"Aether." He called my name and it was music to my ears as it felt like a cloud nine for me.
He pinned me to the nearest wall and glanced at my lips before his gaze went back to my eyes. He leaned closer to my ear and made me gasp as soon as he brus...
The bed isn't mine. I slept in a room that isn't mine. And I'm wearing pajamas that isn't mine. Shit! Did I just get laid?
Okay. Calm down, Aether. It may not be what you think it is. Be positive.
Oh shit! My back hurts. What does that mean? Why does my back hurt? Did I really have sex with a stranger?
I mean, I'm a virgin, so I don't have any experience with sex. But I do know that the back area will hurt. Fuck! What happened last night?
I swear I will never drink alcohol again and kill Venti when I get my hands around him.
My eyes scanned the whole room. It was plain and dull. There was no spark of color, so it felt lonely. I think the owner didn't have time to decorate the room, or he preferred it this way. Now, why does that seem familiar?
And then, my eyes spotted a picture of Xiao. Hold up! What?
So, this is Xiao's room? But his room was different when I visited his house.
Well, he did mention that he had a condo unit, so maybe I'm in his condo.
But let's rewind the situation a bit. Does that mean we did it? Did we have sex?
Shush! Don't be delusional. Let's try to remember first what happened last night and connect the dots before jumping into conclusions.
Ugh. My head hurts when I try to think, and my vision is all blurry. But I did remember that Xiao and Chongyun came late to the bar. What happened after that?
"Why is the world so cruel to me? All I wanted was for my beloved crush to love me."
A voice echoed in my ears. Who said that?
"How could you? Why won't you love me back? Do you only see me as your best friend after all those years?"
Wait! Was that me? Then it snapped me. All of my drunken memories are slowly coming back to me, which I wish they hadn't.
"You don't even want to go to this party because of me."
"You made me realize that maybe I'm the one who is stupid."
"You are so not cute when you're drunk!"
All the echoed voices made me lose my sense of hearing for a second. God! I'm really screwed this time.
I also remember how we ended up here.
• Flashback •
"Everything is spinning. Where are we going?"
I felt nauseous. The person beside me looked so blurry. Maybe he's the driver.
"We're almost there. Just hang in there."
Oh. It's Xiao. Aww. His voice sounds concerned. How sweet. Too bad, though. My stomach couldn't handle it, and I let out a big puke before my eyes shut down.
And when I woke up, Xiao carried me all the way up to this room and dressed me up in pajamas. He also prepared my bed.
"Here. You can sleep here."
"No! I don't want to. Let's drink one more bottle."
He sighed. "No, you can't. You're already drunk."
I scoffed. "I am not drunk! See? I can still walk, run, and do a cartwheel."
"Careful." Too late.
Of course, it was a failure. I don't know how to do a cartwheel, and my back got hit by a rack because of it.
"Ouch! That hurts."
He laughed. "What was that?"
The way he laughs is so cute. It always gives me butterflies. I pinched his cheek and told him, "Cute."
He blushed, which made me laugh. "I-I'm not."
"But you are. At least in my eyes."
He blushed even more, which made him turn away. "How are you this good at flirting?"
"So now, you counted this as a flirt? My. My. What an improvement." It's so fun to tease him because of his reactions.
"Shut up," he mumbled.
"But if you really want to see me flirt, this is only a warm up, hun," I said, brushing off a strand of his hair to the side. His right ear became red when I rubbed it.
"D-Don't."
"Don't what?"
He gently pushed my hand away. "My ears are sensitive."
A devilish smile formed on my lips. "Really?"
I lifted his chin up and leaned forward toward him. "Definitely cute."
"Aether. Stop."
My smile turned into a grin. "Try me."
Our lips were only a centimeter away when everything started spinning again. "Xiao. I feel dizzy. I might throw up."
"Shit! Wait." He immediately carried me towards the bathroom, where I released the vomit.
• End of Flashback •
This is it. My dignity has come to an end. May you rest in heaven.
I can't believe how shameless I get when I'm drunk. I puked at his car, complained to him, confessed to him, and almost kissed him. How can I face him now?
I froze when the sound of a knocking door disrupted my mental breakdown. I know that I wondered about how I would face him, but this isn't what I meant!
"Aether. Can I come in?"
No, you can't! I can't face him now. As dramatic as it sounds, I will die from shame.
"Are you still asleep?"
Lightbulb. Good idea. I'll just pretend that I was asleep, so I immediately grabbed the sheet to cover my face and closed my eyes. Xiao entered the room after that.
Goodness me. I'm so nervous. It's like my heart was about to leap out of my chest with every step he took.
I tried to calm myself down, but I can't because I feel that he's moving closer to me and that I can almost hear his breathing.
I almost yelled when he sat beside me, but luckily, my mouth didn't say a word. Why is he this close, though?
"Hey. I know that you're awake." I think my soul left my body twice today. I didn't move a muscle, and stayed still.
"I get it that you don't want to face me, but I have something to tell you. Are you listening?"
I didn't respond and waited for him to speak. I heard that he took a deep breath and said, "Ae. I like you."
My body froze. It felt like my mind just shut down when he said those words, and I couldn't think of what to do or how to respond.
I'm stuck on whether to believe what he said or if this is just a prank. Or is this a dream? Who knows? In fact, is this even Xiao talking to me?
"Ae." Also, what's with the nickname? Xiao never called me that. Although it's cute that he has a nickname that only he can call me. I like it.
I slowly slid off the blanket and had the courage to face him to check if it was him. To my surprise, it is. I was bewitched by his look because he's more handsome with his bed hair. Focus, soldier!
"Do you really like me?"
He genuinely smiled and gently stroked my hair, which made me blush. "Yes."
"Why? Is it because you feel pity for me after what I said last night?" As an overthinker, I want to know.
"What? Of course not. Look. I'm fucking stupid when it's about my feelings because I don't know any of this shit. I always ignore what I feel, denying my emotions that I became dense. But, you've always been on my mind ever since, Ae. And what you said last night made me realize even more that you're someone that I want to cherish forever."
What he said made my heart race out of joy. This is bad. I'm about to have a mini heart attack. I felt more butterflies when he caressed my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine.
"You know what's funny? A lot of people have already advised me, yet I've only realized it yesterday. So, I want to say sorry for being dense, sorry that I avoided you, sorry for being afraid, and sorry for hurting your feelings. But now, I want to be at your side, Ae. Not only as your best friend but also as your man. So, will you be my boyfriend?"
Tears slowly rolled down my cheeks. "Is this for real? I'm not dreaming, aren't I? It's hard to believe that you're Xiao right now."
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me as he comforted me. "Silly," he said, and he pinched my nose.
"How could I possibly say no when I first confessed to you? Of course, I will."
He smiled and hugged me tighter. "And one more thing."
"What?"
He cupped my check and leaned his face forward. "Let's finish what we're about to do last night," he said, kissing me passionately.
••••• Author's Note:
War has ended!
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