Aileen
“Your grandpa’s house is even more grand than this? Your family is so rich!” he yelled aloud.
“Uh…I guess so. Is that really so shocking? Considering how much my dad has to work every day, I think it’s normal.”
“It’s normal, huh?”
“Anyway, come inside and take a seat here. How long will you keep standing?” I said, bringing him over to the living room. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“It’s okay; don’t worry about me.” He took a seat, and I wondered whether Susan had finished cleaning.
“I’ll go and put these in my room. You wait here for a bit, alright?” I said to him.
“Uh, sure. Go ahead.”
“I’ll tell the maid to give you something to drink. They’ll keep you company.”
“Uh, but there’s no need”
“Rita, please come here for a second!” I yelled.
A second later the maid came running, “Yes, princess, you called?”
“Yeah. He’s my friend, Skylar. Can you bring him something to drink?”
“No problem, what would he like? Hot or cold drink?”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Um….. I’m not that thirsty, but an Irish coffee would be great. Do you know how to make one?”
“Irish coffee?” Can Rita do that?
“Yes, I can certainly make that. Please wait a bit.”
“Thanks, Rita, I’m coming back in a bit as well.”
He nodded hesitantly.
I hurried back to my room and saw Susan cleaning up the floor with the vacuum cleaner. But, the clothes were still all over the room.
“You haven’t finished cleaning yet?” I asked, putting down the flowers and chocolate bag on my study table.
“Princess, not yet. Your room is unexpectedly dirty. I did change the bedsheets and curtains, but I have yet to fix the closet and wash the clothes. It might take some time. Do you mind?”
“More time? But, my friend is already here.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m working alone and my health isn’t that good either. This is the highest speed I can work with considering your sudden request. Can you somehow keep him busy so I can finish fast?”
“Uh…” She’s right. I can’t tell her to hurry up when I ask for help last minute.
“Alright then. You don’t have to clean spotlessly. Just take care of my messy clothes all over the room. That’ll be great.”
“Will that be enough?”
“Yeah, I’m going. Take your time.”
After leaving the room, my phone beeped.
I checked my phone to see a text message from Mom.
“It’s over 11 a. m. Did your special friend arrive already?”
How did she know?
“Yeah, a while ago.”
“Really? Can you show me a pic? I kind of want to see him.”
“What? A pic? But, why?”
“Please! Just a sneak peek will be enough.”
“Fine…wait a minute. I’ll send it.”
I went downstairs to see Skylar but he was nowhere to be found on the couch. I looked around and he was not in my sight.
Where did he go?
I went to the kitchen to ask the maid whether they had seen him, and they replied one of them had seen him walking towards the hall.
What is he doing there?
After a few minutes, I managed to spot him. He was looking at the pictures hung on the wall in great detail.
They were all pictures of Dave and his mom, with his dad from his childhood days. And some paintings that his mom kept in her room.
Maybe I can take a picture from here. I pulled out my phone and clicked two pics of him from different angles.
Hmm, they turned out great.
I sent them to Mom and checked for one last time. He’s photogenic, isn’t he? Looks good no matter how bad you take the pictures.
“What are you doing there?” Skylar’s voice made me almost drop my phone in shock.
But, I caught it before it dropped to the ground.
Phew.
“What were you doing in secret that made you so shocked?” he inquired, stepping closer to me.
“In secret? What? I wasn’t doing anything at all!” I stuttered.
“Really now? Then, why were you looking at me from a distance?”
Crap, he noticed. Should I tell him the truth?
“Your dad looked quite cute in his younger days. Don’t you think?” he comments.
“My dad….. oh yeah. He’s more handsome now though,” I chuckled.
His eyes narrowed on me, “Do you like men who take after your dad? Or someone else entirely?”
Why is he asking these kinds of questions? I can’t just outrightly tell him that I only love my dad, can I?
Can’t help it, gotta lie here.
“Uh…maybe…. maybe I like men who take after him,” I replied, “Someone, who’s warm, protective, worried about my well-being, someone serious and has a soft spot only for me, who are confident with their feelings.”
“You went into too much detail. But, I like how you know what exactly you want in a guy,” he replied, smiling vividly. “And I hope you manage to find someone exactly like that.”