Chapter - 10

Once they were out of the house, leaving a blushing Patricia behind- for Dmitri simply couldn't leave without complimenting her- Trinity asked Dmitri if he had made reservations somewhere. Dmitri told her that he hadn't and was just about to say something else when Trinity pulled him in the direction of a nearby Mexican restaurant. She claimed that it served the best tacos in the world which he simply had to taste, leaving his car in the orphanage's driveway since it was just a few blocks down. 

The restaurant was a quaint little place which gave off a friendly vibe. The bell jingled overhead when Trinity opened the door, pulling a rather amused looking Dmitri behind her. She was the first girl ever who had actually denied going to a fancy restaurant with him, instead choosing to go to a restaurant so small that one could have easily missed it if it wasn't for the shiny board overheard full of twinkling lights. 

A toasty warmth enveloped Dmitri as he entered the restaurant behind Trinity, taking in the cozy looking place with eager eyes. There were booths littered all around the place with the exception of a medium sized round table for two smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. 

The restaurant was completely empty which made Dmitri wonder if they were even allowed here. Trinity hadn't even bothered to look if the place was still open before barging in. 

Before Dmitri could say anything, she turned around and held up a finger, telling him to wait with a secret smile on her delectable looking lips. Dmitri watched as she walked over to the counter before bending over it so she was peeking down at the other side. 

Dmitri just stood there, looking at her, or at least he was trying to look at her instead of her ass which looked especially sexy now that she was practically leaning over the counter with her legs dangling off the floor. He quickly tore his eyes away from her behind when he heard a startled yelp come from somewhere close behind the counter followed by Trinity's sugary laugh.

He took a step closer to her upon noticing the blonde head which emerged from behind the counter. With bright blue eyes that seemed to light up as he looked at Trinity, Dmitri had to admit that the guy looked pretty handsome for someone who seemed to be in his late forties.

"Hello there, Simon." Trinity greeted cheerily.

"Easy there woman, can a man now not have his lunch without getting hit onto his head here or what?" Simon asked, rubbing his head as he did so. But the dimpled smile he sported as he said this told you that he wasn't really serious about it.

"Is that any way to talk to your customers?" Trinity asked, a teasing tone to her voice.

"Customers? What customers? The only person I see here is a girl who loves to interrupt my oh-so-peaceful lunch break." He fired back jokingly.

"Quit being so dramatic." Trinity said and Dmitri could feel rather than see her roll her eyes.

Simon grinned at her. "How may I help you? And I see you've brought a friend with you." He said, motioning to Dmitri with his head.

"Yes, I have and we're here to have lunch." She said quickly, beckoning Dmitri over with her hand.

"This is Dmitri and Dmitri, this is Simon. He owns this restaurant." She introduced, once Dmitri had reached them.

"Nice to meet you." Dmitri said extending a hand out for him to shake.

"Same here." Simon said.

"Alright, get to work, Mister. We're here to taste those delicious tacos of yours." Trinity all but ordered making Dmitri's head shoot up to look at her in surprise.

All Simon did was chuckle at her and murmur a 'coming right up, Miss Bossy.' before he left to go get their orders as if getting ordered around in his own shop was an everyday occurrence for him.

"Come on, let's go and sit." Trinity said and they chose a booth at the far left corner before settling into it, facing each other.

"Is this place always this empty? Not to be rude or anything but there aren't any people here eating or anything. Not to mention there's not a single waiter in sight." Dmitri voiced out, his Russian action more pronounced as he took a seat. It was clear that he was finding it hard to wrap his head around all that happened ever since they entered the restaurant.

Trinity chuckled lightly at the confusion and discomfort written all over Dmitri's handsome face. "No, its not like this always. Its the second Friday of the month today and Simon usually gives a two hour long lunch break to all his employees while he himself sits in here eating whatever he felt like whipping up for himself."

Upon noticing the even more confused look over Dmitri's face, Trinity laughed out loud but explained further none the less. "Its this sort of weird tradition that he has and every regular who goes to this place knows this so that's the reason there aren't any people here right now. I just pop in here every now and then to have his infamous tacos or just talk to him in general, hence why we're so close to each other. Besides, he's a really friendly person. Nice to be around." Trinity finished with a smile.

"Okay." He hummed, seemingly thinking her words over in his head. "A really weird tradition indeed."

"Yeah. His wife used to take this two hour time every second Friday of the month to hand over free food to people out on the streets while he took care of the restaurant while she was away. But ever since she died a year back, he hasn't been the same. Practically closed the place down for months on end till we had to drag him out of his house, literally. Now he simply closes the shop for those two hours. Kind of like in her memory, you know? I know it might not make sense to some people but everyone has their own way of dealing with their losses, right? This is his." She explained.

"Right." He murmured in agreement, taking it all in.

"Also, I thought that since there aren't any people around here and its quite, it'll be easier for us to talk about the whole fake marriage thing." She said, absently drawing patterns over the napkin kept on the table between them.

"Yeah. I knew I was right when I said that I liked the way you think." He replied, making her laugh.

"Anyway, now that you've brought it up, I'd like to ask you one more time if you're sure about doing this? You can back out now if you want but once you've signed the contract, there's no backing out after that." He reminded her again, looking at her closely for any signs of hesitation.

"Of course I'm sure about it. Like I've said before, I'd love to help a friend out and it'll be a new experience for me too." She replied, smiling slightly.

He started at her for a long moment before nodding once. "Alright, then." 

Over the next hour or so Dmitri explained to her what all he had planned while they both munched on what even Dmitri agreed were the best tacos he had ever had. Trinity listened to him patiently, throwing in a suggestion or two when need be and together they decided on what all was to be done to make this fake marriage look as realistic as possible.

Wiping at the corner of her mouth with a napkin, she nodded as Dmitri told her that the agreement she was supposed to sign was in his car.

"Go through it properly before you sign and if you're not comfortable with any of the things written in there, just let me know and we'll talk it through, okay milaya?" He asked.

"Okay." She smiled at him. He was what one could call a true gentleman, always making sure that she was okay with everything he did or said. He treated her as an equal and it was good to know that her opinion mattered to him. 

As she looked at him taking a sip of whatever concoction Simon thought would taste good with the tacos, she couldn't help but think that he would make an amazing husband. The thought made her feel both happy and depressed at the same time and she frowned to herself. 

He was her friend and she was just helping him out. She couldn't and she shouldn't go around thinking stuff like that about him when she knew he already had a girlfriend he planned on marrying once all this was over.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she stood up, walking up to the counter with Dmitri following close behind. 

"How was your meal? Good, I hope?" Simon asked smiling, though Trinity was quick to pick up on the teasing undertone to his voice, clearly referring to her date with Dmitri.

Trinity blushed slightly as she mumbled, "It was nice, thank you."

"Yeah, the food was delicious. I'll be sure to come back here sometime now that I know where the place is." Dmitri said, smiling.

"Feel free to walk in whenever you want." Simon said.

"Sure. How much was the meal?" Dmitri asked, pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans.

"No, no. It's on the house for you." Simon waved him off.

"I-" Dmitri began but stopped short when he noticed the tip jar placed on the counter next to them.

Taking out a hundred dollar bill, he stuffed it into the jar, grinning victoriously when he noticed Simon gawking at him. 

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" Simon shook his head. "Take good care of her, will ya?" He asked, nodding his head at Trinity who was watching the whole thing with an amused expression.

"Yes, sir." Dmitri mock saluted him as they left after Trinity had said her goodbyes.

"He's a nice man, isn't he?" Dmitri said conversationally as they made the short trip back to his car.

"Yeah, I told you he is." Trinity said, an almost wry smile curling her lips upward as she stared ahead, lost in thought.

Suddenly she blinked once, then twice, as if waking up from a night of peaceful slumber before looking sideways at Dmitri. 

"Let's sign that contract of yours and get this show on the road, shall we?" She said with a grin, a hop to her steps.

He laughed at her child-like enthusiasm and agreed. "Yes, we shall, milaya."