Before us...

Chapter Twenty Three

The last two weeks had flown over, and every available moment had been spent together. They would escape from their respective workplaces to meet at the same time every day to enjoy a short lunch together, each of them taking leftovers for their bosses to enjoy when they returned. Most of their nights were spent together; enjoying movies, meals and the occasional outing to the restaurant where they had their first date to demolish a glorious plate of their favourite cheesy bread. Sometime during the second week, Milo had attempted to recreate the beautiful cheesy dish himself to no avail, having almost burnt down his home in the process much to Lila's delight.

A lot of their nights ended the same; with a long work in the cold air to allow Zar some freedom as they trailed along behind him hand in hand enjoying the calm serenity which would wrap around them, tightly. They grew closer, a kiss shared here and there, deepening with every repeated action but, never going further than what felt right. And they were okay with that for now.

They were comfortable with each other; comfort was something that neither of them had felt with another person since each of their lives were changed in their own way. They had bonded, growing close in a very short time. Lila often forgot what life was like before Milo moved to town.

She had learned a lot about him too. He was terrified of heights claiming that the flight home was almost as terrifying as the promise of seeing his father's face when he had landed. It was sad to her how incapable the two King men were at finding common ground or a way to bond. To her it was wasteful to push each other further and further away. Milo was continuing to dodge his calls opting to silence his phone when it would reach double digits. It bothered her that they were wasting the time they had when she would do anything to even yell at her father again, but she felt that they had not reached that point in their relationship to express these thoughts with him. It was none of her business. They were having fun; that's all that mattered.

Today however, was the day that they were to embark on what could only be described as a nerve raking evening. Earlier in the week, Jensen had wandered in the store to solidify their plans for the night, insisting that they would all have an excellent time at the new Chinese place that had opened in town. It was odd for him to make such promises when he himself had never been inside the place.

Mornings for Lila often started a little earlier than for Milo, so she often walked to work with Zar and Zar alone. One morning, she had happened to leave the house a little earlier than planned and ventured over to the new place to take a peek in the wide-open window located at the front of the restaurant to see what was what. Her body was raked with chills as her eyes scoured over the high number of tables and chairs that seemingly littered every square inch of the ground floor, varying from seating four to twelve forcing a cluttered vibe down Lila's throat. She was glad that it appeared light on the inside with a range of different lamps and lights that hung from wall to wall creating an illuminating glow to shine throughout the room.

It was unclear from her limited spectre post if there was an upstairs as well. She could only imagine how loud and hot it would be when the room filled with diners, her body prickling with heat as she quickly jogged to Grace's with the desire to move away from the restaurant, eager to put it behind her for good.

But now, the night had come, and Milo had just arrived to escort her to the restaurant. She was not entirely sure of its name having focused on not wanting to go at all. Now it was time to leave, she slipped her sweaty hand into Milo's and they began the short walk there. She was positive that Jensen and Nathan would already be there as they appeared to be very excited to experience the towns newest cuisine a lot more than the two of them were.

"You nervous?" Milo inquired, once the restaurant came into view. Apparently, they were about to dine at Chef Chu's for the first (and probably last) time.