Tristan couldn’t believe it. The delivery man was
late.
He forgot that he ordered Chinese food from the
restaurant downtown, but now that he remembered, he realized the delivery was
just way overdue.
He opened the door, irritated, “Yes?”
When he swathe deliverer, he almost wished he hadn’t
said that. He was just a gawky man in his 40s, breathing heavily, worthy of a
distance runner. Not to mention he’s sweating all over. His hands were gloved
though, and he held out the order with unsure and unsteady hands.
“I’m very
sorry, sir. It was a mix-up. We saw fit to give you one of our specialties for
free, in addition to your previous order for two. Our sushi recipes are often
praised.”
“Oh,” Tristan was speechless. But free sushi? Why
not? “Yes, that’s great. Thank you.” As he got the package, a sudden guilty
thought occurred to him and he asked the man, full of worry, “Wait, excuse me,
but they didn’t fire you, right? Because of the mix-up? I’d be more than happy
to – ”
“No, sir. They – they just told me to, uh, not be
that careless twice. It’s all settled.” Suddenly, the older man regarded the
doctor with more respect.
“That’s good,” Tristan smiled, “thanks, again.”
“And you, sir.”
Then Tristan closed the door, readying himself to
keep his head while with his pretty patient.
The delivery man made sure no eyes were on him
before he did anything. The task before him was delicate, and needing a lot of
skill and stealth. It was a benefit for him to have both.
He brought out the camera. It wasn’t high-quality,
like the ones you’d see o the stores these days, but it was better that way. It
wasn’t going to be used for the scenery.
Click after click, the man shot pictures of the
house from different angles. Quickly, he stowed the little machine into his
pocket and cleared out from the doctor’s residence.
On the dinner table, everything was set. The dishes
were transferred to the plates and there were glasses of water filled almost to
the brim. The only problem remaining was Tristan himself.
He was leaning on the door frame, crossing his arms
and staring at the legs with something close to desperation.
Why can’t I just
go up?
He knew the answer to that, of course. It was just
impossible for him to admit it. One reason is that she would be sleeping. He
won’t be able to just stand there
while looking at her adorable, dream-filled face. And God knows, the last thing
he needed in the world right now was car episode number two.
Tristan was also a little annoyed. This was his house after all. It shouldn’t be
like this – he wasn’t supposed to be afraid to simply go up the stairs and into
his a room in his own house.
Closing his eyes in weariness, he forced his mind to
remain blank and devoid of all thoughts, before he went through the doorway and
passed the living room, the “reception” and then went up the flight of stairs.
He only faltered when he faced her door, but as he grasped the knob, his
detached demeanor came back easily.
He swore under his breath the moment he saw her.
She didn’t even stir, didn’t even speak, she didn’t
even look at him, but damn. Tristan
wanted to hold her in his arms, frame her lovely face between his face and just
kiss her senseless.
“What the hell…” he rubbed his face. Gritting his
teeth, he approached her and shook her shoulders, like he did earlier in the
car. She was lying on her chest, her face turned in his direction, and her
brown hair was fanned out behind her.
“Reeya?”
She groaned. After creasing her brows, she opened
one eye and looked at him through a sleep-filled haze.
Tristan’s gut tightened. He thought he was the only
person who woke up that way. It was unusual, after all.
“But, it’s still five something. Who eats dinner
that early?” she complained, her voice slurred. Without meaning to, Tristan
smiled.
“We will. You didn’t have your lunch.”
In response, she murmured something incoherent and then
closed her eye.
“What was that?”
“I said you’re kind of bossy.”
He laughed. Reeya smiled, opened both of her eyes,
this time. “Can you show me around after we eat? If you’re not tired, or you
know, if it’s okay with you or something.”
“Something,” he remembered, a twinkle in his eyes, “Yes,
of course. After we eat.”
The said affair was more fulfilling than Tristan had
anticipated. To him, he thought dinner would be nice. Just nice. He hadn’t
experienced eating with her, that’s
probably why.
The dinner they had was spectacular, and it didn’t
have anything to do with the Chinese cuisine.
They both loved to use chopsticks, which were really
helpful for eating the kind of food that they have, but then the slender sticks
became tools of war in a battle of poking and tickling after a while. Spent
with laughing too hard, they discarded the things and switched to spoons and
forks instead.
Then came dessert. Tristan favorite ice cream place
had every flavor possible and they spent an entire hour fooling around like children.
He blindfolded Reeya, then fed her spoonfuls of different flavors, letting her
guess what it is. He was always right when it was his turn.
“Cheater,” Reeya pouted as he removed the cloth from
his eyes. Tristan only laughed and finished his pistachio ice cream.
As promised, he toured her around the rest of the
house. She was especially amazed by the backyard garden and the balcony, and
thought out loud on how she’s going to paint it first thing in the morning. As
for Tristan, he was just happy about his hand securely on her waist, not
hovering this time. When she didn’t complain, or said anything at all about it,
that only made him happier.
The day turned to dusk, and too soon, they were
already exhausted. Although they didn’t want to, they both knew they needed
rest.
“But I’m not that
tired, you know.” said Reeya as he led her up the stairs, “I slept in the
car and before he had the dinner and all the other stuff.” She yawned.
He yawned at the next second. Their easy chuckles
died when they reached her door.
“Well,” Tristan started to say, “My door’s just
right here,” He gestured to the right, “so don’t – ”
“ – even hesitate to call if I need any help, yes, I
memorize it already.” She smiled at the look on his face.
“Ha ha. Smile all you want. And one more thing – I don’t
care if it’s late at night or the crack of dawn, if there’s anything wrong – ”
“You’re just next door, and you’re used to waking up
at odd hours all your life,” she raised an eyebrow, “you know what? You keep
repeating everything you say.”
Tristan smiled yet again. He was glad she couldn’t
read minds – there would’ve been no way for her to know that he was thinking
about how amazing she was, looked, and felt. It was infinitely better that way,
for the time being.
“Yes, I do.” he gave her back a gentle push to her
door, “Now, you need sleep, everything you need’s in there already.”
“Thank you,” she started turning the knob, but it
seemed a thought occurred to her and she paused, turning to look back at
Tristan, who remained standing there.
“Something wrong?” he asked, stepping forward.
She only chuckled, “Nothing, I was just, you know,
wondering. Don’t I get a kiss goodnight?”
Her tone was teasing, and there was a glint of
laughter and mischief in her eyes, but Tristan couldn’t help considering. How
could he let an opportunity like this slip away? It’s not everyday he’d get a
chance like this one, practically offered to him in a silver platter.
Hoping he’d get to do it again, he leaned forward
and kissed her on the cheek.
“Good night.”
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