On The House

Sophia's green eyes scanned through the pages of the menu, recalling memories she hadn't thought of in a long time. It was always a wonder to her that her grandparents weren't overweight people.

After a long day of making pastries, they would come to a place like that and share pasta. By modern standards, they should have been unfit. However, they walked everywhere so maybe that was their secret.

"You order for us," Luca said, not even bothering to open the menu.

He had been observing Sophia, watching her become thoughtful and he started feeling jealous that she wasn't focused more on him. No matter what he did or any drastic measures he took to corner her or try and force his way into her attention, it wasn't enough. He wanted her to take his advances seriously but he cared for her too much to be overbearing.

Yet there was a voice in the back of his head telling him that he was running out of time and he didn't understand why.

Since Sophia had broken out of her train of thought, she looked up at the man across from her, slight shock on her expression as her emerald eyes fixed on him. She nervously tucked hair behind her ear and gave a shy smile.

"That feels like a lot of pressure," she admitted.

"You've been cooking my dinner for a few days now," Luca said. "There hasn't been a thing I don't like so I trust your opinion."

Sophia already knew what she was having because it was the same thing she ate every time she was there. She had only been reading the menu to continue putting off the conversation they were bound to have.

Her first excuse would be that she didn't know him. She needed to rehearse her excuses or she had a feeling she could be swayed by him. Based on her reactions to him already, she was worried he was learning the power he had over her.

"Fair enough…" she trailed off and her eyes went back to the menu.

Right away, she knew what he would have. Something higher in protein and carbs so he would remain full for longer. and to nourish his muscular body. Being careful about the fat content of the food there was out of the question so she didn't even bother considering that.

"Bolognese," she said. "With a caesar salad on the side."

Sophia seemed satisfied with her choice for him and a small smile appeared on her face. "

To Luca, it was dangerous that she knew so much about food. He could see himself letting himself go if he spent too much time with her. Yet he would happily do so if it meant he could spend more time with her and bond over one thing she loved which was clearly food.

"And what will you be having?" he asked.

Before Sophia could answer, the man who sat them down came forward with a glass carafe full of something red with sliced apples and citrus along the bottom.

"Sweetheart, this Sangria is on the house," he said. "We haven't seen you in such a long time."

Two wide wine glasses were put in front of them and both were filled halfway before the man left the carafe on the small circular table that had a white tablecloth covering it.

"O-Oh," Sophia uttered. "Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it," the man said with a wink. "Are you two ready to order?" 

Sophia nodded and handed the man her menu. 

"I'll have carbonara and he'll have bolognese with a caesar salad," she said sweetly. 

"Right away," the man said. "You'll love it like usual." 

He made himself scarce after taking their menus. 

Except when he was gone, Sophia's shoulders slumped as she stared at the alcohol on the table between them. A short sigh escaped her lips.

Luca found Sophia's reaction amusing. The sight of the alcohol between them seemed to fill her with dread.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her quietly.

"Thinking about how little I drink these days," she admitted. "I used to drink a lot more when I was in school overseas. The drinking age there is younger than it is here."

She thought about how many men she became acquainted with because of the delicious alcohol that littered the countryside of the area. Alcohol was like a love language to those people. Many mistakes were made. The word 'no' practically didn't exist for her for a while.

"Good memories, I hope," he said.

"Fuzzy memories," she admitted, feeling her face become hot. 

Luca's dark eyebrow rose. He wondered what sort of memories were being stirred up for her. He felt slight dread wondering if it involved someone else who caught her eye more than he could. It drove him to wonder if he was insecure and jealous in his real life or if she was bringing it out of him because she was all he had at that moment. 

He slid his fingers alongside the stem of the glass and pulled it closer to himself.

"If you aren't going to drink it, I don't want something that was given to you to go to waste," he said resolutely. 

Luca started to raise the glass to his lips, but, to his surprise, Sophia beat him to the punch and she quickly brought the sangria to her lips. Despite how resistant she was before, in four gulps, the dark liquid was gone and she brought the napkin that had been resting on her lap to her lips. 

Her resistance to the drink sitting between them came when she realized it might take the edge off of the situation. It would be better if she made it so she could speak her mind more freely.

Her eyes widened and she looked at her company with shock that was mirrored on his face as well. 

"It's more tolerable than I was expecting," she admitted. "Sweet, but not too sweet." 

Luca was more tame in his approach and he only sipped the dark liquid. 

However, when he met Sophia's eyes after trying the drink, one of her eyebrows raised at him expectantly. 

A victorious smirk appeared on her lips when he downed it in the same manner that she did. Her head was already feeling hot so she decided she should stop there and hope that the food lessened the blow.