Chapter 11 – Nalia #2
“Did you?” He drops his chin, locking his eyes on mine.
“Yes, we spoke.”
“And?”
“And nothing, we’re not together, or weren’t together, so what happened didn’t or doesn’t matter.” I look around. The street we’re on is mostly dirt lots. “Where are we going?”
“Olive and Oregano.” He points to a plain white brick building with no sign on the front. If I were driving by, I wouldn’t know to stop, and I doubt that anyone else would either. “They just opened a few weeks ago, the owners moved here from Jersey.”
When we get to the door, he holds it for me to go in before him and as I step inside my mouth waters from the smell of Mediterranean spices. The space is small and the few tables that line that walls are all empty.
“You’re back.” An older gentleman with dark hair that is silvering around his temples, tan, weathered skin, and a large belly smiles, getting up from a chair that is facing the TV hanging in the corner of the room.
“Told ya I would be.” Logan urges me forward with his hand on my lower back.
“And you brought a friend.” The man smiles at me. “Or are you the girlfriend?”
“Friend,” I tell him, and his eyes move to Logan.
“Pretty girl like this and you’re not dating her?”
“Still trying to win her over,” Logan mutters, and the man’s smile widens.
“Maybe a good meal will help.” He pats Logan’s arm. “Have a seat, and I’ll get you a menu.”
“Thanks.” We walk to the closest table, and take a seat, a second later a menu is placed in front of me.
“When you’re ready, just let me know.” Without asking if we’d like a drink, which I find somewhat unusual, he walks back to his chair in front of the TV and takes a seat.
“Do you know what you’re getting?” Logan asks after a few minutes, and I lift my eyes to his.
“The Greek salad, hummus and pita platter, and a souvlaki if I can get just one. You?”
“Last time I was here, I had a gyro. I think I’m going to have that again.” He takes his eyes off mine and calls out. “Bion.”
“Yes.” The man, whom I’m assuming is Bion, gets up and comes to the table. “What can I get for you?”
Without looking at me, Logan gives him my order and his own, and after jotting it down, Bion walks behind the counter, disappearing out of sight.
“Is he the only one who works here?”
“His wife was here the last time I was, but I think it’s just the two of them.
” He leans back in his chair. I try not to shift in my seat as he stares at me, but it’s difficult to fight the urge.
I don’t exactly feel awkward being around him, but the last few times we’ve spent time together, we’ve had the kids with us, which I can admit took some of the pressure off me.
Also, this feels like a date, and I’ve never been very good at dating because it always includes small talk, which is why things with Cole were so easy.
We were friends before we were anything more.
I’m also starting to realize that there was no real sexual chemistry between Cole and me.
Something I can’t say is the same as I sit across from Logan.
The tension in the pit of my stomach is enough to make me nauseous, and I can feel it swirling in the air around us.
“I hope that they do a little advertising,” I cut through the silence. “Most new businesses go under within the first year without it.”
“Do you do that for your brothers?”
“Not really.” I tear at a loose string on the hem of my shorts. “I post a little on social media, but they don’t really need it. Right now, they have a huge waitlist, and the people they’ve worked for tend to tell their friends.” I tip my head to the side. “Did they work on your house?”
“No, but Bax did hook me up with a contractor after mine flaked.”
“That happens a lot.” I look towards the door when it chimes and watch a pretty, older woman with long blonde hair step in and look at us with a bright smile before focusing on Logan.
“You came back.”
“I did.”
“And you brought a date.”
“I did.” He chuckles, and she scans the room. “Where is Bion?”
“He took our order and disappeared into the back,” Logan tells her, and her smile slides into a frown as she looks at our table.
“Did he take your drink orders?”
“Not yet.”
“That man.” She sighs, shaking her head. “What would you two like to drink?”
“Diet Coke, please,” I murmur.
“Iced tea,” Logan tells her.
“I’ll be right back.” She leaves us and walks into the back of the restaurant.
A moment later, I hear who I’m guessing is Bion say, “I was getting to it.” I can’t hear what is said next but his booming voice echoes through the small space when he tells her, “They aren’t going to dehydrate having to wait five minutes.”
“I think we got him in trouble,” I whisper to Logan, and his eyes wander over my face as he smiles.
“I think he’ll be okay.” He focuses behind me, and a second later, a glass filled with Diet Coke is placed on the table next to me.
“Sorry about that, we’re still working out the kinks.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I assure her, taking the straw she hands me before she gives Logan his iced tea. “Logan told me that you guys are from Jersey.”
“We are, we owned a restaurant much bigger than this there for years and were planning on retiring so we moved here.”
“Do you have family here?” I ask because I know most people who are retiring tend to move to Florida, not Tennessee, unless they have family who’s come here before them.
Her smile grows soft. “Our daughter and her husband moved here after college, and we always had plans to follow them once it was time for us to retire.”
“That’s nice.”
“It is, only they threw a wrench into our plans. We thought we’d move here and become full-time grandparents, then they told us that they aren’t having any kids.
” She laughs, looking to her right, and I follow her gaze to Bion, who is walking out of the back with a tray of food.
“So basically, since our kids don’t want kids, we decided to have another baby in the form of a restaurant. ”
“What she means to say is she was bored and tired of staring at me all day, so she took us both out of retirement,” Bion tells us while his wife helps him place our food on the table.
“You weren’t doing anything except spending all day in front of the TV.”
“I like watching TV.”
“Then I guess it’s good that you have a TV here.” She catches my gaze and rolls her eyes, making me laugh.
“This all looks and smells amazing.”
“We hope you enjoy it and if you do we hope you’ll tell your friends and family,” Bion says, wrapping his arm around his wife’s waist.
“I can do that,” I assure him, and he smiles softly before he and his wife step away from the table.
Unwrapping my silverware and placing my napkin on my lap, I pick up a piece of pita bread while Logan eats a finger full of fries that came with his gyro.
After scooping up some hummus with the warm and soft pita bread, I take a bite and can’t help but moan in happiness. I love food, all food, but Greek food is my favorite. And the hummus is probably the best I’ve ever had in my life, not only is it fresh, but also creamy and rich with flavor.
“Good?” Logan asks, and I look at him.
“So good,” I scoop up more hummus. “Sorry, I would offer you a bite, but I don’t want to share.”
“You’re not joking.” He watches me take another bite without offering him any.
“I don’t joke about food.”
“I made you my famous salsa.”
“I know and I enjoyed it, but this is…” I shake my head. “It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” I kick his foot under the table when he smirks, and I can see whatever smart-ass thing he’s about to say written all over his face.
“Don’t even.”
“I didn’t say anything.” He laughs, picking up his gyro.
Digging into my salad, that is so simple, I make it at home often. I shake my head; my salad has never tasted as good as this. “We need to tell everyone we know about this place because I’m going to be pissed if they go out of business.”
“Or we could have lunch here every day.” He says, and I meet his gaze.
“Can’t you just relish in the fact that you got your way and we’re having lunch together now?”
“I know you like me, Nalia, so why are you fighting the inevitable?”
Because I get the feeling he would expect a lot.
A lot of time, a lot of honesty, a lot of me.
And I’ve never given myself to anyone, not the parts that are complicated and ugly, the parts that I don’t even like looking at when I stare at myself in the mirror.
And having to expose anyone to those pieces scares me.
He scares me. Opening my mouth, I start to make up some lame excuse about how I’m in the middle of finding myself and not looking for anything more, but his phone starts ringing, cutting me off.
“Sorry.” He pulls it out of his pocket. “It’s the school.
” He frowns, putting it to his ear. “Hello.” I can just barely make out a woman speaking.
“What happened?” His brows pull tight. “Okay, but what happened?” His eyes narrow on mine.
“Again, I hear what you’re saying, but I’d like to know what happened.
” His jaw clenches. “Yeah, okay, I’ll be there. ”
“Everything okay?” I ask when, after he hangs up and picks up his ball cap from the chair beside him, putting it on.
“That was the assistant principal. Coop got into a fight, and I need to go in to pick him up. He’s suspended for the rest of the day and has ISS the rest of the week.”
“What?” My stomach drops. “Who did he get in a fight with?”
“She didn’t say, just said she’d talk to me when I get to the school,” he tells me, and I shake my head. I just can’t wrap my head around Cooper, who is so sweet, getting into a fight with someone for no reason.
“Go,” I tell him softly when I notice that he’s looking around the restaurant searching for either Bion or his wife. “I got this.”
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“Don’t be, it’s okay, just go and call me when you can.”
“I will.” He steps over to me and then wraps his hand around my lower jaw, tipping my head back as he leans down and places his lips against mine.
The kiss is over before it even begins, and nothing more than a peck on the mouth, but it’s so significant that I know it will be forever ingrained in my subconscious. “I’ll call you.”
“Sure,” I whisper while he lets me go, then in a blink, he’s gone with the door chiming behind him.