Arya and Asher (2)

The Italian bistro was a twenty-minute ride from the salon. Asher had put on the radio for the time being. Apparently, he was also bothered by the silence.

"So… what excuse did you use to not go to SHIA today?"

"SHIA?"

"Acronym for the school's name. The name is too long and cheesy, so everyone just calls it SHIA."

"Oh… I just called in sick today."

"Oh my! I also did the same! Do you think anyone is going to suspect that we are together?"

"Young lady!" Asher said as he let free one of his hands off the steering wheel to flick his fingers in Arya's forehead again, "no one would connect the dots. Also, it was pretty obvious that you hate me. At least I know your friend, Violet, thinks that."

"Ouch! You don't have to be so violent! I'm just saying it's a possibility. After all, I have a reputation at SHIA."

"A reputation of being a troublemaker…"

"Hey!" Before Arya could finish talking, Asher interrupted her, "So, is this the bistro you were talking about?"

"Um… yeah."

Asher parked the SUV and both of them exited the car. The bistro was a medium-size shop and with how it was decorated it gave off some Venice type of vibe. The sign at the top of the shop was written "L'ANGOLO DEI SAPORI" in old calligraphy typography.

As in the salon, Asher entered the bistro wearing shades.

"He really doesn't risk it. Doesn't he have some sort of power to make people forget him like in the movies?" Arya was thinking as she continued admiring Asher's beauty. It was becoming her primary hobby.

"Does this make me look like a total stalker?" Arya thought, "maybe... not that I really care, though."

Asher never commented more of Arya's non-stop looking, so Arya took as if he did not care, or was just getting used to his client staring at him.

"Welcome to L'angolo dei Sapori," A medium height girl who was probably in her mid 20's with wavy dark brown hair greeted them. She had pretty green eyes and freckles that lightly decorated her olive tone face.

"Hi. Can you please get us a table for two?" Asher said as he checked something on his phone.

"Yes, please follow me this way."

Asher went on front, as Arya followed him on the back. She did not want the staff to misunderstand that they were a couple like it happened in the salon.

Asher pull out the chair for Arya to sit, and later took a sit in the chair in front.

"I will be back with the menu," the girl which name tag was written, Melinda, said.

"Thanks, Melinda."

Eason had taught Arya to always call people by their names. It made them feel special.

"So…" Arya said when Melinda was finally not hearing them, "I didn't know that grim reapers had phones… or that you knew how to use one. Also, how do you know where to go if you have never been to Singapore or any part of the world before?"

Asher was still texting something when he locked his phone and looked up at Arya. "So, how do you think I called you yesterday? With telepathy or from a public phone? Also, driving is harder than deciphering how a phone works. By the way, why is Mrs. Hanamoto spam texting me? Isn't she a bit old to be having a crush on someone, and isn't she married?"

Arya burst into a laughter, "Mrs. Hanamoto is texting you? I didn't know that old lady knew how to text."

"Doesn't SHIA have a no sexual harassment between teachers' policy?" Asher looked disgusted.

Now Arya felt more comfortable knowing that even Asher could get annoyed, "Well, most of the middle and high school division teachers' looks are average. You are the first good-looking one that has stepped on SHIA for ages." Arya laughed.

"That isn't an excuse for that old hag to harass me. She is even asking if I want her to drop by my house to check on me!"

Arya smirked, "So, what if I tell you that there's a way to stop Mrs. Hanamoto's harassment?"

"What do you want in exchange?" Asher lifted an eyebrow.

Arya thought carefully about how to formulate her answer. Asher would definitely play the rules like a genie. Which was trying to find a loop inside her wish.

"Hm… I… want a name, Asher. Tell me the name of someone who I can get a petal from."

"No can do. It will lead to instant failure if I give you a complete name."

"First name?" Arya asked.

Asher shook his head.

"Ugh… why is it so hard? Doesn't heaven knows that I've met many people in this past six years? It's like finding a needle in a haystack!"

"I cannot give you a name, but I can still give you a vague answer. It's up to you to decipher it though…" Asher added giving Arya a smile.

"He really is desperate to remove Mrs. Hanamoto from his life," Arya thought, "thanks Mrs. Hanamoto! I promise to pay a little bit more of attention to your boring class!"

"Deal! Mrs. Hanamoto is harassing you because she thinks you are single, so we just need to make her think that you already have a girlfriend."

"And where are we going to find a girl willing to act as my girlfriend?"

"Tsk… Tsk…" Arya teased Asher, "you don't need a physical girlfriend, we are not in the 18th century. You just need to look like you have a girlfriend. Leave it all to me!"

Asher was beginning to think that asking for Arya's help was a bad idea. She looked too excited, and according to what Asher knew of Arya, each time she was excited, she ended up causing a mess.

"Just don't get me fired, and you expelled."

"Hm… you are pretty worried about that. Does that mean that there's a petal in SHIA?"

Asher remained silent.

"Does that mean a yes?"

Asher continued staying silent.

Arya's smile spread. "I knew it! That's a yes! Normally you will have denied it, but you remained silent!"

"Is it Violet? Kanon? The principal? Oh, is it Mrs. Hanamoto?" Arya continued bombarding Asher with names.

Asher put his index finger in Arya's lip to make her stop. "The deal was a hint. I already gave you a hint. I won't say more."

Arya could feel the callus in Asher's finger.

"How would his finger feel in other places?" Arya's mind was drifting to her wild imagination.

Asher had already removed his finger, but Arya was completely daydreaming. He snapped his fingers, and it cut Arya's daydreaming short.

"Hey, what was that for?" Arya complained.

"Was I interrupting something right now because you look pretty flustered?" Asher smirked.

"No…"

Melinda came back just in time with the menu to interrupt this awkward scene.

"Here, call me when you are ready to order. Do you want anything to drink for the moment?" Melinda twisted a bit the ends of her hair. It was clear to Arya that even Melinda was flirting with Asher. The waitress had only looked at Asher since the moment they stepped inside the bistro.

"Was this going to be a normal occurrence now or what?" Arya was feeling a bit of jealousy.

"Water is fine," Arya said wanting Melinda to go away.

"The same as the lady," Asher replied not even interested in looking at Melinda. His eyes were on the menu.

"Okay," Melinda turned around defeated.

"Hey, Asher, can't grim reapers be more average looking when overlooking their clients on Earth?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you do that?"

"Didn't want to. Got a problem?"

Arya huffed and rolled her eyes, "cocky bastard," she muttered high enough for him to listen. This earned her another small laughter from Asher. She then grabbed the menu to hide her smile and started thinking about what to order.