In Another Life ▻ Fiona Gallagher

08. chapter eight

Once Fiona had dressed and headed back downstairs, the two of them left her house and got into his truck, making their way to his apartment.

She couldn't help but wonder just what she would be walking into. Since she had known him, Julian's distant family had been wealthy, from the north side, but he had never been one to feed into their ideals of success or take handouts from them. He preferred to work for what he had. Still, if he was a part club owner and manager of that club, she'd consider that fairly successful.

Julian looked over at Fiona every so often as he drove, noting the thoughtful expression on her face with ease. It was the same expression that she always had when her mind was running wild, trying to process things just as fast as she could think of them. Reaching over, he set a hand against her thigh, squeezing gently to get her attention before allowing his hand to find hers, lacing their fingers together.

Fiona was torn from her thoughts at the squeeze to her thigh, finally allowing herself to look over at Julian, giving him a little smile as she did. He had a way of calming her that she hadn't experienced in a long time. She wanted to take her time with him, yet they had already lost so much that she wondered if it was better to just give in to her impulses.

"Almost there?" she asked him, squeezing his hand lightly.

He nodded, his thumb rubbing absently against her hand, "Almost there."

After a few more minutes of driving, he pulled into a parking space upon reaching his apartment. He allowed a second for her to get out, then did the same and locked the car, starting up to the apartment with her. They walked side by side into the building, rode the elevator upstairs, and then made the way through the hallway to his front door.

"Alright, here it is," he spoke, teasingly building suspense as he unlocked the door and pushed it open, allowing her to step inside first.

Fiona made her way past the threshold, looking around and taking it all in. Apart from the fact that he still had boxes from his move scattered about, she could tell that the place would come together well. It wasn't as high dollar as she was expecting, but it was definitely very nice. She supposed that could be because of the way Julian lived. He'd never been one to brag about his money or be too frivolous with it, and she assumed that hadn't changed.

"So, this is how the better half lives, huh? It's nice," she smiled over at him, slipping her shoes off near the door and walking further inside.

Julian laughed at her words, shaking his head lightly, "Don't get too ahead of yourself, Gallagher. I'm not officially your better half yet," he teased her.

Fiona's eyes rolled automatically as he teased her, reaching over to shove him lightly, "You know what I meant, dick," she said with a laugh.

He nodded and laughed once more, slipping his shoes off as well. As he started to move toward the kitchen, he took her hand in his, guiding her to follow along with him. "I'm renting this place for now," he explained. "Once the club is placed and opened here, I'll probably try and buy something more long term."

She listened as he spoke, allowing him to use her hand and guide her along behind him. "I see. Well, this place isn't half bad. Once you get everything unpacked, I'm sure that it'll look really good," she nodded.

"Thanks," he replied, releasing her hand once the reached the kitchen. "Okay, so.. in one of these boxes is my waffle maker and a skillet for the bacon and eggs. The question is, which box?" he spoke with a little chuckle.

"I guess I should have labeled them more than just 'kitchen', huh?"

Fiona arched her brow as she looked around to see several boxes scattered over the kitchen. "Yeah, probably so," she laughed quietly. Pursing her lips in thought, she looked at the different boxes, finding the box that seemed to be one of the biggest. She walked over to it, humming softly, "This should either be dishes or appliances."