“Wow! It’s so good here,” She smiles softly as she stares at the beautiful beach in front of her. It’s literally her first time coming to the beach, and the view here is everything. Watching some women in bikinis, while some men were wearing sunshades, she can’t help but admire the place.
“Do you like it here?” Alex suddenly asks her, earning a glance from her. She has the cutest smile he has ever seen, and for some seconds, he feels his heart stops moving for seconds before it picks race.
“Hmm. It’s beautiful,” She nods her head, turning to look at them too. It’s a good thing that Alex brought her out here. She didn’t think that she will ever have so much fun. For the main time, she feels all of her burdens have been lifted off her shoulders.
“Do you want to play around?” He asks, and she chuckles softly, revealing her one-sided dimple. Now, she looks so cute in that.
“Nah, I’m not in for that,” She says sarcastically, but the expression on her face says a different thing. Why the heck is she holding back? Who knows, maybe it’ll be the last time that she’ll ever get to have this much fun.
“You don’t mean that, do you, huh?” He suddenly tickles her on her neck and starts running away.
“Catch me if you can, Ariel. Whoa,” He chuckles softly as he runs effortlessly.
“Don’t mess with me, Alex. I’m going to kill you,” She snaps as she starts running after him. For the first time in ten years, she’s finally genuinely happy, and she can’t help but wish that this lasts forever. How she suddenly feels comfortable around this young man is a puzzle she can’t solve, but she’s not worried about that either though.
She suddenly trips and falls to her knees, trying to catch her breath.
“Are you OK? Did you get hurt?” He stops and hurries over to her. He squats in front of her while having a worried look on his face.
“My ankle hurts,” She winces in pain as she squeezes her face.
“Let’s see,” He reaches out for her leg, and checks her bruised ankle.
“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me. Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital,” Standing up to his feet, he picks her up in a bridal style.
“Hey, drop me down. I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital,” She protests as she flings her legs in mid-air.
“Come on, keep it down. You’re hurt, and you need a medical assistant,” He insists as he heads toward where his car was parked.
“Just drop me down already. I can still walk,” She insists, and he sighs briefly before he drops her on her feet.
“See? I’m fine,” She moves her legs effortlessly, and he rolls his eyes.
“Don’t tell me that was a trap to get to me, huh?” He glares at her, and she rolls her eyes.
“In your wildest dream,” She scoffs.
“Come on, let’s take you to another interesting place. I bet you’ll love it,” He winks at her, taking her hand while she just follows him obediently. Hopping in his car, he drives out of the beach, heading to God knows where.
“Where are we going?” She questions after a few minutes of driving, and he only glances at her.
“You’ll find out when we get there,” Seeing the smirk dancing on the corner of his lips, she can’t help but think that she has gotten herself into a deep mess. What if he’s not someone she should’ve trusted?
“Don’t make that look. I’m not abducting you,” He rolls his eyes when he sees the look on her face.
A few minutes later, he finally pulls over in front of a restaurant.
“And here we are,” He announces as he pushes the car door open and steps out of the car.
“Wow!” She utters as she admires the surrounding. She has heard so much about this restaurant, and it has always been her dream to come here, but how was she supposed to, when she can’t even afford a bottle of water here?
“Their meal is nice. Come on, let’s go inside,” He holds her hand, and her heart misses a beat as she feels a spark in her body strangely. What’s going on with her body?
Trailing behind her, the two walk into the restaurant, and she’s even more amazed at how amazingly beautiful the place has turned out to be. Turns out that it is really worth the hype that was given to it.
“Let’s sit over there,” He leads her to sit at a corner of the restaurant.
“Waiter!” He calls out to the waiter, and he rushes over to them.
“You’re welcome to ‘Your taste’ restaurant. Do you want to place your orders now, Sir?” The waiter asks politely, and he nods his head.
“Here’s the menu, Sir,” the waiter hands him the menu.
“Here, choose what you want,” He passes the menu book to her, and she picks it up. Her mouth drops open as soon as she opens the book. Seeing the price tags on the meals, she suddenly lost her appetite. The money for each meal is enough to feed her for a whole month. How’re people frequenting this bar, and still end up having savings later?
“Haven’t you seen anything that you want to eat yet?” Seeing the look on her face, he further questions her.
“Come here,” She whispers to him after she glances at the waiter who’s still waiting patiently for them to place their order.
“How often do you come here?” She asks, and he pulls a puzzled look.
“Every day. Why?” He asks, and she bites her bottom lip. It’s embarrassing to tell him that the meals are too expensive, and at the same time, she feels like it’s not right to take advantage of his kindness to her. Maybe she should just order something cheap. Even a bottle of water is not even cheap? Gosh!
“Uhm…”
“Order anything you want. The bill is on me,” He finally says to her, and she snaps her head to look at him.
“But…”
“Give her anything she wants. The healthiest meal in here, I mean,” He turns to the waiter and says to him politely.
“I’ll go get your order now, Sir,” the waiter bows slightly before he walks away to take their order.
“Thank you,” She says to him shyly, and he nods his head. ‘Is this the right time to question him?
“So… What do I need to know about you?” He suddenly asks out of the blue, as he reclines on the chair.
“I don’t think anything is interesting to know,” She shrugs. There’s nothing really sweet about her life, so what’s there to know?
“Wow! I didn’t see that reply coming. So…”
“How did you know my name?” She cuts him off, and he chuckles softly.
“I just know. Aren’t I an amazing magician?” He cups his cheeks in his palms and pouts his lips.
“Oh, please,” She rolls her eyes and turns her face away, embarrassed. For some reason, she finds this childish and cute. Turns out that he’s not as bad as she thought he’d be.
“Alright. We met at the hospital some months ago when I came to get a test result from the doctor. You bashed into me, but you didn’t look like you were fine, so I just left you be,” He explains, and she sighs briefly. She still has been thinking that she has seen his face before, turns out that she was right after all.
“You and Max are not close… Are you two really brothers?” She suddenly asks, and he bites his bottom lip…