Second Arrangement

CHAPTER 12 - OPPORTUNITY

ELLIE

It was my own fault that I forgot his style. Back when we were still married, we often got into argument because of the same problem. I didn't like extravagant things even though I knew he could afford it. For me, it was a waste of money. But he often insisted, saying that I deserved the best and that he could afford it. I knew that he could, but he didn't need to spend all that money for me. I felt bad when he wasted his money on me. I knew how hard he worked to get that money, so he should've spent that for himself, or his family. Since I didn't want to argue on our first date, I let it slide and just picked a menu at the end, but the awkward air was already there. He still eyed me warily while waiting for our food.

"Is your food okay?" he pointed to my plate as he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "This is really good." I picked up a steak at the end and the meat was surprisingly tender and well-seasoned. I liked how they served potato wedges on the side instead of regular french fries. The steamed vegetables had the right consistency as well, not too mushy nor too hard. "Do you want to try?" I was ready to slice him a piece of my steak when he refused my offer.

"It's okay.. Just enjoy it," he gave me a small smile before diving into his own plate. He chose truffle cheesy pasta, which was quite surprising since he rarely ate carbohydrate, but he did tonight. Throughout the meal, I caught him stealing glances several times.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I asked when I caught him glancing at me one more time.

"No," if I dared to say, he looked rather embarrassed when I pointed out that he's been stealing glances at me. "I'm just enjoying this scene," he pointed at me with his fork. "It's the first time I see you eating in front of me after we decided to get back, so I want to keep it in my memory."

The awkward air that was there earlier dissolved suddenly. We enjoyed the rest of the meal, talking about anything. He even let me pick two desserts since he didn't want any but he knew I wouldn't pass the opportunity when it involved cakes and chocolates, so I did. I got to say that I had such a good time that night. Unfortunately, our schedules were pretty tight the next week. He couldn't even find time to tutor me. We only resorted to texting and replying each other stories on Instagram. I had to admit that I started to miss him. Somehow it was easier for him to sneak into my life again the second time. That was why when he was texting me to meet him at the cafe after I finished my surgery, I agreed to it immediately.

I didn't pay attention to my surrounding when I replied his text. I almost jumped in surprise when I heard Jasper's voice behind me. "Why is he asking you to go out again? I thought it was a one-time deal? To thank you for saving his life?"

I immediately spun around and put down my phone quickly so he couldn't read the rest of my text. I was pissed that he got the nerve to peek at my texts. "What are you doing? Sneaking behind me? Are you spying on me now?" I didn't make any attempts to cover my annoyance as he was crossing the line.

He frowned, "No, I'm not spying on you. I've been calling you out for several times already but you're to engrossed with your phone. Why are you so sensitive about it? You never cared when others looked at your phone before."

"That doesn't give you the right to sneak up on me now," I grunted.

"Okay, sorry.. My bad," he raised up his hands in surrender after putting down his tray then took a seat across from me at the cafetaria. "But seriously though, what's your relationship with him for real? Isn't he just your patient?"

I stayed quiet because I didn't feel like I owed him an answer. We weren't that close that he had the right to interrogate me. But apparently he didn't get the memo.