Page 28 of Not So Casual

“Where are we going?” He huffs but keeps up with the pace of my walking.

Stopping, I turn, dragging Elias closer to me. I run my fingers through my hair and look him in the eye.

“Once we got in there, I realized what a mistake it was.”

“A mistake…” He goes to release his hand from my grasp, but I hold on tighter.

“The restaurant was a mistake. If we would have stayed, we wouldn’t have been able to talk. Plus, did you see all the old, stuffy people in there? I have a better idea. An idea that’s more us.”

His brows are creased, and I can tell he’s confused. Honestly, I’m probably not making much sense.

“Let me try this again. The whole reason for going out to dinner was to talk. We can’t talk in a restaurant where everyone is whispering. Plus, with as much as you eat, those portions wouldn’t fill you up.”

Elias laughs, slapping my chest, and my heart soars, knowing I didn’t completely fuck this up. “You ass. I don’t eat that much. But okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Where do you want to go, then?”

“Let’s see what we find.”

We take off down the street, walking side by side. The moon is out shining, all the different buildings lit up in the dark night. We slowly stroll down the road, looking into the windows of stores. Elias laughs at the different mannequins he sees in the clothing stores, while also pointing out the different outfits he would love to have.

Our hands brush each other as we walk, and I reach out, grabbing his hand with mine. When he doesn’t move his away, I interlock our fingers, holding on tight. The concept of holding hands is foreign to me, but I can’t deny that I’m loving this.

The aroma of garlic and onions fill the air and we both stop and look at the window next to us.

“Pizza?” he asks.

“Pizza,” I agree, walking over to the door and opening it for him.

We order at the counter, then make our way to a booth, sitting across from each other.

“You were right. This is more us.”

Both of us laugh and I take the time to admire Elias again tonight. The lightness in his eyes as he laughs, a soft laugh that’s infectious and relaxes me. Everything about him screams out to me. The way I’m constantly drawn to him, my eyes always tracking where he goes. And now that I’ve had my hands on him, I don’t want to let him go. I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to him, but I know I can’t stop. He’s a craving I hope never goes away. But I don’t know how to hold on to him. He says he’s okay with being casual, but I know he’s not. And all I’ve ever done is casual.

“You look amazing tonight.”

“Thank you.” He blushes and his hand starts to play with the napkin holder on the table. “You look really good too.”

“I do, don’t I?”

He tosses a napkin at me, snickering. “Also conceited.”

The waitress drops off our two personal pizzas, and I fake gag when Elias’ is set in front of him.

“Oh, ew.”

“Ew, what?”

Picking up a slice, he takes a slow bite, moaning while tossing me a wink.

“Hawaiian pizza is yuck. Who eats that crap? There is no reason to have pineapple on a pizza, Elias. Pizza was not made to have fruit on it. It’s an abomination.”

Cackling, he tosses his slice onto the plate and quickly wipes his mouth.

“Oh my god, you really hate fruit on pizza. You’re so upset, like it offended you or something.”

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