Chapter 17
Anu-Ms K
“Hi,” he says. Though calm, I hear the hint of a pant as I take my headphones off.
“Hi,” I manage to respond in an even tone, though my heart is racing.
It’s has been doing that a lot lately, and each time at the sight of him.
I seriously need to get laid. That can only be the reason for my quivering Vjay and racing heartbeat at the sight of him.
I try to stay calm and not let my anxiety due to heavy rain show.
Luckily, there’s no thunder or lightning, which is good. That’s my kryptonite.
“My sister told me you want to wait out the rain.”
“Yeah, I’m not a fan of heavy rain” she says with a forced smile
“I ordered dinner.” He pauses and moves closer to me. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”
A simple and innocuous question, and I should say no, but I had fun with him on our date. Besides, I’m hungry. Plus, I have no idea how long this rain is going to last. It’s one of those annoying Chicago bipolar weather that can’t ever make up its damn mind.
“Sure,” I say. “What you got?”
He grins like I’d just said yes to something more than dinner on a rainy evening.
“I had my PA order from Mrs Wu.”
My eyes widen.
“No, you didn’t!” I couldn’t hide the smile.
“It’s gonna be great to enjoy her food, without her frown.”
I laugh at his slight grin.
“The frown and the food all come from a good place,” I tease.
“Come with me.”
I don’t hesitate as I grab my bag, folder and follow him to his unit.
A nice quaint space that doesn’t quite fit his personality of expensive and classy.
He sets the food on the small dining table.
We both pull a chair, taking our seat. We begin to dig into the bags of food.
He ordered like he’d planned to feed a football team.
“I love to eat, but not this much. Did you order everything on her menu?” I ask in amazement.
“I wanted you to have a good selection.” He smirks. “Like I said, I did enjoy her food.”
“Just not the frown,” I finish for him, laughing.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Water, please. I still have to drive home once this rain stops.”
“I can drive you home.”
“I have an early morning appointment. I would need my car.”
“Water it is, then.”
We eat in silence. He’s right; Mrs Wu’s food is good.
“How was your day?” he asks.
“Good, until the rain ruined it. Before that, it was busy with the kids and trying to set up the program.”
“Are you excited?”
I lean back for a moment, chewing my food and really thinking deep about the question.
“Yes, I am excited to watch the program grow and bring more kids to music. It’s not every day you build something that’s becoming a significant part of a community.”
He nods in response.
We soon finish our food and clean. It’s interesting how we cleaned up our plates and leftovers like we’ve done it multiple times, only it was our first time.
The rain kept pouring, like it had an intense cleansing to do. Luckily, no thunderstorms, my crossed fingers must have worked. I’m not sure how I can hide that part of me from him if a thunderstorm starts.
“Would you like to watch a movie?” he asks.
“Do you think it will rain for that long?”
“I honestly do not know.”
I nod and check the weather on my phone. It shows the rain will stop soon.
“We may not get to finish it, but any movie you pick is fine with me.”
“I think the lady gets to pick first.”
I chuckle. “First? As in there will be a second time.”
“And a third.” He looks right into my eyes and I turn away blushing.
“I watch Disney movies when it rains, and most times when I’m tired.” I watch a slight grin spread across his face. “We can watch Shang chi.”
“Good, I haven’t seen it,” he says, and my mouth drops open.
“You are kidding, right?”
“Nope,” he answers, and I sense he’s telling the truth as he looks directly at me without blinking. I avert my eyes to keep from blushing under his gaze.
“How come?” It just sounds strange to me that he hasn’t seen Shang-chi. Before I can think about it, I ask “Have you seen the marvel series?” He shakes his head, and I laugh. “And you actually live on planet earth.”
“Last I checked, like ten seconds ago, I haven’t taken a trip to mars since I was born.” I roll my eyes at him with a chuckle.
“Very funny.”
He finds the Disney plus app on the TV. “To be honest, if you want to watch the marvel collection, I don’t think you should start with Shang chi, but since I like Shang chi, that’s my pick.”
“Your pick it is.”
I smile. Fucking Teni wouldn’t have asked me; he would have just picked one and expected me to enjoy it or not with him.
I take my seat next to him on the loveseat sofa and feel his proximity more than I have with any man in my life.
The movie starts to play. I instinctively curl up with pillows on the sofa and I notice he’s relaxed as well. About thirty minutes into the movie, he turns to me.
“Do you mind if I pause for a second? I need to get a drink.”
“Sure,” I say, getting up to stretch my legs. I follow him to the kitchen. He takes the wine bottle out of the fridge and pours some.
“Have you decided on your date yet?”
“No. Are you worried or eager to go out with me?”
“Not worried, and not eager but…”
“But?”
“I’m looking for a male roommate, so please, let me know if you know anyone.” I blurt out, not sure why. Maybe it’s just to make conversation or shift conversation away from the fact he is hanging on tight to this second date, and I don’t have an answer to his but questioning tone.
“Really? Did your roommate move out, and must it be a male roommate?” he asks.
I didn’t expect the questions. I just expected a nod, like most people would do, or questions like “how much is rent?” or “for how long?”
“Yes, it must be a male person. I want to give the illusion that I have a live-in boyfriend to my dad, so he can stop arranging dates for me from the UK,” I scoff.
He smiles. “It’s not funny. My father is trying to marry me off and keeps sending eligible bachelors to my door like I can’t find a guy on my own.
It’s a bit annoying, so a live -in boyfriend might make him back off for a while.
Plus, lately, I’ve started to feel like someone is watching me. It’s kind of weird”
His frown is immediate.
“Is someone stalking you?” Concern is written all over his face.
I shake my head, as much to convince myself as to convince him. “I’m not receiving any weird notes or stuff like that, I just have this gut feeling like I’m being watched.”
“Do you have requirements for this roommate?”
“No, just someone that doesn’t mind being my fake boyfriend.” I chuckle at my crazy idea.