I find his contact in my phone and dial the number. I hold my phone to my ear as my fingers drum across my granite countertops. I listen to one ring, two, three…
"Come on Heath, answer your damn phone.”
Four rings… It goes to his answering machine.
"Call me when you get this. ASAP. It's an emergency."
I slam the phone down hard on the counter, not caring when the small crack forms in the corner of my phone. Stupid phone.
My whole body shakes. I'm not afraid Matteo’s going to take me. For one, I won’t let him. But I'm petrified of what would happen to Nina if he stole her from Arlo. She wouldn't survive being ripped from the love of her life. So I have to stop Matteo.
"Eden?…Are you okay?” Saul says as he walks over to me and carefully places his hand on my shoulder.
I exhale deeply again, letting everything out. I try to find my tranquil, happy place, but his unsteady hand shaking my entire body isn’t helping.
"Thank you. I'm going to be fine." I step away, causing his hand to drop from my body.
"You want to tell me what that was about?"
I turn and try to make my eyes brighten at him as I force my lips to smile. "No. It was nothing important.”
He looks away as he rubs his tidy hair, making a mess of it. Sweat glistens on his forehead.
"What do you want to do now?"
I pause before answering. “Go out to dinner on our date and then whatever you had planned afterward. I want to forget about all this." I don’t mention that I’m more desperate than I was before to have him. For him to fuck me and make me forget about what just happened. I want him to take me to a restaurant and then fuck me in the bathroom halfway through dinner.
"Okay," he smiles at me. He holds out his arm, and I take it, trying to focus on him as he leads me out of the condo and out to his waiting Volvo. He opens the door for me like the perfect gentleman he is, and I climb in as he goes around to the driver side. He starts up the car and turns on the radio, drowning out the silence.
"Do you like Asian food? This restaurant I'm taking you to does this fusion thing between Asian and Mexican.”
Normal conversation. This is exactly what I need.
"I love Asian food."
He reaches over and takes my hand in his, holding it softly. I let my hand rest in his, despite how clammy his hand is.
I’m going to pretend like Matteo didn't walk into my life. I'm not going to run as Nina did. I'm going to stay and fight. All running did for Nina was stall the inevitable anyway. She ran and was still stolen. And in the meantime, she lived a life of fear.
I'm not running. I'm a smart, intelligent woman. I’m skilled enough to take on this asshole and win. I won't be taken.
The restaurant is impressive. It's the kind of restaurant where you sit on the floor on pillows, and they bring out food on sizable trays. The food was clearly thought out to blend aspects of Asian and Mexican cooking, with some dishes bringing a sweet heat of Korea and others the full-on spice of a jalepeño. The chef apparently had deep roots in both of the cultures, and it shows.
Saul does his best to keep the conversation light and moving, but we don't have much in common, and I'm far too distracted to be able to focus on much of what he is saying.
"Have you taken self-defense classes before?" I ask, unable to take my mind off the fact I may require his help tonight.
Saul clears his throat and blinks rapidly. "No."
"Know how to shoot a gun?"
"No."
"Know how to evade someone who is following you in a car?”
"No."
I sigh.