Beneath a Moon'full' Sky

Chapter Two

Ramin's POV

As soon as we are outside we slow down to a more leisurely pace. We get to the car and I unlock it, after which I open the passenger door for Sierra. I run to the driver's side, open the door, and plop down harder than expected, causing me to make a noise between a grunt and a squeak. I'm being clumsy today. Sierra looks at me with that same grin she had when I bumped my head against the doorframe.

"Don't be mean!" I whine, putting on my best puppy dog face which, according to my fans, looks incredibly adorable.

"Awe, did I hurt Ramee's feelings?" Sierra asks with mocking sympathy.

I glare at her, hoping to look semi-serious. Sierra just shrugs and looks at me nonchalantly, though I can detect a slight grin.

"Are we ever gonna leave this place?" Sierra asks. "My stomach is growling."

"Mine too. Let's go," I say, starting the car up and pulling out of the parking lot.

As usual in New York City, the traffic is terrible.

"Want some music?" I ask, seeing we both aren't really in the mood to have a conversation at the moment.

"Sure," she says.

Suddenly a grin spreads across her face.

"Let's go to the pop station and over-critize the terrible and meaningless garbage society loves," she says.

I'm taken aback by her shrewdness. Sierra is a very positive person and as a rule tries to accept everything, unles it's morally wrong.

"Sorry. That was rude, wasn't that?" she says thoughtfully, with honest concern etched in her face. "I'm just hungry. Are we almost there yet?" she asks, back to her normal self.

"Almost. If only people would walk across the street faster," I complain.

"I always wonder why people walk so slowly. Surely not everyone going across the street is on a leisurely stroll. Even those in a rush don't seem too eager to walk fast. It must be something psychological..," she trails off, looking deep in thought. After driving for a few minutes we finally come to the parking lot nearest to Virgil's.

"We're here!" I say, rather loudly.

Sierra jumps, startled from her musing at my sudden exclamation. Once she comes back to her senses, she immediately relaxes.

"Good!" she exclaims, sitting up higher in her seat, eargerly looking around as I try and find a parking space.

When I finally pull into a space and turn the car off, I get out of the car(somehow not banging my head), and rush over to the passenger's side to open the door for Sierra.

"Thanks," she says, smiling.

I lock the car and we walk, hand in hand(which was hard to do amongst the hustle and bustle of the sidewalk), to the restaurant. As soon as we walk in, we are greeted by an over-the-top friendly waiter with short, black hair, brown eyes, a handlebar mustache, and tattoos up and down both arms.

"Hey! I'm Freddy. Please follow me," he says, a bit too smoothly, with a touch of an exotic accent.

Freddy leads us upstairs to a four-person table overlooking 44th street.

"Your server will be right with you," he says, looking at Sierra seductively which makes me very uncomfortable.

Sierra doesn't notice this, though, and sits down in the chair facing away from the window.

"Don't you want to look out?" I ask.

"No! I've been to New York City before. You haven't. I want to you enjoy every bit of it as you can," she assures me.

I sit back in my chair and reflect on the strange and all-too-slick actions of Freddy. Suddenly our waiter comes over.

"Hi! My name is Tam," he says, smiling.

I watch Sierra across the table and a smile spreads across her face.

"OH MY GOSH!" she squeals.

"Wait...are you...oh my gosh! Hi Sierra!" Tam says excitedly.

"Hey Tam!" Sierra replies. "I didn't know you were a waiter part-time!"

"Yeah! I just started this job, actually," Tam says. "And what's your name, sir?" he asks me.

"Oh...um...it's Ramin. Nice to meet you Tam!" I say awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you too!" Tam replies cordially. "Can I get you guys something to drink?" he asks.

"I'll just have a Chardonnay, please," Sierra replies.

"I'll have a small Coors Light please," I say.

"Great! Coming right up!" Tam replies, walking over to the bar to get out drinks made.

Sierra and I look over our menus and make some small talk until Tam comes back with our drinks.

"Here you go; Chardonnay for you, Sierra," he says, placing the wine glass on a coaster in front of her. "And here's your Coors," he says, placing the frosted, ice-cold beer glass in front of me, the foam flowing slightly over the edge as he he sets it on the table. "Do you guys know what you want, or do you need a few more minutes?"

We both agree we are ready.

"I'll have the 2 meat combo with the pulled pork and beef brisket, please. Thanks," I say.

"What sides would you like?" Tam asks.

Dang. I didn't look. I scramble to the "Sides" section of the menu and quickly skim over the choices.

"Uh...I'll have the beans and coleslaw, please," I say, choosing to go some-what healthy.

"The grilled vegetable salad sounds really tasty! I'll have that please," Sierra recites smoothly.

"Ok! Coming right up!" Tam says with non-awkward friendliness. Suddenly he glances around anxiously, and leans over to Sierra. "Just between you and me, I wouldn't trust that Freddy guy. He may seem nice and look really hot, but ever since I started working here I noticed something off about him...something sketchy,"

Sierra is taken aback by this sudden solemnity. "Okay..," she says, obviously uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Tam apologizes. "I just wanted to tell you that...to keep you safe."

Note: The table they are at is where I sat when my dad and I went to Phantom Bway, and Ramin ordered the same thing I did.😝

Note #2: I have nothing against Greg T. Brown. I actually have no idea who he is. I just searched guys with handlebar moustaches and he popped up and thought he fit the character.