Untamed Desire

Be still, Heart

In comparison to the other usual days at work, today appears to be extremely bothersome for Abby. She isn't used to feeling uneasy in front of her best buddy. If this continues, she will no longer be able to comprehend the issue.

She hopes Seth won't be able to detect it so clearly. If only she could pretend to be normal, but she couldn't.

Abby discovered her mother frantically preparing dinner for tonight in the kitchen. She is so preoccupied with what she is doing that she is unaware of her arriving home.

"What's for dinner, Mom?" She approaches her and takes a look at the dish she prepared.

"Oh, there you are, honey," Marissa said with a smile. "Can you taste it to see if it's okay?" bringing a ladle containing a small amount of chicken soup into her mouth. 

She swallows the juice into her lips and smiles broadly when she is pleased with the flavor. Marissa is, without a doubt, the best cook in the world for her.

"Hmm, you're a really excellent chef mom," Abby adds, embracing her behind her back. "We're so happy to have both a fantastic cook and the best mother."

"That's not going to work for me, Abby. Is there anything else you require?"

Of course, not. Hasn't Dad arrived yet?" She hadn't noticed his presence since she arrived. Her father usually gets home before her.

"Oh, he texted he'd work overtime today," her mother replied, beginning to clean up the mess around the table. She helps her do the cleaning even if she insisted her not to.

"How's Seth doing?"

"What about him, Mom?" 

"You do realize I always inquire about him, don't you? You answered another question to a question, really?" Marissa takes a break from what she's doing and stares at her daughter closely.

"Oh! Yeah, mom, he's fine as usual." Abby chastises herself for being so taken aback by such a simple inquiry. She even forgot about Marissa's habit of inquiring about Seth.

"Will he come for supper tonight as he always does?" Marissa is now getting ready to set the table for dinner.

"I'm not sure, probably, let's see if he comes in a while,"  Seth's voice boomed loudly from the living room just as she concluded those remarks. "Anyone home?"

"Talking about the devil, mom," Abby chuckled.

"Hello, Marizee!" Seth appeared at the front door. Marizee's smiles even widened upon seeing the sight of him.

Seth is dressed casually in khaki shorts and a black shirt. Seth, just so you know, does not dress like a typical gay man. He feels at ease in the clothes that men typically wear. Abby just notices how good it looks on him right now. She never takes to notice it before. Her best friend is so handsome, just don't let him say anything.

"Hello, Abz!" Seth gives him a tiny hug, which she is forced to reciprocate.

"You're just in time for dinner, aren't you?" Abby makes a joke and quickly establishes her space.

"Of course, just like how you're always on time for breakfast in our house," Seth replied, laughing.

"Darling Sethy, I'm sure you'll enjoy what I've prepared for dinner," Marissa remarks.

"I really love you Marizee!" Seth said locking her into his arms.

"I love you too, Darling," Marissa responds with a hug. Even though she is used to seeing them this way, Abby wrinkles her brow at the sight.

"How about we have dinner?" Abby cuts in as if she's too hungry to put up with any more of their exaggerations.

Seth moves away from Marissa and begins to sit at the dinner table. Abby and Marissa do the same thing. Seth appears to be contentedly watching the food on the table. One of his favorite dishes is chicken soup, followed by a vegetable salad, salmon fish, and watermelon for dessert.

"Look at these, that's why I really like to eat dinner here," Seth exclaims, laughing and reaching for some food on his plate. Marissa simply chuckles at the statement, while Abby frowns in disdain, and Seth simply sneers at her.

"As if I like it when you dine here," Abby yells.

"You know, you're looking even more beautiful these days," Seth observes. She has no idea why, but hearing his compliments makes her cheeks flush.

Marissa notices her reactions and says, "You're blushing, honey."

"Are you hiding something from us? Do you like someone now?" Seth interrogates her, eager to learn her responses.

"H-How did you find out, I mean, how can you say that?" She's afraid she's stuttering when she said those words to Seth.

"Just a question. You know, we've been waiting for you to have your own love life for a long time."

"Isn't it a race?" She defends herself and looks to her mother for agreement.

"That's right, honey. but-"

"But what?" 

"It's a different story if you've had no boyfriend since birth. Right, Seth?" Marissa states with a sad expression on her face.

"I agree with you, Marizee."

Abby decided not to pursue the subject further. It's a one-on-two match, and she will not win the debate. Especially since she hasn't moved on from the compliments her best friend just gave her.

After they finished eating dinner, Seth heads to the living room and turns on the TV, and switches on the television to hunt for some intriguing things to watch. Even if both of them insisted to wash the dishes but her mother would really decline their offers. She goes to the bathroom to clean her teeth and double-check her appearance before facing Seth again.  

"What have you been up to?" Seth asks as she takes a seat beside him on the sofa.

"It's none of your concern," She ignores his questions and steals the remote from his grasp, but Seth quickly grabs her hands. It was their usual routine. They frequently disagree about what to watch on television.

But this time, however, Abby is aware of the heat emanating from Seth's touch. She tries not to be bothered by his touch, but she can't help but feel it on her skin. She just can't stop herself from feeling it. She knows she's in profound trouble now.

"OK, you choose," Abby says as she relinquishes the remote.

"Wow, you're so generous tonight," Seth said half-smiling. The way he narrowed his eyes to her made her heart beats faster than normal. 

She prefers it this way in order to avoid body contact with him. She's not sure how she'll handle every normal thing that happens with Seth in the coming days. Damn that Dream!