I Can't Make You Love Me || Peter Parker x OC

Chapter 11: Content With Ignorance

The rest of our delicious breakfast went over as smoothly as one could expect, and after a second drink to-go for both of us, we finally decided that we were ready to leave. My coat, which I had taken off in the conditioned heat of the cafe, was now back over my shoulders, and we were standing next to our table, ready to leave. Margot came over to give both of us goodbye hugs, and I promised her that I would be back sooner than I had last time. Out of habit, I reached into my pocket to retrieve my wallet, but Peter seemed to be attempting the same thing. Before Peter could get any farther, I pulled out the $20 that our food cost, and then a separate $5 for Margot's tip.

"Anneliesa, I'm happy to pay for myself--" Peter tried to gently argue his way around this, but I cut him off before he could get much farther.

"Nope, I said I was treating, remember?" I smiled warmly, but the edge of my gaze implored him not to press it any more.

"Okay, well, thank you."

His gratitude was acknowledged and waved away in the same motion that led my hand to wrap around his again. Waving a last farewell to Margot, we stepped back out into the city and the slowly crowding sidewalk. One of several things that we had discussed over our meal was what we were going to do for the rest of the day. Neither of us had any real preference or suggestions, so now we were going back to my apartment to do...who knows what.

"You really didn't have to do that, Anneliesa. I realize that you needed to keep the cover up with Margot, but I'm happy to pay you back or something. I know it wasn't that expensive, but I also know that stuff like that adds up. It's really not an issue if you want me to."

I was really confused by what he meant for a few seconds. Acting that serious about a simple meal didn't seem logical to me in the slightest. Then I reminded myself to look at this through Peter 'I've lived in a little apartment in New York City for my entire life' Parker's eyes, and not Anneliesa 'my parents are billionaires and I'm a spoiled rich kid' Malcolm's. Doing that, Peter's behavior suddenly made much more sense. To me, $30 for food was like a drop of water in the ocean, but to him, it was more like a drop in a shot glass; not the end of the world, but not something to shell out all the time. Having this whole inner-monologue going on made me feel rather guilty about being so closed-minded.

"Seriously, it's fine. And even if the furniture story was made up, you still saved my life last night, and the price for that is a lot more than just one meal, so consider this more like step one. Deal?" Our interlocked hands swung rhythmically between us as we came back upon Charter Road.

"Deal. But...you're letting me stay in your apartment, so I need to repay you in some way as well."

Did he really not understand how absolutely life-changing his company was to me? He wasn't any sort of burden to me, not in this universe or any other. How he could even entertain that notion was beyond me, but I didn't see a fair way out of this arrangement, and found myself agreeing to the terms as I reached into my wallet for my security clearance card and unlocked the lobby door for us. The stairs were behind us before I knew it, and not long after, so was my apartment door.

Drawn to it like a magnet, Peter sat down on my couch, inviting me to do the same. His body language gave off nothing but welcoming energy, immediately sending of red flags in my head. This wasn't the domestic 'come spend time with me' kind of welcoming, this was a 'you don't have anything to be nervous about' look, and that obviously told me that I should start worrying immediately. Nonetheless, my butt was resting comfortably in the cushions within seconds, and my body was turning to face Peter's.

"I've probably said this a thousand times in the last hour, but that food was absolutely amazing. Thank you for taking me."

"Yeah, it was my pleasure. As I'm sure you picked up on, Margot is something of a family friend, so I'm really glad that I got to share something so special with you. Well, the cafe itself isn't that individualistic, but there are a lot of memories there, and I'm happy that I finally have ones that involve you too."