Who said finding love makes things simple?
For Lee, it's probably the most challenging part.
Bonus chapters of Lee X Sana's life.
It might become a book; I said might!
There Bea understood Sana. No one wishes to be far from the person they loved. Sana tried to schedule her story out of her jobs' way from the beginning of the relationship. Unlike a few, she didn't dump the worst hours on her team so she could skive off to live her best life with Lee. When she couldn't travel, it was he who came to Paris.
How long could they keep up the routine?
Some would say years, but since the move was something they both desired, the moment was then.
"I don't want you to feel pressured or anything, but I wanted to have this discussion first to let you know I'll support your application if you decide to go for it."
"Thank you so much, Sana," Bea's eyes filled with tears. Becoming an assistant manager for the high school dropout was already a wild exploit. Bea saw a flash of all the interviews and rejection emails she received before getting her job in the store. If it wasn't her education that bothered, it was her appearance. Apparently, tattoos and piercings prevented one from being competent if one listened to recruiters.
"Oh, don't thank me, you're the one who showed the motivation and resilience to push through. There will probably be a lot of external applicants, but I hope HR will privilege insiders."
"Thank you, Sana."
In London, Lee sat down for lunch with Micheal at one of his favorite noodle restaurants in the West End.
"I asked Sana to live with me."
"Wow, that's some crazy news."
"What's crazy about it? We're dating; I asked Sana to live with me. What's crazy?"
Lee was always a little on the defensive side when he felt someone had a critical eye on Sana or their relationship.
"Calm down, Lee. It's just you threw beer on her face, and now you can't live without her. It's, how can I say," Micheal paused as he attempted to pick words that wouldn't earn him a visit to an emergency room due to a punch in the nose, "an odd twist of fate."
"Haha, what's crazy is that sentence coming from a twisted man himself."
"Touché," Micheal said and twirled his noodles on the chopsticks.
Micheal still had difficulty soaking in the idea of Lees' and Sanas' relationship, but many things had changed. Micheal solely focused on work without his best buddy and former mistress in the company. Once at home, all his attention went to his wife and kids.
Typical, one would say, but it was easier said and done for the man who was an incorrigible flirt.
Micheal learned his lesson thanks to Lee, who encouraged him to stop his affair and reminded him of the importance of keeping his marriage together.
Lee didn't understand how Micheal could claim to love his wife to death and cheat on her.
Though sour and bitter, back then, despite his misfortune, Lee warned and protected Micheal. The man had to unjustly get fired for Micheal to see his mistress' true colors.
Keela wasn't as sweet as Micheal imagined. The man naively believed he could control the course of the relationship, but Keela wanted more. For Micheal, it was just a fling. Keela was his sexual frustration outlet; the man had no intention of leaving his wife for her.
The rupture was brutal, and Micheal almost lost his friend in the process.
Lee held no grudge; he just made it clear if Micheal acted up again, he would ditch their friendship in the gutter without looking back to see it go down Londons' drains.
"What did she say when you asked her?"
"You know, Sana, she smiled and asked if she could think about it," Lee shrugged, "it's a ordinary reaction, I guess."
Lee replayed the take of their conversations as he slurped his noodles. When shocked or surprised by his words, Sana had the habit of exclaiming his name. The tone variated, and the man could distill the emotion behind them.
Lee didn't like interpreting actions and reactions, but sometimes Sana left him no choice. She wasn't shy, but she always seemed to measure her words. Eager, Lee wished she could just blurt out what she had in mind.
"I hope you know what you're asking for."
Lee turned his head to the side to look at Micheal. He rose an inquisitive brow as he asked, "what do you mean?"
Defensive mode on.
"You know how it is, mate. Sana moves in; then she wants a baby and or marriage."
"Micheal, I'm the one who asked her to move in with me. Don't you think I'm aware of all the eventualities?"
"Being aware of them doesn't mean you want them. I mean, you've been there before see where it led you."
Lee smiled, "it led me to Sana. I'm sorry to say this, but I don't regret my marriage. I don't rue having Dylan or even my divorce. I've got a great woman and my life ahead of me. I'm not going to fuck up my chance for things that are naturally bound to happen."
Lee glowered at Micheal up and down, "I think I've got doctor Simmons card on me. Do you want it?"
"Fuck off, Lee."
"You fuck off. Don't try to shove your hot jacket potato of insecurities on me."
No, the lion wasn't sleeping in the mighty jungle.
