Criminal Love

25. Together

That afternoon, after work, Dylan and Yue grab a few things and go to his penthouse to spend the weekend, which happens to be a long one. If Yue is nearby, Dylan can stay there, or anywhere.

In the car, there is silence. While Yue still feels Dylan is slipping away, he cannot stop thinking how to tell her the mess he made in Vegas. Will she loathe being married to him?

At Dylan's place, Yue takes the room where she usually settles. She unpacks and realizes she did not bring any jammies. Annoyed by the fact that she forgot something so important, she decides to ask Dylan for something she can wear at night.

"Ahem..." Yue knocks on his half open door.

"Yes?"

Yue pushes the door open and finds Dylan changing. "Oops, sorry..."

"You need to wait until I tell you to come in..." he chuckles and tells her, donning a T-shirt. "My door is always open for you, that's a given, but sometimes you might want to make sure I'm decent..." he kindly remarks.

Flustered, Yue stares at the floor. "Sorry... I just forgot my pj's. Do you have something I can wear? Please. I can't sleep without proper night clothes; your house is too cold. I didn't mean to bother you..." Yue feels she's walking on eggshells, and she hates it.

Dylan smiles, opens a drawer, grabs a pajama and saunters towards her. "Here." He hands her the garments and then kisses her forehead, unable to control himself. He thought he should stay away, but there is a gravitational force that pulls him to Yue.

To avoid doing anything else, he walks past her and goes to his studio to paint, the only activity that can help him gather his thoughts.

◇◇◇

Yue washes up and wears the oversize pj's that Dylan gave her. The fabric is soft on her skin, just like his arms when he hugs her. She misses feeling his body against hers when he holds her, and missing him hurts.

To distract herself from the turmoil inside, she turns on the TV and for almost half an hour she does nothing but surf through the channels mindlessly, like a bored child. It is 9 pm and all she can think about is Dylan in the other room, painting. Her mind keeps drifting in that direction and there is no way to steer the wheel.

Perhaps some wine might help her relax and forget that the man she loves and wants is right there, just a few steps away, warm and aromatic, like a field of citrus trees planted along the sunny seashore.

She stands up from the couch and bang! She falls flat on the floor because the pants are too long for her petite legs. "Argh! This stupid thing!" she exclaims, tugging up the excess fabric from under her feet with her hands.

With some effort, Yue manages to get to the kitchen and boom! Her buttocks are smashed on the floor again.

"Dammit!"

Dylan ignored the noise once, trying his best not to think about her womanly body inside his nightclothes. However, the second thud was too loud, and he worries. "Are you alright?" he shouts, pressing his eyes, hoping she won't need his help because he is already struggling to stay away as it is.

"Yes! I'm just too short to wear your big giraffe clothes!" she angrily yells back, amusing Dylan as he pictures the scene. She must look like a stumbling penguin hanging around with his long pants. Adorable.

Dylan peeps outside the studio and sees Yue arguing with his pants, cursing them, calling them names, and unexpectedly removing them. Gulp.

"I don't need you! The shirt is enough." She pulls the pants down and takes a look at herself, front and back. "It's suitable enough..."