I finished up applying my mascara before I put the brush back in the container.
I blinked at my reflection and hoped to God that I looked appropriate.
I had found a really fancy dress on my bed which was obviously left by Isabella for my date. She obviously had the whole 'expensive restaurant' picture in mind.
I ended up picking out an outfit from the closet which Isabella had fortunately filled.
I picked out a plain black skater skirt and paired it with a white lacy tank top and added a long grey cardigan on top of it.
Since it was just a pizza date, I didn't see the need to put on so much make up so I kept it light with some mascara, a little eyeliner and a simple light pink lip gloss.
I mentally thanked Alex for packing my makeup bag before we left.
I took in a deep breath as I examined the clock on the wall, I had about twenty minutes until we had to leave.
I wasn't ready to face Jason again. If I was scared of him before, I was completely frightened now.
I hadn't meant to get him so upset but he had offended me too and I have learnt that in life people will treat you according to the things you allow them to do to you.
I tried to get my mind off all that was happening by examining my room.
It was practically hidden in the hallway but I wasn't complaining I actually appreciated the privacy.
It wasn't as big or as nice as the guest room at Anthonys house but in his defence, Anthony was older and he was married to a lady who has been described as the queen of interior design.
Jason was still a bachelor and he was only twenty two so I wouldn't expect him to be too worried about how his house looked much less his guest room.
It was a cream white colour with a brown wood tiled floor.
I could tell that no one had slept in here for a while. Though it was spotless, the room seemed stuffy, my first instinct was to open a window but I decided against it. I still didn't feel comfortable enough to start touching things. Not like there was much to touch anyway. The only things in the room was the queen sized bed, a dresser equipped with a mirror and the in built closet. On the left side of the room.
It was self contained, there was a door that led to a little en suite. The bathroom had a couple of folded towels and a few bottles of soaps and shampoos that I assumed Isabella had put in there.
I couldn't help but miss mine and Alex's room back in Florence. Our apartment was no mansion but it was home. Our bedroom had a bright red colour which Alex had hated before but eventually agreed was perfect. Different paintings and photographs hang on our walls and different little ornaments that we had collected together decorated the room. It was a room with so many stories and memories. A wave of sadness hit me when I realised that I might never have that again.
My eyes went back to the clock which was the only thing that hung on the walls. I sighed, five more minutes, I might as well head down before I upset him even more.
I got up from where I sat on the bed. I grabbed a small bag that I had found in the closet and threw my phone, lip gloss and my purse in it.
I headed down the path I had taken to get here, it wasn't as complicated as Anthonys house, I was back in the living room in no time.
Jason was leaning against the bar as he chatted away on his phone.
He looked at me when I walked in, making me more uncomfortable than I already was.
"....take care of it in the meantime, I'll call you later." He hung up and now gave me a full body examination that made me want to be swallowed up by the ground.
I expected him to pass a comment but all he said was; "Ready to go?"
I nodded unsure of how to respond.
"Zoila!"
He called.
I was about to ask what a 'Zoila' was, when a tan skinned, plump, middle aged lady ran in wearing a black and white maids uniform.
So we weren't just the two of us after all.
"Yes, Mr Callahan?" The lady answered.
Jason pushed himself off the bar, grabbing what I assumed were his car keys in the process.
"I'm heading out with Kate over here, if Mr Thomson calls, be sure to refer him to my cell. I'll be back in a few hours. You and Julio can leave whenever you're done."
"Okay, sir."
She gave me a smile in acknowledgement which I returned.
"Will that be all sir?" She asked.
"Yeah." He responded. The lady nodded and scrambled away.
"Come on." Jason told me as he walked past me, heading towards the front door.
I followed him and it was then that I
realised that he had changed his outfit too..
He was wearing a more casual combination of khaki shorts and a plain black (but still expensive looking t shirt) with Nike air max on his feet.
I had to admit, even in his casual ensemble, he still looked like People's magazine #1 eligible bachelor under 25.
Jason opened one of the double doors and I was surprised when instead of just walking out, he held it open for me.
I walked past him and immediately, his front yard came into view. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and the weather just brought out the beauty of his very green front yard. There weren't many flowers like at Anthonys place. Jasons had more trees and neatly trimmed hedges not forgetting the very green grass.
There was a man cutting the hedges. Jason gestured for him to come to us.
The man immediately ran to his boss.
"Yes sir." He spoke.
I tuned out whatever Jason was telling him about dandelions. My eyes were fixated on a matte black Ferrari that came driving down the driveway.
Dam! What a car.
The black beauty stopped right at the bottom of the steps and one of the body guards I recognised, Joey, stepped out.
Jason walked down the steps.
The man got out of the car and handed him the keys.
"Where to today?" Joey asked. He was a huge dark skinned man. I had never seen him in anything but his black jacket and matching pants. He always wore the same dark sun glasses and and a comms unit in his ear.
"Where's the nearest pizza parlor?" Jason asked gruffly.
I didn't miss the rise of Joey's brows. "You are going to a pizza parlor?" The man asked in shock.
"Duty calls." Jason muttered as he used his head to gesture to me.
Joey looked at me and I saw a hint of a smirk tug at his lips.
"Do I even want to know?" He asked Jason.
Jason let out a sigh. "Trust me, it's better if you don't."
It's like some mutual understanding passed between the two men.
Joey spoke into his ear piece and a few seconds later, an SUV came down the driveway and parked right behind the Ferrari
Greg, another one of the bodyguards I had met on my first day here got out.
The three men discussed the way they would move pointing out which roads were congested and where the paparazzi were lurking.
I didn't realise they put so much thought into such things.
I disappeared into my own world as they talked. I looked around and I couldn't help but notice how empty and abandoned this place felt. At Anthony's place, there had been servants and body guards all around. Here, the only people I had seen were Zoila, Julio, Joey, Greg and of course Jason...
It's only when Jason honked the car horn that I realised he was already in the vehicle waiting for me.
Greg and Joey had hopped into the SUV.
I didn't miss the scowl he shot me.
I quickly descended down the steps and hoped into the passenger seat of the vehicle and buckled up.
Jason muttered something under his breath, that I'm sure I wouldn't want to know, before he started driving.
We came to a stop in front of his gates. He rolled down his windows and looked up at a man who sat in a guard house.
"Robert," he spoke in a curt professional tone.
"Mr Callahan." The fairly aged man responded. If I was to guess, I would say he was a little bit past fifty.
"If Chad shows up, don't let him leave with any of my cars. God knows how many of them he can crash in one month."
The man nodded. "Yes Mr Callahan."
With that, Jason rolled his window back up and drove out the gates.
My eyes were fixed on the trees and bushes we passed. Jasons place really was in the middle of nowhere.
I didn't exactly expect the drive to be filled with much conversation but I didn't expect it to be this quiet either. Jasons eyes were fixed on the road, his jaw was clenched and he seemed kind of tense. I didn't know if it was a concentration thing or if he just naturally never relaxed.
He really was a closed book. I couldn't seem to figure him out. It's not like he made it any easier anyway with the hostility he showed towards me constantly.
I found that my guard was always up when I was around him. I still didn't know what his intentions were with me. Was he still trying to get rid of me? Or-
"You're staring."
I jumped in fright at the sound of his voice. His eyes never left the road so how did he know that I was staring at him?
I quickly looked away. "Sorry." I muttered.
He didn't say anything for a while.
We had driven into civilisation now, many mansions and fancy boutiques started popping up.
"I'm sorry about earlier." Again, his voice shocked me. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
Once again, Jason Callahan had surprised me by apologising.
I rubbed my arm. Something I tend to do when I'm nervous.
"It's okay, I shouldn't have gotten involved in your business."
"No, you really shouldn't have." He spoke.
I gritted my teeth. He really wasn't going to make this easy.
"We're almost there Jason." Joeys voice came from the blue tooth in the car.
"Got it, you can fall back now." Jason ordered.
I caught a glimpse of the SUV that had been driving behind us make a sudden right and dissappear.
"Where are they going?" I asked.
"We're supposed to appear discreet. That will be hard to do with them following us around. They're around though. We just won't see them." Jason spoke in that same professional tone. That he used on the man-Robert-at the gate.
With this car, I doubt discretion was even possible.
Jason took a left, a place that looked like a food court with different restaurants on every corner. Jason parked right outside a little authentic sushi place.
He turned to look at me.
"Ready?"
I shrugged. "I-I guess." I spoke in scepticism.
He rolled his eyes. "Aren't you the epitome of confidence?" He muttered sarcastically.
I narrowed my eyes at him before getting out of the car.
The sun immediately hit my face and I was grateful that I had thought to pack my sunglasses.
Plenty of people walked around without a care.... that is until, Jason stepped out.
He was wearing sunglasses as well and had his hair in a beanie now but people still did a double take when they saw him.
Seeming not to notice the attention, Jason appeared beside me and grabbed my arm.
It felt weird but I tried to hide my discomfort as I let him lead me away.
We passed two shops before the scent of pizza dough hit my nose.
I breathed in the scent and smiled to myself.
I loved pizza so so much but unfortunately, it was the one thing I struggled to make.
We walked into the parlour.
And as expected, some people stared at Jason trying to figure out if it really was him.
Jason stopped suddenly.
I tried to figure out what that was about then I realised that this wasn't his usual scene.
I tugged on his hand and to my relief, he let me lead him into a booth in the back. We sat across each other.
I slipped off my sunglasses and he followed suit. Now I could really feel everyone's eyes on us even if my back was to everyone.
"Do you ever get used to this?" I asked nervously.
Jason kept his eyes on the menu. "You never get used to this." He muttered.
A waitress showed up shortly afterwards holding a notepad in her hands and looking nervous as ever.
She looked to be a little bit younger than I was, she was a pretty blonde with baby blue eyes.
I smiled at her. "Hi."
"H-Hi." She answered though her eyes were on Jason looking at him as if he was her long time crush.
Jason didn't seem to notice, his eyes were still on the menu.
"So what's good here?" He asked.
"Umm.... The... um.. pizza." The girl responded nervously.
Jason scowled. "No kidding sherlock."
I glared at him.
He seemed completely unfazed though.
"We'll just have a large pepperoni." I told the girl politely.
She shakily jotted something down on her notepad.
"Any d-drinks?" She asked.
"I'll have a cherry coke." I told her. "Jason?" I asked him, saving the poor girl the trouble of having to do it.
"Don't they serve alcohol in this dam place?"
"He'll have the same thing." I told her.
"Will that be all?" She asked, this time addressing me only.
"Yes, thank you." I told her
She nodded before scrambling away.
I turned my attention back to Jason who was texting away on his phone.
"Did you really have to do that?" I asked him.
"Do what?" He asked, not taking his eyes off me.
"Be so rude to that poor girl."
"Did she have to be so stupid?"
"Hey, incase you didn't notice, talking to someone like you isn't the easiest thing to do."
"Yeah, yeah." He muttered absent mindedly.
I glared at him before grabbing the phone out of his hands.
That got his attention.
"Hey!"
"We are supposed to be on a date. Pay attention to me." I demanded.
Jason sat back in his seat before smirking.
"Harry didn't mention that you were this needy."
I returned his smug look. "Well he didn't mention how much of a jerk you were either."
His smirk didn't waver.
"I see why he likes you." Jason muttered.
"You don't do this often, do you?" I asked him.
"Do what? Go on dates? That would be a firm
no. Dates are irrelevant and time consuming." He spoke as he fiddled around with the salt shaker that sat on the table.
"No they're not, they're romantic and they help you get to know the other person better."
Jason rose his brows at me.
"You're telling me that tossing around some heavy ball helped you get to know Harry better?"
A goofy smile took over my face. "You could say that."
Alex and I hardly bowled that day, we spent almost the whole time talking and fantasising about our future. It was kind of too soon for a first date but that's the thing, it wasn't awkward at all. And since neither of us had particularly good pasts, it felt right to talk about it.
"Well..." he started, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Time to show some of that romance, it's show time."
I looked out the window, ar first, I didn't notice anything and then I saw them.... some men with cameras hiding in the bushes. I set Jason's phone down then leaned forward and placed them on his hands which rested on the table.
He immediately tensed at my touch but eventually relaxed. I pretended to giggle.
"See? I am good at this." I spoke through gritted teeth not letting my smile fall.
He still seemed kind of tense... almost worried....
"You okay?" I asked him as I took one of his hands in mine and played around with his fingers.
He seemed to shake himself out of it. His smug look returned as he focused on something behind him.
He shrugged. "Sure, you're good, but I bet I'm better." Before I could question him he spoke. "Food's here."
As if on cue, the scent of pepperoni filled my nose as a different waiter brought the pizza. I guess the poor girl couldn't stand the pressure of waiting on Mr Callahan again.
I smiled at him. "Thank you."
Jason suddenly got up and slipped into the booth beside me. He put his hand over the booth around my shoulder.
"Told you I could do it better." He whispered as his eyes stayed on my lips. His cool breath hit my face and his amazing cologne won out the scent of the pizza.
He started leaning in. I stayed frozen knowing that everyone was watching.
"What are you doing?" I asked with a forced smile.
"Making this look realistic." He whispered back. He closed his eyes and his lips were only inches from mine now.
I couldn't help but picture Alex's face. I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was betraying him once again.
I thought fast, I grabbed a slice of pizza and shoved it in Jasons face.
"What the-?" He yelled angrily.
I knew that we had gotten everyone's attention.
I let out a loud giggle and grabbed a napkin before dabbing on Jason's face.
"What the hell was that?" Jason asked with a fake smile.
"They're other ways of making this look realistic."I told him before pulling him closer and pecking his nose.
He reached forward and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "You are so going to pay for that." His voice was sweet but his tone implied anything but that.
"Shut up and eat." I replied in the same false sweet tone and I got the slice of pizza and let it hover in front of his mouth.
"No one said I would actually have to eat this crap."
I rolled my eyes. "It's delicious, just try it."
"It's cheesy and disgusting." He replied as he tried to drop my hand but I just swatted it away.
"You haven't even tried it." I shook the slice in front of his mouth and tried to force it into his mouth. "Come on, just one bite."
He shut his lips.
"Come on, don't be such a baby." I hissed.
He reluctantly opened his mouth and I slipped the end in. He took a bite and chewed.
I studied his reaction.
"It's good right?" I asked.
He didn't say anything. He just grabbed his coke and sipped on it.
I smiled in satisfaction."I take that as a yes. See, trying something new didn't kill you."
I told him as I pocked his tummy.
He picked up a slice of pizza and hovered it in front of my mouth. I gladly took a huge bite.
"You're a real piece of work, aren't you?"
I smiled. "I could say the same thing about you Mr Callahan."