His (BxB)

Part 14

"Are you hungry, Lou?" William asks while slowly driving his car out of the school. His eyes are fully focused on the road.

"No. I'm fine." I'm actually still wondering whether he's angered by the previous event.

"Alright. Then we can go look for present first and have dinner afterwards."

I just nod. I totally forget about the plan to buy present for Jess' birthday. My mind seems to be too busy trying to figure out what William is currently feeling.

"Is something wrong, Baby?" I guess I've been unusually silent until he asks.

"No. It's just... Are you mad at me?" I dare myself asking.

He glances at me and asks back in a nonchalant tone. "Is there something I should be mad about?"

I get a little nervous as my question is being replied with another question. Now I understand why William hates it. "I don't know. Uh... Maybe about helping Tim. You didn't approve what I had done, did you?"

William chuckles at my guessing. "You're right. I didn't. But don't worry. I'm not mad at you since you already admitted that you're wrong and you didn't insist on continuing to meddle in their problem."

I see. Had I decided to stay when William asked us to go home, he would be furious by now. Feeling eased, I exhale the air that I don't realize holding while waiting for his answer. But that doesn't mean I have forgotten about Tim. I'm still worried about him.

"And don't worry," William adds as if he can read my mind, "Ethan isn't going to continue whatever he was doing. I saw him leaving when we're about to get in the car. So, I guess he left after we did."

"Wh- He did? Are you sure?" I try to tone down my obvious excitement. I don't want to irritate my boyfriend by being too enthusiastic about someone else. But I hope he's telling the truth.

"Be careful with your question, Baby." He reprimands me in an instant, with his eyes still focusing on the road ahead. "I'm not a liar."

Realizing the mistake in my choice of words, I quickly apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

He allows an approving smile to curve on his handsome face. "Don't you feel curious as to why I let you know that Tim is alright now?"

I nod in positive. "May I know why? I thought you dislike him so much that you don't want us to talk about him."

"I hate him, yes. But what I hate more is when your attention got distracted in my presence. And you know this, Lou. That's why I have to do something to eliminate the distraction."

Another reprimand. I guess I've made too many mistakes today. And somehow, William is still being so patient and forgiving that he does not get mad at me this time. "I'm sor-"

"Don't get me wrong, Baby." He cuts my sentence as I try to deliver apology. "It's totally normal for you to feel worry about anyone. That's just your nature as you have such a kind and big heart. And I don't intent to change that."

Is he trying to give me compliment? I never know anyone who ever call me a kind-hearted person. My cheeks grow warm and I shift awkwardly in my seat. I never get used to compliments, really.

"But never forget that your heart belongs to me and I don't like to share." He continues. "So, just make sure you know who your priority is. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Yes, I do." I feel grateful that William is very calm when addressing this issue despite of how idiotic the mistakes I've made this time. I always know that he doesn't like me splitting attention when he's around, but somehow, it's just forgotten due to my stupidity. And that's why he thinks I have to be reminded again. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

"Good." He holds my hand and rests our holding hands on my thigh. "Now let us think about what to give to your friend as her birthday present."

"To be honest, I have no experience in this." I inform him. "I don't know what to give to girls for their birthday."

He replies with a chuckle. "Alright, I'll decide then. I don't want you to waste time thinking about other people."

I smile at that. "Thank you, William."

After around thirty minutes, he finally pulls his car into a shopping mall's parking area. Not that there are a lot of malls in this town, but this one's definitely the biggest. "Maybe we can find a good tailor here, if we're lucky." Says William, while carefully looking for vacant parking spot.

"Tailor?" I don't get it. "Are you planning to give Jess a dress or something?"

"What? No." William lets out a little laughter. "Why would I make such big effort for some girl's birthday while we could simply give her Apple watch?"

"So, uh... we're going to give her... Apple watch?" How much does the watch cost?

"You don't think she'll like it?" As William finds a good vacant spot, he carefully positions his car into it.

"Not that. It's just I don't prepare too many cash right now because I wasn't coming home yesterday and this is like a sudden plan to begin with." As usual, my explanation always sounds like beating around the bushes, even to my own ears. "I mean, maybe I'm going to have to borrow your money first. But I swear I'll repay you with my saving when we get home."

William turns off the car engine and unfastens his seat belt before he moves in his seat so that he can face me. Again, I can't read his expression until he starts speaking. "So, you're going to pay for the watch? Then why don't you just say it clearly that you don't need me?"

I'm baffled at his questions. "I didn't mean-"

"You are mine, Baby." He reminds me again. "Don't you even try to exclude me from whatever happens in your life."

"But, William. I'm not trying to." I imply a small protest.

"F*cking listen to me." He doesn't let me explain. "I gave you my card for whatever payment you have to make. If you dare to pay something using your own money, believe me I'll find out and you're not going to like the outcome."

I almost forget that his card is still in my wallet. I was about to return it yesterday. But looking at his current response, I don't think I'll be able to return the card anytime sooner. He would instantly perceive that as a blatant rejection. And William can't handle rejection very well.

"Alright. I'm so sorry." I should be sorry because this is my fault. I should've known that it would hurt his pride if I try to financially support myself on my own. All this time he always insists on paying everything for us. And somehow this behavior has been overlooked by my snail-speed processing brain. Splendid.

You need anything, you want anything, you come to me. Can you remember that?

A particular scene from yesterday is being replayed in my mind. I can't believe I already answered 'yes' but then forgot it the day after.

"No need to be sorry, Lou. Just make sure you do what I told you to, please? I just want to be a good boyfriend to you."

"Yes... I will." At least I'll try. Then I remember the tailor he mentioned earlier. "What about the tailor? What did you mean by that?"

"I plan to make us tuxedos."

My eyes widen at his short answer. I still don't get it.

"For the prom, Baby." He adds. "But if there's no good local tailor in this town, I'll probably just order from some designer shops."

Getting no immediate response from me, William signals us to get out of the car.

"Thank you, William. You've been too good to me. I don't even know why I deserve that." I thank him once I'm out of the car and walking towards him.

He holds my hand and we start heading to the mall entrance. "Don't think about it. Just think of me instead." He says that while side glancing me with a playful smirk.

I can't help but laugh. And I fall in love with him for God knows how many times already. My life now does seem to be too good to be true. All thanks to him.

"Lou, you want something from here?" He's pointing his finger to a large department store inside the mall. He offers me that in case I need some new clothes or other apparels.

I shake my head in negative, of course. "No. Thank you."

"Just let me know if you want anything, okay?"

I nod at that. He's been acting very attentive today. It makes me realize that I haven't been showing any reciprocal attention towards him. "How was your meeting this afternoon, btw?"

"Just member introduction and discussion about timeline for prom king and queen candidate registration." William answers while having his eyes wandering upon various outlets in the mall. "The meeting was quite short though."

"Are you going to register yourself?" I ask spontaneously. "You could win the vote, I'm sure."

He laughs at my comment. "No way. I'm not willing to let go off your hand just because I have to take the first dance with the prom queen."

My heart goes warm from his answer. I drop my gaze down to conceal the pinkish faint tint that can possibly be spreading on my cheeks right now. I take a moment to glance at our holding hands. His firm grip speaks a lot about how much he doesn't want to lose me. And I instantly feel like I'm the luckiest person on the planet.

"Here we are, Baby." Says William as we finally arrived at Apple outlet. "Let's get in."

William doesn't waste time looking at the displayed products like other customers. He goes straight to a guy who wears blue T-shirt with Apple logo on the chest. Looks like he's one of the sales person here. He smiles at us as he notices that he's being approached by us.

"May I help you?" He offers politely.

"I need an Apple watch and iPhone." William answers.

The guy is looking at our holding hand before continuing to speak. "Sure. Which model?"

"The latest ones and the best specs."

"Good choices." The guy smiles even wider. "Would you look at the show units to decide your color preference?"

"No." William declines. "You bring all the available colors and meet me at the cashier. I'll decide there."

"Sure. Please wait there." The guy seems a bit marveled by the way William shops. Yet he still keeps his polite smile.

Without another word, we proceed to walk towards the cashier while the sales guy is going to the storage room to take out the ordered units. To be honest, it also surprises me. I never know anyone who shops like that. Like he doesn't want to waste too much time chatting with sales person, nor hovering about the displayed sample products.

"We're buying phones, Lou. Nothing much to choose here." He seems to notice my amazement upon his shopping behavior. "Unlike buying clothes where we have to consider a lot of things such as design, style, fabric and whatnot."

I just nod. It makes sense though. For a person who doesn't have problem in financial situation, buying gadgets or electronics should be a lot easier since they could just aim for the best models or specs.

"Since this is for your friend, you pick the color later, okay?" He asks me.

"Alright." I reply. "Uh, William... So, we're going to give her a phone too?"

"The phone is for you, Baby."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I mean, what for? I already have a phone."

"Don't forget to text me your iCloud access later after you migrate everything from your old phone." He doesn't see the necessity in answering my question. "I want to be able to check your location at all times."

I don't really understand what he's saying. But I'm guessing it must relate to a feature in the phone that can give information regarding to the phone's whereabouts. I can't be too sure though because I never utilized such feature in any phones I've ever used.

"Alright. Uh... Thank you, William." I don't really have a choice. I was about to decline his gift before I quickly remember that it would lead to him being mad as he doesn't expect me to reject whatever he gives me. I wonder if he is also like this to every boy he was with in the past. Like Mikey, for example.

I honestly want to know a lot about his past entanglement with Mikey. That way I'm hoping to get a better explanation as to why Mikey hates me to the bone, aside from him simply being jealous. He mentioned that they had a lot of s*x together before but it doesn't make sense because I remember them being together for no more than two or three days. It was before I became William's boyfriend. Did Mikey lie just to confuse me? What about the rumor that Jess once had mentioned? That William could be cheating with Mikey.

Even though the idea of William cheating sounds more like a strange concept to me, sometimes I do want to ask William to clarify this. But I don't think he would like it. He might think that I no longer have trust on my own boyfriend. And by looking at the way he treats me, the way he secures his grip on me, no one in their right mind would think that William desires someone other than me.

Besides, he is too nice that I don't want to disappoint him by doing things that displease him. Ever.

***