George
Oh, God...Please, help me.
"Oh my gosh!"
My heart beats fast as a female voice swims into my ears.
Wait...my heart...beating? I'm still alive!
The fresh scent of coffee wafts on a warm breeze that graces the crook of my neck. Slowly, I open my eyes. My eyes widen after seeing Jared on top of me with his eyes firmly closed. I hitch my breath.
"Oh my gosh!"
"Girl, you see that?"
"The fuck did those kids go?"
He breathes heavily, which fans my neck. I, on the other hand, lie on the sidewalk in the most awkward starfish position. My head rests on his big right hand. His left arm supports his weight. His lollipop is gone, but I can still smell it. I look at the road where I'm supposed to be lying.
What just happened?
"Oh my gosh," I stammer.
He saved me.
I close my eyes to calm myself down.
"Is this a movie taping?"
"The guy is hot."
My eyes land on the white car beside me.
"Oh, thank God! I thought...I...I," A middle-aged woman wearing business attire comes out of the driver's seat. She walks in our direction hurriedly with a worried face. Jared stands up and helps me to my feet. I dust my clothes off. My knees are weak, but I stood firmly.
I almost died.
"Are you okay?" he asks as his sapphire eyes scan my body.
"Uuuhhh...I'm fine. Thank-"
"Miss, Are you sure?" the lady's voice is shaking. "I can call some medical help."
The lady gets her phone from her luxurious purse with shaky hands.
"Yeah, no worries," I say and stop her. "Calm down, Ma'am. I'm fine," I say and try to sound casual. Even though my heart beats fast and my body shakes.
"Are you sure?" Jared asks. His eyes swiftly scan my body.
"Yep," I nod and bit my lip.
People look at us. I tug the hem of his shirt.
"Let's go," I whisper.
"Uhh... We're going," Jared said to the lady.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asks again.
"Where did those kids go?" My eyebrows furrow. "I almost died because of them." I look around and search for them. "Have you seen them?"
"No," he watches my frustrated self.
I stare at him. My mind suddenly recalls what happened earlier. His hot breath. His masculine scent. His hand. I look away.
He is really quick. If he was not there, I could've died.
How did you do that?
I sigh and brush off my thought.
"Your face is red," he touches my neck with the back of his hand.
I slightly flinch but he continues to feel my neck. "Are you okay?"
I give him a light nod.
"Maybe because I almost died?" I try to sound sarcastic to hide my flustered self.
"Oh, yeah," he removes his hand and puts it in the front pocket of his sweatpants. He looks at the road. "That's intense. You almost died. What if I'm not there? You're probably dead-"
"Thank you, " I beam and glance at him.
He stops talking. I keep my eyes on the sidewalk. I don't want to see his reaction. I've been avoiding his eyes the moment he saves me.
"By the way, I did not save your spaghetti and pizza."
I bite my lip to stifle a smile.
"It's fine," I say.
He saved me. I should do something, right? As a gratification?
I stop walking, which made him stop as well. I face him.
"What?" he raises an eyebrow.
"Where do you want to eat?"
"I thought you were going home?" He frowns and pushes his round glasses toward the bridge of his nose.
"Nah," I say and shake my head. "Come on," I grip his wrist. "Aren't you hungry?"
He looks down at his right wrist, where my hand landed, and quickly looks away.
"Actually," he licks his lower lip. "I want some steak today."
"Then, let's go," I smile at him. His eyes widen. His thick brows rise. I pull his arm lightly.
I'm doing this because you saved me.
"Bonjour, monsieur, mademoiselle. May I take your order?"
"I want some Hanchis Parmentier and cr'em'e brul'ee." I look at Jared. "How about you, Red?"
"Red?" he asks, without glancing at me.
"Yes," I nod. "Red. Ja-Red."
"So we're close now?" he lifts an eyebrow, but his gaze remains on the menu.
"What? You don't want to?" I ask while frowning.
"This Steak Tartare, please," he says and closes the menu.
He stares at the waiter intently.
"But we don't—Hanchis Parmentier, creme brulee et Steak Tartare. Oui?" the waiter repeats our order.
I nod.
None of us dare to meet one's gaze. Well, I mean, I don't dare to make eye contact with him. So, I am not sure if he is looking at me. Every time our gazes meet, I will look away quickly.
Our orders come. "Bon appetit," the waiter says.
"Merci, Gilbert," Jared replies as he reads the name tag of the waiter. The waiter smiles and walks away.
I stare at him, taking the opportunity to study every part of his face. He suddenly glances at me. I quickly look down at my food and bit my lower lip. He slices his steak and starts eating.
He caught you staring, stupid.
I start eating. I am very timid about his presence right now.
"Isn't it weird that we came here in a casual outfit? I mean..." he looks around. I watch him once again "... look at them. They're all dressed up while here we are. A blond in a pair of black sweat pants and white hoodie and a brunette in a black tee, pair of ripped jeans, and gray Converse," I laugh and realize what he just said.
Wow, that's the longest thing I've ever heard from him.
"Thank you, Red." I look at him and purse my lips.
He looks at me too. "Anytime, Georgina."
My face went blank. "It's George." I roll my eyes and take a spoonful of creme brulee.
"What? I didn't complain that my name turns into a primary color," he says.
I smile. I look against the glass wall and saw Drew. He stands beside his car parked outside the convenience store that is in front of the restaurant. I forgot that he lives near here. Our eyes met, but he looks away and opens the door of his car.
Sigh.
I'll admit. I miss him so badly.
Sigh.
"Stop sighing," I hear Jared speak.
"Huh?"
"You keep on sighing. We can come here next time in our most fashionable version."
"That's not the reason–Never mind."
"Have you ever experienced a breakup?" I ask out of the blue.
"No."
I pause. My eyebrows rise.
"And, I don't want to," he says.
I continue eating.
"Why?" I ask in confusion.
"Why?" he asks back.
"Why? I mean like...never?"
"Never."
"How about heartbreak?"
"I think so?" he scratches his chiseled jaw with his left hand and thinks deeply.
"But not break up?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Heartbreak and breakup are way too different from each other," he stops and sighs. "Breakups are not the only reason for heartbreaks, Georgina," he fixes his glasses.
"What am I going to do in this place?" he asks while looking around the mall.
I pause and look at him.
"I am giving you a little tour...?"
"Where do you want to start then?" he asks me without looking away.
"Let's go there," I point.
"In...An arcade?"
"Yeah," I nod.
"No... I don't want to," he shakes his head. "That place is for kids–"
"Fine," I say and switch directions.
He holds my arm. "But we can still pretend to be kids," he drags me in the arcade.
At first, he just watched me play. But when I started playing basketball, he joins me. And boy, he is so good at it.
I watch him play.
Hmm, I guess he's not that bad.
"Again!" I clap when we beat the current high score. I look at him with a smile across my face.
"Aren't you tired? It's our fifth time playing."
"No. Do I look tired?" I breathe out.
He scans me from head to toe. "Yes."
"I can't get it."
"How many attempts?" he asks and stands behind me.
"Ten," I take a step back and accidentally bump into his broad chest. "Oh, sorry."
"How about you? Go get that bear."
"Okay," he says and shrugs. He doesn't take a step aside. Instead, he caged me between his arms. I stiffen with the proximity of our bodies.
He starts playing with the claw machine. He bows slightly to see the items inside. I hitch my breath because of the sudden contact. The side of his face brushes on my left arm. I thought of pushing him away from me, but he is too focused on playing.
To my surprise, he gets one.
"Piece of cake," he smirks and stands up straight.
"You're just lucky," I grab that as a chance to take a step away from him.
He gives me a serious look. He plays once again and gets the gray one. He gives all of the prizes to me.
"I don't need the other one. You should keep this." I hand him the gray one while I play with the brown one.
"It's already dark," Jared says. His right hand holds the gray bear.
"But it's fun," I tell him with a bright smile. Both of my hands squeeze the small brown bear.
"Fun," he nods.
Aunt Liz approaches us as we walk to our apartments.
Oh no.
"Georgina Antoniette Alvarez."
"Eliza Alvarez," I answer.
"Where have you been?"
"I—"
"I ask her to give me a little tour, so I won't get lost," Jared cuts my words. I look up at him. His face is serious. "I apologize if we came back late we were having so much fun that I completely lost track of time."
"Oh." My Aunt stares at him. She shifts her gaze to mine and raises her eyebrow. She holds her stare for a few seconds.
I widen my eyes and knit my eyebrows together to warn of saying something embarrassing.
"Okay then. To your apartments, now." Aunt Liz walks before us. "It's not safe these days."
Jared gives me a little pat on my back.
I look at him and mouth, "Thank you"
He nods and walks away.
I walk upstairs. I look for the bag that I'll be using for college. I change my clothes to a pair of plain white pajamas. I lie on my bed with a smile plastered on my face as I stare at the keychain.
My smile fades when I realized I am letting another person enter my life.
I quickly sit up.
"What are you doing!?" I ask myself while I lightly slap my face multiple times.
I just thanked him.
"Right. I only thanked him. That's it," I say while nodding.
I enter the bathroom and wash my face.
"Heartbreak and breakup are way too different from each other."
I pause and stare at my reflection.
"But who is Stacey? Is she his first girlfriend? So, is he really sure about her? He said he doesn't want to feel breakups. Right?" I sigh.
Sigh.
Why do I care?
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