Zeus

• XXIV •

I'm about to suggest a visit at my parent's house when I look out the SUV's window and recognize the familiar buildings. My body jerks, and I quickly turn in my seat to look on Zeus' side of the vehicle.

"This is the neutral zone." I finally announce.

"Don't do it." Zeus says.

I furrow my eyebrows. Zeus parks the SUV by the sidewalk, unbuckles his seat belt, and turns his body so he's facing me.

"Just keep an open mind, Aurora. I promise you'll have a fun time."

My gaze softens and I find myself nodding my head. "All right." I reply, softly. Zeus swings his door open, slams it close, and rushes to my side of the vehicle. He opens my door and offers his hand to me. A gust of wind hits my face once I'm outside. Zeus closes the door behind me.

The restaurant in front of us screams ease and comfort. Looking inside from the windows, couples and families sit at white clothed tables talking, eating, and drinking. A hand grabs mine as we reach the restaurant's door.

The door is opened by a fat, balding man who greets Zeus and I with a faint foreign accent. "Hello, Alpha and Luna, your table is already set for the night." He bows his head as we walk past him.

Eyes all over the restaurant snap in our direction, and I slowly inch closer to Zeus' warm body for reassurance. "They're just curious." Zeus whispers to me.

Nodding my head, I allow Zeus to lead me to the table that's in the corner of the restaurant, secluded and off to the side, away from watching eyes. I sit down and relax against the surprisingly comfortable booth's cushions before taking off my coat and shoving it against the wall beside me. Zeus sits across from me and hands me a laminated menu.

I take in the restaurant's name, and everything clicks. The man's accent is familiar now—Italian. We're at an Italian restaurant with romantic music playing from speakers, candles lit at every table, and the smell of bread and tomatoes filling my nose.

I fall in love with the quaint restaurant.

"You were right." I announce, feeling Zeus' heavy gaze on my face as I continue to look around. I connect my eyes with his. "I love it here already."

Zeus grins in triumph and then opens his menu to decide on his dinner. I follow his lead and look at the options for appetizers, pizza, bread, pasta, and wine. I lick my lips as my mouth waters and my stomach grumbles.

Trenette al Pesto, Fetucine all'Alfredo, Spaghetti Aglio e Oglio. All these dishes sound delicious!

I peak over my menu, seeing only Zeus' dark hair because his menu is covering his face. I chuckle and reach over to him and push his menu down so I can see his handsome face.

"Everything sounds good. Tell me what to get." I state.

Zeus sighs in relief. "I didn't want to seem dominant because I want you to try my favorite dish. You can pick the wine if you want."

"I'm fine with that." I reply, a bottle of wine I saw on the menu popping into my mind, although I'm underage.

A waiter approaches our table and places a basket of steaming bread and a small plate of butter with a butter knife between Zeus and me. "Alpha, Luna, are you ready to order something to drink?" The waiter asks while handing wrapped utensils to us.

Ordering the wine and our dish was easy because of Piero, the waiter. He was easy going and made jokes while taking our order. When Piero walked away, our wine and dinner order written on his notepad, I turn to Zeus, smiling.