Chapter 154 - After Valentine's (1)

~Athens, Greece~

Aiden and Sarah spent the morning cuddling in the bed. They would spend the whole day there, but they need to eat... they reluctantly got out of bed, got ready and headed out to grab some food around lunch time.

...

Sarah and Aiden are sitting in a small restaurant, their two-person table is next to the large glass window, overlooking narrow pedestrian street and an orthodox church across the street. As they finished their food, Sarah pulled her phone to take a picture of them and saw that last night she received number of messages from Vivian.

[Vivian]: "Are you enjoying Greece?"

[Vivian]: "How are things going?"

[Vivian]: "Can you send me some updates, please?"

[Vivian]: "Photos, if possible... I need to see what true love looks like..."

[Vivian]: "I'm miserable... "

[Vivian]: "Don't worry about me. It's just temporary."

[Vivian]: "I hope to see some sweet photos soon xoxox"

Sarah looked at Aiden, "It seems that Vivian is having a hard time." She handed him her phone.

Aiden read the messages and pursed his lips. "It seems that she realized something..."

"That Gabriel is not good for her?", Sarah raised her eyebrows.

Aiden shook his head, "No." Then he smiled and looked at Sarah, "That we are the best couple."

"Be serious...", she squinted her eyes indicating that she is upset because he is going off topic, but her lips were curved into a smile, betraying her.

"I am serious." He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "If there is a scale measuring performance of couples, we would score top marks... in... every... category."

Sarah looked at him with a goofy smile on her face. 'I can't even pretend to be upset at him anymore.' She shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I can think of few things if you are out of ideas", he looked at her suggestively and bit his lower lip playfully.

Sarah's heart started beating faster. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'I'm absolutely smitten with him.'

Sarah's attention shifted toward the sound of a bicycle bell from outside. She opened her eyes and saw a street vendor pushing a bicycle which pulled a small cart. Cart had signs: "Yiaourtopita"*, "Tulumba"**, "Yiaourti me meli"***, and many more. The vendor was selling Greek desserts. Sarah's eyes lit up. "We need to get those!", she leaped out of her chair and rushed outside to stop the vendor.

Aiden helplessly looked after her and shook his head. He called the waiter to pay for the meal, he can't just follow after her, it will seem like they are dashing without paying.

Sarah was talking with the vendor about the desserts, how he makes them and confirmed how fresh they are when she noticed three men standing in a half circle behind her, surrounding her. She assumed they are customers and didn't pay attention to them. She ordered several desserts and watched old man pack them up... then she heard one of the men behind her comment on her bottom and how he wants to grab her. Sarah turned around to face him. He looked at her with a smug smile on his face. Sarah's face was serious, "Move further, you are too close.", she warned him.

"What if I don't want to move?", he asked.

"You want some company? We can show you around.", man on Sarah's left said.

"Yes, we can show you some good fun.", the man in front of Sarah added while looking at her suggestively and checking her out.

"No thank you, I'm not alone.", Sarah responded. She was observing three men sternly. She realized they will not leave just like that. She heard about these types of men, they are locals who look for tourists, focusing on unaccompanied females. They will try to seduce them, and sometimes rob them, or worse if they manage to get them to a secluded location.

"You look like you are alone. At least until we came to give you company...", third man said.

"Don't disturb young lady!", old vendor chimed in.

"You, old man, keep out of this, if you know what's good for you.", the man on Sarah's left barked at him.

Old man moved to stand in front of Sarah, shielding her from three men.

At that time Aiden approached. "Is there a problem?", his icy voice made three men turned toward him.

It was obvious that three men were displeased with Aiden's arrival, but they didn't dare to speak up. Even with their limited intelligence, they could sense that he is dangerous.

Sarah looked at Aiden and her lips stretched into a smile when she saw his protective stance. It's not that she can't handle these three men, but she does not want to cause a commotion in the middle of the street in broad daylight and having Aiden come to her rescue was so romantic. He was so cool. She squealed like a little girl internally as he stood next to her.

"I don't think there are any problems. These three just offered to show me some good fun, but I think they are convinced that we can find fun without them... Right?" Sarah glanced at each of three men. She held Aiden's hand to prevent him from having a go at the them. It was obvious that he is upset and wants to teach those three not to mess with his girl.

Eyes of three men darted between Sarah, Aiden, and vendor before they slowly retreated without a word.

Aiden's glare didn't leave three troublemakers until they disappeared out of sight when they took a turn around the corner. He turned toward Sarah and his expression softened, "How do you always attract trouble when I'm not around?"

She shrugged, "Don't think of me as a helpless girl... but if I did anything, you would lose a chance to save me." Sarah tilted her head and looked at him smiling while her arms circled around his waist, "My knight in shining armor."

Aiden chuckled and hugged her. He liked that she called him her knight in shining armor… and that he got a chance to save her.

They paid for the desserts and gave a generous tip to the vendor before going back to the villa carrying two bags full of sweets.