Page 68 of Forever Fascinating

“Thank you for supporting me and helping pay for it.”

“I figured it was only fair,” he replied, the corner of his lip tilting upwards slightly. “You forgive me for the room issue last night?”

“I already said so,” she whispered, before looking away. “I’m a mess and you’re ready to go. Let me get my shower and I’ll meet you downstairs in about twenty minutes or so.”

“You look lovely,” he countered, touching her cheek for a split second before his hand fell away. “Are you up for an adventurous breakfast? I don’t know what they have downstairs, but I was planning on loading up two plates, so we made sure to have something.”

“Yes – anything is fine by me.”

“Perfect,” he smiled as she looked up at him. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

She nodded and closed the hotel room door behind him, before heading directly to the bathroom to get ready.

Twenty minutes later, her hair in a ponytail because it was taking forever to dry, wearing a New England Patriots T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers she was looping her purse over her shoulder as she was making her way down the stairs, only to see Matthew sitting alone at one of the wrought iron tables in what looked to be a garden alcove.

The doors were open to the bottom floor, creating a breeze, and she could see that the enclosed patio was much of the same style as the building. Stucco walls looked almost ancient or crumbling and there was a wall of bamboo creating a natural privacy wall, large leaves of another plant making the environment lush, and what looked like a few banana trees were present.

There was a slatted portico that covered a small outdoor settee, and a fountain was bubbling in the corner, making the entire idyllic scene almost romantic.

Matthew looked up and rose to his feet. His beautiful eyes met hers and that smile touched a spot in her heart that fluttered wildly.

“Hey… good morning,” he said instantly, holding out his hand towards her as she drew close. Unexpectedly he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, before nervously backing away, making her knees weak. “I got you a little bit of everything and wanted to wait for you. Can I get you some more coffee?”

“If you’ll just point me in the direction, I can…”

“I don’t mind,” he offered softly. “It’s nice to do this.”

“Oh,” she smiled shyly and nodded. “I would love a cup, if you are having another one?”

“Yep – and getting us a few bottles of water to take with us.”

Nodding, she took a seat at the table and studied her plate. There were several different items on there and picking one up, she heard Matthew speak as he came to sit back down.

“Apparently those are calledpischies– and they are fried pastries. This one,” he began, pointing at his own plate, “Is called abougatsaand is stuffed with custard. The one right beside it is filled with a beef mixture.”

“Did you say beef?” she asked, picking it up and smelling it before taking a bite. There was an explosion of flavor on her tongue, causing her eyes to roll in happiness as she chewed. “Ohhhh Matthew, this is incredible.”

“I’m glad you at least tried it,” he chuckled. “I thought he said beef, but that can be a lot of things… like lamb, pork…dog…”

Jana coughed, immediately covering her mouth, and laughing as she saw his teasing smile.

“I’m only kidding,” he chuckled. “I’ve already eaten two of them and think they are divine. I’m not sure what spices are in there, but it’s amazing.”

“Oh, they are…” she breathed, taking another bite.

“Youmighthave had two on your plate at one point…”

She laughed easily, smiling at his rueful expression as he shrugged, before looking up at her shyly. He held up his cup of coffee towards her in a mock toast.

“To adventures with my best friend,” he said gently.

“To our adventures together,” she replied happily, not even fazed by Matthew’s choice of words or that he called her a friend – because she had done the same.

It felt weird to her, almost child-like, saying she had a ‘boyfriend’… even though that is what he was to her. She couldn’t imagine anyone else in her life and by the little things he did, she knew it was the same for him.

The finished their breakfast and burst out onto the busy street, hand in hand, walking towards the monuments that were about ten or eleven blocks away. As they walked, they talked, pointed out things to each other, and Jana took several photographs.

The couple darted in a few shops to look at things, but by the time they got to the third or fourth little shop, she realized that most of the souvenirs were very similar to the other stores. Fake little statues, keychains, pens with gold torque, stickers of Greece, and of course engraved Zippo lighters.

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