There is Truth, Love is Real
Chapter 2

Garfield Logan sat in the corner of a crowded Starbucks, eyes locked on the door, fingers tapping impatiently on the table. He sighed, letting his foot take over the impatient tapping as he lifted his basic black coffee to his lips, enjoying the bitter liquid flowing over his tongue. He smacked his lips together and instantly sat upright in his chair as a woman walked through the door and glanced around the room.

Their eyes locked, and he immediately averted his gaze, locking it with the stained opening of the lid of his drink.

Subtly, his emerald eyes glanced up to take her in. She had let her hair grow, now pulled up in a messy bun, held up with two simple chopsticks, full lips painted with a rich cherry red, body clothed in a black pencil skirt and a tucked in, dark blue blouse. But… one thing was screaming at him like a blaring red siren. There was a smiling, black haired baby propped up on her hip.

His eyes widened as she sat down. "Hello Garfield, it is… nice to see you again." He continued to stare at her, and she shrunk under his gaze. "Um… Hello…?" Raven asked, her heart thudding beneath her breast bone.

"…Who's the kid…?" Gar muttered slowly, thoughts racing through his head, finger pointing with extreme accusation. She grabbed his hand, placing it back on the table before patting the child's head. "This is Luka… My nephew," she said with a smile.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Then why do you have him?"

She bit her lower lip and Gar took a deep breath in an attempt to fill up his chest. "I… I am watching him for her. She had to go on a business meeting and -"

"Wait!" he exclaimed, hands slamming on the table and startling the woman in front of him and the baby in her lap. "I didn't even know you had a sister!"

Raven twirled the child's hair in between her fingers, smiling down at him. "Well… We hadn't spoken for a while… until baby Luka was born." He babbled up at her with elation on his face, and she kissed his forehead before patting his hair down gently.

"You seem attached to him," Gar said with a smile, gaze landing on the icy-blue eyed babe, seeing her smile light up from the corner of his eye.

"Yes… it's almost as if I have him more than my sister does!" she exclaimed with a small laugh. Gar's smile dropped. He was falling for her again. He coughed abruptly, dragging them both back to reality.

"So… right. The reason I called you…" He trailed off and she nodded, egging him on. "Well, before I called you… my mother called me… and well, she wants me to go spend a week with them at the beach house…" His strong hands started twisting a thin napkin between his fingers, spinning it until it was ripping.

"That's great, Garfield… but what does that have to do with me?"

"Well… you know how my mother adores you." Ravens eyes lit up. "And well… I just haven't had the courage to tell her we've broken up."

Her hand slowly rose to the bridge of her nose, rubbing it in frustration. "Garfield…" she mumbled. "It's been over a year."

Gar's hands shot out, shaking in defense. "I know, I know… but I hadn't really spoken to her before today!" He let out a huge sigh, dropping his head so he was staring at the table. "Anyway… I uh… I need you to pretend to be my fiance for a week while we go down there. B-but then right after that I'll come up with some story about how we just… something just happened. I'll make something up."

Raven sighed, her hand moving slowly to her temple to rub it. "Garfield…"

"I know, I know… But she… she wouldn't listen to me and she thinks we're engaged and really wants you to come down with me and she wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to explain and she didn't give me her work number so I cant talk to her and have al-"

"Fine."

He tripped over his run on sentence, looking up at her in disbelief. "Wh…what?"

"I said fine." His jaw dropped in disbelief, and she reached over to push his mouth closed. "It is not that shocking, Garfield, that I would do you a favor."

"B-but… we have to pretend to be intimate and… couple-y again…" Raven's eyebrow rose and an amused smile stretched her lips.

"I think we have a fair amount of practice under our belts." She watched as a blush coated his cheeks, eyes falling downcast. "It'll be fine, Garfield."

His green eyes watched as the small baby bounced happily, giggling wildly in Raven's lap. "He's so cute… He looks so much like you… Does your sister look like you?"

She glanced around, and he detected a bit of nervousness but brushed it aside. She never was the motherly type anyway. "S…she does look a lot like me, yes… Just older… Um, Garfield…" she muttered, glancing down at her long fingers. "He will have to come with us… to the beach house… is that okay?"

Gar's smile could light up the room. "Of course! My mother will understand. She'll dote all over him as if he were her own grandchild!" His hands clapped together. "So you'll definitely come, then?" His voice was so hopeful, so thankful… and his eyes, so full of emotion and feelings… She almost let out a whimper of sadness.

Raven nodded with a small smile. "Of course I will." He stood up, arms raised in victory. "But…" she watched his smile drop, hands go limp, and eyes fly down to face her. "What do I gain from this … vacation?"

He fell to his knees and crawled to her, grasping her hands in his. A sharp pain stabbed through her chest, but she shook it off immediately. "My… undying gratitude?" Suddenly, his lower lip jut out, his eyes glazed over, and he peered through his messy blond hair. She let out a hearty laugh and smiled.

"Okay, okay. I can normally resist that little pout of yours, but you just look so pathetic this time… Okay. I'll come. And I don't need to gain anything." She stuck her hand out, waiting patiently for the business-style handshake that she was expecting to come, but suddenly felt a strange heat rise to her cheeks as his hands clasped her face and his lips brushed against her own in the simplest, but most complicated way.

He continued to beam and almost dance in place from excitement, as her lips stung and all she could do was run her tongue over them.