Amusement Park Interlude (2p! Italy)

(Rewrite) Part Four

Ava glanced around as she entered the coffee shop she and Casey were regulars at. Casey had planned to meet her here after she was done working on a group project for one of her design classes. Ava knew she was early, but she was sick of sitting around at home.

After ordering her usual latte, she found a table to sit at so she could read the book she brought along. She wasn't sure how long she would be waiting for Casey and wanted to make sure she had something to do. Reading in a coffee shop was a nice way to bide her time.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually, someone sat down in the seat across from her.

"Ciao, ragazza. What a coincidence, meeting you here."

She didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"I would call it stalking..." she muttered, turning the page of her book.

"I'm hurt," he chuckled. "What are you reading?"

"Ten best ways to get someone to take a hint."

"Your words may be cold, but your body on the dance floor last week gives me a different impression."

She finally looked up at him with a sigh. He looked fairly smug.

"I'm waiting for Casey, Luciano. I'm not playing this game with you."

"What game is that, ragazza?"

"That's a good question. What game are you trying to play?"

"If it looks like a game to you, I'm curious what you think it is."

"Oh, I don't know...Something like cat and mouse, probably."

"Interesting..." he chuckled. "I suppose it could look that way. I'm only interested in playing games if I win in the end..."

He reached over, twirling a lock of her hair in his fingers.

"If we were playing cat and mouse..." he smirked. "I might take my time toying with you for a while before devouring you."

She moved back so that her hair slipped out of his hand. "I have no interest in that."

"Well then, isn't it a good thing we aren't playing games?" He chuckled.

She sighed. "I'm going to wait somewhere else..."

Before she could get up, he placed a hand on hers.

"Don't run off, ragazza. Relax, I just wanted to speak with you after what happened last week. I thought it looked like you were having fun with me, or was I mistaken?"

She didn't want to admit that to him, but she didn't want to lie either.

"It might have been a little fun..."

"I'm pleased to hear that," he smirked. "I rather enjoyed myself as well. I wouldn't be opposed to doing it again sometime."

"...you know the problem with that. I went along with it, but I shouldn't have. Whether or not we consider ourselves to be enemies, it doesn't change the fact that I'm an Attendant bound to your counterpart."

"Worrying about something like that sounds so tiresome. You shouldn't let them police who you spend your time with. Aren't you a girl who knows how to make her own decisions?"

"No, I'm a servant," she snapped. "I don't have the same luxuries as you do."

He stared, surprised she had suddenly snapped at him. She took that opportunity to grab her things. He only snapped out of it as she was on her way out of the shop. He rushed outside after her.

"Ava," he called, grabbing her wrist to stop her.

"What?" She glared. "Why are you following me?"

He pulled her into the alley beside the coffee shop.

"If you weren't an Attendant, would you have run off last week?"

"W-What...?" She was surprised by the hypothetical. "Why are you asking?"

"Because I want to know what your choice would have been. Not the Attendant worried about what might have happened after midnight."

She was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond. She couldn't wrap her head around the possibility of living life making choices with the mindset of a regular person.

"But...I...it doesn't matter, because that could never happen...I am an Attendant, so..."

"It seems you don't understand..." he sighed. "I'm telling you to forget that for a moment and answer as if you were just a regular woman."

If she didn't have to worry about the Compromise ending, there wouldn't have been an alarm on her watch. Hell, she probably wouldn't have even worn a watch. It wouldn't have interrupted them...So whatever Luciano had been trying to do back then would have happened. They probably would have stayed together until he got sick of it or Casey came to find her.

"I wouldn't have had an alarm on my watch...so I wouldn't have been worried about the time..."

"Meaning you wouldn't have run from me," he smirked.

"I guess not..."

"Doesn't that say something?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're surprisingly dense..." he chuckled, although he seemed a bit spent.

"Hey...!" Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

"I'm saying, you don't dislike me as much as you think you do," he grinned, brushing his fingers against her cheek.

Her blush darkened. "I'll be the judge of that, thanks..."

He tried to trap her against the wall, but she managed to slip away.

"I've got to get back to the coffee shop," she said quickly. "Casey is probably waiting by now."

"Fine, I'm satisfied for now. But I'll see you again soon, ragazza...be it on Sunday or on the battlefield."

He took her hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

"Give Casey my best," he said before walking away.

She watched him go, her face hot.

"He thinks he's so smooth..." she grumbled once he was gone as she rushed back to the coffee shop.

Casey was sitting at a table waiting for her.

"There you are. I'm surprised I beat you here...or not?" Casey questioned when she noticed the latte Ava placed down on the table.

"I got here a little bit ago...It was Luciano who beat you here," she sighed. "I tried leaving to lose him but he followed me out."

"No way," she laughed. "He came to see you again?"

"You're...excited about this?"

"Seeing you at a club is one thing, but this is the second Sunday in a row that he's come up to talk to you, right? He obviously wants to spend time with you."

"Well...I can't really say you're wrong, but we talked about this..."

"Right, right...It's too bad," Casey sighed. "He's totally hot, and this could have been a good chance to get you a boyfriend..."

"I think you're worried about the wrong things here..."

"Well, whatever! Forget about that, let's go do something fun!" Casey grinned.

"Sounds good to me," she chuckled.