The Waiting Game

THE WAITING GAME - 29

FEBRUARY 2021

NEW YORK, USA

The room was filled with silence as Ariana's family shared confused glances until Frankie burst out laughing. "All that and you're still not together?" He asked, looking at Ariana, while still laughing.

Ariana glared at her brother and kicked him under the table for the nth time during that dinner.

"Sorry, dear, we thought you guys are already committed." Joan uttered.

"We are committed, mom. We are exclusive." Ariana replied in a matter-of-fact tone. She then looked at Traver, squeezing his hand. "Right, baby?"

Traver gave her a soft smile and nodded.

"So basically, you're going to woo my daughter even if she's already yours?" Edward asked, looking at Traver above the glass as he drinks its contents.

"Uh... sir, I want to earn your daughter's love and affection. I do pledge my loyalty to her, but I don't want to think that she's already mine."

Edward nodded at Traver's response. "But my daughter is already so into you-"

"Dad!" Ariana yelled, her cheeks immediately heating up.

"There's no need to deny it, baby doll." Nonna interjected.

"All the more I should work hard for it. I don't like skipping ahead and I would never want to take her for granted. I want to prove that I'm deserving of that love before she trusts me with it." Traver answered, looking directly at Edward's eyes to show how sincere he is.

Edward smiled. "I like this kid." He said to which Nonna seconded.

"It's nice to know that there are still people upholding tradition. Most kids today are too quick to get into a relationship and get their hearts broken. They fail to see the value of something because of how easily they got it." Nonna said.

Joan nodded and clapped her hands, causing everyone to look at her. "Well, it's pretty clear that you got everyone's approval." She smiled widely.

"My baby is amazing, right?" Ariana beamed, craning her neck to kiss Traver's cheek.

"Ari, maybe you shouldn't call him that just yet. You know? Because you're still not together." Frankie said with a smirk.

Ariana glared at him before facing Traver. "Baby, it's fine with you, right. You don't mind that I call you 'baby'?"

Traver pursed his lips. "Actually, Ari... It... I... I may not show it because I try to get a grip of myself, but my heart beats extremely fast whenever you call me that. I sometimes think that I have heart problems because of how you affect me-" He stopped speaking when he saw Ariana's lips curl downwards. "N-No, I don't mind at all. Call me whatever you want. It's fine." He immediately said, making Ariana's family laugh.

"Whipped..." Frankie side commented.

"I'll try to tone it down, Match." Ariana said, taking her hand from Traver's grasp, and focused on eating.

"Uh, oh..." Frankie reacted.

"Look at what you've done, Frankie." Nonna said, hitting Frankie's arm.

Traver faced Ariana. "Ari..."

"It's okay, Match. Just continue eating..." She coldly said, not even sparing him a glance. "...Match." She added, out of spite.