The Best Mistake (GL)

How I Like You Better Now

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AYEN remained silent beside her until they finally reached the hilltop, once again. She might've remained silent during their trip but she knew Ayen had already got an idea where they were headed.

When she got home last night, a plan had already been made in her mind. She even disturbed her twin sister, asking anything about the property on the hill. Thankfully, Arqui provided the information she needed despite being mad on account of having been disrupted.

As the morning came, she talked to her father about her plan in buying the entire property. He was initially confused and in defiance of her scheme. But as persistent as she was, she did everything to convince her father, who eventually agreed. With so much luck, she learned that the owner was one of her father's associates, making it too easy for her to arrange an agreement.

Ayen finally spoke her mind when she couldn't stay quiet anymore. "What are we doing here? I suggest we shouldn't be here during this time or else somebody might see and report us to the owner."

"Don't worry, no one's going to chastise us," she confidently stated.

"How sure are you?"

"Trust me." She beamed before climbing out of the car. She jogged around the other side to help Ayen out.

Ayen's brow lifted in confusion. She was probably not familiar with the gesture but eventually held onto her hand.

They were about to walk toward the front door of the house when Ayen pulled away. "I believe we're not allowed to go further."

She turned to her with a coy smile plastered on her lips.

"Don't pull off your mischievous character, Heather. I don't want us to get in trouble."

"Do you think I'll be scared when I am now the new owner of this entire property?"

The look on Ayen's face was a clear indication that what she said hadn't registered in her mind, yet. "W-what are you talking about?"

"You heard me. I bought this property." She responded, ostentatiously.

But Ayen didn't seem happy about the news. "Why did you do it?"

The cunning smile on her face instantly faded the moment she felt the animosity in Ayen's voice. She seemed to insinuate that what she did was absolutely wrong. "I-I mean, I fell in love with this place. That's why."

Instead of snapping back like she always did, Ayen's beautiful brown eyes circled around the facade. She could feel the sadness more than the vehemence radiating off of Ayen, offering her a guilty feeling.

"Ayen, if buying this hurts you, I'm sorry. I should have consulted you first." She sincerely uttered.

Ayen sighed before spinning back to her. "There's nothing I can do about it. You know, if I'm as affluent as you, I'd definitely take the opportunity to buy this property. But right now, you're the one who has the capacity to own almost everything and I won't take that against you. J-just, don't mind me." She forced a little smile. "Anyway, I bet this is the house you're referring to get on with the renovation."

She bobbed her head as an answer.

"Can we take a look inside?"

She delightedly agreed. "Of course."

Following behind Ayen, they both trod inside the house. The old and eerie vibe welcomed them, but it was not as frightening as she had anticipated. The interior might have been deserted over the years but it wasn't left in ruins. There were actually quite a few antiques that remained unscathed.

As she looked around, she already imagined how she would renovate the old house. It was too spacious for her but she was fine with it.

"I can't believe I'd be able to finally get inside this mansion. You know, we mostly get here during nightfall. So this house is too scary to break into," Ayen uttered. Her eyes were emblazed with astonishment.

Ayen never failed to make her smile whenever she expressed herself. She found her naivety amusing. But truth be told, she would rather want her to be grumpy and always contrasting. She never wanted to change the way she had met her.

"This place is huge. We can't do the tremendous job you're offering unless you want us to get this done by 2030."

She found Ayen's remarks so funny that she couldn't suppress her laughter anymore. She really bought what she had said earlier. No doubt, she had the money to pay people to do the necessary things just to revive the place. She only wanted to make fun of Ayen.

Ayen shot daggers at her. "What's funny?"

She broke off from laughing. "I just find your comments humorous. You know, I'm not a carpenter. I'm more beneficial to be a mechanic." She explained as she looked around the entire living room of the house.

"Okay, so we're not here to do the job. I may as well spend my time at the farm, helping my family. I could be more productive that way."

"I already said that this is a paid job. I'm paying you starting today. You don't have to go back to the farm."

Ayen scoffed. "Paying me for doing nothing? I should be the one laughing at you now, instead. Besides, I can't accept payment for something I didn't work hard for."

"I know. But the only reason why you want to do things is that you want to earn money. As long as you're with me, even though, let's say you're not doing anything yet, I can assure you you can save up."

"Where else can I find such a fair deal?" Ayen said with obvious mockery.

She chuckled. "I'm telling you, you're going to like working with me."

Ayen possessed the stubbornness she hated for a girl, that she, unfortunately, couldn't detest her about. And one thing was rolling their eyes at her. When Ayen did it, she was unable to stop herself from pinching her nose, prising it from side to side in the process.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Ayen exclaimed.

Before she could let her take her revenge, she scurried away to the other corner of the room. Laughter and giggles broke the silence all over the house as Ayen started to chase her. It looked as though they went back to being playful children, oblivious of their surroundings. Thanks to the spacious house, they could run freely.

But sometimes overjoy could effectuate a bad outcome. As soon as she heard a loud thud behind her followed by a muffled scream, her heart almost dropped in fear. She spun around only to see Ayen already slumped on the floor. Hurt was plastered on her face while she clutched her foot.

Worried and petrified, she hurriedly ran back to her. "Oh, my God! Let me check." Her voice was filled with guilt and horror as she watched Ayen squirm in pain.

She tried to hold her aching ankle but instantly regretted it when Ayen whimpered. "I'm sorry." She uttered before carefully scooping Ayen up and taking her into the living room.

She put her down on the sofa while carrying out extra caution. She sat down on the floor across her, subsequently taking another chance to hold her ankle.

"I don't think you should touch it."

"I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Mind you, I'm not an automobile that you can repair. I don't want to get more injured because I let a mechanic fix my broken foot."

She chuckled. "You just can't stop blabbering despite being fractured."Shaking her head, she added. "I'm sure your father will kill me if I take you home in this state."

"He'll definitely kill you if you inflict more damage on my ankle."

She didn't respond to stay focused. However, being watched by Ayen while she tried to apply her little knowledge of massaging a sprained ankle was rather uncomfortable. She had to think of something to get rid of the awkwardness that was starting to grow between them.

A thought suddenly came to her mind that made her chuckle.

"Is something funny?"

"Next time you chase me, make sure that you won't trip, stumblebum."

As expected, Ayen snapped back. "What did you— ouch!" But before she could've even finished her protest, a brittle sound startled her. Her face scrunched up in anger, afterward. "Y-you!"

A coy smile was drawn on her face, seeing how displeased Ayen had become. When she tried to move her foot, a soft gasp escaped from her mouth.

"Now, we're even," She said in a smug tone.

"Thank you." Ayen uttered, almost in a whisper.

She thought of asking her to repeat the apology, pretending she did not hear it but did otherwise. "You're most welcome, my princess."

The cushion sank back down as she took a seat beside Ayen. The gap between them was enough distance for her to discreetly sniff the natural scent Ayen always wore. She was certain that it neither came from a cologne, perfume nor even a fabric conditioner. It might've seemed vile but she couldn't hold back from coming into an illusion of her smelling the fragrance directly from Ayen's body.

Such a pervert.

She only went back to reality when Ayen cleared her throat. Feeling quite overwrought because of what she had just done, her eyes blinked several times while averting in the opposite direction.

"T-this house is going to look much nicer once the renovation is finished," Ayen cheerfully expressed, in an attempt to clear the air.

"Absolutely. That's my goal, anyway."

"I bet your parents will like it here, as well as your twin sister."

Her forehead pulled into a crease as she turned back to her. "Who told you that my family would live here?"

"Will they not?"

"I bought this place with my own money. Technically, this is my own house."

Ayen was taken by surprise. The confusion in her eyes was telling her that she did not expect such a response. Ayen remained stuck staring at her for a while, giving her the chance to study her face.

How she wanted to smother Ayen's thin lips, which she found tempting every second passed. How she wanted to take away the innocence she always had on her face for a moment, then only take it back when they were both slaked by the thirst induced by the inexplicable heat.

Ayen peeled her eyes away from her affectionate stares. "Does it mean you're gonna stay here all by yourself?"

"That's right." She coughed the disappointment out of her voice. The idea of kissing the girl sitting beside her upsurged she had to control it. "Can't believe this place is already mine."

"To be honest with you, I feel a little sad about it. But you don't have to apologize for that."

"Why is that?"

"You're now the owner of this property, which only means that nobody can come here on their own will unless you allow them. And that includes me, Trini, and Cole. We just lost our favorite hang-out place."

"For that matter, Cole and Trini are the ones who aren't allowed. But you, of course, can go here anytime you want."

"Are you giving me permission?"

She looked back at her, only to beam when she saw the uncertainty written on Ayen's face. "Simply because... you are my friend." She drawled.

Ayen stared at her for a moment, as if trying to decipher what she said. The familiar seam ruckled her forehead, afterward. "What if we're in a fight, and I want to go here because, you know, this place is my sanctuary. So, does it mean that I can't be here when that happens?"

"That's why I'm giving you permission. You can go here whether we're okay or not. If we aren't on good terms, feel free to use this place as your healing shelter. I can assure you, I won't be here."

"That seems... unfair."

"It is not. I'm glad that you're telling me about such an instance so that I'm aware. You don't have to worry about it. I have already taken the property and it's not my intention to take your privilege of going here when you're down in the dumps. This may be a verbal agreement between both of us but it's fine and licit." She reassured.

There was a further reason for the procurement that she couldn't speak out about other than the fact that she fell in love with the stunning view offered by the property. Truth be told, she had decided to buy the property because of Ayen.

All because of this lovely girl beside her.

Before she realized it, their gazes were already locked with each other. This time, she was incapable of averting her eyes in the opposite direction. All of a sudden, she felt her heart thumping rapidly inside her chest as if it was aiming for an escape. Ayen's eyes were giving her the illusion that everything around them was moving in slow motion. Her beautiful brown eyes kept her from thinking that Ayen was only making fun of her and would eventually end up laughing at her.

She didn't want to fall for it again.

She tried to pull back after realizing that she was being magnetized by Ayen again. But it looked like Ayen was intentionally moving closer. She couldn't move anymore when she felt the armrest behind her. Her breathing started to falter as their gap narrowed. Honestly, she could feel her heart was about to burst. "Ayen..." She uttered, uncertain if she had managed to mention her name correctly.

She tried to disacknowledge each desire that was getting into her head because she was sure that once she catered to it, she would be relentless. But Ayen was being reckless and caught her lips in one swift movement. Her eyes dilated as she was astounded by the action.

Her jaw seemed to have locked, which made her unresponsive at first. The trembling of Ayen's lips made her grasp the current situation that she, without a doubt, was being kissed. And before Ayen could've decided to pull away, she took that chance to clutch her on the nape to deepen the kiss.

The way Ayen kissed her conveyed innocence. She could tell it was her first time. She slowly moved her lips to cherish the sweet sensation given by Ayen's naive kisses. As the thought made her grin between their kisses, her hands began to get touchy. Rubbing the small of her back let a soft moan out from Ayen's lips. When she heard her slow breathing, her pulse had just gotten more unhinged. Her body had its own control that she couldn't oppose any more.

The thought made her grin between their kiss. Ayen was already beneath her when reality struck, making her desist from canoodling her.

She stared directly through her eyes. "If I'm going to kiss you again, I'm afraid this won't just end here."

Ayen seemed to know better. Even though she could see the steaming desire in her eyes, Ayen did not let the flame burn them away. Instead, she propped her hands against her chest as if telling her that what they were doing wasn't right. She might not be vocal about it but pushing her back to free herself underneath her was a clear and loud statement.

They shouldn't have gotten that far, yet.

She had to keep in her mind that Ayen was no less than the girls she had been with.

"I'm sorry." Ayen uttered with her head down.

Unsure of how to respond, she plopped back down on the couch and sighed. Ayen's apology came off as an insult to her and she didn't like it. Did she regret it already?

A moment of silence suffused their surroundings. Her eyes were fixated outside the floor-to-ceiling glass window but nothing was reflected in her sight more than the kissing scene that kept replaying in her mind. That could've been an impressive visual if Ayen hadn't said sorry.

"I'm sorry. I was curious."

Her brows furrowed hearing Ayen. She looked back at her, silently urging her to keep up with what she was saying by looking into her eyes.

Ayen shrugged. "I-I'm not sure, either. Maybe I was tempted."

She chuckled. "Do you mean I'm charming?"

When she did not hear an answer. She turned to Ayen, whose head was tilted down while her fingers fidgeted on the seat.

"Well, I get that a lot. Girls tend to kiss me without prior notice." She joked, in a vain attempt to lighten up the mood. It was also half-meant true. A lot of times had happened that she was suddenly being kissed by girls she had just met.

Ayen frowned. "So full of yourself.."

"Of course. I'm a La Rivas, baby." She sneered then winked at her.

If she was not mistaken, she saw Ayen's face flushed bright red, her eyes even bawled out and she was about to say something but dismissed it, immediately. But to be honest, bragging her name in front of Ayen felt uncomfortable. She used to do that to everyone, but now it felt kinda weird.

As silence took over once more, they both stared outside the glass window, seizing the moment they had together. The sun outside was shining intensively but she couldn't feel hot at all. Well, she did earlier but she had to extinguish it, quickly. Ayen did not deserve to be a victim of her s****l desire. Despite the fact that she liked her, she was steering clear of being a twit. How could she disrespect someone as divine as Ayen?

She sighed, remembering how she almost lost control and if she had failed to manage, it would've been the end.

"You know... you're my first kiss."

The revelation still stunned her in spite of already getting the hint that it was Ayen's first time. She stared at her with bafflement evident on her face. Ayen stared back at her with her brown eyes, trying to convince her that what she said was true.

For all that had happened before, she was honestly still burning and ready to enflame the longer she stared at Ayen. Her eyes traveled down to her sweet lips. Unlike Ayen, it was not the first time she had kissed a first-timer. Not to mention that she most likely ended up having more than just a kiss with several chaste women.

"Hey, Heathe!"

She blinked her thoughts away. "Y-yes?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

She nodded. She heard it loud and clear even if she was lost in contemplation. But her mouth was uncooperative that she stammered to say something. She could hardly express herself and that was embarrassing.

"I'm sorry if you're disappointed."

Her nose flared. "What made you think I'm disappointed?"

"B-because I'm not a good kisser...?"

She tried to stifle her laughter because Ayen's facial expression was so naive. But she couldn't suppress it because she really found Ayen's response funny. "You're sad because you think you're not a good kisser?"

Ayen did not respond nor look up to her.

Her laugh diminished, thinking Ayen might have felt bad. "Well, I'm honestly shocked. Not that I've already judged your kiss." I'm as disappointed as you, you know that? You might not be a good kisser, but I'd love to be kissed by you again— only you. Her mind was speaking up while she was directly looking at Ayen's eyes. If you only knew. "I'm just surprised... and I'm thinking nothing more that may upset you." She clutched her chin and took her face to look up. "I think I like you better now."

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