25. Pizza and Passengers

{Naya}

"So Sin," Portia said, deliberately batting her eyelashes, "what do you do for fun?"

"I like to do a little fishing when my schedule permits it," Sinbad answered. Then he bit into a pizza for the first time in his life.

"Heavens," he whispered under his breath. Portia exaggerated her eyelashes some more and pretended that she admired his hobby as a fisherman.

Uri and I watched them in amusement from the opposite end of the booth. I could even hear Ritsu giggling inside the backpack down near my feet. He stuck his tiny arm out and waggled his fingers. I took the cue and slipped him another slice of pizza.

Over lunch, Uri described how he would have altered the recipe of the sauce. Portia only seemed to care what Sinbad had to say, which wasn't much. He just wanted to stuff his face as much as possible.

I should have been enjoying myself. I was surrounded by my friends. But I couldn't bring myself to smile or even touch my food. Nursing my soda was the best I could do. Thankfully, Uri saved me the embarrassment by eating my pizza slice. I squeezed his knee under the table in silent gratitude.

At one point, I excused myself to the restroom. After washing my hands and splashing my face a couple of times, I left. But instead of heading back to my booth, I made my way to the outdoor dining area.

This particular pizzeria doubled as a rooftop cafe. I walked out onto the sunny deck, thankful that it wasn't too populated. I didn't want people wondering why a girl was up here alone looking out over the railing.

I watched the cars below drive past, forcing down a panic attack that had started to creep up when we were ordering our food. As soon as the crisis was averted, I closed my eyes, and took one last deep breath. Then I turned around to meet back up with the others.

I forgot to open my eyes before I started walking. And to my horror, I crashed right into an innocent customer.

+++

{Duffy}

Even after Duffy ordered his food, it was still too early for him to return to the hotel. The Bachelor wouldn't begin for another forty-five minutes. He felt stupid for telling the cashier that he was taking his food to-go when in fact he had decided to eat there. There was something slightly less pathetic about eating alone at a restaurant compared to eating alone in a hotel room. Besides, the view was nice.

A surge of relief spread through Duffy when he saw that the outdoor seating area was mostly empty. He spotted a table and started to walk towards it when he abruptly collided with another person. His box of pizza slipped from his hands and opened onto the pavement, barfing up its contents. The pizza was unsalvageable.

"Shit! I am such an idiot!"

Duffy looked down at a girl. She seemed more upset than necessary, as if knocking into him had tipped some internal scale in the wrong direction. In fact, she looked on the verge of tears. When she got down on her knees and tried to pry the pizza slices off the ground, Duffy stopped her.

"Look, it's fine. I'll just order another one."

The girl stood upright. "No! I'll pay for it. It's my fault."

Jesus. She really is about to cry.

Duffy tried to calm her down. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Uh, Naya."

"Okay Naya, listen. It's just a pizza." He gave a goofy shrug and laughed. "A pizza. Okay? Not a big deal."

Finally, Naya relaxed. Then she smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I didn't mean to freak out." She took a moment to tuck some hair behind her ear. The gesture struck Duffy in a way that made him acutely aware of her septum piercing and cropped blouse. He also noticed the turquoise highlights in her coily black hair.

"Hey, um . . . are you sure you don't want me to pay?" Naya asked after a beat.

Duffy scolded himself for staring and hoped that she hadn't noticed. "Nah. I'll just get something to go on the way back home." But to be perfectly honest, he wasn't even hungry anymore.

Ducking her head, Naya said, "Sorry again. For crashing into you, I mean." She began to make her way towards the door. Duffy, not really wanting the encounter to end, called after her, "No worries! You can crash into me anytime you want."

God, I am lame.

But Naya's smile was genuine as she slipped back inside the restaurant.

+++

{Naya}

During the drive, I passed most of the time leaning on Uri's shoulder and drifting in and out of sleep. Usually Portia and I shared time in the driver's seat, but this time I didn't offer to switch. She must have sensed that I needed the time to myself because she didn't pressure me to do anything during the ride.

At our last stop at a gas station, Uri and I earned a little time alone in the car while everyone else was inside taking bathroom breaks and paying for fuel.

"We're going to see Zayn first, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. I already gave Portia directions to his antique shop. He doesn't know we're coming, but I'm sure he won't mind. He's very friendly. I think you'll really like him."

At that moment I didn't particularly care about making new friends.

I sighed. "My dad doesn't know we're coming either. But the old man always eats Sunday dinner at home so I know he'll be there."

Uri's eyes got serious. "You should at least text him that we're in town."

"I know. I know." I growled.

Uri backed off and turned his attention to the window. I didn't want him to think that he was the source of my stress, so I took his hand and said, "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Naya," he said without looking away from the window.

I squeezed his hand. "Uriel?"

The djinni finally turned my way and urgently searched my face. "What's wrong?"

I let go of his hand and reached for him, securing my fingers around the base of his neck. There was no need to pull him closer. He came on his own.

Uri held my face and comforted me. His mouth worked slowly, deliberately. His thumbs massaged my jaw until I let him in. His tongue was a soft flame.

I backed off.

Smoke escaped through the corners of Uri's mouth. "What is it?"

He got his answer when the car door opened followed by three bodies sliding inside. Ritsu cheerfully joined us in the back seat with a handful of bananas.

"Got your favorite!" Portia chimed as she tossed me an Arizona Tea. I caught it awkwardly, trying to school my features into something less dazed and smitten. To my relief, she ducked out again to pump the gas.

Sinbad offered me and Uri a stick of licorice from the huge bag in his lap.

"Want one? They're frighteningly delicious."

Uri and I stiffly shook our heads. Sinbad shrugged and turned back around. "More for me then."

The only one who didn't overlook our awkwardness was Ritsu. Though he wasn't allowed to talk, he shot us both suspicious looks. Uri ignored his glares and asked me in a low voice, "What was that for?"

"Was it bad?" I was already cringing at the memory.

Uri gave a nervous chuckle. "No! Of course not. It was . . . unexpected."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the model of emotional stability right now. I was feeling impulsive."

In my periphery I saw Uri wearing that stupid, lazy grin of his.

It made me roll my eyes. "I take it you enjoyed yourself?"

Relaxing a little more in his seat, he said, "Yes, Naya. I like kissing you."

I dared to look at him head on. "Do you like it more than Angry Birds?"

Uri shifted towards me. His grenadine eyes studied me with unapologetic interest.

"Especially."

"More than culinary school?"

Uri arched his eyebrow and slowly mouthed the word: Yes.

"More than –"

My words were muffled by the banana that Ritsu used to gag me.

Portia finished filling up the tank. She hopped in, shut the door behind her and started the ignition. Looking back to check her rear, she saw me choking on a banana and promptly chastised me.

"Girl, that's what happens when you don't chew before you swallow. You just don't learn, do you?"