Page 40 of Keeping Zita

Zita chuckled as she saw the number of takeout menus. She shuffled through them and decided on an Italian place that had the most delicious-looking picture of a plate of spaghetti piled high with sauce and meatballs. Intellectually, she realized that the real thing probably wouldn’t live up to what the picture advertised, but she was starving and craving some carbs.

“Good choice,” Sage said with a grin. “I order from here all the time. They know me well. And for the record, their pasta is homemade, which makes all the difference in the world.”

After she told him what she wanted, Sage made the call to the restaurant. He could’ve used one of the food delivery apps, but it seemed the restaurant had their own delivery drivers, and they definitely knew Sage. Whoever he was speaking with seemed to know him personally, because he laughed several times while giving his order.

He hung up and said, “It’ll take about thirty minutes or so for them to get here.”

“Sounds good.”

“And before you think I went overboard and ordered enough for twelve people, Teresa, the owner, was curious as to why I was ordering two dinners instead of one tonight, and when she heard I was on a date, she got all giddy and told me she was going to ‘take care of us.’ I’m a little afraid of what that means, but most likely it’s probably extra bread, meatballs, and possibly even a side dish or two thrown in for free.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Zita said, secretly more pleased than she wanted to admit that it seemed as if Sage dating wasn’t a normal occurrence.

“You want to start the first movie while we wait? They’re kind of long. I thought we’d start with the original movies, even though technically they aren’t the first ones in the chronological series. The timeline of the films is a little confusing, but my favorites are still the old school ones. They aren’t as full of CGI, and they’re where I learned my love for the franchise.”

“Whatever you suggest.”

“Again, the movies are longish, around two hours each, and we won’t be able to get through them all tonight, but hopefully you’ll enjoy what we get through enough to want to continue watching the others later.”

“I’m sure I will. I’m easily entertained, although I don’t have a lot of time to watch movies, or read, or catch up on the shows that are so popular these days.”

“Same. I like my sleep too much.”

Zita grinned. “You too?”

He returned her happy smile. “Definitely. And luckily, I’m a good sleeper. Meaning, I fall asleep fast and can almost always sleep through the night.”

“That’s awesome. I’m the same. Except maybe after some especially gnarly calls.”

He sobered. “Yeah. Sometimes when I get home from a mission that either went sideways or someone got hurt or almost ended badly, I’m the same way.”

Zita was having a hard time wrapping her mind around how compatible she and Sage seemed to be. But what was the old saying? Opposites attract? If they were too alike, did that mean they would have issues if they actually tried to take a serious shot at dating?

She shook the thought off. It was too early for that. She and Sage were simply getting to know each other tonight. Not planning their wedding and how many kids they wanted.

“Pick a seat and I’ll get us some drinks. I’ve got lemonade, water, coffee, and various flavored teas.”

“Oh, I’d love a tea. Surprise me.”

He nodded and turned to flick on an electric kettle on the counter, which had been hidden behind the air fryer.

Zita wandered into the living area and looked around. She could choose the love seat or one of the oversized chairs. Both had pros and cons.

She decided on the big chair…because all she could picture was her and Sage sharing it.

When he entered the room with two mugs in his hand, she smiled at him and asked, “Can these oversized chairs hold two people?”

He grinned back before saying, “I don’t know. I’ve never attempted it.”

His words made Zita feel all warm and fuzzy. Knowing he hadn’t snuggled with another woman in either of his chairs meant something to her. “Shall we find out?”

“Hell yes,” he said under his breath. Then he held out one of the mugs to her. “Try this, see if it’s to your liking. If not, I can brew something different.”

Zita took the cup from him and inhaled the steam coming from the tea. “Mmmm. This smells great.”

“Vanilla almond. It’s one of my favorites.”

Taking a sip, Zita almost moaned. “It’s delicious.”