Jared and I walked into Benos, and the entire restaurant was filled. It was filled with families, friends, couples, children, everyone. Anyone else would find this irritating or imitating to be surrounded by so many people, but I felt at peace in this restaurant. Completely forgetting that Jared was with me, I headed over to the end of the restaurant to find the bar and sat on the high chair. Jared came a few moments later and sat next to me.

The bartender came up to me, and I order a cup of whiskey, while Jared ordered a beer. 

"So, you were just going to come here alone?" Jared asked, looking around the restaurant, unsure what I would be doing here.

"Yeah," I exclaimed, taking a sip of my drink.

"Why?" He asked, drinking some of his beer.

"It's calming. I love coming here. The atmosphere, the people, the food, the drinks; everything here is just amazing, you know?" I said, clearly excited to be here.

"No." He laughed. "What do you mean, though?"

"Okay, do you see that family over there?" I pointed to the family with a mother, father, and a little child. "There so happy together. Maybe their life isn't perfect, but in this moment, in this time, in this restaurant, they are happy. They're enjoying this moment, even if their lives aren't everything they imagined it would be. Here, it means something."

"And look at these two other there," I said pointing to a brunette girl and guy who were holding hands across the table and smiling at each other, "this might be their first date or maybe their fiftieth date. Either way, you can see the love  they have for one another."

"In this moment, here -- in this restaurant -- there is a sort of joy that these people experience together. Out in the real world, things get messy. Life gets messy. But here, the messiness goes away, you know? Even if it's temporary." I turned towards Jared to find him contemplating what I said.

"I don't know, maybe it's just me who sees things this way." I stated as I continued to drink my whiskey.

"I don't know. I don't pay attention to other people that much. I never had a reason to." Jared said to me, bluntly. 

"I didn't used to either, but when I came here the first time, I just felt this happiness that others feel here. After my father died, I just felt connected to this place. It makes no sense to me, whatsoever, but it's just how I felt." I exclaimed. 

I probably sounded crazy, but this was my life, and honestly, if Jared didn't get it, he didn't have to. Benos was my safehome; or at least somewhere I felt safe. Life's too uncertain to worry about what others think of me.

"When did your father die?" Jared asked.

"Not too long ago." I answered.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." I said, casually. 

"How did he die?" Jared asked, taking another sip of his beer. 

His question went in one ear and out the other. I wasn't interested in this topic anymore, instead, I was interested in the red-headed girl who was, obviously, checking out Jared. And for some reason, this irritated me. 

I bursted out in laughter and placed my hands on Jared's cheeks, making it a clear sign that he was with me. Clear confusion arose on his face as I stroked his cheek with my hand; it was evident to me that I probably looked like a psychopath, from his perspective, but I didn't care. I felt compelled to make a statement; he was out with me, so she needed to back off. I took my hands off his face and looked back at the red-head.

"What the hell was that?" He asked me, with a slight smirk on his face.

"Nothing." I stated, simply, looking away from him.

"Were you... were you trying to make that girl jealous? He said, clearly seeing that the red-head was looking at us.

"I'm not sure who you're referring to," I answered, nonchantantly. 

"You're so full of shit," he said.

"I don't know anything," I uttered.

"Alright fine, act like nothing just happened. But if you really wanted to make her back off," he moved closer towards me and whispered, "you should consider kissing me."

I looked at him with my eyes wide open. I was not about to kiss him to make some girl I didn't know back off. I could see that Jared was contemplating things in his head. Oh no, was he going to kiss me? He grinned towards me.

"You know, kind of like this." Jared grabbed a hold of my face and pulled me into him. His lips smacked into mine without warning. My body was startled by this random, impulse decision, but I didn't stop him. His tongue began to slowly dance with mine as he held onto my face. It was a sweet, delight kiss. But that sweet, delight kiss made my body feel on fire. His hand lightly caressed my cheek. 

For some reason, I didn't want the kiss to end.

Moments later, however, he pulled himself away from me.

"That should do it." He laughed. I touched my lips in amazement and confusion. Did that really just happen?

I looked over at the red-head to see if this may have warned her to back off, but, instead, she was walking towards us. Oh god, no. She was walking towards us! I quickly repositioned myself to look less flustered than I was. My stomach was in knots. I took another sip of my drink, hoping to avoid her gaze. I mean, what kind of, excuse my language, tramp approaches someone who was just kissing another woman. Where is the class, ma'am?

"Hi," she said looking at Jared and me in a an almost know-it-all sly expression.

"Hello there," Jared answered, calmly and intriguingly.

"You guys makes a lovely couple," she muttered, pointing at both of us.

"Oh, we're no-"

"Thank you so much!" Jared exclaimed. "Helen and I recently started dating, although we've known each other for forever. As one of her closest friends, she never saw me as a an approachable mate. You know how girls can be," he joked. "She was always like 'oh no, Vincenzo, I can't date you, you're my best friend.' And I was like, 'exactly, date me.' It took me forever to woo her."

Helen? Who the hell is Helen? Who the hell is Vincenzo? What the hell is this kid doing? 

"Wow, that sounds great. This may come off as a little unorthodox, but would you guys be interested in a threesome?" She asked, without a worry in the world. 

"Um." I replied. I was in complete shock. Any other person would probably be scared to ask such a question, but this red-headed lady was so confidently asking what she wanted.

"You know what dear, I don't think Helen is ready for such a big step in our relationship. We've just started having sex, and to be honest, she's a little shy in the sack. I'm trying to break her down, if you know what I mean."

"That's too bad." The red-headed mystery continued to say. She placed her hand on the side of my shoulder, twirling my hair in her finger. "I'm never done it with a blonde." She added, teasingly.

She handed me a piece of paper. "Here's my number, you know, if this doesn't work out." She gestured towards Jared and I before she walking away and out of the bar.

"Oh my god," I whispered, completely in awe. So this woman was more interested in me than Jared?

"Holy shit, that girl wanted to get with you so bad."

"Oh my god," I said, louder this time. "Helen? Vincenzo? Shy in the bed? What the hell, Jared?! I smacked him across the arm. 

"Hey, we're at a bar-slash-restaurant-thingy. It's Italian, so it's only fitting that I'm Vincenzo. Let me have some fun!" Jared uttered, clearly satisfied with the storyline he had created for himself. 

"And just so you know," Jared added, "I do eventually break down Helen. She gon' be a freak in the sheets," he said as he winked at me. 

"Ugh, you're so gross," I squealed, playfully. 

I gestured towards the bartender. "Bartender, can I have some more whisky, please?"

"Of course." She responded. The bartender was a middle-aged brunette haired woman with a beautiful honey skin tone; she reminded me of a cool aunt that children love: the one who refused to settle down but was always into parties, shopping, drinking, or anything for that matter. Kind of like a teenager in a grown woman's body. The irresponsible aunt that you could talk to about anything. 

When she arrived, she said: "Here's a complimentary slice of cheesecake for the two of you. On the house. You make a lovely couple." She placed the dish in the middle of Jared and I.

"But we're no-" I started.

"Thank you, ma'am. It's much appreciated." Jared cut me off, abruptly. The bartender smiled before she walked away.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, almost threateningly. I don't want to cheat this woman; she seemed so sweet.

"Bro, it's free cake! Don't take that away from me. I'll fake date anyone for cake." Jared exclaimed taking a giant bite of the cheesecake. I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. This kid never ceased to amaze me.

"So you'd date a donkey if someone offered you a piece of cake?" I asked, jokingly.

Jared thought for a moment, bringing his hand to his chin. "That depends. Is the donkey hot?" Jared asked, seriously considering my question.

I slapped Jared on the shoulder in a friendly manner.  My lungs were in pain from laughing so hard. Yet again, I couldn't help but feel happy. Somehow bringing Jared here has made Benos feel more like home. I guess sometimes the right friend could make life better.