Italian.” With her hand in mine, I gently led her back through the restaurant. Eyes once again on us.

I ignored the hostess calling after us and walked out of the restaurant. As we walked down the street towards the car, Josie pulled me to a stop.

“We didn’t have to leave.” I could see and feel the guilt coming off her. “I was okay to stay.”

“It’s not worth it if you are uncomfortable.” And I meant it. “I know a better place we can go.”

“Better than one of the top-rated Italian restaurants in the city?”

“You can count on it,” I grinned.

34

WYATT

“Pizza?” Josie looked at the pizza parlor with a raised eyebrow. “That’s Italian.”

“Yeah, but the pizza’s they make are out of this world.”

Josie ducked under my arm as I held the door open. The two of us were highly over dressed for this place, and we stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs. It was a hole-in-the-wall type of pizza place that’d been around for years.

The bartender looked up and raised his hand in greeting. I gave a nod back as I led Josie towards a booth along the far side of the wall. The place wasn’t that busy for a Thursday night, and the few people there were too busy doing their own thing to pay us any attention.

From the outside,it was deceptively small, but as soon as you walked inside, you were met with an immense space. A massive bar lined one entire side, with booths along the opposite wall. The center of the room was peppered with a mismatched array of tables and chairs that added to the eccentric vibe of the place. The owner prided himself on his quirky, thrifted decor, and the place had become almost as well known for that as it had its pizzas.

“How have I never heard of this place?” Josie asked, looking around as we slid into the booth.

“It’s more of a local hotspot. Landon, Mateo and I have come here for years.” In fact, it was our ritual to eat there at least once a month.

“So they have the best pizza, huh?”

“Hands down. What’s your go to pizza?” I asked, not even bothering to look at the menu that sat on the table.

“I’m a simple gal. Pepperoni and pineapple.”

“Wow.” I shook my head. “I’m disappointed in you.”

“Excuse me? Pineapple belongs on pizza.”

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