For Real? ✅

Chapter 18

LEAH

Tess told me to apologise to Helen today so that she would give me my job back.

I hoped it would be as easy as that.
It wasn't.

I mean, when I apologised, Helen accepted it.
Then she made me the cashier for the day.

It doesn't seem bad at all, but Helen is evil in her own way.

Since today was the day of the cookie sale, we had too many customers pouring in. I am extremely bad at math and I get a headache just thinking about numbers.

I was literally in tears when the whole ordeal was over.

Helen did this on purpose. And her smirk gave it away.

I mean, I know that I'd messed up the cookies, but this seemed too petty of a revenge plan.

Luckily, Tess cheered me up later.
I suggested that Tess could have a sleepover at my place and she readily agreed.

We ended up spending the whole night watching movies, eating ice-cream, laughing about stupid things and not worrying about anything in life.

*****

I needed to see Adam.
Especially after what we'd done on Thursday.

Was he seriously interested in me?
Or was it just an impulse?
Or did I just make the whole thing up in my head as I was drunk?
I needed an answer, whatever it was.

I only managed to find him alone the next evening, when he was jogging in the park.

I catch up with him, jogging in the same phase as he was.

"Hey!" I say, already breathless.

"So now you've decided to jog with me, huh?" he asks, throwing me a playful half-smile.

"I need to talk to you," I state gravely.

"I need to talk to you too", he replies teasingly, still in a jovial mood.

I sigh. "Did the stuff on Thursday night really happen? Or was I just too drunk?"
I question, stopping in my tracks.

He stops too.
"What do you mean?" He asks, looking clueless. "What happened on Thursday?"

I raise my eyebrows at him. He raises his eyebrows back at me.

"Quit kidding Adam!" I wail at him.

He laughs at me, "You look cute when you're angry too."

I frown back. "On Thursday night, I was in the bar. Then you came over. And then...", I falter, looking anxiously at him.

"And then?" He asks, clearly enjoying my nervousness. He walks closer to me.
"And then what, Leah?" He repeats, his breath falling over my face.

I stare deeply into his eyes. "And then we kissed," I whisper.
He just leans over and kisses me softly, leaving me as red as a tomato.

"Like this?" Adam asks, still feigning confusion. I notice that he's fighting a smile.

"Yes", I say, relieved that it had all happened. It was no Schrodinger's cat after all.

Adam grins at me. "The kiss was too good to forget." He admits, turning red.

"Want another?" I flirt, before kissing him again.

*****
I bring Adam to my apartment since I realised that no place was as peaceful as my home.

"Nice place", he remarks, before settling down on my armchair.
I get chips and fruit juice because he says that he's still on his diet.

"So?" I ask once I sit down. "You had also wanted to talk to me right?"

He nods sheepishly. Is he actually blushing?
"Will you be my girlfriend Leah?" Adam asks, looking serious.

I knew that this was coming. But even then, it's still so sudden.

Before I could talk, he continues, "More like, will you be my secret girlfriend? This whole thing can be a secret for a while."

Now I am baffled. "Why? Don't you want others to know that we're dating? Are you ashamed of being with me?" I almost shout at him.

My mind comes up with worse scenarios every second.

He quickly shakes his head. "No, it's not like that! I really want to date you."

He takes a breath before talking.

"You're so different from the others.
I feel like if we date, people will brand you as another girl who just wants to sleep with me.
I can't let that happen to you."

He runs his hand through his hair.
I guess he's choosing his words carefully, his brows furrowed in thought. He takes some time before speaking again.

"What we have, it's SO different from what I've had with other girls.
I had a crush on you for a long time, before I finally started talking to you."
He pauses, looking at me with intensity, giving me tingles all over.

"I want you to be a secret so that I don't have you to share with the world."
Adam ends gently, his face filled with emotion.

I find tears running down my face, as he engulfs me in his strong arms.