Chapter 3

I was smiling all day long the next day. I couldn't wait for my date with John. I gave him a call on my lunch break and told him the address of the office. He knew exactly where it was. It was actually not too far away from his family's restaurant. It was just a few blocks away, actually. But I was super excited.

"I have not seen you this excited since you got the job here," Amy said. We were both at our desks eating our lunches.

"I know," I said. "I really like John. He's hot, funny, sweet, and I know what need to know about him to go out on a date with him."

"He passed the background check?" Amy joked.

"Yep. I know his name, his occupation, his hobbies, his life goals, his intentions and whether he drinks or smokes."

"Tell me what his life goals and intentions are."

"You don't know that yourself?"

"I want to know what he told you."

"Life goals: to live a happy, healthy life with family and friends. Intentions: make me his girlfriend."

Amy nodded her head. "Yes, that is correct for him. He wants a girlfriend. He likes the companionship."

"Well, that's good to know."

"Trish, I wouldn't have wanted to set you two up if I knew he just wanted some bedroom action."

"I know. But I'd like some of that with this deal."

Amy smiled. "One step at a time."

"Second date?"

Amy laughed. I just grinned.

Amy and I were ready to leave at 6 o'clock. We were at a place where our boss didn't need us to work late just yet. That was nice. I knew that would change. Every case varied on if the case was going to be huge or small. He was working on small ones at the moment.

"Good evening, ladies," I heard someone say.

I looked over and smiled. John walked up to both me and Amy.

"Hi," I smiled.

"Hey," John smiled back.

"Okay, you two have fun," Amy said. "I'll see you when you get home." She then walked away.

"Bye, Amy," John said. He then turned his attention to me. "Ready for dinner?"

"Yeah, I'm starving," I said.

"Good."

John and I then walked out of the building.

"You look very nice," John said.

"Thank you," I said. "I have to dress the part as a legal assistant." I was wearing a purple dress today with black heels. I had worn my hair half up today. I had gone into the bathroom and fixed it too before Amy and I was ready to leave.

"How was work today?"

"It was just fine. How was your day off?"

"Great. I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work tomorrow, though."

"What's the typical schedule for you?"

"I mainly do day shifts. But I sometimes do night shifts. I might even work double shifts some times."

"That must suck," I said.

"Not really. If I work a double shift, I usually get the next day off."

"What made you want to be a cop?"

"I actually wanted to go into the military, but I was too scared of getting sent overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan. I became a cop instead, because I would not have to worry about going overseas or anything. The job is just as dangerous, yes, but I'd still be near family."

"I can understand that. Why did your brother become a cop and your other brother a fire man?"

"Matt became a fire man, because he loved it when he was a little kid in school and fire fighters came to teach him about fire safety. Violence, crime and drugs among kids are what got Dan into it. He does a great deal with young kids. He volunteers at a youth center trying to keep kids on the right track. He also does a lot with anti-bullying. When he was in eighth grade one of his best friends was killed."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Yeah, Dan has never been the same since it."

"What was the shooting about?"

"Gang wars. It was after school. It was just a shooting. My brother and his friend were just making their way home. Dan says they were walking and someone comes running past them and bang."

"Oh, my goodness."

"Yeah."

"I could not image how he felt. Amy has been my best friend for so long that if I lost her, I'd have a mental breakdown."

John nodded his head. We had arrived at the restaurant. John went up to the door and opened it for me.

"Thank you," I said.

"I am a gentleman," John said.

I chuckled. I walked inside and John followed me in.

"Where would you like to seat?" John asked.

"A booth," I said.

"I recommend away from the window."

"Okay." I took a seat at a booth that was away from the window and closest to the bar. The bar had its own little area like a lot of other restaurants. There were high top tables in the bar area. But there were regular tables and booths in the dining area.

"This is a very nice setup," I said. "I didn't take much look at it when we were here last night."

"That's because I kept you occupied," John said.

"And what are you going to do tonight?"

"The same thing."

I saw someone come up behind me. I turned my head and it was Boog. He stopped at our table.

"Hello again, Trish," Boog said.

"Hi," I said.

"Diet Pepsi?"

"Actually, do you have Wild Cherry Pepsi?" I said.

"Yes, we do."

"Great. I'll have that to drink."

"And for you, bro?"

"Pepsi. But we also know what we already want too. I had to bring Trish back here to try the Cena burger."

"All right," Boog said. "A Wild Cherry Pepsi, one regular Pepsi and two Cena burgers. Coming up. Enjoy your date."

He then walked away.

I smiled at John. "What is on the Cena burger?"

"Ketchup, mustard, onions, tomato, bacon and the hamburger itself."

"Oh, yummy."

"You can get a burger without all that, though. We also have a Cena Dog which has a lot of stuff on it too…Well, this is a surprise."

I turned my head. Someone walked up to the table. It wasn't Boog. It was an older man. I guessed him to be John's dad. He brought us our drinks.

"I have to come by and see you. I missed you last night," The man said. He looked at me. "Wild Cherry Pepsi?"

"Yes," I said. He placed my drink in front of me and John's drink in front of him.

"And who is this lovely lady?" The man asked John.

"This is Patricia Stratigias. She's Amy's BFF," John said. "Trish, this is my dad, John Cena Senior."

"John Senior?" I asked.

"Yes, he's named after me," John's dad said. "It's nice to meet you, Patricia."

"Trish, please."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. You're Amy's friend who just moved here?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, welcome to Boston. Welcome to Cenas'."

"Oh, I had the pleasure of being here last night and it was very good. I had to come back to try the Cena Burger."

"Well, hope you'll keep coming back."

"I will," I said.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. I just wanted to come by and see him since we missed each other last night. I left before he arrived."

"It was nice meeting you."

John's dad walked away then.

"You said your parents were divorced," I said.

"Yeah," John said.

"How long ago did they divorce?"

"It was six years ago when they got divorced. It sucked when it happened, but they needed to end their marriage. They were fighting a lot."

"Sometimes parents are better parents when they are apart," I said.

"Yeah, that's true. Your parents are still married?"

"Yep."

"That's good. How old is your youngest sister?"

"Twenty-one."

"What are your sisters' names?"

"Christie and Melissa."

"What are your parents' names?"

"John and Alice."

"Another John."

"Yep. What is your mom's name?"

"Carol."

"Does she live in Boston?"

"No, my older brother, Dan, Matt and I were actually born in West Newbury, which is just an hour away. We moved to the city, because my dad wanted to open up Cenas'. Boog was the one who was born here in Boston. My mom moved back to West Newbury when she and my dad were fighting all the time. She lives there full-time. I would have actually gone there today to see her, but I had plans with you."

"Oh, we could have had a date another night," I said.

"Nah. My mom understood. I was really excited to go out with you tonight."

"Me too."

Boog came by with our burgers then. "All right, prepare to be amazed, Trish."

"Yummy," I said. "I'm hoping my mouth is big enough to fit this into it."

Boog burst out laughing. John got up and hit his brother. Boog went away laughing.

"Sorry," John said, sitting back down.

"Why?" I asked.

John leaned forward. "My brother took your comment in reference to something sexual."

I thought for a second and then it clicked. "Oh…Really?"

"Yeah," John said.

"Now I don't know if I want to eat."

John chuckled. "He's a kid."

I nodded my head. I picked up the burger and took a big bite. "That is good," I said.

"Told ya."

I smiled and took another bite. We were both quiet as we ate. I really dove into the hamburger. I was really hungry.

"Oh, my God, that was so good," I said once I was finished with my burger.

"Good," John said. He ate the rest of his burger as I started eating my fries.

"I need to get back to the gym to work off all these calories."

"Well, we can do that tomorrow."

"Our second date?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"That'll be fun. You can impress me more by lifting weights."

John grinned. "Yeah, you seemed to enjoy that."

I smiled. "I enjoyed it very much. Maybe you can also impress me by doing some push-ups."

John leaned forward. I leaned forward to hear him. "I'd like to do those push-ups naked and with you underneath me."

I turned bright red. John just smirked and went back to finishing his burger.

"Here you both go," Boog said, coming over with another glass of Pepsi and another glass of Wild Cherry Pepsi.

"Thanks," I said.

"How was the burger?"

"Delicious."

"Good. Do you need anything else?"

"No."

Boog walked away then.

John had finished off his burger. He took a sip of his fresh glass of Pepsi.

"You know you are a very forward person," I said.

"Is that a bad thing?" John asked.

"I don't think so. But it will get you into trouble."

"Oh, it has. I have actually just gone up to a girl and asked her if she wanted to have sex. I've been slapped a couple times. But there have actually been a couple girls that replied, 'Yeah, let's go big boy!'"

I burst out laughing. "That is too good. It'll take more than that for you to get with me, though."

"And what do I have to do to make it happen?"

"Go on a couple more dates with me."

"Well, we have one planned for tomorrow."

"Yes, but I really do not want to go to the gym. How about dinner at my place? I can make spaghetti and meatballs."

John smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great. Is eight o'clock good for you?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. I think I might need to stay an extra hour at work tomorrow to get everything ready for a case on Monday for my boss."

"Good."

John and I both had room for dessert. We ended up getting an ice cream brownie sundae. It was really good. John ended up moving over to my side of the booth. It was easier to share our dessert that way. We have fun continuing to talk and laugh.

When 8:30 hit we were both ready to leave. John and I took a cab to my apartment building. He walked with me all the way up to the door too.

"Well, I had a lot of fun again tonight," I said.

"Me too. I can't wait to have dinner tomorrow night."

"Me too."

"Well, good night," John said. He then leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips. He then pulled back, smiling at me. I smiled myself. "Have sweet dreams."

"You too," I said.

I unlocked the door and walked inside. I gave John one last smile before closing the door.