Chapter 10 : Stop The Car Whenever You See An Ice Cream Truck.

Matteo pulled over just outside a classy elegant looking restaurant that Xander had picked.He quickly got out of the car and came to my side to open the door for me.

"Thank you Matt." I said warmly as I stepped out.

"You're welcome." He said,smiling back at me.

"Good evening,my name is Akira and I'll be your waitress for the night." A tall pretty melanin waitress said staring down at us.

I took my time to look at her.Starting from her toes,going up to her head.I noticed that she was wearing a very short uniform with high heels and her face was painted with a little bit of makeup.I also took notice of how the first few buttons of her shirt were undone,leaving her big cleavage to view. She had big boobs and bums too.

I looked over across me at Xander and I found him staring up at the girl.I saw him motioning for her to come closer and he whispered something to her which made her to dramatically giggle out loud. I saw Xander smirking up at her and that was just it.I felt a tight spark of jealousy knocking momentarily at my heart. Taking it's time to knock but creating a potent feeling of rage.

"Control yourself Zoey.It's nothing, ignore them." I quietly said to myself as I stared down at my lap,fiddling with my fingers in the process.

Our food soon arrived and we both started digging in, in silence.

I looked at Xander and my eyes fell at his plate.

"What are you doing?" I asked in surprise.

"What?" He looked around to see if there was anything wrong he was doing.

"There are just tons of various vegetables in your plate.No meat."

"Well that's because I'm vegetarian." He said in a duh tone.

I nodded."So you never ate meat?" I asked.

"I have" He replied,"But stopped back when I was about eight years old."

"Why?"

"My father re-married and his new wife, my stepmother was a vegetarian." He said staring down at his plate.

"So I assume, she changed many things around including how and what everyone ate?"

"Yes." He shortly replied.

"How old are you Xander?" I asked, hoping to get to know him a little bit.

"Twenty four." He replied."You?"

"You're four years older than me." I said, smiling a bit.

"Do you only have one sibling?" He asked.

I nodded with a proud smile." What about you?"

He raised his eyebrow and leaned back relaxily on his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What about me?"

"Do you mayhaps have any siblings?" I cautiously asked,trying not to trigger him anyhow.

"I'm left with my stepsister who's your age." He said, pain starting to form in his eyes.

I thought thoroughly about what he had just said and realized that he must've been through a lot and I was just dragging him back to the past.The mood suddenly changed and the aura of loss,pain and despairness hang around us.

"So tell me about that girlfriend of yours." I said abruptly, trying to change the tense topic .

"What about her?" He coldly asked .

I innocently shrugged a shoulder as I took a sip of my wine."Does she even exist?"

Xander remained quiet for a moment,eyes fixedly at me.

"Yes she does."He said after some time.

I was hurt to hear that but at the same time relieved. Relived of what?I don't exactly know but one thing I know is that, I was slowly falling for Xander Vincenzo.

I couldn't help but feel angry at myself for liking Xander in the first place. I mean,it was so obvious that he was nothing but a handsome devil himself dressed in suits every day. He seemed like the type to bottle up emotions and worries.I couldn't read him even if I wished I could.

"Penny for your thoughts?" His voice asked,bringing me back to reality.

"Mhhh." I replied with a hum,eyes glued on my plate as I played with the food using a fork.

"Are you mad at me Zoey?" He all of the sudden asked,leaning back on his chair.

"What?No-no I'm not.I mean,why would I be mad at you?" stuttered and gave an awkward laugh,still looking down at my plate.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

I slowly raised my head and looked at him only to find out that he was already gazing right at me with daring eyes.

He sighed loudly before getting up from his seat.I thought he was leaving as unpredictable as he was but to prove me wrong, he walked over to me and knelt in front of me.

"Oh my goodness." I quietly muttered as I felt my heart throb fast."Xander..." I softly and slowly called out,"What in the world are you doing down here?"

I was so glad that he booked the entire restaurant just for us.I couldn't help but think about how people would've reacted towards his actions at that time.Deliberately creating a huge attention on us.

Xander smirked at my nervousness."Relax,I'm not going to propose to you." He said

I managed to let out a huge sigh of relief but he was quick to ruin all that for me.

"Well at least not yet." He said with a smirk and I raised an eyebrow at him.

And then he was back at it again,back to the old Xander. His face just suddenly changed. It became expressionless and peculiar as he stared down at my lap.I was entranced by his eyes.My heart leaped a bit whenever they stared right into my soul and I got butterflies and goosebumps whenever he touched me.But one thing for sure, I was scared of my own feelings.It was something that I couldn't put into words and make it more lucid.

I was confused about why I was feeling that way towards him.All the butterflies and goosebumps and mixed feelings I had all because of him really dazed me. He was the only man I ever felt that way of.He was the one who seemed to chase away my phobia of being anywhere near men or just by looking far at them.He seemed to have been the cure of my sickness.

I took a look at him and he was now looking up at me.I involuntarily bit my lip as I couldn't help myself. His eyes widened momentarily as some emotion flashed across his eyes.

"Did I do something wrong maybe?"

I shook my head smiled weakly at him.

"Okay.If I did,I'm sorry." He said in a hushed calm tone before getting back to his seat.

We left the restaurant as soon as he was done making business calls.We rode back in silence again.I was tempted to start a conversation but then again I thought that in some situations 'Silence Is Golden.'

I was deeply lost in the city lights glooming as I stared out of the window and couples walking down the streets madly in love with each other when suddenly something more significant caught my attention.

An ice cream truck.

"Matt stop the car!!" I shouted happily and impatiently.

Matteo was hesitant to stop the car and searched for Xander's perspective on the mirror.

"If she says stop the car then stop the damn car Matteo." Xander growled at poor Matteo.

"Yes sir.Sorry sir." Matteo apologized ceasing the car and I did not waste a single moment.

"Zoey!" Xander called angrily out for me but I was long gone.