Eden interrupted their dance, putting her two palms against his chest and pushing a bit to get some distance between them. She knows Dante’s sex appeal was a serious threat to her decision-making.
“...I don’t need your money. Nor your possessions.”
“You don’t know that yet. What if things don’t turn out the way we want? We don’t know what will happen. I’m not afraid to die, but I’m afraid you’ll be left... alone again.”
That sentence made Eden shudder. She couldn’t even imagine such a thing. She thought she had become stronger, but now that she had tasted such happiness with Dante and all that safety... She shook her head and dove into his arms again.
“If you’re scared I’ll be left alone, don’t leave me,” she muttered. “You don’t have the right to leave me after you’ve made me addicted to your cooking.”
“Only my cooking?”
Eden didn’t answer that, knowing all too well it would only give him grounds to tease her more. Instead, she heard him chuckle, and he hugged her back. She was surprised he didn’t insist anymore.
“I never win you over in the first round anyway,” he muttered as if he had read her thoughts.
“...Can I eat my risotto now? No more proposals. I just want to eat and drink in peace.”
“Got it.”
Dante grabbed their plates and actually took them to the living space. Because the living room was so large, they had barely hung out there compared to the bedroom, but the bottle-green, velvet sofa was still pretty attractive, with its golden frame and comfortable-looking leather cushions. Dante sat on it, gesturing for Eden to join him, and put the plates on the little table. He grabbed a remote, and to her surprise, after he pushed a few buttons, the decor changed. The lights turned off, the window was covered with a dark filter, and a large screen appeared on the opposite wall.
“Movie night?” he suggested with a smile.
“...You’re trying to get me to give in, aren’t you?”
He smirked, meaning she was right. It was a very convincing display, though. Eden could barely refrain from jumping on the sofa and stealing the remote from his hands to check out the movie catalog. She loved watching movies. The only ones she had ever seen were the few she remembered from when she still lived in the Core with her mother or the few she had seen on the very small vintage TV in Jack’s bar. From what she could see on the widescreen, Dante had access to hundreds of movies, even those the Core had prohibited that could only be found illegally. Because hackers knew their value and sold them, Eden herself had only ever bought a handful of them.
“Eden.”
Realizing she was still standing in the middle of the living room, she rushed without running to put her glass down on the table and sit next to him, her eyes wide open and riveted on the screen. Dante handed her the remote with a smile while standing again to go get his own glass and the bottle. For a while, Eden was overwhelmed with the selection of movies. There were so many, she had no idea where to begin. Some she had been curious about, dying to see, and some she’d never heard of. Amused, Dante simply sat next to her, eating his risotto while letting her admire the selection.
“The Godfather?” she chuckled, glancing at Dante. “It would be fitting for you.”
“Of all movies, you’d pick such an old one?”
“I love old movies... It shows us how life was so different back then. Is there one you like?”
“Not really... I think this is my first time using this for entertainment.”
“I should have known... Oh, Jack mentioned this one is one of his favorites, but we couldn’t find it anywhere.”
She selected the movie, which was actually named Chicago and in color, but still over a century old... Despite crossing her ankles on the couch and grabbing her plate, Eden ate very slowly, completely absorbed in the movie from the very first minute. Dante, who had finished eating long before her, simply watched it with her, an arm around her waist and regularly refilling their glasses. He paid much less attention to the movie than he did to Eden’s reactions. She was fascinated like a young child, laughing at the jokes, getting angry for the characters, and commenting on the locations she recognized. The young woman didn’t even notice her lover’s stare for the length of the whole movie. When she was done, still with some food on her plate, she didn’t even wait and excitedly picked another movie. Dante stood up, not bothered by how she had completely ignored him, and went to the kitchen to prepare dessert. From behind the counter, he could see Eden, enjoying herself while watching the movie. The puppies, awakened from their nap in the bedroom by the movie’s sounds, ran into the living room with excited little barks. Neither of them spotted their mistress on the couch at first but were more interested in the smells coming from the kitchen, and carefully approached Dante. They stood at a careful distance from the imposing man they weren’t too familiar with, but he didn’t mind them; in fact, he even fed them some of the leftover chicken on the floor, and let them play around him while he finished preparing the dessert.
When he brought the two new dishes to the table, Eden’s attention finally shifted.
“What’s this?” she asked, allured by the smell too.
“Panforte.”
Intrigued, she quickly took a bite, without realizing how hot it was. She panicked, her tongue burning, and kept huffing and trying to fan her mouth. Dante chuckled, before suddenly diving in to kiss her, using his tongue to take the bite from her and eat it. A bit shocked, but still teary from the hot food, Eden grimaced.
“You didn’t have to do that... It’s a bit gross... and it was really hot too.”
“It just came out of the oven,” he chuckled, “and I’m fine. I don’t get burned.”
“Not burned? What do you mean?”
“I really don’t feel pain. My pain receptors don’t work,” he said, “or more accurately, they were... turned off. Another gift from my father.”
