Lucia's POV
"Hunnigan called me when you were with the doctors. I have to leave tomorrow." Leon ended up saying.
"What?" I quickly asked back as I stared at him from head to toe, almost daring him to repeat what he just said as my eyes were wide open.
Does that mean he'll disappear again for four months?
I bit my lip, feeling intensively frustrated as he gave me this heartbreaking smile of his.
Every time I feel like I can finally spend time with him I get screwed up!
I slowly shook my head, pensively watching the ground as I thought about a thousand ways to get him to spend more time with me before he'd go away.
As we both got into the car, I quickly found the solution I was looking for as he was searching for some nearby restaurants on his phone.
"H-how about we get dinner at my place instead? It'll avoid having to pay the restaurant bill, and... " I quickly asked as I watched him freeze for an instant.
"Sure about this?" He asked back as I got a sudden throwback of why he'd be asking that.
I haven't been there for seven months, so I can't even imagine the piles of dust that have accumulated there...
He grinned as I let myself fall against the car seat.
I should just go home, start cleaning, and also start to study to get my driver's license...
"If I get home right now, I'll have to spend the rest of the day cleaning... And I don't really want to do that." I sighed as Leon slid his right hand behind his head, seeming to think for a moment about what I had just said.
"You won't probably like the sound of it, but..." He began as he turned his head slightly towards me, withdrawing his hand from behind his head to put it on his knee, patting it lightly while the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
I watched him, feeling my whole body temperature starting to warm up as his eyes began locking on mine.
Wait, what??
H-his place??
He wasn't wrong after all, I already had gone to his place several times, usually to give back things I borrowed from him or even trade DVDs or books, but now ...
His place? In this context?
This quickly gave rise to a relatively embarrassing idea in my mind, which shook me like a tornado.
In the United States... They can do this before marriage, right...?
I wanted to ask Leon about it but felt like it would make the situation look even worse, remembering the adventures of my former colleague from that hotel in New York, Rachel.
"One-night stands," she said she did...?
I sighed as I looked thoughtfully at Leon, trying to weigh the pros and cons, as he sighed.
Could he be this k-kind of... human?
"Okay, I'm taking you home." He began to say as I let out one of the loudest "No!!" I've never screamed, under his almost astonished look.
I let my gaze fall, a little ashamed.
No, I'm not letting that opportunity get away like this!!
"Sorry!! It's just that I don't want to disturb you, so..." I began to explain as he calmly put his hand on mine, his gaze seeming to probe mine.
"You won't disturb me, so just tell me what you want."
I tilted my head to the side.
After all, it was probably the best opportunity I've ever had to spend time with him at the moment, so...
Maybe we would even get to watch movies together!
"Then, okay... But if we order food, it's my turn to pay!!" I replied as he nodded, a faint spark of light in the corner of his eye as he turned on the engine of the car.
"All good then." He concluded as I watched him, feeling my cheeks a bit warmer than usual.
Is there any chance that, tonight...?
-------------------------------
Later...
"Nooo!! Why is Jack dying like this!!" I almost yelled as Leon watched me complain, his arms crossed while he was sitting at the other end of the sofa.
For context, after dinner, we decided to watch a movie, and I chose Titanic because Camilla told me that absolutely had to watch it.
But to know that I would look at this in front of Leon, my eyes slightly watery as I sighed at the thought of witnessing such a romantic but tragic story...
I feel like I'm some kind of teenager, right now.
Leon, on his side just watched my reactions all along, with a slight smile that could be seen from the other end of the room.
"I really was about to cry, gosh..." I ended up complaining as he leaned back on the sofa, closing his softly his eyes as I gave him a slight glance.
Is he tired...?
I slowly came closer to him, my eyes half open as I poked his shoulder with my right hand.
I don't really want to leave, but he really seems to need to rest.
"Should I get home?" I asked him as he yawned.
If I take the subway and the bus...
"It's too late to go out alone. I'm gonna drive you back." He said as he tried to stand up while I quickly grabbed his arm, losing my balance as I fell over him.
We both ended up on the couch, me straddling him, on the verge of grabbing him by the collar to try to summon some good sense into him while panic slowly made its way through my head.
Oh god.
"Oh wow." He said as I tried to not pay attention to his remark, feeling I may die out of embarrassment as he was looking at me from head to toe.
"You're exhausted. I'll get home by myself" I said as he quickly grinned at me, his eyes trying to lock with mine as he quickly grabbed my right wrist.
"What about you? Aren't you too?" He simply questioned back as I pouted.
It's true that leaving now, with a suitcase when I'm half asleep...
But what else can I do? Sleep on the floor?
Then, I remembered what I initially thought before coming here.
Oh my god, it is such a strange context.
Why do I, as I may die of embarrassment, feel the urge to kiss him??
I looked weirdly at Leon, slowly biting my lip as I could hear my heart starting to race.
Something's definitely wrong with me...!
"You okay?" Leon ended up asking as I quickly felt like I had been stroked by thunder, my cheeks turning entirely red as I stood back up, running to the other end of the room.
I was about to kiss him, I was about to kiss him!!
Okay, Lucia, stay calm.
As I was looking for a hiding spot, I saw the door to his room.
Without waiting for another second I locked myself inside, sitting in front of the door while I could hear a tiny sigh on the other side. Calmly putting my hand on my chest, I tried to calm my breathing as I felt a strange sensation at the bottom of my stomach.
Why do I feel like I'm being stabbed from the inside?
The worst is that I feel like I should've just like...
What would have happened if I kissed him?
As I felt my nerves calm down a bit, I raised my head, scanning the room lightly as I tried to shake away these thoughts.
A dresser next to a window with a pile of clean linen folded on it, a laundry basket in the corner half-filled, and a large bed that was half made, a piece of the blanket unfolded on the left, probably on the side where Leon slept. Near there was a bedside table with an electronic alarm clock on it and a mirror hanging near the door.
It's simple but represents him well.
Also, shouldn't there be pictures of him or even his family? I see nothing here...
I shook my head as I tried to not cringe too much over myself.
Oh my god, why am I even looking at this like it is some work of art; this is just a regular bedroom.
What raised my eyebrows was the apparent box of medicine on his bedside table.
Huh?
As I got up to take a look, I heard Leon knock on the door, which put me in panic mode once again, I quickly walked near the window, thinking I wasn't making noise as I literally smashed the floor with my feet.
"Lucia, can I come in?" I heard from the other side of the door as I had a moment of realization.
What the fuck am I going to tell him?
Shouldn't it be the time when I should run away to avoid embarrassment?
I could hear another sigh at the other end of the door.
Is sighing his thing, or...
"I'm coming in."
Oh, wait.