{' Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.'}
There's nothing tastier than that morning if you were enjoying your moment having breakfast with your girlfriend.
But on the contrary, Khloe was ruining my good mood ever since she had talked to me about her close relationship with Quinn. She may be a little closer to her but I was the girlfriend here.
Quinn and I fell for each other instantly. All I had to do was to get closer to her which would be fairly easy because obviously, I'm the Arisa Gail Valentine. Not that I'm bragging about my irresistible charm but I would do everything to be someone she could trust even if I have no chance against Khloe, who almost stayed with her forever.
Next step—— to be closer. But how close?
First, physically, as I had initially planned once I have met her. However, Quinn was really giving me a hard time from her unexpected behavior. Usually, I was the one who's always taking charge. But given that I couldn't able to take any action whenever she was touching me, taking control during our business wasn't an option for me. She always had this skill to make me feel susceptible. And I didn't know the reason why she appeared so sweet but deep inside her innermost part, there was an engaging sexy wildness that would always leave me astounded.
Second, emotionally close. I wanted to learn how this new development between us would grow more into an intimate connection. I wanted to cherish and understand what she would say when it comes to our relationship as far as my heart would capable of. I'm not perfect but I believed that everything would work out as long as we are together. As long as we understand each other.
Sounds like I was hopeless romantic but I guess Quinn changed me for the better. Not that I was now a new version of Arisa Gail Valentine but whenever I'm with her, I just couldn't resist being more passionate. It was like there's this switch that once she turned it on, I would relinquish under her unforeseen supremacy.
I'd never experienced such spark before nor the goosebumps she was giving me whenever I'm under her gaze. Nor the butterflies that were fluttering my heart to begin a beating race. I know those statements are so overrated but I was wondering how I was able to survive just from her presence. Yup, that's definitely overrated.
And third, the kind of closeness that even if we're apart, we would always think of each other. This kind of relationship doesn't mean you have to give up all your individuality, independence, space, and privacy. We always tend to make time for others like family, friends, and even ourselves. But it doesn't mean that I would shut my mind from thinking about her. But sometimes, our minds just can't help it. Especially, if that person has a piece in your heart then all would fall automatically in your brain like a natural calamity.
As much as I wanted to enjoy the food, it was giving me a slightly unpleasant taste. I was bothered. Too bothered actually. Well, because of two reasons: first, how could I miss something special last night and lastly, because of Khloe's indirect teasing about their past. Seriously, she was being mysterious like a witch hiding beneath her black cloak. Why couldn't she just say it directly to me?
I deeply sighed causing all eyes onto me, including Quinn's.
"Something wrong with the food?" she asked, brushing her palm over my thigh.
"No. Just my hangover. Last night was a blast."
Bailey giggled as she stared at me, but strangely, not entirely at me. "Yeah, I can totally see that."
They all snorted. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Quinn answered with a smile before she turned to Bailey. "So how was the lap dance, Bailey?" she asked causing Tiana to spit the juice she was drinking. Ew!
Bailey stayed in her own seat with poise but her eyes couldn't set in one direction. She cleared her throat and I could tell she was trying not to glance at Tiana beside her. "W-What lap dance?"
Quinn smiled sweetly and looked down to hold my hand before she looked back to Bailey again. "Tiana gave you a lap dance."
"Tiana gave you a lap dance?" I asked in surprise.
"Tiana gave her a lap dance." Khloe replicated unnecessarily.
"So what?!" Bailey admitted and we all burst into laughter except Tiana who was now blushing.
"You said you just talked and then fell asleep, Tiana?" I said, raising my eyebrow playfully at them.
"Oh God! Can't all of you just stop snooping at my life?" Tiana exclaimed, rolling her eyes in frustration.
"What life?" I retorted, "Your sex life?"
Once more, we exploded into laughter while both of them blushed in embarrassment.
Bailey gave me a smirk as she recouped. "Said the one who can't remember what happened last night."
My face heated up as I looked down at my plate and I heard Quinn laughed softly beside me.
"Don't worry, gorgeous. I'll make sure that there will be the next time. Just stay sober though because you might end up under me again."
Tiana whistled teasingly. "Can I join you?"
Bailey narrowed her eyes before she threw a piece of broccoli on her face so my holiday girl curved into a ball and leaned over her girl's shoulder with a fake sob. Now they were being so close. So that means Tiana gave her more than a lap dance.
"As much as I want to join under her, I need to go," Khloe said, standing to her feet.
Rolling my eyes, I gave her a smirk. "No one is stopping you, bimbo."
She shrugged her shoulder. "Quinn, we need to go. My mom wants me home," she informed, looking at Quinn sharply.
Quinn released my hand and stood up from her seat so I pulled her by her waist. "W-Wait. I'll drive you home."
"No," Quinn protested, pursing her lips. "You need to rest. Khloe will drive me home."
I pouted. She kissed me on my forehead before she embraced Tiana while giving Bailey a nod. Khloe gave me a devious wink as she passed by me and then dragged Quinn out of the house.
"How can you allow that bimbo to get close to Quinn?" Bailey asked as soon as they were gone.
I sighed. "I can't do anything about it. They're childhood friends."
"What?" Tiana cried out while munching her food. "This is my first time hearing about this."
"Of course, I just found out about it. I found out that Quinn was my childhood sweetheart and Khloe was my mortal enemy. Funny, right?"
Tiana's eyes widened. "Wow, that was unexpected. I never knew that the three of you are fated to be in a love triangle. You know, A! Why don't you just go with the flow and have a pyramid-sex together?"
Bailey smacked her on the head and I tried not to laugh because of their antics.
Tiana whimpered. "Bailey, that hurts," she grumbled so Bailey stroked her redhead softly.
"That's your fault," Bailey accused before she turned her attention to me. "Don't worry, A. Even if that bimbo is closer with Quinn, I'm sure that she has nothing against you," Bailey reassured me.
"How come?" I asked. "She's been with Quinn almost all her life."
"That's the point. She's been there forever but she still remains as a friend."
"So they're best friends, huh?" Tiana mused, bringing her fork full of salad in her mouth before she went on, "I think Khloe has everything against you. They're best friends so the possibility of falling in love with each other is very high as a sun. And Bailey is right. How can you endure watching them together all the time knowing that Khloe has feelings for Quinn?"
"Well, that's weird," Bailey said, tapping her nails on the wooden table. "I saw her last night with Xander while leaving Quinn alone."
"Really?" Tiana asked, saying my thoughts.
Bailey rolled her eyes. "You're with them, right? Don't you remember?"
Tiana stopped eating her food while she tried to commit to her own memory. "Yeah, I remember. She even gave me a piece of candy and then she whispered something about the dance? I don't know. My memory is like a sieve right now but I still do remember the important part," she said wiggling her brows at me.
I glared at her before I let out a deep breath. "I don't care if they've been together for centuries or whatever. All I care about is Quinn is mine now."
Tiana clapped her hand after she put the burger down and shouted while raising her hands into a fist. "That's our A! You're my bitch!"
I snorted, trying to hold my laughter while she had a smear of ketchup on the side of her mouth. Bailey giggled while shaking her head and I watched her fetched a piece of napkin to wipe the ketchup from Tiana's lips.
Tiana was stunned, slowly dropping down her arms while she was staring at Bailey in a daze. It was amusing to observe them as Bailey halted from wiping her mouth and her gaze fell to her lips. And I think they forgot that I was across them because their faces were getting closer bit by bit.
Once their lips were almost touching, I cleared my throat and they both jumped together, surprised at the sound of my interruption.
"I may be forgetting things but don't you two forgot that I'm here? Seriously, get a room!" I said before I laughed. They were blushing together as they sat back to their own seats. Cute!
"I need to go," Bailey said, ignoring my tease.
"Yeah, we need to go," Tiana agreed.
I laughed louder. "Yeah, you both need to go to do your business."
They gave me fierce looks before Bailey yanked her Tiana away. Smiling to myself, I felt my phone vibrated, reminding me that I had a message. I grinned when I realized that it was from my angel inviting me over to her house at exactly six in the afternoon to continue our chemistry project.
The question is, was it really chemistry that we should continue? Or the one we left off this morning on the bed?
I guess I'll find out later.
.........
As soon as I walked inside our mansion, Enrique greeted me with a smile before his expression turned into a surprise and then to an amusing look.
"You had a good night, miss?"
"Yup, it's absolutely great," I responded with a huge grin.
"Of course, miss," he agreed. "By the way, your parents have already arrived. They are in the gazebo having their breakfast."
Leaping in excitement, I immediately rushed in, skipping through our living room then to our garden while I was ignoring our butler calls. I didn't know why he was stopping me from seeing my parents. I really missed them so much. Especially my Mom because she was away in Paris for months while my Dad had a seminar for a week.
By the time I reached the wooden bridge crossing over the pond of water lilies we had, I saw them laughing at each other inside the roofed gazebo while having their breakfast. My Mom loved to have breakfast outdoor together with us and I was glad that I didn't eat much when I had breakfast with Quinn, Tiana, and Bailey. Well, I was distracted because my angel was beside me.
Heading closer, they welcomed me with a lovely smile and I gave them a tight embrace together. "I miss the both of you," I sincerely said and pulled away.
Strangely, my Dad dropped his jaw slightly while my Mom burst into laughter.
"Arisa Gail, didn't I tell you to behave?" Dad said disapprovingly, running his fingers through his jet black superman hairstyle. He could almost tear his shirt apart and fly up to the sky to save the day. Yeah, my Dad is geeky handsome and he was absolutely at the top of the hottest male geek in the world. I mean my Mom's world because she was the one who said that.
"Yes and I'm behaving," I answered confused.
"Honey," my Mom said softly, her brunette hair was perfectly straight as her blue eyes gazed at Dad warm-heartedly. "Don't be so harsh on her. It's part of her teenage life. Remember when I gave you one when I said yes to you. You were grinning for a week and you were keeping it exposed for everyone to see that I'm yours."
"I don't understand," I said in bewilderment. I realized that they were adorable but I didn't understand what they were talking about. What was the connection between my good conduct and behavior between their old teenage romance?
"Risabear, you have a kiss mark on your neck," my Mom revealed, brushing away my hair to expose my neck.
My cheek warmed up instantly and I could feel the heat rushing through me so I ran fast to the bathroom to check if they were telling the truth. My jaw dropped as I looked at the girl in the mirror, completely astounded at how it appeared so awkward when my parents caught me misbehaving. No, I wasn't misbehaving. Quinn was the one who was misbehaving. She was the one who gave me this mark. Oh God, she gave me a mark. She was claiming me.
The girl in the mirror grinned wide with a dreamy look on her face. It may be embarrassing when it comes to my parents but I was pleased that my angel bestowed me this kiss mark. It must be a slap on Khloe's face. Serves her right!
So they were making fun of me because of this. I never let anyone give me a hickey but Quinn was my exception so I was happy about it. Usually, I was the one who was always giving want they wanted so this was different for me.
I went back to have breakfast with my family after I took my velvet scarf to cover my neck.
"Dad, I thought you're only having a seminar for a week so what took you so long?" I asked, giving them a new topic to plaster the conversation about my hickey.
"I went straight to your Mom to spend time with her."
"So who's the person behind that scarf around your neck?" my Mom asked and I winced. "It must be someone special because you look more adorably bright today."
I lowered my gaze, and once again, this was distracting me from eating my breakfast because Quinn was on my mind right now.
"And I'm going to talk to him," Dad added as he stared at me determinedly which meant he was serious about it.
"It's a girl, Dad," I responded. They knew about my choice of sexuality but I didn't want to label myself. Since her incident, it had been useless to keep it away from them and I was glad that they accepted me for what I am. Mom was in the fashion world so it wasn't an issue for her. She had a huge amount of gay friends so she completely understood me. Dad was the one who took the huge blow but he was almost glad that he didn't have to take care of boys who would try to get in my pants.
"Oh, she must be lovely for giving you a love mark early in the morning," my Mom said gleefully as she put her palm over her chest in relief.
I blushed as I kept playing with my food. "Yes, she's lovely as an angel."
Dad had a surprised look on his face. "I want to know her."
Did he want to know her? Okay, this was new. I knew that Dad heard about the rumors around the school so what made him see that I was serious about Quinn? Well, it was true. I was serious about Quinn. Maybe he was tired of hearing this rumor so he wanted me to have a true relationship. He wanted to cover the tainted gossip that I'm a cheating pervert by settling into one. Was it the right choice to tell him about Quinn and me? Of course, he liked Quinn so he was going to be happy about it.
"Dad, you know her already."
"And who is this girl that we're talking about?"
I caught an anxious breath, taking down the spoon over the side of my full plate. "I-I'm dating Quinn, Dad."
My parents were taken aback by my answer. My Dad stood up and began to pace around while I heard my Mom let out a distressing sigh. "No, you can't. You can't be together."
"But why?!" I asked, almost yelling at his reaction. Why we couldn't be together?
He halted, glancing at my Mom who just took away her gaze before he turned back at me. "I'd never expected this. I told you that she's a fragile girl and you can't hurt her. She's been through hardship since her parents died."
I shook my head in dismay. "I didn't say that I'm going to hurt her so why are you claiming that I'm going to do that to her? What makes you think that way? You're right, Dad. She's special. And I think I'm serious about her."
"You think?" he retorted, raising his arms wide to emphasize that what I just said was preposterous. "I know about the rumors spreading around our school are true and I'm keeping my mouth shut about it but please, Arisa. Not her."
"Why not? She's beautiful, adorable, and smart. Not to mention, she's so sweet. She maybe has a horrible past like me but she isn't a fragile girl as you claimed her to be. She's strong, Dad."
"It's not what I'm trying to say. I just don't want both of you to get hurt in the end."
"What makes you think that we are going to end up hurting each other? Don't you trust me when I said I'm serious about her?"
Dad remained silent so I laughed weakly but deep inside I was hurt that my Dad didn't trust me. "I can't believe this. You are supposed to have an undying faith with me."
Mom laughed nervously as she soothed me. "We trust you, Arisa. It's just complicated. Quinn is not something you can take for granted. If you're saying that you're serious with her then prove it. But if you're just playing with her feelings like you've done with the other girls then that is completely not allowed for me. And honey," she said turning her attention to my Dad. "Give them a chance. It's not like they are going to get married."
My Dad and I sighed in unison before I met his gaze. "I just don't understand why Quinn is so special to you. Of course, she's really special. But in a good way, right? She's not suffering from paranoia like Stella, right? Tell me, she's not an alien that you made contact with so that you can dominate the world together with her army."
Dad and Mom laughed together which made the tight atmosphere shifted down to a calm one. "No, Risabear. She's special in a good way. That's why I don't want to see her hurt more than she is hurting right now."
My brows scrunched in worry. "She's hurting right now? How?"
My Dad nodded, sitting back in his seat as he looked at me. "It's not my right to say what she's feeling right now. If you want to know the truth, don't force it out of her. Earn her trust first and once she's ready, she will tell you. And can you prove to me that you can take care of her?"
I nodded in determination. "Of course. No matter what she's not telling me, I'm going to take care of her. You don't need to ask me, Dad. As I said, I'm going to prove to you that I'm serious about her."
My parents both smiled at me and right away, Khloe's word lingered inside my mind.
Make sure not to let go of her when the time comes when she can't stay anymore with you.
Why did Khloe's and Dad's words sound different yet almost comparable? It was like they were threatening me not to hurt Quinn. What was my Quinn's secret that's hurting her right now as Dad?
I knew that this is going to be hard but no matter what the risk is, I'm going to find out.
.......