Chapter 13
1569 Words
Sophia did not really care where Steven was taking her, she couldn’t bring herself to go up to her apartment all alone. She replayed all the plans she had made for her and Eric’s anniversary, including her telling him that she was ready to move in with him. She had had everything planned. Because she owned the apartment, she was going to lease it out or turn it into an Airbnb so that it could bring income to help her pay the mortgage faster. No one knew about that plan, and she was thankful for it.
Steven drove back into the city to a small diner tucked away in the busy streets. “She has the best waffles and ice cream in the city,” he told her as he stopped the car there. The Mercedes stood like a sore thumb before the seemingly family-owned diner.
“How did you ever find this place?” Sophia asked as she followed him in.
“Letty has been here for a very long time,” Steven held the door open for her. “Before I had a dollar to my name.”
“Oh, Steve!” A bubbly voice came as they approached the counter.
“Letty, how are you?” Steven smiled at the elderly woman. She seemed to be in her seventies, with a head full of white hair and a smile to rival the sun. “Still keeping the late hours, I see.”
“No sleep for the wicked, I always say,” Letty’s eyes twinkled. “I see you’ve brought me a new friend.” Her eyes landed on Sophia, who was hanging back.
Steven turned and smiled at her. He held his hand out to her, pulling her closer to introduce her to the older woman, “this is Sophia. She wanted to taste your famous waffles and ice cream.”
Letty clapped her hands together in excitement. “You have come at the right time. There is a warm batch just waiting for you. Sit wherever you want, and I will be with you shortly.”
Steven nodded before leading the way to some booths at the end of the diner. They were overlooking the huge window.
“I can’t believe this place has existed this whole time, and I never knew about it,” Sophia looked out of the window. “My office is about three blocks from here.”
“Well, I am sure that once you taste her food, you will be coming here,” Steven replied as he leaned back, resting his arm on the leather booth seat. His eyes studied her, unwavering.
Sophia fought the blush and won. She subconsciously pushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear, “what?”
Steven shook his head, not saying a word.
Sophia rolled her eyes, “did someone ever tell you that you can be intimidating sometimes?”
“Only sometimes?” Steven raised an eyebrow at her before smiling a little. “And yes, a few times. I could never for the life of me understand why, though.”
“It’s the way you stare,” Sophia stated before she could stop herself. “I-I mean, you are looking at me all serious and all.”
Steven inclined his head slightly, “then I apologize for that.” Even though he did apologize for how he looked at her, he did not stop. “How are you?”
Sophia blinked at him, uncertain of what she could say. Biting the inside of her lip, she shook her head while her shoulders did a slight shrug, “Regretting the alcohol leaving my body, to be honest. At least that way I was numb to it all.”
“Alcohol is never the answer,” Steven replied. He looked up and smiled as Letty walked towards them with two plates.
“Here you go, lovies,” Letty stated as she set their plates down. “Wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I set you up with Steve’s favorite.”
Sophia smiled at the woman, “Thank you. This looks delish!”
“Well, enjoy!” Letty left them alone.
Sophia looked at her plate, salvating at the food before her. She reached for her fork and knife and dug in. The first taste caused her to moan and close her eyes. “Oh my! This is so good!” She smiled at Steven, noticing he hadn’t tasted his food yet. “Why aren’t you eating?”
Steven’s eyes were on her, his face unreadable, “I was waiting for the verdict.”
Sophia shook her head, the smile growing to a grin, “oh, this is a ten!” She took another bite, closing her eyes and doing a little dance.
Steven watched her for a few more seconds before digging into his own plate. “I am glad you are enjoying yourself.”
Sophia smiled, sadness clouding her gaze, “thank you.”
Placing his fork down, Steven sat back and studied her for a bit, “no thanks necessary. I told you that I would be here if you needed someone to talk to; I meant it. I know a thing or two about broken hearts. And even though there might be differences between what relationships were back then and now that talking about situations has my head hurting sometimes, I think the pain is still the same.”
Sophia nodded, lowering her head to hide her teary eyes from the man before her. “How long?” Her voice was so low as if she was scared of the answer.
“Mmh?”
Sophia looked up at him, fighting so hard to stop the tears from falling, “how long did it take you to forget about her? For the pain to go away?”
Steven gave her a small, sad smile, “Too long to be honest. She was the woman I had chosen to spend my life with, to be the mother of my children. Her betrayal was something I never thought would happen.” Steven took a deep breath and nodded a bit. “Getting out of any relationship is hard, especially when you are the one who is in the dark. It’s a process, and it’s best to go through each step of it.”
Sophia shook her head, “I want to go to the last part of the process. To forget about them and move on with my life.”
“It’s not that simple,” Steven replied. “However you decide, know you have someone to fall back into.”
Sophia nodded. She stared at him briefly before whispering, “Thank you.”
Steven gave her a curt nod and pointed to her plate, “Your ice cream is melting.”
Sophia chuckled, “so is yours!”
For the next hour, they chatted about any and everything. They sampled some of Letty’s cookies before Sophia fell asleep right there in the booth.
“She is a bit too young, isn’t she?” Letty observed as Steven paid for their bill by the counter.
Steven turned to the sleeping girl. In the course of the night, her hair had come undone, and it was now covering her face like a curtain. A smile appeared on his face before he turned to Letty, “I have no idea what you mean.”
Letty snorted, “I have not seen that spark in your eyes in a very long time, Steve, and I have known you for a very long time.”
Steven shook his head, “she is Eric’s ex-girlfriend. He broke up with her earlier this week.”
“Oh, that poor soul!” Letty’s hand rested on her chest as her gaze returned to the sleeping girl. “She seems such a joy.”
“Always observant,” Steven placed his hands on the counter and leaned forward. “Truth be honest, I feel the need to protect her. If I could take the pain of heartache away, I would.”
“Mmmh,” Letty smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.
Steven laughed, “No. None of that, Letty.”
“What are you talking about?” Letty faked innocence.
“Do you really believe that I don’t know you have been trying to send women my way every chance I get to come here?”
Letty chuckled, “And here I thought I was being subtle. I want you to move on, Steve. It’s too lonely being alone.”
Steven nodded, “Only when the time is right, and the right person shows up.”
“She might have already shown up, but as usual, you are just being too stubborn to see it,” Letty replied. “Open your eyes, man!”
“Steven?” A sleepy voice called. Sophia had woken up but didn’t see Steven in front of her.
“Here,” Steven called at her from where he stood. “I was about to come and wake you up. I think it’s time to go now.”
Sophia nodded before collecting her things and walking towards them. “Thank you, Letty. I am sure to come back here again.”
“Any time, lovie,” Letty smiled as she waved at them, her eyes sparkling as she watched Steven gently guide the young woman out.
- Writer
