Give and Take

Chapter 7_God, I knew it

She hadn't mean to say what she said. If she could go back in time, she would take those words back. Sadly, she couldn't. She couldn't go back in time and unsay what she said.

Besides, he had already heard what she said. Clearly. She had called him his mother's son. What was that supposed to mean, Jonathan wondered.

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

Emily turned her face away. She stuck her tongue in her right jaw, and scratch the nape of her neck.

"Nothing," Emily retorted when she was done playing dumb. She couldn't continue acting like that for the rest of the day.

"You couldn't have said that for 'nothing'," he stated, stressing on 'nothing'.

"Well, I said it for 'nothing'. Get over it." She rolled her eyes at him.

Him buying her breakfast didn't mean he could make her say things she didn't want to say. Nobody would ever buy her with her stomach, because she'd eat the food and burp without saying 'Jack'.

He didn't want to go hauling and pulling with her. She was one of the many people who thought of his mother as cruel.

Instead of the poor people working, they sat down and blamed the rich people for their misfortunes. It wasn't just fair. Why would someone be hated just because they have money? So inconsiderate. 

He didn't blame her. She wasn't one of those people, though she sometimes talked rudely about rich people. She was going to college and striving to become a fashion designer. She would have been done if she hadn't sat down for many semesters.

Sam had told him that she attended Ladel's School of Fashion, which wasn't even one of the best schools that successful designers graduated from. Yet, she went there, and even traveled all the way there.

He admired her for how ambitious she was. She was smart also. Taking first place in a senior class was no minor deal. She was beautiful, to add to that.

Those are the things he had been looking for in a woman. A woman that could even stand up to him. That was the kind of woman he needed in his life; not someone who had no dreams.

Emily had not even been all over him since they met. She had even resented him at first. That was the woman.

"There's a welcome party for me at my parents' house tonight. You're invited," he said to her, finally putting his phone away.

"I knew it. You goddamn rich folks always want something in return. Perhaps you want me to come as your girlfriend so you can make another woman jealous," she said loudly, wiping the residue of milk from around her mouth.

"Firstly, I don't take women seriously. Secondly, stop calling me rich. You won't like me calling you poor in every sentence," he informed her, serious about it.

What the fuck did he mean he didn't take women seriously? Could he be?... Oh no! Was that why his mother wanted her to seduce him? To know if he's...gay?

She shoved the thought one side of her memory. She didn't want to go, too, personal with him. She wasn't homophobic, but she prayed he was into women. Because...look at him.

"You telling me I can't afford my own meal is more like it," Emily said, looking at him directly in his eyes. He looked away.

"Are you coming for the party or not?" He asked her, downplaying the issue of the meal. She had caused him to say it, so she could think whatever she wanted to. It still didn't change the fact that she was living on spoilt coffee.

He was so goddamn controlling. Did he think he could buy her with a silly breakfast? He had to be living in his fucking head.

"No, I'm not coming," she replied him.

"OK," he said, getting up.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

"Home."

"What? You haven't paid for the food yet," she reminded him, calling his attention to the practically empty plates on the table.

"Who said I was?" Jonathan asked, raising one of his brows. "It's an opportunity for you to change the narrative of not being able to afford your own meal." He smirked.

"You're kidding me right now, right?" She said, faking a smile. She grabbed his hand so he couldn't walk away.

Even if she washes the dishes for a weak, she wasn't sure that could pay for the food she ate.

He was just about to tell her he was completely serious when the waitress came to them with the bills. She gave it to Jonathan.

Emily watched him read the paper, nervous sweat running down her spine. This man wasn't about to leave her in a serious mess. She wasn't going to let that happen.

"So...the water is one dollar. Is this a hundred dollars total down here?" He asked the waitress who looked at the paper and nodded affirmative. "I'm paying with my card."

"Oh okay. I'll be right back. Give me a minute," the waitress said and walked away.

"Are you coming for the party or not?" He asked her for the second time.

"So you want me to pay for the food by coming for your party?" She asked him, annoyance written all over her face.

"You pay by coming for the party or pay right now. Either ways, you'll still pay, so choose wisely," Jonathan said, grinning devilishly. "Oh, the waitress is coming. Decide quickly," he told her when the waitress was approaching them with the machine.

"Fine. I'll come. I'll come," she said repeatedly before the waitress could reach.

Saying she would attend, and attending were two different things. She was in a situation where she had to choose the easiest way. There was no place she could get ninety-nine dollars from.

Her reply wasn't a genuine one. And he would never see her again after they shall have departed. She'd tell him that she was extremely sick, if there'd be another encounter.

Jonathan did the payment and sat back down. Both of them stared at each other like they both had something to say.

"Don't even get sick tonight, because if it requires you to be at the party on a stretcher, so shall it be. And you don't want to make Jonathan David your enemy," Jonathan said to her. She had never seen him so serious.

"Threatening me because of a hundred dollars dish? No. A ninety-nine dollars. How generous," she stated, mimicking his expression.

He had already paid, no worries.

"Rich people always want something in return. You owe me. After all, you didn't write a letter to a charity home." Jonathan got up and started walking outside. She followed him.

"Fine. I'll pay you. After this party, I don't want to ever see you."

That was the side of her he wanted to come out. The feisty Emily. The Emily with the good for nothing ego.