Cold Feet (COMPLETED)

Lavender

They finally reached his car, he opened the door for her, his arm brushing against her breast. She jerked away in surprise, feeling the heat of sexual tension flush her face. He mistook it to mean repulsion and moved away from her.

"Sorry," He mumbled, shaking his head as soon as she was seated. He sat on the driver seat, automatically putting on his seatbelt. He looked at Dei and noticed her staring at nothing in particular, wondering if she was bored.

"Seatbelt, Dei."

"Hm? Oh....sorry."

He started the car and turned on the aircon and radio. He pulled out of the parking area and headed towards San Miguel Avenue.

"Were you going to meet someone today? I'm sorry if Andrew left me with you."

"I was actually going to call you and see if you were around. I had a lunch meeting that finished late and wondered if you wanted to have coffee. Then I saw you with him."

They fell silent again, then spoke at the same time.

"Dei what is—"

"Please don't---"

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

He motioned for her to speak first.

"Please don't judge me by what you saw."

"What exactly did I see, anyway? And, do I really have a right to judge? I'd appreciate a little transparency though."

"That's the thing. You want transparency meaning you read something into what you saw, more than what was actually in it."

"Dei, I saw a guy hook his arm around your neck, pull you close and was about to nuzzle your neck. And you were letting him. It's not usually an activity between best friends."

"I know, I'm sorry. But he really is that. Nothing more. And he wasn't going to nuzzle my neck, he doesn't do that."

"I'm sorry Dei, I don't believe it's just.....that. There's a back story there somewhere."

"There is but you might judge me more if I tell you."

"Do you have feelings for this guy?"

"Not anymore."

"Not anymore. So there used to be......feelings, I mean. There's the back story right there."

Her heart sank, she fell silent. She knew it wasn't right to feel guilty, she didn't owe him any loyalty, but she was anyway. She was not the type to go on the offensive and point out to him the fact, because the truth was, she really liked Richard. She liked him a lot that it scared her, and she wanted to take things slow. She wasn't kidding when she told Andrew about her trust issues.

They arrived at Café Juanita, which wasn't full since it was still early. He parked the car and got out, jogged to her side to open the door for her. She got out and looked at him uncertainly.

"Richard.....are you mad at me?"

"I'm not. I don't think I have the right to be. But a little clarity would be good. Come on, let's talk inside."

He held her cold hand and pulled her to his side. "We're not fighting ok? We're good. This just needs sorting out."

They ordered the salad and appetizers, opting to eat light as they weren't that hungry. Dei was admiring the décor, reminding her of their ancestral home, the big house they sold when her father died. Their house was similar to this, a Mediterranean-inspired house with colorful interiors, antique furniture and soft lighting.

"You like it here, don't you?"

"I do. Thanks for bringing me here, it reminds me of our old house in New Manila. We sold it though, it was too big to manage. I still drive that way sometimes to see it."

Their eyes met and held. Richard took her cold hand and sandwiched it between his warm palms.

"Are you feeling cold?"

"No, I'm just nervous."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I always am when I'm with you."

"Are you feeling the same when you're with Andrew?"

"No, never like this. Richard.......Andrew is just a friend. And he's gay."

"But he touches you in a familiar way. He's flirty with you."

"He was my ex.....wait, don't react yet. Listen....He was my first boyfriend, and I fell hard for him. But he ended our relationship because he was confused about his sexuality. I think he still is now. We became good friends, I moved on, and he went on to have a boyfriend right after we split. He and Carl were together for two years—"

"Were. Past tense?"

"Y-yes. Dru caught Carl cheating on him, so......I was comforting him earlier when you saw us."

"Dei.....I've been vocal about how much I like you, I hope it's clear that I want us to be more than friends."

"I know, Richard. I like you too. But can we take it slow? Can we just enjoy the friendship first, build it from there?"

"What exactly does that mean, Dei? You don't want to us to commit yet? You want to meet more people? Mingle?"

"No. I'm not really a sociable person. I have trust issues and I can't rush and give myself to you just yet."

"Is it the intimacy that's worrying you?"

"Partly, yes."

"I won't force you to do anything you're not ready to do. But you know what? Your familiarity with Andrew is scary. He has the power to take you back anytime he wants."

"Ok, obviously Andrew seems to be a threat to you when he's actually not. Didn't you see the way he was sizing you up? The way he held on to your hand longer than necessary?"

"Dei, let's reverse the situation. How would you feel if you saw me touching someone the way Andrew was touching you earlier? Would you understand we were just friends?"

"Point taken, Richard. Truce please? Let's just enjoy our time together, ok?"

They enjoyed the rest of the night, finding out more about each other. He suggested to buy icecream and spend more time in his house in Valle Verde 4. It was actually a cluster of four houses built to look like one house, each unit supposedly owned by him, his two siblings and parents. Both siblings worked abroad, but his parents were still occupying the smallest unit among the four.

His parents seemed out so they went directly to his house, the biggest unit with three bedrooms. He sometimes entertained at home, especially when he and his team needed to work late, hence the bigger unit given to him.

"Make yourself at home Dei, I'll just get some bowls for the icecream."

He switched the TV on and left her to scoop some icecream on two small bowls. She noticed his laundry delivery wrapped in stretch film stacked on the layzyboy and was drawn to a gold satin piece of clothing on top of the stack of laundered clothes, noting that it was unmistakably a woman's top. Her heartbeat doubled and her palms started sweating.

Why was there woman's clothing in his laundry?