To Girls You've Ever Loved | ✔️

Chapter 8

Dallas Everett

We were down the sidewalk, it was quiet and cold. I looked at Dahlia, as she was shivering from the cold. She was just wearing her hoodie, along with her sweatpants. "You should've dressed thicker, like your face." I said. "Thank you for the advice, and my face isn't thick. Probably yours is." she replied.

I focused my gaze on the way we were going. There were four drunk men walking towards us. Dahlia was looking down, watching as she made steps. I fastened my paces and grabbed her by the shoulders and moved her in front of me as we stopped. Dahlia looked at me confused. "You weren't looking." as I released my hold from her. Her cheeks suddenly turned pinkish-red. "Thank you." as she scratched her head, looking sideways. It looked like she was preventing herself from looking at me. She must be frustrated because I was the reason her face became a reddish tomato.

We reached the convenience store and grabbed around five beers and a fizzy drink. I couldn't drink as I was driving my sister and I home. Dahlia paid for the drinks, and she suddenly froze for a second and turned to grab a Mogu-Mogu. "Could you please also add this?" as the cashier punched the barcode of the drink. She held it as we exited the convenience store.

"Here." She gave the drink to me. Not so soon I told her, "I don't want it."
She grabbed my hand and forced me to hold the drink. I looked at her and couldn't refuse anymore because it would just be a competition.

We were halfway on our way back to her apartment. We walked as we could only see cars passing by us, and the streetlights that showered light in the sidewalk. It was a good thing it wasn't that dark. I slowly opened the fizzy drink to take a sip from it, it was refreshing. It tasted like a sprite mixed with a grapeish juice, the taste was hard to explain.

Dahlia grabbed my drink after I drank from it. "You're not as cold as I thought, like others said." she looked at me as she took a sip from my drink. "That's just your opinion." I replied calmly. "You could have also not given me the drink if you were gonna drink it. Don't bother giving it back to me."
"Are you conscious about sharing a drink with someone?" Dahlia stopped for a moment, and replied to me. "I am conscious, you're not just a someone. You're a girl, and it's inappropriate to share a drink with me."
I looked at her as she took another sip from my drink, now I was sure I'm not getting that drink back. "I was broke so taking a sip out of your drink saves more money."
"You should've told me." I could have bought another one if she wanted to drink too.
"Well, it's my opinion, right Mr. Dallas?" She then continued walking forward.
"Then, the drink's yours." I looked at her as she walked forward and glances at me.
I was always two paces away from her because if I was too close, it might be a reason that she'd call me a pervert then. "Yes sir. Thank you, it's an amazing drink!" she shouted as she steals a sip from the drink.

I have always hated coming from this apartment, memories were always coming back to rewind.

Mirage was an important place to me. It was the hotel that was once managed by my mom. Now, it's under my aunt's property. I despised her, she was one of those greedy people that threw criticism at my mother when she took over. She didn't support my mother as her older sister with her decision to become a engineer. She got Mirage just because of a deal she made with my mother. I don't know what the deal was, but whatever it was, I didn't wanna know.

We finally reached her apartment. I needed to visit the garage soon, it had been so long since I visited it. I also had to fix a car that someone left for me to fix. Repairing cars and motorcycles was just my hobby, when I was a kid I anticipated fixing and assembling parts. I must have been so curious. My father's hobby was collecting motorcycles and cars all together then studying each of its engines and their parts. He was a car enthusiast, so I could've taken this type of hobby from him.

As we opened the apartment door, January was already heavily asleep. I didn't wanna disturb her sleep. I asked Dahlia a favor to let my sister sleep here for now then. January must have been so tired from the photoshoots of Magda. Dahlia agreed to let her sleep, so I closed the lights of her studio room. I sat and closed my eyes.

Today wasn't so bad to me.
– Now I knew how to describe her.
Dahlia is just as fresh as the flower.
Bright. Charmful. Beautiful.

A smile from my face immediately displayed as I looked at her side view, fixing the blanket for January.

—------------------------------------------------
Dahlia

I woke up at midnight to go to the bathroom. I tucked in January in a blanket I grabbed, I figured out she might be feeling cold. I had another blanket for Dallas. I was the one who felt uncomfortable for him, sleeping as he just sat. I tucked him in a blanket and slowly muttered. "There, since I thought you were feeling cold." and as I smiled foolishly, he was looking at me. I didn't notice that he was looking.

"How long were you watching me?" I froze as I asked. "When you started tucking in a blanket for me." I didn't notice that he was watching me the whole time as I tuck him the blanket, but what caught my attention was his icy, blue eyes looking at me directly. I loved his eyes the most. It was sparkling everytime I connected my eyes with him. I would say I fantasized his eyes the most.

As I cut my gaze to him, and went to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, looking like an idiot blushing. My whole cheekbones were shining red. It made me flustered. I must be an idiot. For being flustered. Because of him. I thought.
I washed off my face, and quickly ran out of the bathroom and headed to sleep.

Interacting with Dallas was not as tough a job as I thought. Half of me wished I was just dreaming.
Half of me fully anticipated it was real.