Page 35 of Pretend I’m Yours
It was shiny, sparkling under the lights in the dark pizzeria. For my own part, dressed in a tux and shining oxfords I matched her elegance, but didn’t look anything like the other guys who were all dressed in their jeans and t-shirts.
I would have given anything to change clothes with any of them. But I was glad Hannah was still dressed up. She possessed an elegance in anything, but there was a whole new side to her that came out when she wore dresses like the one she was currently donning.
We ordered a pepperoni pizza and a pitcher of beer, then took a seat in a corner booth near the back of the room. We’d attracted more than one stare on our way to the back, but it was fine with me. I liked the atmosphere better in the pizzeria, and though I knew I didn’t look like I belonged, I felt like I did.
“I’m glad we decided to do this,” Hannah said when the waiter brought our food and set it on the table in front of us. “This feels so much better than that other thing.”
“I agree,” I said. “Now watch me annihilate this.”
She laughed. “Hold on there, I’m going to hold my own, just you wait.”
She picked up a slice and took a large bite. It was funny to see her dressed as she was eating like that, and I felt my heart skip a beat once more. Hannah was able to adapt to any environment much better than I ever could. She went from looking like she should be walking the red carpet among celebrities to sitting with me in a pizzeria as though we were a couple of college kids just blowing off the week.
Our conversation quickly became light and fluid, as it always was when we were alone, and neither one of us had to maintain the uptight politeness we felt pressured to have when we were at the gala.
“What was the point of that thing, anyway?” I asked after a few minutes. “The senator didn’t even talk about the forces or the work in the city. It just seemed like it was a big shout out to your dad and anyone else who cared to give them money.”
“That’s pretty much all it is,” she said with a shake of her head. “They love to get together and pat each other on the back for what they do with their money. Then they get more money and talk about that. They try to act like they just love the city and all the people who are in it, but the fact of the matter is that they love attention, and the attention they get from acting like they care.”
“Sounds boring,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t complain if I had enough money that I didn’t have to worry about anything, but it seems like a really shallow way to live.”
“It is. That’s why I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. Or my parents,” Hannah agreed. “I want to spend my life actually making a difference for the people. The kids. I mean, there is a lot of good my parents and all those other snobs could do if they were to try, but they view the rest of the world as beneath them.”
“That’s shitty,” I said. “If I had the money, I would love to be able to fund what you do and help out how I could.”
“Well, you’re helping me with what you are doing,” she said with a smile. Hannah reached over and touched my hand, sending a thrill through my entire body. “Think of it this way. Since you are helping me get rid of my ex, you are making it possible for me to move on with my life, so I can get my degree and help kids. So, in a roundabout way, you are really helping the kids yourself.”
“That’s a stretch, but I’m glad to know that I get to help you,” I said. “Really.”
“Me too,” she took another bite of pizza and my heart almost burst with feelings for her. I tried to ignore them, but they came on so fast and hard it was difficult for me to think of anything but how I felt. I wanted to tell her but bit my tongue.
I was helping her get rid of her ex. That was it. It didn’t matter how I felt about her besides that, because it wasn’t going to last. In fact, since we’d just seen her ex and told him that we were married and he had to get out of her life, my job might be coming to a close quickly.
I pushed the thought out of my brain, choosing only to focus on what we were doing right now. It didn’t matter what the future held. Right now, I had Hannah with me, and I could pretend there was more to us than just a business arrangement.
