Mila’s eyes turned to the picture on the large menu that had been pinned up behind the counter and her eyes widened. “Whoa… that’s a giant of a burger.”
“It comes with garlic chili fries and pepper crusted onion rings.”
“I’m sold,” she said, obviously not bothered about what I thought about her appetite. “I’ll try that one.”
We stepped up to the counter to place the order, and Miriam turned and caught sight of me. “Zackary,” she said. “You haven’t been in a few weeks.”
“I’ve been busy,” I replied. “But I’ve been dreaming of you.”
She gave me a wink and then her eyes fell on Mila, and I saw the curiosity on her face. “Well, well,” she said. “Who do we have here?”
I gave a little internal sigh. “Uh… this is Mila,” I said, keeping the introduction short and vague. “Mila, this is Miriam… the owner and mastermind behind half the burgers on the menu.”
“More than half the burgers on the menu,” she corrected immediately. “It’s nice to meet you, Mila.”
“You too,” Mila smiled.
“This must be a special occasion,” Miriam continued, and I instantly regretted bringing Mila here. At the very least, I should have thought ahead and told her to wait for me by my Harley.
“Why?” Mila asked, with a frown.
“Well because I’ve never seen Zack with a woman,” Miriam said. “He’s the love ‘em and leave ‘em type you know.”
Mila’s smile deepened a little. “Oh, I do know,” she nodded. “But we’re not together.”
“No?” Miriam asked, looking slightly disappointed.
“Just friends,” Mila said.
“What a shame,” Miriam said. “You two match one another.”
“How about you take our order now, Miriam?” I cut in impatiently.
Miriam shot me a glare. “Oh, fine… won’t let an old lady have a little fun.”
She took our order, which included two tall ice blends, that was a cross between a drink and a milkshake that was all kinds of good, and then we headed back towards the motorbike.
“We’re not eating here?” Mila asked.
“And have Miriam watch our every move?” I said. “No way… I have someplace better in mind.”
I secured away our food, and then we started the next leg of our journey. Ten minutes later, I parked outside a large meadow-like field that was dotted by huge trees whose branches stretched out for miles. There was a light fence enclosing the area, but we could easily vault over and take out pick of trees. Without the wind slamming against our faces from the speed we were traveling, it was actually not overly cool.
The moon hovered over the field in all its bright glory, surrounded by a peppering of stars that seemed to burn a little brighter.
“Wow,” Mila said, as we moved further into the field. “This is amazing.”
“I’ve passed this area a ton… I’ve never actually stopped here though.”
We found a nice large tree and settled under it. Then we brought out the food and got sucked in, considering we were both hungry from the ride and the smell.
“Wow,” Mila said. “That is one amazing burger.”
“I told you,” I nodded.
I watched Mila attack her meal, and I couldn’t help smiling at the sight. She wasn’t evenly remotely self-conscious about it. She ate to her heart’s content, and she actually managed to polish off most of the burger.
We ate mostly in silence until the edge was taken off our hunger. But all the while I kept glancing over at Mila, noticing just how beautiful she was. There was something almost pure about her, and it made me want to be better… I just didn’t know how.