Taking A Chance On Love || m.t.

三 Breakfast

The next morning, I woke up with a mild headache from the night before. Laying in bed, the previous night's events washed over me as a smile played along the edges of my lips.

I met Mark Tuan!!! That actually happened! And I have his number!

I rolled around in bed, kicking and squealing into my pillow like a giggling preteen over her first crush, my mild headache already gone.

Full of renewed energy, I went about my morning routine, then finally tackled the mountain of unfolded clothes I kept putting off. Before I knew it, I had folded everything and still had energy for more. As I contemplated what to make for breakfast, a knock sounded at my door. Upon opening it, I was greeted by none other than Mark as he held bags of something in his hands. Confused, I leaned on the door and tried to act nonchalant.

"What are you doing here?"

"You don't remember? I didn't think you were that drunk," Mark said in amusement. "You told me to bring food next time we hang out and I asked you if later today would work. It is now later today and I'm here with food," he said as he held up the bags in his hands.

Embarrassed that I had indeed forgotten, I replied, "I was only half serious! I didn't think you'd actually do this for me."

Mark laughed. "Well, if you were only half serious, then can I take that half and make it a whole?"

Intentionally blinking silently at him, I wanted him to realise how corny that was on his own. Naturally, it only took a second before he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, mumbling about how much of a bad joke that was. Finally cracking a smile, I took one of the bags and walked inside. He stood in the doorway, unsure of whether to follow or not.

"Well, are you coming inside or are you just gonna stand there and become eye candy for my neighbors?" I said from the kitchen. Laughing, Mark walked in and shut the door behind him.

"Wait! Before you move, there's some spare house slippers in there, please change into them," I said while pointing toward a table which had a built-in cabinet next to the door. "I just cleaned the whole house yesterday, wouldn't wanna do it again today".

He changed his shoes and walked to the kitchen where I was already taking out the food. Surprisingly, he had gone to my favorite little café down the street and gotten their signature breakfast buns. Touched, I looked up at him and asked him how he'd gotten them. This little café was run by a small family, but their buns were so good that the people in my neighborhood had to line up for over an hour just to get some.

"I may have waited in line for a bit. I wanted to get you something you liked, and I wanted to see just how good these buns were that you'd ramble on about them while drunk," he said shyly.

Feeling a surge of warmth, I turned around to face him and leaned against the counter holding one of the buns. Smirking slightly, I waved it in front of him. "Well, now's your chance to try it before I eat both of them."

Pausing for a moment, I could see the emotion swirling in his eyes as he searched mine. Apparently finding whatever he was looking for, he walked over until he was right in front of me, placed a hand down on the counter behind me, and leaned in until our noses were almost touching. Just as I began to feel like I'd bitten off more than I could chew, he moved his face away and took a bite, his eyes never leaving mine. As he chewed, he pretended to think, never once making a move to create any more distance. Once he'd finished, he cocked his head to the side and took the remaining bun from my still frozen hand.

"Hmm, this bun is quite good, I can see why you like it so much," he said coyly before moving away to unpack the rest of the food. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, I discreetly fanned my face as I tried to get myself back under control. While my inner romantic was shrieking and jumping around, my rational side began to wonder.

This is more than just a friendship, right? Where is this going? Will I be able to handle what comes next?

By the time I came to, Mark had already rummaged through my cupboards to find plates, arranged the food, and was asking me if I wanted to eat at the table, the breakfast bar, or in front of the couch. Unsure myself, I told him it was his choice. Next thing I knew, we were seated at my small breakfast bar at the edge of the kitchen counter.

"So why'd you choose the breakfast bar?" I said between bites.

"I thought that the dining table would be too formal. As for the couch....I'm afraid we may not get any breakfast eaten, if you catch my drift," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

WHOA. Hold on a minute. That was a bold move! How on earth am I gonna get through this without wanting to jump him? I complained internally as my face heated up. I quickly shoved more food in my mouth to save myself from replying, much to Mark's apparent amusement as he started laughing. Unwilling to give him the time of day, I intentionally kept eating until his laughs subsided, ushering us into companionable silence as we finished breakfast.

Upon finishing our meal, we both moved to the kitchen and started tidying up as if we'd been doing it forever. I washed the dishes while he dried and put them away, refusing to let me do the work alone. In that moment, I wondered what it would feel like to do this every day with him. That very second, I stopped washing the spoon I was holding as the thought scared me a little.

Was this too fast? How am I already thinking this so soon? It hasn't even been 24 hours since we first met, yet this feels scarily normal. Almost like this SHOULD be the norm for me...for us.

Distracted, I hadn't realised I was staring off in space until I saw Mark waving his hand in my face, trying to get my attention. Once I snapped out of it, I could see concern all over his face. Concern that scared me because I wanted to feel entitled to it.

"Are you okay? You really zoned out for a while there," Mark asked worriedly.

"Hmm? Oh I'm fine, just thinking about something," I replied evasively as I resumed washing the dishes. I could tell Mark wanted to press the issue, but I made no move to say more, breathing a sigh of relief when he let it go and continued what he was doing.

I'll just enjoy and see where this goes. Maybe the clarity will come later if things become too obvious to ignore, I said to myself.

After washing the dishes, we settled on my couch and flipped through the channels, joking about how there was practically nothing to watch on a late Saturday morning. Settling on a random channel, we let the TV serve as background noise as we sat together in comfortable silence, my head on his shoulder and his arms around me. As we went through periods of silence and chatter, our seating positions also changed. By mid afternoon, we had both dozed off, my legs now across his lap as I sat horizontally on the couch, my back leaning on the armrest. One of his arms was around my waist while the other was settled across my knees.

I woke up once to see Mark fast asleep, his head now lolling toward my shoulder. Seeing how uncomfortable he may have been, I gently moved his head onto my shoulder and smiled to myself when the tiny frown on his face disappeared. Before dozing off again, one last thought tiptoed across my half conscious mind:

This feels right.

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