Puck Off!

Chapter 23

Because it was Valentine's Day, everyone seemed to be out with their partner on the trains, and so we were crammed in pretty tightly on the way to our dinner. Personally, I was fine with this, as I got to spend 30 minutes wrapped in Iryna's arms at the end of the car, and we shared a few kisses while remembering the day we'd had. The only worry I had at this point was that Ryn might not like the food, and that was a minor one because I knew she loved Italian food, and we were on our way to Boston's North End, which was filled with amazing restaurants catering to exactly that.

               Up until this point, I hadn't spent much to impress Ryn. First, she didn't want that, she just wanted us to spend time together, and price wasn't the object. Second, I didn't want to try to impress her with money, because in my mind that is no basis for a solid relationship. But tonight was Valentine's Day, and I wanted to pull out the stops a little. I booked us a reservation at Prezza, a North End dining destination for years, that I was hoping would make her moan every time she took a bite.

               When we finally got off at the North End, we walked hand in hand through the night air. Lots of different couples were in the area heading for their own reservations, and the streetlights illuminated everything in a romantic glow. I'd never been on a Valentine's Day dinner date before, but so far this was exactly as I'd wanted.

               "I've always loved coming here," Ryn said happily. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

               I squeezed her hand in mine and chuckled in reply. "We'll be there soon, but hopefully you'll never have been there before. I only went there once myself, and it was amazing, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."

               "When did you come before?" she wondered.

               I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her studying me curiously. "I came here after I closed on buying my building a few years ago. I had one dinner for celebration, and then sunk the rest of my money into the renovation. For a while, I thought I'd made a mistake, because we ran two weeks late getting the restaurants open and I was losing money, but then they finally opened, and the customers started pouring in. That hasn't stopped, so things are much better now." As I talked, I could see the sign for our restaurant coming into view, and I broke into a smile. I really hoped she liked this!

               "So, it was worth coming here for something that big?" Her eyes widened at the revelation, and I could tell she was starting to anticipate it even more.

               "Oh yeah. If you like Italian food, you'll like this," I promised.

               "Hmm. And if I don't? How will you make it up to me?" she teased while nudging me in the shoulder. I'd grown used to that now, so it didn't launch me into the street, just made me take a step to the left.

               "Well, if you don't like dinner, I do have something for afterwards. But if you're not a fan of either of them, then I'll do whatever you like to make your evening wonderful," I promised. I didn't think there was much chance of her not liking the evening, at least not if Elske did the favor I asked!

               "I like the sound of that!" She skipped a little in joy before stopping in front of me and kissing me deeply. "After today, I can think of a lot of ways to make it up to me!"

               "I almost hope you hate it now!" I joked.

               "I'll tell you what. If I hate it, then you can make it up to me, but if I love it then you'll get a reward instead," she suggested.

               "That sounds like a win-win situation there, so I'm in!"

               "Why do I have the feeling we're both thinking the same thing?" she asked as we started walking again.