A Regular

Part 2

I was so engrossed at the small waves and not notice that someone had sat beside me.

"You're new." I heard a voice from behind me.

The way she said it, she's uttering a statement, not a question.

I jerked my head to the source of that voice. I looked at the girl who asked me, my eyes slightly dilated and mouth agape, trying to form a coherent sentence to reply but nothing came out.

She was beyond beautiful. Her dark hair flowed out beautifully reaching her back, slightly tucked in her left ear while she just let it loose on the right side. It complemented her face perfectly. Her eyes radiated a soft, comfortable feeling and a little bit of wisdom. A matured woman in a petite body.

I closed my mouth and form a small smile instead, not trusting my mouth if I were to utter any words.

Her lips curled upwards a little, but I saw her eyes sparkled.

"How did you know?" I asked curiously. She closed our distance and sat next to me, mirroring what I'm doing, playing with the water.

"I've gone to Jennie's parties before and never saw you there." She said while swaying her feet in the water too. "And Jennie holds a party every two weeks, so it becomes a routine for me to be here." She continued. Her gaze lingered on the small waves we created.

"A regular, I see." I followed her gaze and focused on the waves. "And yeah, it's my first time attending Jennie's party. My friends kinda dragged me here, I had no choice but to oblige." I let out a long sigh remembering how I've been forced to come here. Those stupid best friends of mine, I got fed up with them sometimes.

Then I heard a beautiful chuckle from her. "Is that so?" she asked. "Thanks to your friends, then. I have someone to talk to tonight." She removed her gaze from the waves and looked at me this time.

I smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. A question suddenly popped in my head, feeling curious, I voiced it out,

"If you're a regular, you must've known most of the people in here then? Why did you say it, like, you never talked to them?"

"I know most of them, but I rarely talked to them." She tilted her head upwards facing the moon with longing eyes.

"Do you mind if I ask why?" I asked carefully, not wanting to overstep any boundary between us. We just met, and the last thing I wanted, was to make her uncomfortable.

"I prefer peacefulness in this exact place we sit. I'm not a people person." She confessed to me. I saw her mouth upturned slightly. You're beautiful, I thought to myself.

"What?" She looked at me questioningly.

Oh, crap, did I just blurt it out loud?

"Ah, I mean, the sky is beautiful." I scratched my nape shyly, hoping that she'll accept my excuse.

"Oh, yeah, it really is." She said briefly and averted her head to look at the waves.

Silence engulfed us after that. My mind was still racing in embarrassment because of what happened earlier. I reached for my cup and tried to drink whatever liquid I put in it earlier. I took a large gulp of it, tasting a mix of sweet, bitter and a bit of warmth down my throat. Not bad. But I had tasted something better than this.

I felt her body shifted a bit, her arms playing with the waves and her smile never leave her lips. She was enjoying herself there, I couldn't help but smile at the cuteness of the scene before me.

I sipped my drink once more and placed the cup in between us, near her cup. Just when I was about to draw my hand, at the same time, she moved her hand to reach for her cup. She accidentally brushed my hand along the way.

Nervousness suddenly overwhelmed my body and clouding my mind. Her hand was so small and soft. In this cold evening, it felt warm on my skin. My stomach churned. It felt like some of my inside squeezing together creating a strange sensation I was unfamiliar with. My breath hitched for a brief moment. It was all new to me.

"S... Sorry, I didn't mean to." I heard her apologizing to me with her voice sounded a bit unsure.

I came back to my senses after hearing it. "N.. No.. It's okay, no need to apologize." I tried to reassure her that I didn't mind a bit.

She let out another chuckle and I decided to join her.

"We're too awkward, let's try to loosen up a bit." She suggested.

"Okay, let's start anew." I tried to bring some of my humorous-self back.

We ended up sharing our party experience. She laughed when I told her the reason why I hated going to any kind of party. She even clutched her stomach after I got to the part where I was slapped by the last girl in my footage.

Her laugh sounded so heavenly in my eardrums. I liked it. Especially with the fact that I was the reason behind it. Even though she laughed at my expense, I didn't mind. I felt stupid the first time I realized what I was doing anyway, I didn't regret it that much now.

She then told her the reason why she preferred to sit here every time she went to Jennie's party. She said that she could observe everyone and enjoying the peaceful evening at the same time. By watching them, she said she can create or see a bunch of stories of the party-goer unveiled before her.

One time she was sitting here, she saw a couple kissing at the edge of the pool not minding anything around them. Then, someone came rushing past them and accidentally knocked out the couple into the pool.

We laughed so hard after hearing that. Our laughter attracted some of the people's attention around the pool but we just ignored them.

She also said that Jennie's parties were the only party that she went to because she knew Jennie was a responsible person. She wouldn't let drugs or s*x involved in her parties.

We didn't realize how much the time had passed until I heard Chaeng called me from the other edge of the pool with Chu trailing behind her.

"Lisa." She waved her hand and walking toward us.

"I see you've meet Irene," Chu said, sending me a mischievous smile.

So, her name was Irene.

I stood up from the pool and dusting my somewhat drenched pants. The girl, or Irene, was going to stand up too. I offered my hand to her which she gladly accepted and muttered thank you afterwards.

"Hi, Chu, Chaeng." She greeted my friends and hugged them.

"Hi, Eonnie. I missed you." Chaeng said while hugging her.

"Enjoying the party, cous?" Chu asked her. The mischievous smile never left her face, while I still looked at them with a small smile on my lips.

Oh, she was the cousin Chu sometimes talked about. But she said her cousin rarely talked to people she didn't know and not fond of talking. She never told us her name and I was pretty sure she only has one cousin.

"Surprisingly, yes," Irene answered Chu shortly.

"I can see it." She wiggled her eyebrows to Irene which earned a smack on her right shoulder from her. "Ouch, cous, you didn't have to do that." She rubbed her shoulder dramatically.

Irene rolled her eyes at her dramatic cousin, while Chaeng and I just smiled watching their interactions.

I could relate to Irene though, Chu is a bit 'extra' sometimes, and by sometimes, I meant every time.

I excused myself to the bathroom to freshen up a bit because Chaeng signalled that we should leave the party soon.

I splashed the cold water to my face with my one hand while my other hand holding my precious bang so that it won't get wet. I dried my hand and my face with the tissue on the upper side of the sink.

I can't help but felt a disappointment crept through my chest, knowing that my fun time here, with Irene, must come to an end. I straighten my shirt, tidying my bang and took a long breath before exiting the bathroom.

I stopped on my way through when I saw Irene standing in front of the bathroom with her arms crossed. I was about to speak when she pushed me inside and closed the door behind her. My brain froze and I couldn't even move a single muscle as an impact. Confusion was clearly showing at my face and I thought she noticed it too.

She took a step forward and looked up, staring into my eyes then trailing down into my lips.

I gulped hard upon realizing where her eyes had landed and couldn't help but stared at her lips too. Her plump rosy lips glistening under the warm glow of the bathroom's lighting. It was slightly ajar as if inviting another pair to fill the gap it created.

I was woken up from my trance when I heard the rustle of her clothes as she placed her hand around my neck, beckoned me to bend my body forward. Tilting her head slightly, she closed the space that we had until I felt her soft pair of lips on mine. It made me shut my eyes and fireworks exploded inside my stomach.

She moved her lips slowly and sucked my lower lips. I responded to her kiss and wrapped my arms around her warm body, making our bodies flushed into one. It felt just right. Right here, right now. Everything around us faded, zoomed out from our focus.

The lack of oxygen suffocated me, but I refused to surrender. We stayed like that until I felt her hands slowly pushed me, breaking our kiss. We were panting heavily. I rested my head on hers, glancing down to her perfect sculptured face. Her reddening cheeks were displayed clearly because of her fair complexion and her lips looked swollen.

I saw her eyes fixed on mine. The corner of her lips curved upwards, showing a beautiful smirk on her face.

"W-what..." I tried to voice out the question in my mind after my breathing slowly turned to normal.

The smirk on her face didn't leave her features when she suddenly spoke, as if reading my mind.

"A parting gift from me."

"You spoke as if this is the last time we will ever meet." I playfully twirled the loose hair on her right side with my fingers.

"So, there will be a next time then?" My face lighted up as I heard her questioning me. She tried to hide the hopeful glint in her dark orbs.

"It depends." I hanged my words to tease her more.

"Depends on what?"

"If you'll spend a lazy Saturday, observing the boring people's activities in the town park with me. I might or might not consider buying you ice cream from the ice cream truck." I shot her a toothy grin which made my face muscles ache a little.

She pulled her hand to cover her mouth, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Oh, what a lazy and boring Saturday it will be." She said after her laughter subsided. "But I'm sure I can handle it if I have someone to spend it with." she continued, shooting me a teasing look.

She tiptoed cutely then pecked my lips.

"Pick me up at 2 pm. I'll be waiting at my house. Ask Jisoo for the address." She turned around and exited the bathroom, while I was left there dumbfounded, trying to process what was happening.

I snapped from my trance and threw my fist in the air, jumping excitedly. I was too excited that I didn't notice Chaeng and Chu were standing outside the bathroom, looking at me as if I was a mental patient.

"Why are you jumpings like the bathroom floor is a freaking trampoline?" Chu asked me, curiosity was evident in her voice.

"Nothing," I answered, hiding the fact that I just scored a date with a goddess that I just met. "Let's go home, it's getting late." I flashed the brightest smile that I could do and draped my arms on their shoulders.

I will surely ask Chu for Irene's address, but not now. I was just too happy and didn't want to ruin my mood with their unending questions if I told them what happened just a few minutes ago. I can't wait for Saturday to come.