CHAPTER 1
He opened the door for her and smiled that saccharine smile as she entered the room. He was impeccably dressed, as expected, and of course he looked great in it. Here, was a man who will always look good no matter what he wore, be it be tattered or well-tailored.
The room was dimly lit by the candles on the set table. The scent of azaleas filled her nostrils--her favorite scent. A huge bouquet lay on the couch. She knew that was for her.
She turned to face him and pecked a kiss on his cheek. He smelled of after shave--somewhat minty and so manly. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
"You look really good",he said, looking at her curiously.
It was the first time she dolled up like that. Her face was made up and her hair was styled. Apart from that, she wore a really beautiful cocktail dress, hugging her body perfectly. Furthermore, she wore heels. He knew just how much she can't stand wearing those.
She replied with a simple "thanks" and proceeded to the center of the living room. He was right behind her, going straight to the couch to pick up the bouquet. He walked towards her, she was standing on the side opposite the couch.
"I've never given a bouquet to anyone before, not even to my girlfriends. I thought that giving you one would be weird. But then again, what's wrong with giving one to someone who's special to you?" He said this while looking at the bouquet, as if he was amazed that he really has one in his hand and is about to give it to a girl who was not even his girlfriend.
Well, it's wrong when that girl has a one-sided love for you. Please don't give me hope. These were her thoughts as she received the bouquet. Her heart was breaking and yet she still managed to smile and to stop the tears from falling.
"Thank you." That was all she could say. More words and he would surely be able to notice that her voice was shaky--shaky from the tears she's preventing to fall.
She could not possibly look into his eyes now and she smelled the flowers to hide her face for a while. Those few seconds helped and when she lifted her face she was somehow already able to compose herself.
They proceeded to the dining table.
Dinner was wonderful, and she enjoyed the conversations they were having. When dinner was over, he presented himself to fix the table and to do the dish washing. He protested when she said that she'd be helping. His reason being, she was invited as a guest and not as a maid.
She decided to wait in the living room. There were paintings on the wall, all were really beautifully done. She looked around and saw the staircase. Near it were two travelling bags. He was leaving tomorrow afternoon, she knew that, and that meant that this was their last time to be together.
He emerged from the kitchen with two cups of tea and a plate full of cookies. She was sure he baked them. After all, he's one hell of a great chef. They seated themselves beside each other on the couch and began talking about things, avoiding the topic about his leaving. They laughed about something they remembered and when the laughter died down, there was silence. The tension was now building up. Finally, he broke the silence and put his cup of tea down. He faced her, the smile now gone. She knew what was coming.
"I guess, we can't avoid talking about it, huh?" He started. "I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon for US. As you can see,"pointing to the travelling bags," I'm all set."
"I know", that was all that she could say. Turning her face away from him, she drank her tea, then setting the cup down, she proceeded to say, "Have a nice trip and take care always when you get there."
