The dinner I had later that night with Stephen went great. Since there was a restaurant at the hotel he was staying at, we went to dine there instead. His family dropped to say their greetings. It was nice seeing them after a long time.
After I got home, I sent Grayson a short text before turning my phone off and started to get ready for bed. I was still irked on how things were left when he dropped me off. He was acting quite rude to my friend for no reason at all. I don't know what got his boxer's in a twist, but it was all for the wrong reason. I decided to sleep it off for the rest of the night.
I can deal with him tomorrow. My sleep is more important than everything else.
The next day, instead of working on setting up an event at some venue, I'm staying in the office the whole day because I have to meet up with a few clients and continue planning for our other upcoming events.
One of the clients I had to meet was through a video conference. We had already met a few times before, but she called in to inform me of a few changes she wanted for the event and she was away for the time being, so we opted to meet online.
The other two clients I had today were just at the office. One in the morning and the other during the afternoon. The first client I had to meet was already getting on my nerves. I tried to offer them a drink but they started bitching about how the drinks I offered them were full of calories and preservatives. Backing off, I placed two water bottles on the side if they wanted it, but one of them scoffed and said that the brand we had was cheap. I said a quick prayer in my head, praying that it would end as soon as possible.
Two hours later and seven mental breakdowns inside my head, I was done with them for the day. Just in time, the invitations that Harley and Franco designed for an engagement party had arrived. I grabbed a box cutter and cut the box open and examined each invitation for any mistakes. They were all good, so I sent an email to my client that it was ready for pickup and to be sent, and taped back the box while waiting for a reply.
So far the rest of my day wasn't all that bad, just very busy running all over the place. When I returned home I was practically falling asleep from being tired but I couldn't quite sleep yet since I still had unfinished work to do. It might not be a good thing to bring work at home, but it is what it is.
As I was about to finish writing an email, my doorbell rang. I pushed myself off my office chair and skipped downstairs to the front door.
"Who is it?" I bellowed from the stairs and swung the door open and saw Grayson standing outside with flowers dressed in a black shirt and trousers. The sky behind him was a mix of pink and orange hues making the sight in front of me even picture worthy.
"It's me, hi." He waved a hand at me. "I'm here to apologize for my actions yesterday. I-I was just . . . jealous and threatened by your friend. I had no right to act like that and pass on my apology to your friend." He lowered his down a little and scratched the back of his neck. "And I also got you roses."
I smiled tightly, trying to stifle a chuckle. I accepted the bouquet of flowers, bringing it to my nose and inhaled the sweet scent. "These are carnations, but thank you."
A realization dawned upon his face. "Oh, they are? I thought they were roses. I'm in a time crunch right now— holy shit!" He looked at his watch on his left wrist. "Fuck, dad is going to murder me!"
I quirked a brow, frowning. "Why, what's wrong?"
"I'm accompanying him for a business trip to Japan and he specifically said to meet him at the airport in like five minutes now." Grayson frantically said, running his hands over his face.
I gave him an are-you-kidding-me look.
This cute dumbass.
Why did he even think of dropping by here when he had more important things to do?
"I need to go, but I will make it up to you when I get back, which will be in a week at most." He said, licking his lower lip. I was about to scold him when he suddenly cupped my face and gave me a big fat kiss on the lips before letting go. "That will last me for a while. Okay, I really need to get my ass to the airport. I love you, bye."
I didn't even contradict him because he was racing back to his car after he said that and left me speechless by my front door.
* * *
The rest of the week was filled with text messages and phone calls from Grayson at random times of the day. Time difference was a bitch. Our conversation keeps getting cut off for a million of reasons. Tokyo was seventeen hours ahead of California, so it was hard to keep talking to Grayson for a certain time.
"Good morning." I said, yawning as I moved around the kitchen making breakfast.
"Good evening." He replied, grinning.
We laughed in unison.
It was early in the morning, which isn't unusual for me to be up and already moving around and getting ready for my day. I dunk my black tea bag into a mug of hot water and wait for it to steep for a few minutes. For breakfast, I whipped up a quick fried rice since I had some leftover rice and my fridge needs a good clean out before I go grocery shopping.
"What time is it there?" I asked as I poured condensed milk into my tea and stirred it.
"Around midnight, so it's pretty late." He answered while making himself comfortable in his bed. "God, I will never understand how you can always wake up early."
I snickered. "Don't be jealous because I only have one alarm in the morning."
"I am not jealous. I'm not a big fan of sleep deprivation, that's all." He scoffed. "I think I was a koala in my past life, don't you think so? If I could, I would sleep all day. "
"Might as well drop dead and sleep for all eternity in peace." I half-shrugged.
"But you'll miss me when I'm gone." He faked a sad expression on his face.
"Hardly." I shortly answered, eating a spoonful of my food.
"You know what else is hard?" I can hear the teasing tone in his voice.
"Really, Grayson?!" I scowled at him. "In front of my damn food?"
"You're so dirty minded, Sunshine." He grinned mischievously. "I wasn't talking about that. There's a lot of other things that are hard."
"Oh, yeah?" I played along with his game, sarcastically smiling. "Like what for example?"
"Lots of stuff from rocks, your phone, almost everything is a hard solid thing." He said enthusiastically. "But yeah, kinda like my friend down there too when I think about you sometimes."
I let out a scream. "It is way too early for this!"
"So would you prefer to continue this later then?" He moved his eyebrows suggestively. "I can work with that. We could try phone se—"
"I'm done with this conversation, bye!" I ended the call before he could say a reply.
I checked the time on my phone and saw it was half past seven.
Yep, still pretty early.
After I cleaned up my mess and the kitchen, I looked at my phone to see a message from Grayson sent a few minutes ago.
From: Grayson Martins
My offer still stands and doesn't have an expiry date btw ;)
To: Grayson Martins
Bring me home some real authentic Japanese matcha then I'll think about it.
From: Grayson Martins
Or you can bring me home to your parents?
To: Grayson Martins
You've already met my parents stfu
From: Grayson Martins
Yeah, but I wanna meet them as your boyfriend
To: Grayson Martins
We've passed that step like back in high school. There's no need for a redo. I think by now they're quite familiar with your ugly ass <333
From: Grayson Martins
Hey!!! You fell for this "ugly ass" from way back
To: Grayson Martins
And I'm still regretting it now.
From: Grayson Martins
I am deeply hurt and offended. You just broke my heart into tiny little pieces
To: Grayson Martins
You're fine, just go sleep it off.
From: Grayson Martins
I'll just cry myself to sleep because you're so mean to me
To: Grayson Martins
k.
From: Grayson Martins
That's it? That's your reply when I'm about to cry???
To: Grayson Martins
You wanted to cry, so I'm giving you the space you need.
From: Grayson Martins
Being in a different continent is enough space from each other and we don't need more.
To: Grayson Martins
That's why you need to get home soon
From: Grayson Martins
Is this a way of you telling me you miss me??? I'm touched.
To: Grayson Martins
No, I just want my matcha
From: Grayson Martins
I'm on my last straw. I'm gonna go cry!
To: Grayson Martins
Lmao same. Enjoy your crying session though. Good night to you there.
I chuckled as I placed my phone in my back pocket and rushed upstairs to finish getting ready for work.
* * *
The next few days, I met up with Stephen for the last time before his flight the next day. He gave me a few of his snacks that he had brought from back home. Nostalgia hit me like a truck because I used to eat those snacks all the time during college.
I really need to book a vacation soon.
Janette visited me at work later that week, telling me about the house warming party she planned. It was happening this Saturday night. We went out for lunch and annoyed the crap out of Malcolm until he joined us.
"You should bring your boyfriend to my housewarming!" Janette suggested, practically leaning over the table.
"Yeah, bitch, you should bring him." I nudged Malcolm's arm. "I'm dying to meet him."
"Sorry, guys." He began, biting his french fry. "I'm gatekeeping my boyfriend from all of you. I know the two of you will be asking him a shit ton of questions so that you can probably start writing his biography." Malcolm gave me a side eye.
"I do not do that." I gave him a look and looked at Janette, who was also shaking her head sideways. "Well . . . perhaps, I do a little bit. But it'll be just like a game of twenty one questions, except I'm the only one asking the question."
"If being a Marites was a sport, I would have already won a gold Olympic medal." Janette chimed in and we burst out of laughter.
"That would be the only sport I would be good at if that was a thing." I said, covering my mouth as I continued giggling.
Malcolm feeling left out of the conversation asked, "What the fuck is a Marites?"
"Oh, it's kinda like the Filipino version of Karen," I explained.
"But she really only wants to know the current gossip." Janette continued. "Houses back there are in closer distance with each other, so like all the ladies in the neighborhood would flock and talk about the latest news."
"Sounds like my kind of group." Malcolm mused.
"By the way, are you bringing Grayson this weekend?" I was midway drinking my juice when Janette asked that question.
I froze for a moment while thinking before replying. "I don't know, probably not. I think he's busy."
Her face contorted before smacking her forehead. "Romance is dead." she sighed.
"Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours." I sickeningly smiled at her, tilting my glass in her direction before sipping from it.
"Wait, what?!" Malcolm exclaimed. "You're back with him? With Grayson? Grayson that you were dating back in high school? Grayson who is sugar daddy material? Grayson fucking Martins who is like the heir of an airline? That Grayson?"
I blinked thrice. "It feels like his name isn't even a real word now with how many times you had to repeat it."
"He is sugar daddy material, you can't deny that." Janette hummed, her chin resting on her palm.
"But like you're dating him again?! Since when?!" Malcolm asked question after question. "And you trash on me for keeping my boyfriend a secret." He cried.
"Dunno." I shrugged my shoulders. "We've been going out and about for a while. I did make him my boyfriend less than a week ago."
His jaw drops a little.
Right, I haven't told him much about what's going on. My life has been busy and hectic. I filled them in with the details, but not too much. Too bad our conversation had been cut because I needed to get back to work. I kissed my friends' cheeks goodbye before walking out the door.
It was one of those rare days where I get to go home early from work. I changed out of my work clothes and into my pajamas and settled on the couch to rewatch Derry Girls for the umpteenth time while deciding on what to cook for dinner or just go get food delivery. I cannot just keep cooking noodles and pasta all the time because I'm a big lazy ass.
But I fought against it and went to the kitchen to start defrosting the chicken in the freezer. I looked up some recipes on the internet and found one for a chicken with creamy mushroom garlic sauce. And the best part was it's all cooked in one pot, so less dishes for me to wash, which is a win-win situation for me.
I know how to cook from watching my family cook and watching a shit ton of cooking shows, but I wouldn't say that I'm a chef. I just have enough skills to fend for myself and not starve.
Once everything was cooked, I plated up the dish with a serving of rice and dug in. I ate almost half the pot. It was a very delicious meal. That or I was just really hungry, but either way my stomach was quite happy. I dozed off on the couch because of a food coma and I woke up two hours later.
Barely awake, I gathered all my things up to my room to get ready for bed. I brushed my teeth first before settling into bed and finished the e-book I was currently reading. Just as I finished reading the last sentence of the epilogue, an incoming call flashed on my screen. I smiled all giddily and answered the call.
"Well, you look cozy and cute." Grayson smiled through the screen. He was wearing a beige turtleneck shirt and was inside a car.
"I was about to go to bed, but you called." I mumbled, snuggling further into my pillow and blanket. "I finished reading a book though."
"Yeah, what was it about?" He asked, rubbing his thumb on his lower lip.
My focus was solely on that I almost forgot to say something. "O-oh, uhm, it was about two people fake dating. It was a cute read. When are you coming back?"
"Why did you miss me?" His tone was full of teasing.
I didn't say anything but the look on my face was enough to let him know the answer to that question. He weaseled his way back into my life and expects me not to miss him. I'm terrible at expressing my feelings and emotions, but I'm working on it.
A soft look formed on his face. "Well, if you do, I'm right outside your door waiting for you."
My eyebrows knitted together and I quickly scrambled out of my bed and gazed out the window. Grayson was right, he was outside in his all too familiar car with the windows down and waved a hand at me. I ended the call and ran outside.
I opened the door and saw Grayson standing just at the end of my front yard with his arms wide open waiting for me to run into them.
I tackled him into a hug. We almost stumbled back due to the contact. He quickly wrapped his arms around me, spinning me around. He stopped spinning around, but I kept my arms around his neck and leaned back a little, just taking in the view.
Grayson used his right hand to cup my face and pressed his lips against mine pulling me in. I can feel a smile forming on his lips as we kissed. He pulled back, his thumb grazing my cheek.
"I've been meaning to do that all week." He said.
"Well, you shouldn't have left for too long." I stated.
"I knew you missed me." He smirked. "You couldn't resist my sexy ass, admit it."
I did not object to his statement because it was true. But I am not going to admit that to him, his ego will get too big.
"Can we finish this conversation inside?" He asked before yawning quite loudly. "The jet lag is hitting me very hard right now."
"Let's get you to bed then, big guy." I chuckled, grabbing his hand and pulling him.
"Great, let me get my overnight bag first." He beamed, clicking his car door open.
"How bold of you to think that I was gonna let you stay for the night." I scoffed while stifling a smile, placing my hands on my hips.
He threw me a wink. "Guess I'm lucky enough because it seems like it."
Grayson told me that he landed two hours ago. He dropped by his parents's house first and took a shower and ate before driving to my house. We headed straight to my room and we plopped ourselves on my bed.
"Oh, I've got something for you inside my bag." He said after pecking me on the lips.
Excited, I grabbed his bag and rummaged through it. There were a lot of things inside, taking up most of the space. "You got me my matcha." I put a hand over my heart, sending a watery smile his way. "You do listen to me sometimes."
He barked a laugh. "See, I'm not so bad."
"You aren't too shabby actually." I said as I continued looking through the depths of his bag. Most of the things he brought back were Japanese snacks and a keychain and two fridge magnets.
"I know how much you want to see cherry blossoms, so I got you the next best thing." Grayson reached in and pulled out a small photo frame. Inside the frame, there were pressed cherry blossom flowers intricately placed around. "I also have a matching necklace to go with that." He pulled something out from his back pocket and placed a box in my hands.
I opened it and let out a small gasp.
It was a beautiful simple gold chain necklace, but it was the pendant that made it special than it already was. The small pendant was a delicate pink cherry blossom flower with a tiny rhinestone in the center.
"Oh, Grayson..." I looked up from the necklace. "This is gorgeous, but this is—"
He silenced me by placing a finger on my lips. "No take backs, that's yours to keep. I'm not taking no for an answer."
"If you say so," I stated shyly. "It is really pretty to look at." I traced the details of the pendant.
"And it will look even prettier when the most beautiful woman in the whole world wears it." He gently took the necklace from me and shifted behind me, moving my hair to the side and put the necklace on me but not before placing a ticklish kiss on the back of my neck.
"Grayson!" I squirmed a little, moving away from him. I'm probably one of the most ticklish people ever and I hate it when someone tickles me or does anything that gives me a ticklish feeling.
"Still ticklish as I remember." He murmured as he burrowed his head into my neck, hugging me from behind.
"Don't even try to." I warned him.
He hummed as a response, sending vibration all throughout my body. "Okay, I won't, at least for now."
___________
Word Count: 3,300+ Words
(Not Edited)
A/N:
It's me, hi! This chapter took a while because life has been a whirlwind and school has been hectic, which made my mental health really shitty.
Here's the necklace: