Chapter 24
Kurt
Our first night together at my apartment is going smoothly so far. We are chatting and laughing so much that I almost miss the call on my cell telling me the pizza guy is here and needs to be let up. I type in the code to let him up then go back to my conversation with Juliana.
“That was the pizza guy, he’s on his way up now.” I sit on the arm of the couch, not getting comfortable again since I know I’ll have to get up soon to receive the pizza. “Thanks again for buying the pizza for dinner.”
“Not a problem, it’s the least I can do to say thank you for letting me move in and going through this whole fake fiancé thing with me. Also, as your fake fiancé, I should have had dinner waiting for you when you got home. Especially because I get off so early and I also like cooking. Sorry, dropped the ball there.” Juliana rambles on and blushes once more, feeling embarrassed about the dinner again.
“Don’t worry about it,” I reassure her. “I assume you were too busy unpacking and making yourself at home.” I loosely gesture around to all the new items she has added to my apartment. Juliana blushes again but I begin laughing and she looks up at me and notices that I am just teasing her. She smiles and laughs too.
“Hey, at least I didn’t overrun your apartment with all of my pink, frilly things. And trust me, I have a lot of those.” Juliana joins in on the joking.
“Oh, I believe you,” I tell her as there is a knock on the door. “I’ll get it.” I get up off the arm of the couch and make my way to the door.
“Delivery for Juliana?” The pizza man asks when I open the door. It’s strange hearing it but I nod and accept the boxes. “Have a good evening.”
“Thanks, you too.” I shut the door when he turns to walk away then bring the boxes into the kitchen. “How many things did you order?” I call out to Juliana. She leaves her perch on the couch and comes into the kitchen, looking at all the boxes.
“Hm,” I watch her spread out the three boxes then I hand her a plate. She accepts and flips open the lids of each box. All three boxes are the same size. Smalls for all three items. “Well, we didn’t agree on a pizza to share so I just ordered us our own pizza then I got dessert too!” Juliana smiles and flips open the third and final box. Inside is a delicious helping of cookie brownies. I reach in and grab one of those first.
“Mmm,” I take a bite and let out my appreciation for the still-warm treat. “That”s really good. I don’t think I’ve had this before.”
“I know, right? Glad I can introduce you to something so good. Although, I should be smacking your hand away and telling you to eat your dinner first, but it’s been a stressful week so I think we deserve a little dessert first. And I’m not your momma.” Juliana smiles at me and reaches for a smaller piece of the dessert. She takes a bite and savors it but she doesn’t finish the whole piece. She sets it aside for later.
I laugh at the ‘not your momma’ comment then finish my piece of the cookie brownie before loading up my plate with a few pieces of the individual pizza she ordered for me.”I guess next time I should just get a large pizza and we can do half your gross pizza and half my delicious pizza,” Juliana comments dramatically.
“‘Gross pizza’? Wooow.” I grab my plate and some napkins and go to sit at the kitchen table.
“Oh yeah. Who even likes pineapple on pizza?” Juliana makes a face as she comes to sit with me at the table. I pick up a slice of pineapple off my pizza and pop it into my mouth.
“Delicious.” I chew the pineapple before biting into my pizza.
“Ew.” Juliana makes another face then starts in on her veggie pizza. “I really don’t think pineapples are supposed to be warm. Room temperature I guess would be slightly acceptable. But who has ever heard of a hot fruit? That”s just wrong.” I laugh and continue eating my pizza.
“You make an excellent point about hot fruit but somehow pineapple on pizza just works.” I smile at Juliana and she rolls her eyes and makes another grossed-out face but she doesn’t comment on it again. “Also pie is full of hot fruit, most pies are fruit-related.”
Juliana scrunches up her face, trying to think of an argument but then she sighs and her facial features relax. “Fine, I can accept warm fruits, but only in desserts. And definitely not with cheese.”
I nod, relenting. “You know what, that’s fair. I can understand that.” I devour my piece of pizza and move on to the next one.
“Sooo, we should talk about sleeping arrangements.” I look up from my next bite and raise my eyebrows at her. I pause before my next piece of pizza and sit back to listen. “I’m more than happy to sleep on the couch obviously since this is your apartment and I’ve put you in this position and now I am taking over your whole life basically.”
“You don’t think we can sleep in the same bed? I mean, it’s a pretty big bed.” I raise my eyebrows at her, joking.
“Well,” she hesitates and sets down the slice of pizza she was eating. “I didn’t want to assume that you were going to share the bed with me. Or would even be comfortable sharing with me.”
“You are my fiancé after all, I would never let you sleep on the couch when the bed is perfectly big enough for the both of us.” I take another bite of my pizza and wink at her playfully. Juliana blushes a bit but I see a smile at the edge of her mouth.
“Thank you, how very kind,” she says bashfully.
***
~Juliana~
We sat around chatting and watching TV for an hour after dinner before Kurt told me he needs to work a little bit longer so I grab a book and sit beside him on the couch and read quietly while he works. As it grows later, I start to get nervous. I have had sleepovers before but not with Kurt and whenever I went over to Callum’s apartment, I never stayed the night because I didn’t want to get pressured into doing anything I wasn’t ready for. I know I shouldn’t be nervous because Kurt is nothing like Callum but that thought doesn’t help calm my nerves.
“Hey, Kurt,” I say quietly to get his attention but not bother him too much.
“Hm?” Kurt hums and drags his eyes away from his work in time to see me yawning. “Oh, you tired?”
“Yeah, I think I am going to get ready for bed,” I tell him and he nods.
“I shouldn’t be much longer but I will wait for you to get ready first,” Kurt informs me, looking back at his work. He shuffles through some paperwork and I think he’s finished talking so I set my book down and get up. I’m starting to walk away when he looks up again. “We can build a pillow wall between us if that would make you more comfortable.”
The offer makes me chuckle. “A pillow wall?”
“Yeah, you know, a wall made of pillows,” Kurt explains, looking a little embarrassed.
I nod and laugh some more. “Yeah, I know what it is.” I clear my throat, trying to kill my laughter but Kurt’s cheeks are red from embarrassment and it’s making me giggle even more. “I’m sorry,” I say between giggles. “We can definitely do that if that would be best for you.”
“Well, no. I just thought it might make you feel better,” Kurt offers, trying to cover up for himself. When I only giggle more he rolls his eyes and stands up, going into the bedroom. I follow along behind him to see what he’s going to do. “Just for all the laughing, I am going to make the wall long and tall.”
This sets me off in even more giggles, especially watching him pull back the covers and line up the pillows. I start handing him pillows to help him build it.
“See, aren’t you glad I brought all these extra pillows when I moved in?” I tease and Kurt shakes his head at me but there is a smile on his face.
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Kurt grumbles as he finishes the wall.
“Beautiful,” I comment when he stands back to admire his work.
“I agree. Now, go get ready for bed,” Kurt tells me and I narrow my eyes at him.
“Wow, someone is bossy,” I point out and put my hands on my hips, feeling my stubbornness kick in. “I don’t think I knew that before we got engaged.”
“Yeah, well, there is a lot we didn’t learn about each other before getting engaged,” Kurt says and I feel the tension in the room thickening. I was trying to make a joke but I realize it was distasteful. I know we hardly know anything about each other.
“Yeah, you’re right.” I look down at my feet. Kurt clears his throat and I look back up. “I should go shower,” I say after a few seconds.
“Okay, I am going to finish up some work.” Kurt gestures back to the living room and I nod then we go our separate ways.
When I am alone in the bathroom, I take a deep breath. This doesn’t feel real. Everything is happening so fast but also feels so slow and I feel like I am starting to lose it. This whole situation is messed up and it is all my fault. I can’t believe he would go along with everything to this degree. I can’t see how this will end well for either of us. Kurt is just too good of a guy and I am ruining his life.
I turn to let the shower water hit my face, trying to clear my head a little but I start to get nervous again as I finish washing up in the shower. I finish showering and wrap my hair in a towel and then grab a robe to put on. I step into the bedroom and see the light still on in the living room so I quickly go to the closet to change into my pajamas. When I come out of the closet, Kurt is entering the room. He looks tired and stressed and I want to help him out but I know that I am probably the main cause of his stress, although I know his job has been rough lately too.
“Bathroom is all yours,” I tell him and he nods but doesn”t speak.
He disappears into the bathroom and I hesitantly climb into bed. I can tell which side is Kurt’s by the nightstands so I climb into the opposite side and pull the covers up to my chin. I can’t decide if I want to keep reading or pretend that I am already asleep to avoid any more awkward interactions. I’m tired, so I decide to turn off my light and turn over to have my back facing the wall of pillows.
Kurt comes back into the room a few minutes later and tries to be quiet as he goes about the room. He bangs into something and mumbles quietly. I turn over and see him hopping around a bit, his face pinched with pain. I giggle and he looks over at me, narrowing his eyes.
“Don’t laugh. I stubbed my toe,” Kurt explains and I gasp a little. “Yeah, ouch.”
“You can turn on a light,” I tell him but he just shrugs and drops onto the bed. He shuffles around in the bed a bit before getting comfortable.
“So, do you think we’re ready for this housewarming party?” Kurt asks when it is clear neither of us can fall asleep.
“I think so,” I say hesitantly. “We’ve discussed everything and just need to finalize the plans and make sure we can order from the deli for the sandwiches to arrive on time.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Kurt says and we fall back into a comfortable yet tension-filled silence. We both have work tomorrow so we need to sleep but the nervous energy is keeping me awake.
“Are you asleep?” I ask after a few minutes.
“Yeah,” Kurt responds. When I don’t say anything else, he chuckles. “Was there a point to that?”
“No, just checking.”
“Goodnight, Juliana.” Kurt shifts in the bed and I can feel him turning as the bed moves.
“Goodnight, Kurt,” I say softly as I stare up at the ceiling, willing sleep to come.