Taste of Italy

C H A P T E R n i n e

                                                                   . . .

   "This is my favorite part of the house," Dante said as he lead Iris to a balcony. Since she never took a tour of it earlier, this area was part of the kitchen; the person had to go through a doorway and up the stairs to get to the balcony.

As the door opened, the large wooden balcony hovered over a small flower garden that lead to a gazebo, and far in the distance, were the city's lights. "I can see why it's your favorite place." Iris smiled at him as he kept his eyes on her reaction. Her eyes weren't looking to his; they were everywhere.

"I picked this place for tonight because I felt it being the most romantic spot." He cleared his throat which made her eyes snap to his. Then her eyes scanned toward what was on the balcony.

A table stood in the center of the wooden floor; a red cloth draped over it with a vase of red roses placed in the middle of the table. He gestured Iris to sit in a chair where he stood. With a slight nod, she went over to his side and sat gently. He pushed the chair closer to the table, then walked over on the other side, sitting across from her.

As if on cue, one of his butlers opened the door with a bottle of wine and wine glasses in his hands. Without a word, he placed the cups on the table, giving Dante and Iris a fair share of wine, and left. Taking the bottle with him.

"So," said Dante, putting a leg over the other. "We finally get to talk . . . one on one."

"We do." She nodded, awkwardly. Iris wasn't used to dating as she spent so much of her free time writing. Her legs shook with anxiety, wanting this to go well. But in her mind, she had no idea what that even meant. How? What could they talk about? Could he tell that she was a nervous wreck? "How have you been, since . . . yesterday?" she said, hopefully not sounding too uncomfortable.

"I've been good." He chuckled.

Why did he chuckle? Did he notice her being too tense?

"And you?"

"Good." Iris pursed her lips and nodded. Her heart pounded against her chest, sending lightning bolts to her ribs, trying to bring her back to life. The balls of her feet bounced up and down, continuing to shake her legs more vigorously this time. She hoped he thought it might had been from the wind, but she wasn't cold. The sweat on her forehead told her that her body had warmth. Instead, her body shivered from the anxiety. Iris hoped that Dante didn't see through her, but she wondered how he thought of the first date thus far.

Was he in complete chaos in his mind? Or was he relaxed and mellowed out? Did he have to mentally go through what the night was going to be like? Or was he allowing the night to flow, not caring about the unexpected?

His smile became brighter than the sun. "To make this a little less awkward, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Iris mentally noted that this wasn't going to end well as she could go on and on about anything. But instead of boring him with nonsense, she preferred that he give her details about what was needed for the potential conversation. "Is there anything you'd like to discuss?"

"Hmm." He thought for a moment, taking a sip of his drink. "How about your career?"

Iris took a deep breath. It wasn't the exact response she wanted since she became insecure with her life. How being a waitress wasn't all that high-and-dandy. In fact, it was quite the opposite. With a small, awkward grin, she said, "I'm a waitress." It was a start, knowing that she tried to be honest.