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Claire was not looking forward to the night's events. She sighed heavily before entering one of the island's largest bars. She'd forgotten what the occasion was - someone's birthday, an anniversary, a sports team's triumph; something that held very little interest to her - but she'd promised to go nonetheless. Owen had done a lot for her lately. He was proving himself to be the world's greatest fake boyfriend so she owed him one. He was very adamant about her being in debt to him. And what with all his attending functions with her, talking her up in front of others, and all their fake dates, she could hardly disagree.

But still. It was a cheap, sleazy bar. Honestly, she couldn't see how it fit in with the other entertainment venues offered on the island or why on God's green earth it was so popular with the tourists and employees.

Mental note: she should get a fake trophy for Owen with "World's Greatest Fake Boyfriend" engraved on it. She was sure he'd get a kick out of that. Of course that would then leave physical proof of their fake relationship, so perhaps she won't.

Once inside the bar she took note of all the bodies crammed inside. It seemed like everyone on the island all had the same idea to go to that bar this very night. Lovely.

She began making her way around the perimeter of the large room, hoping to spot Owen in the crowd. She finally found him standing around a booth that was packed full far past capacity and the surrounding area was particularly dense with people as well. She began the slow weave in and out of people as she made her way towards him. He was laughing and chatting away so he didn't see her until she was almost right next to him.

"Hey, hey! You made it!" he greeted her happily.

"I said I'd be here," she responded tightly.

"Nice to see you again, Claire," Barry said over the music. He smiled and a gave a short nod.

"You too, Barry," she said. "Has he been behaving himself?"

"Far more than he usually does," he answered.

"Seriously, what have you done to him?" Amber asked. Claire hadn't noticed she was there until she spoke up. She was obviously joking as she made a face at Owen's good-natured eye roll.

"Come on, I'll get you a drink," Owen said. He grabbed her hand and lead the way through the masses towards the bar.

"Thanks for coming," he said when they were separated from their group and waiting at the bar for service. "I know this isn't your kind of thing."

"I've never felt more claustrophobic in my life," she declared loudly, disgruntled.

"You should try living on a submarine for eighteen months," he countered. "Anyway, you don't need to stay long. I just knew Lisa was going to be here tonight and if you didn't show up for at least part of it she'd start pestering me."

"Right," she said. "Ex girlfriend deterrent. I'm on it." She gave a weak thumbs up which he still smiled at.

"Best deterrent there is," he said. "You look good, by the way."

She glanced down at her outfit - skinny jeans, white, fitted, button down shirt with cuffed sleeves at her elbows, and her black pointed pumps. It was too simple of an outfit, she thought, to warrant a compliment. She glanced back up at him with a curious expression but he was busy trying to get the attention of the bartender.

"What do you want to drink?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. What's that?" she asked, nodding at the bottle in his hand.

"Stella," he answered. "You want to try it?"

"I'll take one and if I don't like it you can drink it," she said.

"Never thought I'd see you drink a beer," he said. He finally got the bartender to look over at him. He raised his bottle and held up two fingers with the other hand.

"I figured I should try to fit in," she said.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" he finally asked her. She knew she hadn't been subtle.

"I'm just tired," she lied.

"So go," he said simply. "You don't have to be here."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. Really, it's fine if you want to go."

She eyed him skeptically for a moment. "No, I'm supposed to be ex girlfriend repellant."

"I can handle ex girlfriends," he assured her. "I can't handle you being grumpy all night."

"I won't be grumpy," she insisted, her tone, however, said otherwise.

"Claire," he said seriously. "Go home."

The bartender put the two bottles in front of them. She quickly grabbed one and took a sip. She grimaced. "That's awful."

He laughed. "Let's get you something else, then. Or - no! Just go home. Drink your fancy wine. Leave me and my disgusting beer here to fend for ourselves against the wrath of girlfriends past."

She took another gulp. "I'm drinking this. And I'm staying," she said firmly. "I owe you, as you not so kindly pointed out yesterday."

"Well that is true but I'm sure I can find another way to cash in on that. There's bound to be something else that comes up."

"I'm here. I'm drinking. I redid my makeup for this. I'm staying," she told him. She took another sip. It was starting to get less awful the more she drank it.

"Alright. Let's try to have some fun, though, okay?" he urged her. "My buddy just signed his divorce papers this morning. We're supposed to be celebrating the end of a terrible marriage."

"That's why we're here?" Owen nodded with a quick smile before finishing off his original bottle of beer and grabbing the fresh one off the bar. "That's horrible."

He shrugged. "Not our lives. Let people live and do what they want, I say."

She shrugged, not caring enough to make any more fuss, and took another sip.

"Easy, there," he said. "It's not the strongest, but if you chug it it'll hit you quick."

"Maybe I want it to hit me."

"Alright, fine. Have at it."

She could tell he was getting more and more irritated with her bad mood. He began making his way back to the group and she begrudgingly followed. He introduced her to a few different people and became absorbed in conversations about things she didn't know anything about like football games and beers. She couldn't contribute so she pulled out her phone and began reading through emails and her schedule, eventually pulling up news websites and checking out current events around the world. She knew she wasn't being the best fake girlfriend she could be. She felt guilty about it, knowing he always put a full effort in for her events. She told herself that looping her arm through his and leaning her head against his shoulder as she continued looking at her cell was enough.

Eventually, the quick downing of her beer caught up with her and she excused herself to use the restroom. As she was finishing up in her stall she heard a group of women coming in, chattering loudly until they reached the slightly quieter restroom.

"Who are you talking about?" one asked, clearly confused.

"Owen and Claire!" another answered impatiently.

She froze. She could leave her stall now and cut them off before they said something she'd rather not hear, or she could wait and listen to the gossip.

"I think you need to let it go," a third said.

"Does it not drive anyone else crazy?" the second one asked incredulously. "She's so wrong for him!"

Okay, she'd hear them out.

"They seem happy to me," one of them said.

"Have you not been watching them tonight?"

"No, Lisa, we're not all obsessed like you are," another said snidely.

Lisa!

"I'm not obsessed," she replied indignantly. "All I'm saying is, they don't fit. I mean, did anyone see that coming? Owen Grady and Claire Dearing?"

"It's definitely a weird mix," one said with a small chuckle. "She doesn't seem like she's happy to be here tonight."

"Thank you!" Lisa exclaimed. "She doesn't fit in with this group. She walks around like she's so much better than everyone else. And Owen is so whipped."

"No he's not," said the one who had called Lisa on her jealously a moment ago. Claire thought it sounded like Amber. "He just really likes her. I think he's in love, actually."

Someone made a noise of disgust - Lisa, most likely.

"I heard they signed the relationship disclosure with HR."

"What?" Lisa asked. "When we were dating he wouldn't even tell his mother about me."

Someone snorted in laughter.

"Shut up, Amber," she snapped.

Yep. Amber.

"Whatever. I give it another month - tops," Lisa continued. "You can tell by the way she's acting tonight. She's about to toss him to the side." There was a small lull before Lisa pressed on. "Look, I can tell he's really into her. And when they break up, he's going to be really hurt. And despite all the shit that happened between me and him, I don't want to see him go through that. She thinks she's better than him," she said knowingly. "And she's just...not."

"You don't know how she feels," Amber appealed. "But even if that is what's going on, it shouldn't get to you this much. You're dating Jackson - you need to stop focusing so much on Owen before it starts causing problems between the two of you."

"It just bugs me!" Lisa groaned. "I just want to go up to him and be like 'Don't you see what's happening? She doesn't love you!'"

Okay. That was enough.

Claire opened the stall door and calmly made her way to the sinks. The three girls gaped and blushed in embarrassment. Claire smiled kindly at them as if she hadn't heard a word of what they were saying.

"Having fun?" she asked them as she dried her hands. "It's so crowded out there." She looked at her reflection - calm, cool, collected. She ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed it back in place to frame her face.

Without saying a word, Lisa and the third woman left the restroom. Amber stayed put, still surprised to see her, Claire suspected.

"So Lisa has a problem with me," she said casually.

"She's jealous," Amber said flatly.

Claire nodded. "She seems like a nice girl. It's a shame she can't just be happy for Owen. I think that's all he wishes for her."

"Yeah, well, Lisa's never been good with letting go. You should ask Owen about the guy she dated before him. He had to deal with her still focusing on him."

Claire smiled at Amber, finally looking away from the mirror. "Well, I should get back out there. Thanks for saying all you did in defense of me and him. That was sweet of you."

She left the restroom with her head held high and strutted confidently up to Owen. Or at least, as confidently as she could as she weaved in and out of the other patrons. When she reached his side she raised herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek. Still involved in a conversation about cars, he looked at her and smiled before leaning down for a quick peck on the lips.

As his conversation continued and she had nothing to contribute, she began running one hand across his lower back as the other picked at a loose thread on his sleeve. Eventually, he wrapped his arm around her and let his fingers slide over her shoulder repeatedly.

This had to look better, she figured. If Lisa was watching...surely they looked like a happier couple now. Of course Lisa would know why Claire, having heard what she had said, would act differently now.

"That beer kick in or something?" Owen asked her when he was able to pull away from the guys around them.

Claire merely smiled, not wanting to get into why her behavior changed. She reach her hands up and smoothed down some wayward whiskers in his growing beard.

"Are you growing this out or have you just been lazy?" she asked humorously.

"I'm trying to see what you'll let me get away with," he teased. "I need to cut it." He scratched his neck then used the same hand to tug lightly at a lock of her hair. "What about you, huh? Are you growing yours out?"

She shook her head. "No, it's at just the right length now." She raised her hands back to her head and smoothed her hair down.

Owen nodded. "Yeah, you look nice."

Amber approached them and placed a hand on Claire's shoulder. "I'm getting out of here; I just wanted to come say bye," she explained. She stared kindly at Claire. "Don't let what Lisa said get to you. She's just..." - she rolled her eyes - "psychotic."

Claire smiled politely. "It's fine."

"Wait, Lisa?" Owen asked, his eyebrows raised as he leaned in closer to hear over the music. "What happened?"

Amber looked nervously to Claire. She had obviously thought Claire would have told Owen. "Nothing," she deflected. "Just Lisa being Lisa. You know how she can be."

"What did she do?" he asked seriously, looking to Claire for an answer.

"She was just talking some trash," Amber answered. "It really wasn't a big deal. Claire handled it perfectly."

She smiled at Amber. She was quickly coming to like this woman.

"What'd she say?" Owen asked. Claire could hear the anger in his tone.

"Sorry," Amber said quietly to her. "Good luck. And good night!" And with that, she left them.

"What happened?" Owen asked again.

Claire rolled her eyes. "It's nothing, Owen, really. Can I get another beer?" she asked, hoping to distract him.

"If you don't tell me I'm going to go find Lisa and have her tell me," he said, ignoring her request.

"When I was in the restroom, she came in with Amber and another girl and she was just saying that you and I don't make sense together," she explained tiredly. "She seems to think that I don't care about you and that you're..." She hesitated. "She thinks I've got you whipped."

He was staring at her with such furious concentration she wasn't sure what he was thinking. She placed her hands on his chest. She could practically feel the tension rolling off of him.

"Owen, it's nothing. I'm sure lots of people think we don't belong together," she said patiently. "Amber was very nice about it. She was defending us."

He shook his head and began glancing around the bar, looking for his ex no doubt.

"Hey," she called to him, bringing his gaze back to her. "It's not a big deal." She ran her hands back and forth from his chest to his shoulders, attempting to soothe him.

"I'll get you another drink," he said finally. "She shouldn't be saying that kind of shit."

Claire shrugged as they made their way back to the bar. "It's fine." As they stood once again waiting for the bartender's attention, Claire looked around the still tightly packed crowd. "She's not entirely wrong," she said offhandedly.

"What do you mean?" Owen asked critically.

"We don't look like we belong together," she answered.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well..." she began with trepidation. "I mean, look at the women you hang out with." She gestured back to the large group of people. The majority of the women in that group (and throughout the bar, truthfully) were dressed in some article of clothing that either showed off their cleavage, their legs, or both.

"What about them?" Owen asked.

"Now look at me," she said. She indicated to her covered body.

"What? They dress slutty?" he asked.

"I'm not saying they're slutty," she said firmly. She didn't like to label women like that. "But they're clearly letting their looks work for them. I don't really do that."

"Who gives a shit about what you wear?" he asked.

"Men," Claire stated obviously. "Men give a shit. That," she pointed at the group, "is far more likely to get attention over this." She pointed at herself. "So as a man," she poked him in the chest, "people think that you should be interested in that. You know, hot girls, and whatever."

He stared at her for a moment in disbelief then gestured wildly, almost as if in outrage. "Claire, you are gorgeous," he stressed. She rolled her eyes but he continued. "No, really. You make men stupid."

"Stop," she said, trying not to smile.

"I'm serious."

"Why would I want to make men stupid?"

"I'm not saying you want to," he said. "I'm just saying that's what happens. If you wanted it, you could ask a guy for the world and he'd go mad-scientist-super-villain...evil-genius to get it for you."

"You don't seem to be so stupid," she pointed out.

"Well, I happen to be a higher caliber of man," he said proudly with a cocky grin. "But I'm not entirely immune. You've dumbed me down a few times."

"So would you take over the world for me?" she asked playfully.

"In a heartbeat. If you wanted it, I'd do it. And I've got military connections so..." He appeared to seriously consider a thought for a moment. "Yeah, I could definitely take over the world."

She laughed lightly and looked to the crowd. She spotted Lisa out of the corner of her eye and noticed her watching them.

"She's looking over here," Claire muttered.

Owen sighed heavily and lifted up his bottle, checking how much was left. He raised the rim to his lips and finished the drink off in one gulp. He put the bottle down on the bar top with enough force that Claire heard the thump of glass against wood over the loud music.

"Ok," he said, resigned. "I'm going to make out with you now."

She stared up at him in surprise and then took a small step back at the predatory look that crossed his eye.

"Make out?" she asked, happy to find her voice didn't shake with nerves. She could handle that.

Owen nodded once and took a step towards her; she took another back.

"Yeah," he said simply. "You got a problem with that?

She shook her head, smirking a little as she continued to walk backwards until she hit a wall. Owen continued his slow strides and without a pause to verify permission or to add any sort of suspense, he stooped down to kiss her as soon as he was in reach.

It was a searing kiss. He had one hand on her lower back and another low on her hip. She could feel his fingers gripping into her jeans on the side of her ass. He was pressing the lower part of her body into his. That, combined with the pressure of his mouth on hers, bending her backwards, made it a less than comfortable position.

But at that moment she didn't feel like complaining much.

He opened her mouth with his. Again, no hesitation. No nibbling of the lips or a light caress of his tongue against her mouth to ask for entrance. He dominated the moment. He took full control. His tongue lapped and danced against hers and his hands were surely leaving burn marks on her clothes from the heat she felt.

She wouldn't have minded - seriously, it had been a long time since someone had kissed her with that much passion - if only her back hadn't started screaming in protest of the angle he had her in. So she pushed back...with her mouth, naturally. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder, forcing his upper body to move back.

Once she was back in a nearly upright position, she was able to be a more active participant. She kept one hand on the back of his neck and the other she brought around to the front color of his shirt, gripping the material, keeping him in place. She pulled his bottom lip between her teeth, sucking lightly before opening her mouth once more for their tongues to meet. His hands traveled up her sides and stopped slightly higher than her waist. She could feel his thumbs dangerously close to the underside of her breasts.

He pulled back so they could catch their breath. She stared up into his eyes and thought they looked a little fearful or wary, perhaps. Maybe he was just as surprised as she was at the heat of their kiss. He let his forehead drop down to hers.

"Is she still looking over here?" he asked in a rather husky tone.

His eyes were closed. She didn't bother looking around for Lisa. She kissed him again, her chest rising into his and her hand on his cheek. His grip on her sides flexed before he let one and fall back to her hip.

"Damn it, Claire," he said, breaking away from her. "I told you, you could make me stupid."

"I think I'm beginning to understand the benefits of that," she laughed breathlessly.

He leaned back and fixed her with a hard stare, then brought his hands up to her face and tilted her head forward slightly to kiss her forehead. They stared at each other again, seemingly unsure of what to do next. After a moment, they both started chuckling.

"I can't believe we just did that," she said, hiding her face in her hands and leaning her head to rest against his shoulder.

"You know what? Let's just get out of here," he said. "I'll walk you to your car."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking back up. "I'll stay."

"No, let's go. A divorce is a depressing reason to be celebrating anyway."

She agreed. He grabbed her hand and walked her back to the group so he could say goodbye. She waved at Barry who smiled kindly at her. She hadn't had a one on one conversation with him since she found out he knows their relationship is fake. He never implied to her that he knew. Perhaps he was just as good at Owen was at keeping up the facade. She knew where Lisa was standing but ignored looking in her direction as they said their goodbyes.

Outside the bar, Claire felt like she could finally breath again. Between the crowd and kissing Owen, she'd felt very compressed for the last hour or so.

"My car is parked in the back," she told him. "Where are you?"

"Same," he said. Together they walked up the road to the alley where they would be able to enter the behind-the-scenes area of the park that the employees used to get around but was kept hidden from the guests.

"I'm sorry about Lisa," he said quietly as they walked side by side.

"I don't take what she said to heart," she told him. "Women have a nasty habit of tearing each other down. So I'm sure most of what she said is rooted in jealousy. She probably still has some feelings for you."

"I know; it doesn't matter," he said after a long suffering sigh. "If this was real, I'd go yell at her, but it's not so..."

"And now it just looks like we're taking the high road," Claire said happily.

"Maybe next time you should just slap her." Claire laughed at his suggestion and shook her head. "Amber will back you up if she's around."

"Thanks for coming," he told her again when they reached her car.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" she asked, knowing he'd had more to drink than she did. She could see his motorcycle parked about ten yards away.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "You're okay?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "Thanks for the drink."

"Anytime."

They shared a quick awkward hug and he kissed her cheek before she got in her car. As she closed the door and watched him walk to his bike she let out a shaky breath. Her body still tingled from the thrill of their kiss and she could feel her heart racing. As she watched him climb onto his bike and start the engine, she wondered if he was feeling anything similar.

A little Lisa drama because it would be boring if everyone thought they were amazing together. Please go review! Thanks again.