Faking It

Chapter 3

“Thank you. I was thinking about throwing my drink in his face,” I laughed, “But I figured that wasn’t the vibe of this place.”

“No need to thank me,” he laughed, “I am sorry that scumbag got to you. I would have loved to see you throw a drink in his face. Maybe I shouldn’t have stepped in so soon.”

We were quiet for a moment, listening to the constant beating of the base.

“I am Nathan,” he said finally, “and I am assuming your name probably isn’t Sophia?”

“No, it’s not—it’s May. But it’s kind of interesting to hear what a stranger would guess my name is. Do I look like a Sophia to you?”

“It was the first name that came to mind when I saw you, I guess,” he smiled, “But I think May suits you better.”

“Well, thank you. I like it for me, it was my grandmother’s name,” I looked into the window at the people dining, “and I think Nathan suits you very well, too.”

“Thank you,” he laughed again—his smile was electrifying. “Seeing as you were only able to take a few sips from your drink there, would you want to get one with me somewhere else?”

I hesitated for a moment—walking into a city I didn’t know at night with a stranger wasn’t exactly a usual pastime for me, but I was drawn into his eyes and that little half-smile. I thought of the unopened text messages in my phone.

“Sure,” I said, “I think I owe you a drink after you saved me like that.”

“Absolutely not, I would never let a lady pay.”

We walked together two blocks down, to a bar called Balloons, which had a line that ran along the side of the building. I felt a sudden disappointment—I was getting cold in the thin jacket I had brought and I really just wanted a drink, not to stand in the cold with the college kids.

To my surprise, though, Nathan grabbed my hand once again and pulled me to the entrance, where he exchanged a few quiet words with the muscular bouncer at the front of the line. The man stepped aside, smiling at me as we walked past.

Inside, the atmosphere was entirely different from The Stallion—it was dark and crowded, with colored beams of lights shooting through the fog produced by machines at each side. The bartenders were all beautiful, skinny girls dressed in neon tube tops and skirts with glow bracelets around their arms and necks. They carried trays that were lit from the bottom with LED lights and served shots of electric green and pink.

Nathan held my hand firmly and led me to a booth near the back with a black and gold “reserved” sign sat neatly atop it. He motioned for me to sit down, holding my hand until I was comfortably seated in the booth, and then came around to sit beside me.

“What are you having?” he asked as he lifted a hand to catch the attention of one of the girls. One of them noticed automatically, a shorter, curvy girl with neon earrings and glittery tassels in her hair.

“I normally drink Old Fashioneds, but I’m not sure if this is the place to get one.”

He turned to look at me with amusement.

“A bourbon girl, huh? I like that.” He turned to the server, who I noticed had short me a sneering glance. “Two old fashioneds, please. Bulliet bourbon.”

“Of course, Nathan. I’ll be right back.”

I realized, suddenly, how bizarre this situation had become. His earnest chivalry and kindness was contrasted by the environment, which was a place he clearly frequented. It was clear that he had connections in the area, probably through his family, as I had gathered from that man, Vainer. I realized with a sinking feeling that I had potentially signed myself up unwittingly for what he expected to be a one-night stand. He hadn’t struck me as a player, with his disheveled look and genuine laugh, but it was clear that being with him in public was attracting jealousy. I felt distinctly out of my element.

“So where are you from then, May?” He asked. I searched his face for any sign of ulterior motive in the question, but found none. “I notice a bit of a southern accent.”

“Tennessee,” I subconsciously lowered my gaze, “I’ve done my best to get rid of any trace of that accent, though.”

“You shouldn’t get rid of it, it’s charming.” I looked up at his face again and saw only genuine pleasure in his eyes. I blushed—his complete attention on me made me nervous, like those dark blue eyes could see right through me, like I was standing naked in front of him.

“Well, that’s very sweet. I think that sometimes people don’t take me as seriously with that kind of accent.”

“People will discount other people for any reason they can find,” his expression became serious, “But you shouldn’t hide who you are because of what others may think.”

“Thank you for the child’s storybook thematic message,” I responded, despite myself, “But I think we all mask parts of ourselves.”

He reflected for a moment, searching my face. Our drinks arrived and Nathan took them from the tray, holding one of them out for me to take.

“To unmasking ourselves,” he held up his glass, “and to my new fake girlfriend, Sophia.”

We clinked our glasses together and took a drink.

“I’ll be your fake girlfriend,” I said after we had both set our glasses down, “But don’t expect me to sleep with you tonight.”

He laughed a true, guttural laugh from deep in his belly.

“Who do you think I am? You think I just expect that from women?”

“I don’t know, you seem pretty well-known around here,” I said with a sly grin, “How do I know this isn’t a ruse that you pull every weekend? That Vainer is probably in on it, too. Quite the pickup technique, I would say.”

“I’m not into playing games to trick girls into sleeping with me,” the colored strobe lights flickered in his eyes, “And I wouldn’t expect anything like that from a classy Tennessean like yourself. I just thought I could show you around the city a little bit.”