About That Night

LXVI. that’s my girl

Olivia

Ever experienced being so curious to know who that someone was and yet you didn’t want to know?

That was what I felt before I asked Storm who the girl was. While we were arguing, I had been contemplating whether I should ask him about it but I was so curious and at the same time, I didn’t want to know because I was afraid what I was about to know would hurt me.

Heck, I’m already hurt.

All the excitement before going to his place was gone the moment I saw him kissing another girl. I saw it. I couldn’t be hallucinating. I even pinched myself right there, hoping it would not hurt so that the scene would not be real. But it was because I felt the pain in my arm when I pinched myself. I ran away from him and here we were, staring at each other.

Silence.

It was the response I got from him the moment the question was thrown. He stared at me with emotion in his eyes that I could not decipher. Why was he not talking? Was it serious? Were they serious? Where did he meet her? How did they meet each other? How long had he known her? Was she also from Europe? How old was she? Were they so into each other?

Those were the questions that formed in my head. I wanted all of them to be answered but at the same time, I didn’t want to. Yeah, I was confusing but the fear was there. What if they had more memories than we had? It scared me. It sounded selfish but it made me jealous and it was killing me.

“Storm…” I called out with a calm voice.

Not soft but calm. I was still and jealous inside. I deserved an explanation even if he was not my boyfriend. Others might not know it but we did. We knew there was something between us that only the two of us could explain. It was undeniable but neither of us could say it yet.

I have to spend another week of being away with you. It's hell, to be honest. Not seeing you at least once a day is already killing me. I miss you. I miss your smile, your snort, your laugh... everything about you. I pray everything gets back to normal between us. I hate this. I hate not spending time with you. We've already been through good memories and it's sad to think it's just going to be wasted if we don't fight for ourselves. I treasure every moment with people I value, especially you.

Those were the exact words he had written at the bottom part of the letter. I couldn’t help but feel emotional just remembering. How could I forget? It is the reason why I wanted to see him badly in the first place. The letter answered some of the questions that I hadn’t asked him yet. They cleared some of the doubts and made my heart feel light.

“You said you missed me. My smile, my snort, my laugh… everything about me. You said you wanted us to get back to what we used to be. Just us.” Tears blurred my vision. I blinked them, letting them roll down my face. I smiled between my tears. “I’m smiling.” I forced a smile and then laughed, realizing how stupid I might have looked in front of him.

Storm was just staring intently at me, not doing anything but just look at me.

Sniffling, I nodded and wiped my cheeks with my hands. I just got emotional all of a sudden while he was looking at me like that.

“You said you hate not spending time with me. Honestly, knowing it makes me happy. I love spending time with you too. So much that sometimes, maybe of the time, my other priorities are thrown out of the window just so I can be with you. I am the happiest when I’m with you.” A sad smile danced on my lips as I kept my eyes locked on him.

He might have known I wanted to say more because he wasn’t interrupting me. He gave me the time.

“You are right. We've already been through good memories and it's sad to think it's just going to be wasted if we don't fight for ourselves. When I found out about the bet, I swear my whole world crashed. All my dreams for both of us were shattered. I was so hurt that I couldn’t bear seeing just your face. I wanted to curse you for causing me the pain that made me almost lose myself. It might just be a bet but it created lots of negative thoughts in my mind.” I looked down and swallowed the lump in my throat.

The emotions were swelling up inside me. There was no turning back now. I had to tell him how I felt because he also deserved to know. When I lifted my chin and looked up at him again, I saw his eyes getting a little bit red like he was trying to hold his tears back.

“But I am stronger than that. I couldn’t just cry all the time while curling myself up in my room and refuse to come out just because I was heartbroken. It was painful, of course, but shutting down the world wouldn’t do anything to help me. I had to keep going while waiting for an explanation from you. I just waited until I read the letter.” I gave him a small smile. This time, it wasn’t forced nor sad. It was genuine.

“You're my inspiration. You make me want to become a better person. I was the worst. Was. I'm changed now. I'm trying my best to make you happy. I feel like I did something wrong. I just don't know what it is. If ever if I did, I'm sorry.”  I repeated the same lines from the letter. “That’s what you said. That was fluttering and God knows how much it makes me happy. I forgive you and I could only let you know that right after I read the letter.”

“Lulu…”

“I forgive you on the bet but not the one I saw you earlier. Now, who is she?” The mood was back. Angry Lulu was back, glaring at him with daggers.

Storm stared at me with his brows creasing. He seemed confused until his lips slowly twitched up in a smile. But that smile suddenly turned into a chuckle and then to a burst of laughter.

What the heck?

Now, it was my turn to get confused at him. “What was so funny?” My forehead creased in confusion, trying to figure out what caused him to laugh like that. Weird. “What?” I asked, annoyed when he kept laughing.

“You’re so cute.” He answered right away. He was so fast.

“That was quick but when I asked you who that girl is, you’re speechless.” I rolled my eyes. I was starting to get frustrated.

“Do you really want to know?”

“I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t want to.” I sighed as I silently prayed she was not someone he had grown to like.

“She’s just an obsessed girl who thinks she can have me.” He suddenly sat beside me and sighed. Looking at me, he gave me a smile and continued. “I don’t know her. I don’t know how old she was, her likes and dislikes, her favorites, and where she lives. Her name is Riley. She’s a friend of Emily's. We met in Paris. Em–”

“Wait, what?” I interrupted, frowning at him. Almost glaring again.

“No, it’s not what you think it is.” He sighed. “Please let me finish me first.”

I sighed. “Fine. Go on.”

“I don’t know her. Emily brought that girl with her to Paris. I don’t even know Emmie was in Paris at that time. She just called me and said she had a surprise for me. I thought it was something material one but it turned out that it was a person and that was Riley. I forgot her last name but she was Riley. Before you start thinking that I went out with her after that in Paris, no, I did not. I turned her down before we even had dinner that night. She was pretending she was a fan of my racing career when in fact, she was just a girl with obsession over me. I left and went back to Dad. We had dinner at the hotel together.”

I was paying close attention to him as he talked and I listened carefully, absorbing every word that came out of his mouth. He was very consistent at explaining, not even a stammer. I could tell he was telling the truth. He looked at me, waiting for a reaction or for me to say anything but I was just staring at him, appreciating his honesty. But he hadn’t explained what I saw at the pool yet.

“Oh.” His eyes widened in the realization that he almost forgot one thing. “I was waiting for you at the garage for and maybe an hour and decided to go to the pool and wait there instead. I saw at the gazebo when Riley walked up to me, leaned down, and kiss me. I swear I pushed her hard right away but I was too late. I was shocked and angry and confused why she was even there. I don’t know who invited her. Please believe me. I’m sorry. I really am.”

I knew he was sincere so I smiled and nodded. “I believe you.”

He sighed in relief, smiled, and before I could even do anything, he pulled me closer to him to on the couch and wrapped his arms around me.

Smiling, I laid my head on his chest and savored the familiar moment of being cuddled by him. His heartbeat was steady and normal. I could listen to it as it was a piece of music to my ears.

“I’ve been waiting for this.” He whispered after a long moment of silence.

I felt a pang in my chest when he said that. I knew what he meant. We missed each other so much.

“Me too,” I whispered back.

“I missed you.” He kissed the top of my head while caressing the back of my neck.

He doesn’t know what he’s doing to me.

“I missed you too.” I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip as static spread throughout my body. Tingles ran through my spine, making me endure the torture as I stopped my mouth from making any sound. His fingers were magical.

That sounded erotic.

Your mind is just dirty.

My mind is you.

“Storm?”

I almost cursed my lips when my voice came out hoarse.

“Yes?” He kissed my temple and then leaned back to look at my face.

I felt hot. My cheeks were probably flustered like a tomato. I wasn’t sure but my body felt weird.

“Can we go to my room?”

He looked stunned, unable to say anything until his lips twitched up.

“That’s my girl.”