Mateo drove us to an Italian pizza restaurant not far from his house. The restaurant wasn't some fancy, over the top place, and I felt more relaxed here.

No matter how much I loved trying out Zaveri's food– this was where I belonged; in some old-fashioned pizza place with lively voices coming from the people a few tables from our booth. Here, I was more in my element. I didn't fit in with the rich and powerful, no matter how fun it was to experience that world for a little while.

"Mr. Wright!" A man in the restaurant's uniform walked towards us with a big smile on his face. He was on the older side, maybe in his late fifties. "Good to see you again."

Mateo smiled back. "Carlos, how many times have I told you to call me Mateo?" he greeted.

"Enough times for it to be ignored instead of forgotten," Carlos replied, his eyes widened as they connected with mine. He looked surprised to see me. "Who's the lovely lady?"

"Carlos, this is Emma. Emma, this is Carlos, he owns the restaurant," Mateo introduced us.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. I'll give you two a moment to look at the menu," Carlos said.

"It's nice to meet you too." I gave him a friendly smile, which he returned.

Opening the menu, I looked over at Mateo. "Why did he seem so surprised to see me?"

Mateo caught me off guard when he blushed. It was kind of cute seeing a dominant man like Mateo blush.

"I've never taken a woman here before. I didn't want to share it with someone who's not impor–" He cut himself off, shaking his head slightly. "I usually come here alone, but sometimes the guys join me," he admitted. It seemed like a big deal that he'd brought me here, and I wanted to know why this restaurant was so special.

"So, is this your place then?" I asked.

He looked confused about the question. "I don't own the place or anything if that's what you mean?"

Laughing, I explained, "No, that wasn't what I meant. I have this theory, you see, that everyone has a place where they feel relaxed and at peace. It's somewhere they can seek refuge when they want to get away from all the noise, but it can't be their home, though."

"And what do you base your theory on?" he looked amused, but not in the way that he was making fun of me.

I shrugged. "People I've met. Kevin's place is an arcade here in the city. Claudia, this sweet woman who owns the grocery store near my apartment complex, goes to a friend's house and drink tea. A friend from college has this small café near her home. I got lots more, but you get the gist."

"In that case, yeah, I suppose this is my place. I found it when I started college and needed a break from writing this essay I was struggling with. This restaurant helped me relax, and I went home that day, ready to tackle that damn essay. After that, I just kept coming back. We're not supposed to, but I started bringing my homework with me, and I sat in this booth right here studying. Carlos let me do it, even when he probably lost money by keeping this table unavailable for other guests." Mateo smiled at the memory like it was something fond to remember.

I could picture it; a younger Mateo sitting just where he was sitting now with his nose in a book, and his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"What about you, what's your place?" he asked.

Why I always asked that question to others, knowing I would get it in return, I would never understand. My place was heartbreaking yet peaceful. It was where I went when I wanted to be alone but wouldn't feel alone.

"There's this beautiful park in Queens that I went to once with my grandmother. She was...she had breast cancer, stage four." My eyes was getting watery just by talking about her. "She wanted to go and feed the ducks one last time." I smiled sadly. No matter how much time went by, that day would always bring that beautiful hurt of giving someone their last wish. "She used to do it with grandpa, and when he died, I began going with her instead. After she got diagnosed, she underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and didn't have the strength to feed them any more..."

Mateo reached over and grabbed my hand gently, engulfing mine in his. He kept quiet as I talked, listening, but never pushed.

"One day, she was so adamant that she needed to go and feed them. It was strange, really, how decisive she suddenly was. She couldn't move on her own. She only managed to whisper when she talked, but that day...it was like she'd gained some strength from nowhere and wanted to use it to feed some ducks. It would've been easier to get to Madison square park since it was closer to the hospital. But she wanted to get away from the hospital, if only for a little while. We found the park in Queens, which was apparently far enough away. She didn't want Mom or Dad to join us at the park either, as she had said, it was our thing and not theirs." I laughed at how stubborn that woman could be when she had decided on something, that was something I'd gotten from her.

"I had rolled her down to this bench overlooking a small lake, and we sat there for a while. The sun was shining, and kids were shouting in the background. It was...peaceful. She'd given me half of the duck feed pellets, and we did what we'd gone there to do."

After that trip, she'd smiled for the whole day. I'd woken up the next day to the news that she had passed away during the night.

Mateo reached one hand to my cheek and used his thumb to wipe away my tears. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

This moment right now felt intimate in a way we hadn't been before. He'd seen me naked but baring myself to him emotionally was a whole other thing.

Later, when Carlos returned, we ordered a large pepperoni pizza to share and Pepsi for the both of us. The smell in the restaurant was mouthwatering, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on some greasy pizza slices. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and I was starving.

"Hey...I was going to talk to you guys about something," I said. "Kevin invited me to meet the guy he's dating, Thomas, tomorrow, and we made plans to go out for a couple of drinks."

"It's your own day tomorrow, and we agreed you could do whatever you wanted then," Mateo smiled easily. Sipping his drink while we waited on the food.

"Yeah, I know. It's just...Thomas kind of got the wrong impression. He thinks I'm available, and he invited a friend of his along–a single friend," I informed him.

Mateo turned towards me, a glint in his eyes, and I knew I was in trouble. "Oh, really?"

I jumped as he laid his hand on my bare thigh, squeezing it once before he slid it slowly upwards–inch by freaking inch.

"W-what are you doing?" I stammered, looking around the room, making sure no one was watching us.

"Reminding you who you belong to. Making sure you know how unavailable you really are."

Just out of curiosity, do you have a place of your own? Mine is the nature– anywhere in the nature.