Chapter 9 - Chapter Nine

“Where are you taking me?” Arianne asked him while Luca dragged her along.

“To a park nearby.”

Ari gaped at him. “Why?”

“Well…” He stopped. “Where do you want to go?”

Ari looked at him like he was crazy. “I don’t know. I’ve never been here before.”

“Well then, we’ll just have to make do with the park then, won’t we?”

Ari sighed in frustration but gave in and fell into step beside him. Luca slipped his hand down from her wrist to her hand to lace his fingers with hers. Ari looked down at her hand, and frowned at him. He ignored it and continued walking down the street, swinging their clasped hands back and forth gently.

Luca led her into another street and into an old, abandoned park, with only a set of swings in it.

Ari raised her eyebrows. “Of all the parks you could have taken me to, you chose this one?”

Luca shrugged. “It’s quiet here. Very peaceful.”

He led her to the swings, and letting go of her hand, put both of his own on her waist, one on each side so that he was standing behind her. He sat down on one of the swings, pulling her down with him, and started swinging gently.
Ari laughed in surprise, protesting. “No, don’t! I’m afraid of heights!” she shrieked, but Luca gave her a grin and as they soared higher and higher into the air, Luca’s arms tightened around her so that she wouldn’t fall off. She leaned against his chest, trying to relax and closing her eyes, and at that moment, she felt safe.

Luca Rayners, brother of best friend—ex-best friend?—model student, head prefect, basically every girl’s dream guy…was sharing a swing with her in the park. She was almost dizzy with joy. Or maybe it must be because she was afraid of heights.

Yeah, it must be the heights.

After an immeasurable period of time—at least, that’s what it felt like to Ari—Luca slowed the swing into a stop.

“Do you want something to eat?” He asked her.

She frowned. “Didn’t we just eat breakfast like, four hours ago?”

Luca raised an eyebrow. “No, I ate breakfast four hours ago. You stared at your breakfast four hours ago and tipped it down the sink when you thought no one was watching.”

Ari pursed her lips, annoyed. “And I thought I was being subtle,” she admitted.

Luca smirked. “Oh, you were. I’m just a really observant person.”

Ari rolled her eyes. “I’m never hungry in the mornings.”

“Come on,” Luca said, “let’s go get something to eat. I don’t like anorexic girls.”

Ari shot him a glare. “I am not anorexic,” she declared, giving him the evils.

“Whatever you say,” He said, grinning at her and taking her hand. “Let’s go. I know a nice place somewhere nearby.”

They were walking past a dark alley when suddenly a boy and a girl leapt out behind them and dragged them into the valley. The girl had locked Arianne’s wrists behind her, and had held a knife to her neck.

“Give us your money, or your lady friend here dies,” she hissed to Luca.

“You heard her,” snapped the boy, who was holding Luca in the same position. “Hurry up, we don’t have all day.”

Luca calmly reached up, and twisted the boy’s arm so that the knife was no longer held against his neck, but against the boy’s neck. He was about to land a punch on the boy’s stomach, when he frowned and straightened up. “Colin?” He asked, letting go of the boy’s arm.

The boy—well, Colin—dropped the knife when his eyes’ widened in recognition. “Luca...sir…I’m sorry, I didn’t recognise you. I—I wasn’t thinking…”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “Damn straight you weren’t thinking,” he growled. “Are you going to let go of my friend?” He asked, nodding his head in Arianne’s direction.

Colin turned to the girl who was still holding Arianne. “Drop her, you twit!” He hissed. He turned to Luca again. “Sir, I…I’m so sorry. Please…please don’t k-kill me.”

Luca regarded him with coldly, his midnight blue eyes piercing. “Right now, I can’t even be bothered to do such a thing. You’re fired. Both of you.”

Colin dropped down to the ground on his knees, tears forming in his eyes. “Please sir, have mercy. I was…I was only following orders…”

Luca raised an eyebrow. “Did I order you to try to mug me and my friend?”

“No…” Colin looked up at him beseechingly. “We were following Dace’s orders.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “So you follow Dace’s orders now, do you?”

Colin began to tremble. “No, sir, no…” he hastened to explain, stumbling over his words. “He threatened to kill us all…”

Luca gritted his teeth. “I should have known. Very well, take a week off work, but before you do that, arrange a meeting with Dace and me…in an hour, right here.” He narrowed his eyes. “My orders. I’m assuming that Dace will be standing here in an hour, since you carry out orders so well.”

Colin stood up, visibly relieved. “Thank you sir, thank you…I’ll do as you say right away. Thank you, thank you…” he turned and hurtled himself out off the alley and down the street.

Luca turned to the girl, who had turned ghostly pale. “Leyla, right?” He asked the girl. She nodded, her face getting more ashen by the second.

“Make sure he does his job, Leyla. Then take a week off work as well,” he said. Then he paused. “But if he doesn’t get the job done, you’re to blame as well.” He narrowed his eyes.

Leyla all but curtsied and after gushing her thanks, ran off after Colin.

Luca turned to Arianne, who was staring at him open-mouthed. He smiled weakly and held his hands up in the air. “I promise I won’t kill you.”

Arianne managed to stop gaping at him like a fish. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me? You know, other than being the leader of some underground mob?”

“Erm…no?”

“Why…wha—how? How did you manage to form an underground mob when you don’t even live here?”

“Well,” Luca grinned. “I told you that I came here fairly often, didn’t I?”

Arianne shot him a look. “Define ‘fairly often’.”

Luca bit his lip. “Every day after school, and on weekends?”

“Is that why I never see you at school on Friday after lunch?”

Luca raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s always Maths on Friday afternoons, and I’m good at math, so I can skip it.” Then he smirked. “So you look for me every day then? Do you long to see me every Friday afternoon?”

Ari rolled his eyes and gave a frustrated sigh. “I’m hungry,” she said, abruptly changing the subject.

Luca chuckled. “Come on then, there’s a restaurant around a few streets away.”

He led her into a formal-looking restaurant.

“We can’t go in there,” Ari protested. “We don’t have a reservation. Besides, I’m not dressed for it.”

Luca raised an eyebrow. “Me neither, but when you’re Luca Rayners,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at his name, “it doesn’t matter.”

Ari rolled her eyes, but let herself be dragged into the dim-lit restaurant.

“Mr. Rayners!” A waitress appeared instantly. “It’s so nice to have you here at Deliciously Divine again,” she gushed.

“Tell me something, Loraine. Does it matter that we’re underdressed?”

“Of course not,” Loraine said, simpering sweetly. “In fact, Mr. Rayners, I think you’re dressed just fine.”

Arianne stifled a giggle. So much for being subtle, then. Apparently, Luca shared her amusement, and he turned to give her a wink. Then he turned back to Loraine. “And does it matter that we don’t have a reservation?”

“Oh no, Mr. Rayners. You’re welcome here any time.”
Luca smiled. “Good. Table for two, please, Loraine.” He leant close to her, and lowered his voice, as if telling her a secret. “May I request for the corner table?” He asked Loraine.

Loraine looked down at her seating chart. “I’m…I’m sure I can arrange it, Mr. Rayners,” she said. “Please wait for a minute.” She turned and fled to the reception, and after a while, she came back smiling. “This way, please.”

She led them to the corner table of the restaurant, where it was almost empty, except for another couple who seemed like they were more interested in each other’s tonsils than their food.

Luca winked at Loraine and flashed a smile at her. “Thanks, Loraine. I knew you’d manage it.”

Loraine all but melted onto the floor. She handed them their menus before disappearing into the kitchen.

Arianne and Luca were looking through their menus and shooting snarky comments at each other (for example, “you shouldn’t eat the boiled squid, because you’re not supposed to eat your own kind.”) when they heard a pompous man arguing at the front desk.

“What do you mean, my table has been taken?” He was bellowing. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, of course, Mr. Garrett,” Loraine was gushing. I’m terribly sorry; it’s just that Mr. Rayners turned up suddenly, and he requested that—”

“Mr. Rayners? You mean that insufferable boy? You let that boy take my seat? I demand to see him now!”

Arianne raised her eyebrows and frowned in worry as Loraine was walking towards them. “Who’s Mr. Garrett? Should we move?”

Luca waved away her suggestion. “He’s just the boss of this really big bank…The Garrett Brothers? I’ve met him once or twice. Not a very nice guy.”

Ari’s eyes widened. “You took away the boss of The Garrett Brothers’ table?”

Luca smirked. “I can do even better,” he said as Loraine came to stand at their table.

“Mr. Rayners, I’m sorry, but Mr. Garrett wishes to speak to you.”

Luca raised his eyebrows at Loraine. “I’m sorry, Loraine. I’m on a date, a date which I will not ruin just to bicker with Mr. Garrett. In fact, he is disturbing us and your other customers. I suggest that you remove him from this restaurant before he attracts any bad attention and gives Deliciously Divine a bad reputation.” He smiled sympathetically. “You wouldn’t want that now, would you? It would be horrible if that happened, a lot of people would stop coming,” he said smoothly, his tone suggesting that he would be one of those people.

Loraine opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Luca grinned. She knew it was no use arguing with Luca Rayners. There was no point. He always won. Always. “I’m sorry to interrupt your meal, Mr. Rayners,” she said.

Luca nodded his head graciously, and Loraine took it as her cue to leave.

Ari stared at him, her eyes wide. “You ordered her to send away the boss of The Garrett Brothers?”

Luca smirked and was about to say something, but he was interrupted by and outraged squawk.

“Are you sending me away? You fool! I’ll have you fired like a sack of potatoes!”

Ari stifled giggles. “Poor Loraine.”

Luca grinned. “You mean poor me.”

“What do you mean, poor you?”

Luca raised an eyebrow. “Guess who’s going to come to have a little tête-à-tête with me in two minutes along with his favourite pals Body Odour and Stinky Breath.”

Ari collapsed into another fit of giggles.

“I demand to talk that boy right now! Right now!” Mr. Garrett was screaming.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Garrett, but—”

“You useless fool! Get out of my way,” he fumed, pushing Loraine away and heading towards Luca and Ari. Luca grinned and shot Ari a look that said I-told-you-so.

Ari bit her lip. “You’ll be fine, right?” She asked him. “We won’t get into trouble?”

Luca grinned. “Of course I’m going to be fine. In fact, this is going to be fun. Don’t worry about it.”

Ari was about to say something along the lines of “I really don’t think so” when Mr. Garrett stomped over to their table.

“Rayners,” he fumed. “What are you doing at my table?”

“Bertie!” Luca grinned cheerfully. “How nice to see you again. How are you doing these days? Still having fun sucking the money out of people?”

“Rayners, I’m not in the mood. I want an answer.”

Luca continued to smile cheerfully at him. “So we’re skipping pleasantries now, are we? I had no idea we were that close, Bertie. I’m glad.”

“It’s Mr. Garrett, if you please,” Garrett fumed.

“Ah, but you see, Bertie, the thing is…well, I don’t please. In fact, the only person I do please is myself, which I believe I’m going so right now. I mean, I’m certainly having fun. Aren’t you?”

Ari tried not to laugh out loud as smoke practically poured out of Garrett’s ears.

“Rayners, I have a very important lunch date with a very important client.”

“Well, Bertie, what a coincidence. I have a lunch date, too.”

“Go sit somewhere else, Rayners. I reserved this table.”

“Go sit somewhere else, Bertie. I came here first.”

Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “Rayners, my client is coming in five minutes. I can’t afford to lose this deal.”
“Huh, but you can afford everything else.”

Ari tried to muffle her giggles, but Garrett heard and he whipped around and rounded on her. “Listen, dog,” he hissed. “This is none of your business. Stay out of the way or you’ll regret it, you hear me?”

Ari heard Luca snarl. “Garrett, when you talk to my date, you’re to go through me first,” he said calmly in an ominous voice. Garrett took a look at Luca and backed off a bit from Ari immediately. Ari looked at Luca and understood why. Luca’s midnight blue eyes had darkened so that they had turned almost black, and they sparked. She wouldn’t want to have him glare at her now.

Luca leaned in close to Garrett. “Apologise to my friend,” he hissed.

Garrett puffed up and stood next to Ari. “I will do no such thing, Rayners. Give me back my table.”

Luca seemed to look behind Garrett for a second, but he quickly looked back. He smirked. “Fine. I asked you nicely, but since you wouldn’t know manners even if it slapped you in the face, I don’t think I have a choice.” He looked at Ari. “Are you okay?”

Ari nodded.

“Okay, can you please scream?”

Ari looked at him. “What?”

Luca look slightly irritated. “Ari, scream.”

Ari looked at him like he had grown another head, but she obliged.

Luca suddenly sprang to action. He started shouting. “Mr. Garrett? Mr. Garret, stop! Get off her! Stop! Somebody help me get this paedophile off of my girlfriend!”

Quick as a flash, Garrett backed away from Ari, his face darkening to a deep beetroot red as Loraine and other waiters came to Luca’s rescue.

Luca smirked, and nodded his head in the direction of the door. “Garrett, I believe that your client is suddenly leaving in a hurry?”

Garrett looked at his client’s quickly retreating back and turned back to Luca in fury. “I’ll remember this, Rayners,” he hissed.

Luca waved away the threat. “Take a picture, write it down, videotape it, I don’t care. Stop interrupting my meal.”

Garrett cursed the waiters with every name under the sun as they escorted him away. Luca sat calmly down at the table and began to order as if nothing had happened.

“What would you like?” He asked Ari.

“Er…spaghetti bolognaise, please,” she uttered, naming the first food that popped into her head.

“I’ll have the same. Thank you, Loraine.” Loraine took their menus and left.

“Firstly, I can’t believe you did that to him. Secondly, I’m not your date, nor am I your girlfriend. Thirdly…I can’t believe you did that to him!”
“Well, he was being an @$$.”

“But still, you have to show some kind of respect.”

“I show respect to those who deserve my respect. Well, I don’t mean my respect specifically. I mean any kind of respect. If people keep showing him respect even though he doesn’t deserve it, well, he’s going to take it for granted. And right now, he is. So I’m just trying to remind him that he’s human, like the rest of us, and he’ll get our respect when he earns it.”

“Thanks…for helping me just now.” Ari blushed.

Luca grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I quite enjoy being the knight in shining armour saving the damsel in distress.”

Ari rolled her eyes at the cliché just as Loraine set down their food in front of them.

“Do you mind if we eat a little quicker? I have to meet Dace in half an hour.” Luca looked at her apologetically. “You don’t have to come, but I just want to make sure you’re going to be okay.” He smirked. “Besides, someone’s got to make sure you stop laughing at bosses of important companies, right?”

Ari glared mockingly at him before grinning and eating a mouthful of spaghetti. “I’ll come with you. We’ll be okay, right? I mean, we’re not going to get hurt or anything, right? I don’t know why, but Dace seems…dangerous.”

Luca smiled reassuringly at her. “I’m not going to let him hurt you,” he said, sounding less sure than he had when she asked him about Garrett.

Ari also noticed he didn’t say anything for his own safety, but she didn’t ask. She had a feeling that the more she got to know Luca, the more dangerous she realised he was—which sadly, didn’t make him any less unattractive.

She turned her attention back to Luca, who was looking at her apologetically again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This wasn’t the ideal first date I had in mind for us.”

Ari raised her eyebrows at the word date, but she didn’t comment on it. “Well, think of it this way. At least I’m not going to forget it in a hurry.” She looked at him. “I’m curious, though. What was the ideal first date you had in mind for us?”

Luca grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.” He ate another mouthful of spaghetti, as if thinking it over. Which he wasn’t, because he’d been thinking—and dreaming—about it a lot. Which of course, he wasn’t going to admit any time soon.

“Well, I guess it would be something like this one. I would have taken you to the park, and then to this restaurant. I don’t think nearly getting mugged and getting into a fight with Garrett would be on the schedule, though. Then I would have brought you to some typical romantic yet sappy place people go on dates.” He raised an eyebrow and smirked at the word sappy. “For example, the beach. There are very few people there at night, which is surprising, because it really is beautiful then. We could do that after I take care of Dace, if you want.”

Ari blushed and concentrated on her lunch. “What do you mean by taking care of Dace?” She asked, trying to change the subject.

Luca didn’t answer her at first, twirling spaghetti around his fork. “I don’t know. It depends.”

Ari’s mind flashed back to the moment when Colin had recognised Luca. “Please…please don’t k-kill me,” the boy had begged him, terrified. Ari shuddered at the realisation of how easily Luca could kill her right now if he wanted to.

Luca, sensing her discomfort, reached across the table and lifted her chin gently. “Arianne, I’m not going to hurt you. And I’m not going to let anybody else hurt you, either. I can swear on my life on that. But I understand it if you’re afraid of me. If you want, I can take you home, and I’ll leave. You’ll never have to talk to me again.” His voice was genuine.

Ari looked up from her food and found herself lost once more in his midnight blue eyes, his gaze as sincere as his tone. “No, I’m fine,” she found herself saying. “I’m coming with you.”

Luca smiled and leaned back against his seat. “Then we better finish our lunch.”

They ate in silence, and after Luca paid the bill, they headed towards the alley.

Luca stopped suddenly about a street away from the alley, looking worried.

Ari looked at him. “Are you okay?” Luca nodded wordlessly, still standing there. “Luca, you’ll be okay, right?”

“You’re going to be okay.” Luca grinned at her, but Ari noticed something different in his smile. It was tensed up. She also noticed that he had once more neglected to say anything for his own safety. “Let’s go,” she said, taking his hand. “We’ll be late.”

Luca looked down at their clasped hands, surprised, but he didn’t pull away.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ari saw Luca smile softly down at her.

A quick, sweet, gentle, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile.

A smile that he hadn’t intended on letting her see, but she saw it anyway.

She pretended that she hadn’t.

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