Holiday With My Neighbour

11. Bittersweet Moments

"That's why I don't experiment." Theo looks at my food amusingly.

"It's nice, actually." I reply, lying through my teeth.

He bursts out laughing. "How did I know you were going to say those exact words? You do this every time."

"It's just a bit bland." I say defeated.

"I knew it would be the moment you ordered it."

Theo begins to lift up his plate. "Here, have my food."

"No, honestly, it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I say, trying to convince myself.

"Are you sure sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure sure." I say regretfully.

"Okay, well, try a bit of mine." Theo puts his plate down and uses his fork to start picking pieces of food from his plate and transferring it to mine.

I pick it up with my fork and take a bite. I needed this. I close my eyes as I savour the bite. "Next time, I'm just going to order what you do. It's always so nice."

"See, I know my stuff."

After we finish our meals, we both decide we're not feeling a dessert. Theo pays the bill, and we stay seated at the table.

Theo runs his hand through his hair. "There's another reason for this date."

"What's that?" I question.

"I have some news... I've been thinking about what you've said about my job and how that's making you feel."

"Yeah?"

"And I've quit. I don't want to do those jobs anymore. I want a proper job, something that'll actually provide for us... I don't know why I didn't listen to you earlier. That shit only gets you killed or in jail. It's best to leave that life behind."

I don't know how to react. "Are you telling me the truth?"

He holds my hand on the table reassuringly. "Yeah, baby, last night I was up with the boys calling people that I used to do jobs for to let them know that I won't be working like that anymore. And after this holiday, I'll start applying to places."

"Thank you so much. That means more than anything." At least I won't have anxiety that karma is going to hit us because of Theo.

"It's no bother. Shall we leave now?" 

He shows the conversation has ended, but I can't help but feel like this is a bittersweet moment. Yes, I wanted him to leave that life, but at the same time, I wanted him to be transparent with me. To tell me about his jobs, what he had to do? Who were his clients? That's probably why he quit, so he doesn't need to tell me about the details anymore.

We leave the restaurant and walk around the area. There's so much to see. The city is alive at night. We meet with Adam, Rosanna and Matt and walk around with them. 

My arm is around Theo, and my feet are hurting really badly from the heels. I realise that my walk must look so strange as I am struggling to walk in the heels. "My feet hurt so bad."

Theo stops and looks down at my feet. "They do look painful to walk in. Let's look out for a shoe shop, and we will buy you something comfortable, okay?"

"That's fine by me."

As we begin to walk, we see a furious Matt rushing over to us, his jaw clenched. "Theo, can I talk to you alone?"

Theo glances nervously between me and Matt. "Give me a sec Savannah." He moves his arm away from me, and I naturally let go. He walks away from me and begins speaking to Matt.