What the Heart Knows

Jenny flashed her a look that said they’d talk later. Juni gave a quick nod of agreement and hooked her arm in Oliver’s. The rain had become a light drizzle. They paused in the entryway of the door. She slipped on the hood of her zip up and glanced up to meet his gaze. She was tall for a woman at 5’10”, but Oliver must be about 6’3”. It was nice to feel almost petite for once.

“So where are we headed?”

“I’m not really familiar with this area, so I’m open to suggestions.”

“There’s a great pizza place a few stores down,” she said.

She hoped the casual atmosphere would keep things from getting too intense. Not to mention she’d watched enough disappearance shows to know better than to go too far with a virtual stranger. She wouldn’t deny the attraction between them, but that was no reason to charge forward full speed ahead. To be honest the extreme emotions frightened her. Every girl dreamed of meeting the one, and simply knowing. The reality of the imagined event was mind-blowing.

“Sounds good to me.”

He held the door open for her as they left the shop, and walked down the sidewalk. Their arms brushed as they ambled underneath the store awnings to stay out of the drizzle. Her body tingled and her breasts grew heavy. If it feels that good when he brushes my arm, I wonder what skin-to-skin contact in other areas would feel like. Her naughty musing made her smile down at the ground. Oliver brought out a wicked side she could grow to like. They reached Pete’s Pizzeria and found it just as empty as Cupa had been.

“I love this place. It’s like a step into the past,” Juni said.

They stepped inside the door and she smiled at the wooden booths with fire engine red vinyl cushions, and red and white checkered table clothes. The red candles placed in the middle of the table with the classic glass shakers that held red pepper flakes and parmesan managed to be charming with just a hint of cheesiness.

“I see what you mean,” Oliver said. They took a booth in the back of the restaurant. A few moments after they settled into their booth a waitress in a red polo with Pete’s logo on the right breast and black jeans appeared.

“Hi guys, my name is Katie, and I’ll be your waitress for the day. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“I’ll have a Coke,” Juni said.

“Same.”

“I’ll be right back with those drinks,” Katie said. She flashed them a smile as she spun on her heel and walked off to the drink station.

“Are you hungry, or should we just get a snack?” he asked.

“There’s no way you can come to Pete’s and not try the pizza.”

“What do you like on your pizza?”

“Just cheese and pepperoni.”

“Good, that’s usually how I order mine.”

Katie returned, dropped off their drinks and took their order for a medium pizza with pepperoni and cheese.

Once she left a silence fell over the table as they studied each other and smiled.

“So tell me more about yourself,” he said

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“Will you hit me if I say everything?”

She laughed and shook her head.

“There’s not much to tell. You know I’m twenty-five, and I work at Cupa.”

“What do you like to do when you’re not at work?”

“Travel, try new things, and listen to music, to name a few.”

“What kind of new things?”

“All sorts. I have this wish list, if you will, of things I’d like to do that I try to accomplish whenever I can.”