136 Parental Pressure 3 (1/2)

Kyro's expression was normal, though. He didn't seem to think that he had done anything out of ordinary. As if everything was as it should be, he simply leaned back and started to walk down the corridor.

When she didn't follow, he turned back with a puzzled expression. ”Something's wrong?”

She shook her head and caught up to him. ”Nothing.”

'Nothing besides that you're becoming dangerous. Next time think about my fragile heart,' she complained in her head while putting a hand over her heart. It was beating at an unprecedented rhythm.

Luckily, Kyro was walking with his fast steps, so she was slightly behind and he couldn't see what damage his simple words had wrecked. That helped Iris calm down by the time they reached the parking lot and got into his car.

It was strange to sit in the passenger seat like a human, and she shifted her gaze out the window. The sun was still high up, but it had to be late afternoon by then. There was no way only a few hours would have passed since she had left the house.

They didn't talk more, and Iris had expected that to last till the end, so she was quite caught off guard when he said, ”Do you want to go somewhere to eat?”

”What?”

”I thought I'll treat you to a meal for acting like a jerk when you came for my sake. Would you like that?” he asked in a light voice, glancing at her while standing at a red light.

Her nod was instinctive, before she could even think about the offer.

Inside, she screamed at herself for acting like an overeager fool, but it was too late to change it. She just nodded again, slower this time, and smiled. ”It'd be lovely.” After a moment, she added, ”Just nothing too fancy, okay? I'm not dressed for… much.”

His eyes shifted to her for a second, then returned to the road ahead. ”You look fine. Don't think so much.”

A butterfly or two fluttered in Iris' stomach, and she swiftly looked away as well. His words were simple, but the way he said them made it seem like she would have to be crazy to look down on her appearance. It was such an obvious matter that there was no point in wasting any words to say anything.

In some ten minutes, the car stopped in front of a small establishment. It was an old two-story house with a hanging plate to the side with a name 'Iron Pin'. There was nothing on the outside besides that.

When Kyro noticed her surprise, he grinned. ”You said you didn't want anything fancy. It's a place I found that was close enough to reach after lectures, but far enough and out of the way so that no one familiar would bother me.”

”I see.” Iris nodded and got out of the car.

Together, they entered, and Iris was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere inside. There was country music playing softly in the background while the whole interior was like something from the frontier.

Everything was made of wood and seemed ages old. The planks on the ground were cracked and had a smattering of dust, the tables were round, the chairs simple, while the walls had few ornaments. There were dirty glass partitions between some places for an illusion of privacy.

Only a few people were sitting to the right, and they seemed to have come here more to chat and spend away the evening than just eat and leave. They glanced at the newcomers once, then looked away and returned to their own conversation.