The Boys are Back in Town

The Boys are Back in Town: Fourteen

In the car, he asked me what I felt like eating. I'd already planned to order pizza so I told him Italian was fine. He took me to a pizzeria the next town over, which was a forty-minute drive away. We snacked on the open chocolate orange on the way there.

"This is nice," I said, as we walked in. It was cozy, and each booth was lit with individual lamps. A soprano crooned softly in the background, and the smell of baked dough was prominent in the air. Alek and I ordered two different pizzas and settled inside one of the booths.

"Thought you'd like to try something different from the usual pizza place," he said.

"I didn't even know this place existed," I said. "It's beautiful. I hope the food is as nice as the restaurant."

"It came highly recommended by a friend," he smiled. "So, how was your day?"

"It was fine," I said. "Normal, all things considered. I noticed a little fuss when Andre came in but Julia saved the day."

"Oh?"

"She wore a holographic lipstick," I grinned. "It was beautiful and completely distracting."

"You were worried about today, weren't you?"

I shrugged. "Just a little. It's a small town, you know what it's like. Everyone makes a fuss about everything."

"I'm sorry about what I did," he said. "It was a stupid move."

"What was?"

"Telling everyone we were together just before I left," he twisted a piece of the chocolate orange foil between his fingers. "I knew what it would do, but I did it anyway."

"Technically, we were together when you told everyone," I said. "Besides, it's not completely your fault. I didn't even try to correct them."

"It was still pretty selfish of me," he said. "I'm sorry."

I reached across the table and pushed his hair away from his forehead. "Okay, Alek. I forgive you. I'm not mad about it, but I know you need to hear this."

His hair was thick and soft under my hand, and when I looked at him I noticed his pupils dilate. The server came back with our pizzas so I dropped my hand and settled back in my seat. Alek served me first, heaping a slice of Margherita on my place. The dough was browned and baked to perfection.

"This is so much better than the pizza back home," I said. "Which friend recommended this place? Because I want to give them a hug."

"Jason," Alek said.

"Jason, your favorite friend from boarding school?" I laughed when he threw me a look.

"He has extended family in this town, from his mother's side. Apparently, he spent a few summers here."

"Well, you can tell Jason he has excellent taste in pizza," I said.

"At least he's good for something," Alek muttered.

"You say that, but I bet you miss him."

"Why would you say that?"

"You're harsh on him," I smiled. "I can tell you like him."

"Have some more pizza," he said, after a moment. I snorted at the blatant way he ignored my comment.

Dessert was a rich chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. Alek and I shared one and he snapped a picture of me while my eyes were closed and I had a mouthful of cake. I laughed when he showed me. I looked completely blissed out by the chocolate.

"I really owe this Jason a hug," I said, after another bite.

Alek shook his head. "He'd enjoy that way too much."

***

We ended up staying at the restaurant for over two hours. Even their coffee was amazing. I couldn't help but marvel over how easily we fell back into our rhythm. He made me laugh so hard the other patrons kept glancing our way.

When we billed out, Alek paid before I could pull out my wallet.

"Thank you, but -"

"I'm going to stop you right there," he said. "I asked you to dinner, so the fact that you even pulled out your wallet is pretty insulting."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay. Thank you for dinner," I said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "It was amazing."

"Good," he smiled. "We'll try the other desserts next time, I heard all of it is good."

He drove me home and I let him open the door for me because I knew he liked doing it.

"Sorry I kept you out so late," he said. It was a little after ten in the evening. "You still have class tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Being at that restaurant was definitely better than staying home."

"We'll go back," he promised. He leaned down to drop a kiss on my cheek, and I was both relieved and disappointed. "Goodnight, Clair."

"Goodnight," I said softly. "See you tomorrow?"

"I won't find better coffee in this town than what you brew," he said, and that was a promise enough for me.