Catnip [romance]

Chartreux

Nathan couldn't help but observe Freya during the movie.

She was like a wide-eyed child who had never seen the movie, except for the fact that she could recite all the lines since they were at the tip of her tongue. Her green eyes shone with enthusiasm as she popped pieces of popcorn into her mouth slowly. She was mesmerized by the screen and the actors and all the outfits Audrey Hepburn worn designed by Hubert de Givenchy himself. It was as if she was born in the wrong era.

"Hey," she nudged him with her toe, her legs still taking up the most space on the sofa as she looked at him. She noticed him staring at her, and shifted in her seat. "Why are you staring?"

"W—What?" He blinked, looking back at the screen. "Nothing. I was thinking for one second and kind of just stared at your face."

"You have that same habit, huh?" She teased.

"Which one?"

"In order to think, you look at something beautiful." She replied as a joke, chuckling.

One corner of his lips pulled up into a faint smile. "Yeah, I actually do." He told her.

Caught off-guard, she turned away, blushing. "Oh my god," she whispered to herself as she sunk into the sofa, her legs bending. "Okay, I think that's our cue to pause the movie and order some takeout." She swung her feet off the sofa and stood. "I'm going to get the menus. Pause the movie, would you?" She asked as she walked off to the kitchen.

Nathan did as she told him to, and he cringed at the fact that he had just flirted with her without realizing it. Well, it wasn't like as if he wouldn't have flirted with her, but she was a friend. A least that's what Freya told Zaira just now.

Freya came back with a bunch of takeout menus. "Here they are. Pick anything and we can resume the movie after that." She told him, sitting beside him with her legs to her chest.

He grabbed the menus from her and realized they were all from Michelin-star restaurants. The menus he'd have at home were different, with what the usual New Yorker would have— Chinese, Indian, Thai and even fast-food joints. She had almost none of those except for a menu from that new Thai two Michelin-star restaurant that had just opened up in Manhattan. Actually, that didn't really count. She seemed to enjoy the much finer things in life, even in her takeouts.

He picked out one of the menus and looked through it. "Well, a sirloin steak sounds very nice right now." He mused. "Yeah, I'll take that."

"Okay then. I'll just call the place up and give our orders." She replied, dialing the number of the restaurant.

At that same moment, Nathan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was an email from his father.

I just saw what your assistant has sent to the entire building. Freya Beauregard, though? Son, I don't think that's a good idea after what happened. Other than that, your mother thinks it's a brilliant idea to bring her over for dinner tomorrow.

Yikes. Even his parents thought that they were dating when they weren't. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed before typing a reply.

Freya and I are not together, just friends. Tell that to Mom and your troubles. If I was dating her, that means that I've moved on because Freya deserves someone who doesn't have her as a rebound. She's worth so much more than that.

He reread his email, and decided to backspace on the last sentence. He then sent it to his father and signed again, looking up at Freya.

"Alright, so I've already called them and the food will arrive after the movie." She told him. "You okay?" She frowned upon seeing his face.