Bittersweet (English)

CHAPTER 22

Kaye suddenly froze in her seat. She bit her lip and felt the rush of blood on her face. She could feel herself reddening as her heart raced in agitation.

Damn this man for reading me like an open book!

“Uhuh. Why not splash water on your face so you’ll wake up from your illusions,” she responded in a monotone voice. She just hoped he never noticed anything weird coming from her.

He cracked up. Unlike the man who had claimed earlier that he was too tired to take another step, he doesn’t sound so sleepy and exhausted at all.

“Maybe next time I should start my day at work like this. Laughing wakes me up. I’ll drop by at night before going to the station,”

Mykel tired himself from laughing. He wiped the tears formed under his eyes from too much laughter. He should probably get some rest. He’d deal with Kaye once he was energized. He had all the time tomorrow since he won’t be working. Though the couch wasn’t exactly comforting, it would still do.

Kaye took a deep breath. She has been sighing a lot in the presence of this man. The nerve. Anyway, she should finish up her work and start lunch in a bit before Mykel complains.

She grunted in realization. She kept falling on his traps. How gullible can you get? He would always work his way around just to get what he wanted. Though, this was nothing new to her.

Often times when they were just kids, Mykel acted like a dependable big brother. He was sweet and caring. Even Macy would tell him that he spoiled her a lot. So when did they exactly start acting like a pair of idiots?

To be frank, she can’t remember. Maybe around their teenage years? Junior high school? Since they grew up beside one another, she barely took notice of the changes. She would just acknowledge it if pinpointed by another person.

There was one thing she was fully aware of. Puberty did him good. He got taller. Since he was athletic at the same time, the girls were all over him. They would even make an effort to support him in his soccer games like making posters and giving him drinks.

Mykel appreciated their kindness though he seemed oblivious of their true intentions. She was also a girl so it was hard to miss out. However, she wasn’t that aware of her feelings for him at that time. It was later on in their senior high school when he confessed first to her.

Well, she turned him down right away though because it came as a surprise for her. However, having planted those words made her realize her true feelings. She wasn’t any different from his fangirls. She just forced herself to hide it.

Time was hardly noticeable if a person was busy. It had been hours when she stood from her chair and stretched her muscles. She was finally done! She just needed to buy the list of her ingredients later and try on the new items. She would let Mykel taste it later or she can even call Jenny to come over too.

She checked on Miko in the backyard. He was sleeping under the shade. He must have been tired of running around chasing squirrels or birds. Thankfully, the sky has been clear for the past few days. The remainder snow finally melted.

She went through what was left on her pantry and fridge. She had planned on making a sandwich earlier but with Mykel here she needed a heavier meal. He must be starved thinking he went straight to her home from work.

She decided on rice paired with fried pork. Good thing she also has enough for its sauce.

She started making lunch when she heard Mykel grunting on the sofa. He has been snoring softly since he fell asleep. Guess he was uncomfortable. He could barely move in that situation.

“Bearman’s truly tired,” she giggled to herself.

When he started growing dramatically in high school, she felt like a little bug whenever they were together. Their classmates would often tease her as his little sister.

Ever since she can’t fully understand Mykel. He would always smile. Or rather, he covered everything with a smile. Just because they’ve been childhood friends doesn’t mean she knew him very well.

Although, there was a time when she saw a c***k in his seemingly perfect facade. Which was regrettable. It had been years but she felt like it all happened yesterday. Perhaps, this was the reason she kept having doubts.

Kaye turned her focus to making lunch. She avoided sighing as Macy had taught her emotions could affect the quality of food one would make. Plus, she couldn’t afford to get distracted while frying something on the stove.

While preparing lunch, Miko came in running all excited about the smell.

“Behave, Miko,” she told him.

She heard him growl but soon, he sat patiently to her side.

She giggled to herself. As time went by, she could tell what Miko wanted to say base on his actions and expressions.

“What are you giggling for?”

A sudden rush in her veins caused her to jump almost dropping the thongs on her hand.

“Damn, can you not speak so suddenly like that? I just heard you snoring soundly a while ago.”

That took her by surprise. She could feel her heart beating fast when she heard his voice.

“Then, can you not be jumpy at all?”

Mykel stretched and rolled out of the sofa he was sleeping on. He was still yawning when he stood beside her taking a sniff of her cooking.

“This smell makes me hungry,” he said placing one hand over her shoulder.

“It’s almost done. So make yourself useful and set the table.”

“Be gentle with me. I just woke up. I am a sensitive man, you know.”

“Well, that’s a surprise coming from a shameless police officer who suddenly showed up on my doorstep ordering me to let him sleep in my home and prepare him food.”

His laugh resounded all throughout the house.

“Lady, you don’t hold back at all.”

She gave Miko his share before taking a seat at the table. Mykel did his share of preparing the table. Looking at him made her house seem small. Even her poor couch got intimidated.

Somehow, the environment during their lunch became awkward. Both were silent while munching on their meals. There was a certain discomfort around them. To think they were just horsing around earlier.

But ever since returning home, they barely have time to be together like this. Except when she had a fever. It didn’t count since she was out of it. With all that happened, Kaye just couldn’t face a confrontation.

“You’ve always been a great cook,” Mykel broke the silence.

She gave him a soft smile. Unsure how she wanted to act right now.

“You’ll be the best wife.”

Kaye went stiff from his words. Her hands were shaking so she had to put down her utensils. She then placed her hands on her lap trying to compose herself. This was something she can’t consider joking right now.

“Mykel,” she whispered his name without looking into his eyes.

“Are you expecting us to be like this until the day we die?”

How could she answer that? Just tell him straight off the bat that she would be more than glad to be like this forever?

“Mykel, you see…,” she trailed off. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

“You’ve annoyingly confusing, you know.” Mykel sighed taking his last bite. “I don’t want to act like a dumb*ss anymore.”

He drank all the water on his glass in one go. He shamelessly burped and gave her a serious look. He continued his monologue while she was still anxious about her response.

“If you are still hesitant, you need to talk to me about this. What we lack is communication. Talk to me so I can freaking hold your hand and walk through this hell with you.” Mykel leaned forward to her. “Don’t just think you are alone on this. I’m always with you.”

Kaye raised her head to meet his gaze. The honest expression on his face matched with the love in his eyes was tempting. She opened her mouth to say something but it went empty.

It had been years but she was still scared. She might still love him but the fear in her overrode everything. It would probably stay with her forever.

However, she was reluctant to let this go. She didn’t want to. On the other hand, she didn’t want to give him false hope.

“Please allow me some time,” she managed to utter a plea.

He never spoke a word after that and just finished his meal. He put away the dishes in the sink. With thanks at hand, he left like it was nothing.

Kaye bit her lips. She was trying to suppress her tears. This had been a sensitive topic to both of them. Since they came back, it became an unspoken rule to not raise anything that would lead to the incident. Yet he blurted it out like that.

She clasped her hands together. The shaking stopped but it was sweaty. She knew for sure that they wouldn’t be like this forever. But how? How can someone just chase their troubles away?