Where is she? Gino gazed up at the apartment building before glancing down at his watch. It was already fifteen minutes past seven. It was unlike Alana to be late, and if she was, she usually called to let him know what had held her up. He remembered. Of course, she wouldn't call unless necessary. Unless she was ten minutes late or more.
He moved to run a hand through his hair again, but stopped himself. If Gino did it again, it would mess up his hair even more.
Okay. Might as well go up to her apartment and check. He pushed open the door and smiled at the landlady, who gave him a nod in return. Gino was pleased that the middle-aged woman still remembered him after all those weeks.
He stepped into the elevator, pressed the button to the fifth floor and waited. The doors slid open and he made his way down the hall before stopping in front of an apartment door, with the silver numbers 529 plastered on the oak. It looked like a nice apartment, and Gino knew that it was her boyfriend Josh's, from what Alana had told him. Well, his apartment was nice too.
He knocked firmly.
"I got it!" he heard a voice call within, and smiled.
The door opened to reveal Alana with damp, sweet-smelling hair... dressed in nothing but a shirt. It looked like a young man's shirt. Gino's blue eyes trailed down to the hem of the shirt; he could see the bottom of her shorts just barely concealed underneath.
When he returned his gaze to Alana's hazel eyes, he saw them widen. It did nothing to abate the sudden burning sensation that gripped his heart as he felt his stomach drop.
Gino clenched his jaw, but forced himself to speak, rather stiffly. "Are you ready for dinner?"
Alana bit her lip and looked down as a blush spread across her soft cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Gino. I forgot." He'd never heard her sound so soft and timorous.
"Obviously."
He watched her swallow, and shift from one foot to the other.
"Who is it, babe?" a young man's voice called out.
Gino never knew how much those words pained him until he heard them that day. He called her babe...
As if something, or someone, was diligently trying to piss him off, her boyfriend came into view.
He was dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers. Gino was immensely tempted, then, to spit on the ground to get rid of the acerbic taste in his mouth. Instead, he swallowed.
"Um... it's a friend; forgot we were hanging out," Alana replied.
Gino couldn't help himself: he observed Josh carefully. He had to admit, her boyfriend was pretty good-looking. He had warm eyes, a defined jaw, was definitely fit, if the muscles were to by, and tall for an Asian. He didn't look completely Asian though, perhaps mixed with something else. Josh did look like a kind, trustworthy guy, and knowing that worsened his temper.
"Oh," Josh smiled politely in Gino's direction, and it took all the willpower he had to give a somewhat decent smile back. "Well, I'm going to shower now. You should go change and get ready. Don't want to keep him waiting." Josh turned around and disappeared deeper into the apartment.
The silence that followed did nothing to diminish the tension between the two.
"Do you still want to have dinner with----?"
"---- Of course I do," Alana blurted, and Gino had the odd feeling that she was partially responding the way she was as a result of her guilt. "Just wait here; I'll be out in about ten minutes."
When she emerged from the apartment and closed and locked the door, he felt as if his heart was throbbing within his chest. Her dark silky hair tumbled over her shoulders and down her back in soft waves, and whatever perfume she was wearing seemed to ignite a tingling sensation down his spine. A dark blue coat draped over her pale peach dress; its frilly hem was both cute and feminine. She wore a pair of cream-colored platform pumps and little makeup.
So cute.
Alana turned to face him with what looked like a hesitant smile. "Let's go."
Gino nodded and silently led her to the elevator. She tried to break the silence, he supposed, by saying, "You look good."
He looked down at her; her wide hazel eyes seemed to swim with a multitude of emotions.
He cleared his throat. "Thanks." You do too. He wanted to tell her what was on his mind, but didn't want to at the same time.
"You look nice too." Gino barely caught Alana's smile from the corner of his eye. Just because he wasn't in the best of moods didn't mean that he was going to sink to a certain level. He wasn't going to be rude either.
“Isn’t this too much?” Alana asked, looking down at the herb-roasted quail in her plate. “It looks gorgeous, and smells amazing, but…” She looked up at him, almost questioningly.
“I’ve taken you to some small French cafés and bistros in the past, but not an actual restaurant yet. Besides, it’s not the most expensive French restaurant I could take you too. Not yet, at least.”
Not until we start dating again, anyway, he thought to himself while digging into his steak au poivre.
“How did you and Josh meet?” he asked, after a moment.
She glanced up at him and blushed, prettily, under his gaze. “At a café. It was my first day of work and I was standing in line waiting for breakfast when I accidentally bumped into him. He was really polite about it. He asked me for my number when I was leaving.”
Sounds genuine.
“How long have you guys been together?”
She swallowed the mouthful of food before answering. “I’ve been working at EcoHomes for about a year. So technically, about a year.”
Not as long as us. We were together two years.
“You guys get along well,” he said.
“Don’t you think this is awkward?” Alana asked, lightly scraping her fork on the plate.
Gino chuckled. “You made it so since you just said it.”
She didn’t say anything; she just bit her lip and glanced down.
He sighed. “I know that what happened in Tokyo was awkward. I keep thinking about it.”
“About what?”
“I started liking you again when we were on the business deal.”
There was silence. Then, Alana cleared her throat.
“What about your girlfriend?”
“I broke up with her. I did it after I came back because I couldn’t keep up a relationship with her like that. I can’t be in one with someone I don’t like.
“Basically, do you want me to stay in your life?”
He watched her swallow and twirl several strands of her hair around a finger.
“I want you to stay, and I’m flattered, Gino. But I think we should just stay friends.”
His heart plummeted then. Or at least, that's what it felt like.
“How’d it go?” Kara’s voice called once he closed his apartment door and was slipping his shoes off.
“She said she wants to stay friends,” he sighed once his ex-girlfriend came into view.
“Really?” Her brows knitted together. “Maybe that’s what she’s saying now, but she’ll probably figure it out later.”
“It’s not a big deal anyway,” Gino straightened up and tossed his jacket to the side. “Have you found a place yet?”
“Huh?”
“It’s weird rooming with an ex,” he shrugged.
Kara’s lips parted slightly. “Oh! I didn’t know it was bothering you…”
“Not really. It was just weird, I guess.”
"Well, come to think of it, one of my friends is looking for a roommate. I’ll update you on the details if anything happens. Anyway, what’re you going to do about Alana?”
“I don’t know. If she wants to stay friends, I won’t push it.” He slumped in his chair. “I guess that’s it then.”
“Well, aren't you stubborn.”
“I love her, but I can’t do anything if she doesn’t feel anything back.”