RJ passed by a florist on his way home to buy some yellow roses for Dei. He also stopped by Peppino's to order some food for take out and walked to the liquor store next door for some wine. He really wanted to surprise her.
When he got home, he just parked his car and immediately walked over to Dei's house. He was so excited to see her.
He was about to knock on the door when it suddenly opened. It turned out Dei heard RJ's car and looked out the window just in time to see him walking on her driveway.
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"Hi!" RJ said, with a big smile on his face.
"Hi! You're here!" Dei said.
"Yes, I'm here!" RJ said, laughing.
"Sorry, I meant aren't you supposed to be in the city? It's only Thursday." Dei said, confused.
"Yeah, well, truth be told, I'm here because I miss you." RJ said, ears blushing.
"Oh!" Dei said, blushing as well.
They just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Dei recovered her composure and asked him to come in. He gave her the bouquet of flowers and told her that he bought food and a bottle of wine for their dinner and placed them on the table. Dei went to the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. When she came back, he asked her if they could go out for a walk, and she said yes.
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They walked in comfortable silence, just enjoying the beauty of the lake. They went to the club, which was just at the corner of their street and sat down on one of the benches.
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"I meant what I said earlier." said RJ, to break the ice. "I really missed you."
Dei smiled at RJ shyly, blushing a little, and thanked him for the flowers.
They walked back to her house before dark. Dei set up the table and RJ opened the wine. While having dinner, they talked about work, family and friends.
"Do you mind if I ask you something personal?" RJ said.
"What do you want to know?" said Dei.
"I'm just wondering why someone like you would be single." said RJ
"Someone like me?" Dei repeated, somewhat piqued.
"I know that didn't sound right and I probably shouldn't be asking you that, too, but please, please, don't get mad at me! I didn't mean to be disrespectful in any way. But like I said, I'm just wondering why a beautiful woman like you is not seeing anyone right now." RJ explained, hoping Dei wouldn't get angry enough to not even talk to him anymore.
"Then let me ask you the same question--why are you still single?"
"Because I haven’t met anyone who’s made me want to change that...until you came along."
Dei didn't know what to say to that, but RJ mustered up the courage to continue and say, "I know we just met a few days ago and we really don't know each other well, but I really do like you, Dei. I hope you give me, us, the chance to get to know each other better. Please, Dei."
Dei sighed and said, "Ok. I would like that, too, thank you. And to answer your question: my boyfriend passed away three years ago. He was my first love and the only serious relationship I ever had. People say it gets easier with time, and to some extent, that is true. But the pain never truly goes away. I didn't want to date anyone while I was grieving, because it would have been unfair to them."
Dei didn't want to cry in front of RJ, but tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke. RJ wrapped her in his arms to comfort her and said, "I know what that's like, too. I lost my mom when I was 12 years old. I'm so sorry, Dei."
Dei wiped her tears with her hand and said, "I'm so sorry, too."
They smiled wanly at each other while holding each other's hands. Dei didn't know why, but she just realized that when she talked about Patrick (her boyfriend), it didn't hurt so much anymore. And she found RJ's presence truly comforting.
Later, after they said good night, RJ went home and looked out his bedroom window at Dei's room, but the lights were out. She has probably gone to sleep, he thought, so he also called it a night. While lying in his bed, he thought about what transpired earlier. It was painful to see her like that. But he's glad that he was able to tell her how he feels about her, and that she didn't tell him to get lost. He felt like an ass for asking her that stupid question which ended with her in tears.
He swore on his life that he will never make her cry again.
