After so many refusals for a single date, someone less willed might call it a sign that he stood zero chance on his initial approach. Luckily – or, rather unlucky, she was still unclear regarding this – for Keira Hawkins, however, Nathaniel Wolfe was not that someone and he didn't give up easily.
The plan was a simple one. As things usually go.
Just a normal dinner date in a restaurant. That was true if Keira ignored the fact that the restaurant was not what she expected.
For the record, Keira did not expect one of the fanciest restaurants in town, specifically ordered by Nate to empty its place and serve only both of them this evening. That scene flashed in her mind from too much reading young adult novels or frenzied fanfiction in her leisure time between classes. Where the poor female character was kidnapped by the crazy rich and obsessed male character.
Nah, Keira cringed every time she remembered how many times she read that certain trope during her college years.
In contrast, the reality at the moment showed that – yes, despite his dashing look and clearly super expensive car that brought her across the city – Nate wasn't always a man who enjoyed nice things. She shouldn't be surprised, what with cleaning her house and all of that fiasco about ten days ago.
It was a hole-in-the-wall, a pizzeria she did not expect Nate to know about. Not only because it was practically located in the part of town with many dark alleys, just between a laundromat and a barbershop. The blazing red car Nate carelessly parked right in front of the door further increased the staggering oddness of this situation.
Inside, the pizzaiolo who was kneading the dough by the kitchen waved, hearing the bell aptly hang on the doorway. There were some booths and dining tables, but only one patron there.
Keira followed Nate, taking the seat by the sole window. She thought it was because he wanted to be on the lookout for his car, but the calculating look Nate sent to the entire room signified a different reason.
'Why is he on guard? Is someone targeting him or something?'
"Mr Wolfe, how are you doing?" the pizzaiolo approached their little table with a big smile and equally widespread of his arms. But he dropped them when he saw the splint on Nate's left hand and the bruise on his cheek.
"Oh, you know how it goes." Nate's easy answer signified that a state like this was not a new occurrence.
"But it's the first time I see you with your girl."
Keira was about to interrupt that she wasn't Nate's girl, but he beat her to it. "Unfortunately, I have yet to achieve the right to call her my girl." He smiled, introducing, "This is Keira Hawkins, my soon-to-be girlfriend."
"Playing hard to get, I see," the pizzaiolo laughed, shoulders shaking along with his beer belly. "A pleasure meeting you, Miss Hawkins. I'm Rudy. I run this joint."
Keira smiled in return, only feeling the sincerity from the man who would make their pizza. But, something nagged in the back of her mind. "Wait," she turned to the brilliant blue-eyed man sitting opposite her, "How did you know my full name?"
Nate merely raised an eyebrow. Right. In spite of never telling him her full name as it was also not written on the tag pinned to her clothes, of course, knowing her first name was an easy task for Nate. After all, he knew her home address without much hassle. Why did she even ask again?
"The usual, please," Nate then said to the pizzaiolo, who might also be the owner of this place.
"Right away, sir. Anything else?"
"Are you okay with beer?" Nate directed the question at her.
Keira looked towards the awaiting owner. "Do you have soda?"
"Of course. I'll be back with your drinks." The pizzaiolo bowed lightly and turned on his heel.
Finally left alone together, Keira lightly brushed her hair, tucking some of her bangs behind her right ear and only leaving some enough to cover her reddish birthmark. "So, what happened in the last ten days?"
"Ah, right to the juicy part, huh?" Nate put up a smile, but its genuineness didn't reach his electric blue eyes. "But I already told you what happened."
Keira frowned, trying to remember when he did tell her. He didn't. Not in the sense that she meant, by the way. She decided to change course.
"Did it have anything to do with what you looked for in the old Latin book? You left the paper there. I don't understand Latin and the online translation was fairly broken, but I can understand it enough as a sentence." Keira made sure to lock her eyes with the handsome man. "Did someone die?"
Nate hummed, fingers drumming on the little table separating them. "Yes. But you don't have to worry."
"How can I not worry when I know that the word 'slaughter' beside 'wolf' referred to you. Someone was going to kill you, wasn't it? Hence, that's why you didn't visit the library for the last ten days."
"Ah, so you do care!" Nate's smile this time was genuine, lighting up his entire face, sparks in his electric blue eyes. "I'm so sorry for my absence, but I'm here now. In fact, I will see you every day from this time onwards."
"Please don't," Keira deadpanned. "A stalker is the last thing I need."
"Not a stalker since I already told you my intention."
"Still a stalker because I don't want you to do it."
Nate sighed, pouting a little. "Fine. Not everyday then."
Keira narrowed her eyes, not believing him. But she decided to drop the subject. Instead, she asked him another question, looking for confirmation. "Are you a thug by any chance?"
It caught him off guard; she knew that. Nate's electric blue eyes widened a little. Sitting face to face like this, Keira could see almost every detail on his features, every change of emotion of his already fairly expressive self. He lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his head, tousling his dark hair from its neat state. An awkward chuckle from him only made her guess more valid in Keira's mind.
"I'm not a low life thug." The bruise and splint covering his left wrist begged to differ. "But I do fight sometimes."
"Drinks," Rudy interrupted their dialogues. He set two glasses, one of beer and the other of soda. "You seem comfortable with him for someone who claims to not be his girlfriend," the pizzaiolo said to Keira, "Like lovers having a dinner date."
Keira grimaced, lowering her face a little. "It's not a date."
"It's not?" Nate asked, seemingly genuine in his confusion. Did he really think this was a date?
"You practically kidnapped me," she mumbled loud enough for both men to hear. "Besides, we only know each other for three days."
Rudy laughed again, shaking his belly like before. The crow feet on the corner of his eyes showed that he laughed a lot. He looked happy. "I'll leave you two to it then." He winked at her and headed back toward the kitchen.
Keira grabbed her soda, and when she was about to take a sip, Nate clinked their glass. "A cheer for my return to your life," he announced with a grin. Which she did not reciprocate.
"I never peg you–"
"I can arrange that actually," Nate interrupted her.
Eye ticking in annoyance, she saw a pattern. Keira tried to banish the naughty thoughts away as she continued. "As a man who visits a place like this."
Seemingly amused, Nate raised one elegant eyebrow. "What kind of place do you think I visit, my dear?"
"Please don't call me that. If it's too hard for you to call me Miss Hawkins, you can call me Keira. At least, when we're not in the library."
The wolfish grin on Nate's face made her realize what she had just said. "Does that mean I can meet you outside the library?"
"No, I don't mean–"
'Ah, ah, ah! No, take back!" Nate was having his day. "You clearly insinuated that we not only meet in the library. I will gladly do that." Then, as if afterthought and testing her name, "Keira."
Sighing, Keira chose to resume their previous topic. "I mean, you always dress in a slim fitting suit that looks like it cost a month of my salary," she flicked her eyes to the blazing red Stingray parked outside right by the door. "And I even got nervous thinking about the insurance bill for you car."
"So, I'm basically just another snotty brat who must eat in a fancy restaurant in your eyes?"
"That's not what I meant," Keira quickly shook her head, giving a glimpse of her reddish birthmark to the man in front of her. "It's just… you're very, ugh, contradictory."
"Hm?"
Keira's face flushed a little. "You look like a peacocking wealthy man who does anything you like." She was glad that he didn't slip in an innuendo at that, "But you also broke into my apartment and cleaned it. Hence my surprise that you brought me here."
The soft smile crossing Nate's face threw her off guard. "I can take you to any restaurant you want, for sure. I just don't want to make a scene if you decide to scream bloody kidnapper in the middle of famous, rich people of this country."
His reason was not as sweet as the young adult romance novel she often read depicted. But Keira would choose this rather than the overly romantic one. She liked reasonable people.
A bang from the front startled her that she almost spilt her soda. Nate's face turned serious in no time. The carefree look in his eyes was replaced by a calculating one. Guarded. But he stayed on his seat, only peering from the top of his glass as he slowly sipped the beer.
"Rudy! I want a pizza now."
Alarmed, Keira turned her head in the door's direction. Several tables behind her was a man, probably mid-twenty. Dressed in casual clothes but somehow looked just as fancy as Nate. Probably from a top designer, hand-tailored.
The pizzaiolo peered from the kitchen and then decided to approach the newcomer himself. The smile on his face was as warm, but his shoulders tensed. "Mr Wilhem, how nice for you to visit."
"Yeah, yeah, enough chit chat. I'm hungry, bring me any pizza you have now," the newcomer, Wilhem, said without much patience.
"Of course. What drink can I get you while you wait?"
Wilhem looked up, glaring at the pizzaiolo. "I said, bring me any pizza you have now. I'm hungry, I don't want to wait."
"Mr Wilhem," Rudy still smiled, "You know well that I only serve my pizza fresh from the oven. It takes about twenty minutes, but I can guarantee that it is the best pizza in town."
"Don't make me repeat myself. Now, get me a beer."
Despite his big build, Rudy couldn't argue further after he was dismissed by the customer. Not long after, he went back out with a tray of pizza fresh from the oven in one hand and a glass of beer in the other. He approached Wilhem's table first, placing the beer in front of him. The pizzaiolo turned on his heel, about to head to Keira's table.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Wilhem grew more impolite. "Didn't I say to bring me pizza now?"
"Your order is currently in the oven, sir. It is–"
Wilhem slammed his hand on the table. Startling Keira and the lone customer sitting in the booth. Then, he turned his eyes to Keira's table, directing a question, "Hey, you don't mind do you?"
Keira looked between the rude customer and Nate, who stayed silent throughout the whole debacle. She didn't know what to say, but Rudy butted in.
"It will only take twenty minutes, sir," the pizzaiolo placated, "It will be worth the wait."
"No, they don't mind. So, it's mine now." Wilhem took the tray from Rudy's hand, uncaring about anything else.
"Please, don't do this, Mr Wilhem," Rudy's voice was laced with nervous energy. With a hint of fear. His hands seemed to itch to take the pizza tray away from the table. "It is for your own good, sir."
Wilhem crackled, "For my own good? Who are you to say that?" He grabbed a slice of the fresh-from-the-oven pizza and took a big bite. "Get back to your kitchen if you want to serve your other customer."
Rudy's face turned red, appearing more fearful. He glanced at Keira's table. Particularly at Nate, who still stayed silent, only casually looking at the man who noisily chewed the stolen pizza. Forgetting Wilhem, the pizzaiolo scurried to Nate's side, voice cracked, "Sir–"
But Nate lifted a hand. Eyes cold.