You and I, Wolf

Chapter 7

“Are you okay?”

“No, I don't think so, Ms. Ami! I think I should tell him not to push through with our dinner tonight.”

“Hey, he seems to be a good man. Besides, it's only dinner, and you don't have to do it again if you find out later that you don't like him—-as simple as that, Veena.”

“Well, I have never dated anyone before,” she declared.

“I'm surprised to know that, to think that you are very pretty, Veena.”

“There are a lot of women that are much prettier than me, Ms. Ami,” she narrated.

“I agree, but you don't have to put yourself down. You are just 18, I totally understand that, but having a man interested in you should actually boost your self-esteem.”

“He's my boss,” she quickly mouthed.

“And he is obviously interested in you,” Ms. Ami responded, intending to stop her from worrying too much about being disliked by Luke. “He likes you, I saw it in his eyes.”

“Do you honestly think so?”

“I do, and I am also thinking that you should be getting ready now, Veena. It's almost 5:30, he is probably waiting for you outside already.”

“I'm nervous,” she said, holding Ms. Amali's arm, making her feel the tremendous shaking of her hand.

“You are so funny, Veena! Come on, it's just dinner, and if he asks for anything else, just turn him down and walk away!”

“What else would he be asking from me?”

“Well, you know how those men from his country are. He might ask you to sleep with him tonight,” she cooed..

“Now I am more scared, look, I am not going with him anymore!”

“I'm just kidding, although that is a possibility, but I don't think he is that kind of man. Just give him a chance to get to know you, and try to get to know him too.”

As soon as they had turned the lights off inside the library, Veena and Ms. Ami started walking towards the main door. There was a black sedan waiting outside, and Ms. Ami was sure that it was Luke.

“I told you, he's already here,” she said, pointing her finger in the car's direction.

When Luke noticed the two, he rolled the window on the passenger side down, and greeted Ms. Ami. Veena was still shaking, fidgeting her hands constantly as she walked closer to the car.

“Stop fidgeting,” Ms. Ami howled at her. “Don't make it obvious that you are nervous, it might make him think that you like him already.”

“W-What? That's insane,” she protested. “You are making me even more nervous.”

Luke got out of his car and approached the two, “Hi,” he said.

“I have to go ahead, and Luke, I trust you,” Ms. Ami gave him a meaningful glare, as if warning him to be a gentleman.

“I am not going to harm her, trust me.”

Veena felt the stomping of her heart, beating so fast that she was thinking it was going to explode.

“Hi,” Luke softly greeted her as he opened the door of his car for her.

“Have you been waiting for so long?” she asked.

“Not really, just a couple of minutes before you got here,” he replied. “Let me help you with the seat belt.”

“Where are we going?”

“I have this restaurant in mind, but I still have to know if you will like it.”

“I'm not picky with food, anything would do,” she replied, voice cracking as she realized that it was just the two of them inside the car.

“There's an American steakhouse near the Siam Square, but if you feel like having Thai food instead, that won't be a problem to me at all.”

“Steak, I thought it's very expensive. I haven't eaten one before, I am sorry.”

“Well, I am excited to take you there.”

Luke had already made a reservation at the restaurant. It was a typical Texan themed steakhouse, and it was not fancy at all. He really thought that Veena would not be comfortable in a fancy restaurant, but he still wanted to take her somewhere remarkable.

Veena was wearing a white shirt, not too tight but not too loosel. She paired it with a pair of black skinny pants, and her hair was styled in a messy bun.

“Just order for me, I am not really familiar with everything on this menu,” she humblyl narrated.

“Of course, I can do that for you. Do you drink any alcohol?”

“No!” she hissed.

“Relax! I just asked. They have fresh juices here, or cola, anything you want.”

Luke ordered fillet mignon for her and porterhouse for himself. He thought of ordering a bottle of beer, but he didn't want to give a bad impression to her.

“What about your drinks, sir?” the server asked him.

“Just get us a bottle of sparkling water, a fresh tamarind iced tea for her, and root beer for me,” he narrated.

“Is there anything else?’

“That's all for now,” he replied.

“Why did you ask me out tonight?’” she curiously asked him the moment the server left their table.

“I just want to thank you for what you did to me,” he briefly replied.

“You have been thanking me since this morning, and you even added some money on top of my salary today. Don't you think this dinner is too much already?”

“Can I be honest with you?” Luke moved his face closer to her. “I want to get to know you more, Veena.”

“What is that for?”

“For a certain possibility. I understand that you are still young, Veena, but it doesn't take a genius to know that I am really interested in you.”

“Are you saying that you love me?”

“Not that quick, though,” he uttered, smiling at her, realizing how naive and innocent she was.

“I'm sorry, it's just my first time to ever go out with a man, pardon me please “

“Oh, don't feel sorry, Veena. I am actually appreciating the fact that you took the risk,” he muttered.

“I am 18 now, Luke, maybe it's time for me to discover something else,” she said.

“Something else like what?”

“I don't know, but I know I am missing out on so many things already.”

“Tell me more about yourself, Veena,” he courteously asked.

“I am an orphan, I actually grew up in an orphanage. I left there when I was 16, and I have been living all by myself since then.” Veena was thinking that confessing her situation to Luke would make him think twice about her. But Luke became even more interested in her, realizing that she was a strong young woman.

“And here you are, providing for yourself! I can only admire your strength, Veena. Not everyone, who is in the same situation as yours, makes it this far.”

“Because I didn't have a choice, Luke! I have so many dreams, and no one else can help me reach them except my very own self,” she confidently replied, feeling comfortable around him already. “Tell me about your story,” she asked.

“Just like you, I also have a very sad story. I don't even find it interesting,” he sighed. “Obviously, I am not originally from here. I do some humanitarian missions across Thailand, that's why I am not in my apartment most of the time.”