THE ROAD TO YOUR HEART (Completed) ✔

27: A Welcomed Visit

By 2pm, Chris was in front of Jacqueline's home. This time, he came out of his car quickly. Though he was a very eager to see Jacqueline again, he knew he had to compose himself in a manner that wouldn't reveal how desperate he was.

He walked up to the front door and knocked twice. He heard someone inside say they're coming. He wasn't sure whether it was Jacqueline or her mom because apart from their striking resemblance, their voices were also very similar.

Finally, the door opened and he saw himself, standing face to face with Jacqueline.

"Good afternoon, Jacqueline! Uhm... Your mom invited me over for lunch."

"Yes I know, come on in." She opened the door all the way for him. "How's the weekend so far?"

"So far so good. How's yours going?" He asked.

"Going well, thanks." She smiled. "Hold on a sec while I go get Mom."

"I'll be waiting right here." He smiled.

She went inside and after a minute, she came back out and went straight to the kitchen. Chris heard a door open, and when he looked towards that direction, he saw Jacqueline's mom.

"Mrs Jasmine, good afternoon." Chris smiled and stood up.

"Chris..." She smiled. "I'm so happy you made it. You're welcome." She extended her hand to him and he shook it.

"Thank you so much for inviting me. So happy to be here."

"Please, feel at home. Excuse me while I assist my daughter in setting the table." She smiled and left for the kitchen.

"Do you need any help? I know my way around the kichen." Chris smiled revealing a perfect set of pearly white teeth.

"Oh dear, I'm sure you do." Jasmine giggled. "Don't worry about it, we can handle it for now. Maybe next time." She continued giggling as she walked to the kitchen.

The words - maybe next time, kept playing in Chris' head. He was very happy to hear that there's a chance he might get invited again but he knew he had to be at his best behaviour at all times in order not to give the Bailey's family a wrong impression.

"Alright Chris, lunch is ready." Jacqueline smiled and motioned her hands towards the dining table.

"Thank you so much. Wow, looks delicious." He smiled as he approached the table.

"Tastes delicious too." Jasmine giggled.

"Oh, I bet it does! Where's Nolan? Is he not joining us?" Chris asked.

"No, not right now. He'll be running a little late today." Jacqueline replied.

"Oh okay. I hope everything's alright with him though." Chris' face showed concern.

"Yes, everything's fine. He likes to go to his buddy's house to play video games. According to him, they have a competition with other friends of theirs so it might take a while." Jacqueline replied as she used a soup ladle to put some chicken stew in a ceramic bowl before setting it down in front of Chris.

"That's good! I guess it's a nice way to cool off after going through so much stress in school. " Chris said as he extended his hand to receive the plate of white rice Jasmine passed to him.

"That's true Chris. But to be honest, I'd rather he comes home immediately after school and cool off here. I really don't like the way he goes to that house everyday. After school, he needs to come home, take a shower, relax and then revise what he learnt at school." Jasmine shook her head.

"You're absolutely right Mrs Jasmine. But I know for sure, Nolan is a very intelligent young man. He definitely knows when to draw the line." Chris reassured them.

"He better!" Jacqueline said without taking her eyes off her food.

After lunch, Chris volunteered to assist in clearing the dishes but Jacqueline and her mom objected to this because he was a visitor and needed to be as comfortable as possible.

"It's really no trouble, Ma'am." Chris said.

"That's alright dear. You just sit down and relax." Jasmine smiled. "Oh and by the way, there's freshly squeezed orange juice in the fridge, I'll get some for you."

"Aw, Mrs Jasmine please, you've given me too much already." Chris raised his hands as if to stop her.

"Nonsense! There's no such thing as too much when it comes to taking care of our guests."

"I appreciate that." Chris nodded and took a seat on the couch opposite the TV while Jacqueline sat adjacent to him.

"Do you like to watch anything in particular?" She asked as she took the TV remote off the table and started flipping through the channels.

"No, not really. I'm not much of a TV person." He replied.

"Oh okay!" She nodded.

"Jacqueline, I don't know but, will it be possible for me to get your number and maybe invite you out on a date sometime?" He looked at her timidly.

"No!" She replied sternly.

"Okay, no pressure." He smiled and adjusted backwards in his seat.

Jacqueline rolled her eyes and adjusted in her seat too. She knew she was only being this nice because of her mother. She remembered arguing with her the previous evening over Chris. For some reason, her mom believed Chris was sincere and genuine but she knew better.

"Okay, who's ready for a glass of..." Jasmine paused immediately the door flung open.

"Nolan, what in the world! You scared the hell out of me!" Jacqueline clutched her chest.

"Nolan, is everything okay?" Jasmine asked as she gently set the tray that had on it, a jug full of orange juice and 3 glasses, on the table.

"I'm fine, Mom!" He replied with a stern expression on his face. He walked straight to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water in his hand and was about to go to his room when Jacqueline stood in his way.

"You don't look fine to me. What's the matter? Did you have a fight with you friend?" She asked feeling concerned.

"I really don't want to talk about it, okay? Please!" He replied and walked passed her to his room.

"What do you think is his problem?" Jasmine asked.

"Beats me! Could be he had a fight with his friend." Jacqueline shrugged.

"Mrs Jasmine, is it okay if I go in there and talk to him?" Chris asked politely.

"I don't think that's a good idea. He seems really pissed right now and might say something you won't like." Jacqueline relaxed on the couch.

"Well, how about you let me worry about that?" Chris grinned.

"As you wish!" She replied.

"Mrs Jasmine, do I have your permission to go talk to him?"

"Yes you do, Chris." She nodded. "Thank you for trying."

"No problem! He'll be back to normal in no time." Chris smiled as he stood up from the couch. "Please, which one, is his room again?"

"Second door on your right." Jacqueline responded.

"Thanks." He replied and followed her directions.

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