Started with Goodbye

Chapter 7

I was about to return to our table with the foods that I ordered, but I stopped when someone grabbed the tray that I was holding and he or she was the one who brought it on our table. And as I looked to check who it was, I saw Asher wearing a serious expression on his face as he focused on holding the tray without anything getting spilled.

It seems like he noticed that I was looking at him with a confused expression on my face, that’s why he looked at me and then, the serious expression on his face was gone. It was replaced by a charming smile, and I did not really know why, but it felt like my cheeks were burning as I was looking at him.

“I think that you were having a hard time on carrying the tray,” he told me as his smiled widen even more. “So, I decided to help you carrying it all the way to our table.”

I slightly nodded my head at him because it felt like if I would start to talk, I would just stutter because somehow, somehow, I was feeling so flustered, and I really did not know the reason why I felt like that.

After all, I was just staring at the man that I met just days ago, and it seems like his smiles and every single details on his face was making me blush. And I could not figure out why I was feeling like that towards him, or should I say, I did not want to admit to myself why I was like this towards him.

Maybe, I should ask Aiden about this? Or no, because it might be bad for me. She would just tease me non-stop and I knew that I would not be able to live a peaceful life because she tends to remember all these kind of things. She would talk about this non-stop, and I would not be able to stop her, or do anything for her to forget about this.

I shook off that thought and scolded myself, through my mind, that Asher was just right in front of me and I should focus on reality rather than daydreaming about a man that was literally beside me, carrying the food that I just ordered from the counter a minute ago.

I also did not dare to stop him from carrying that tray because I saw that we already reached the table where we were sitting earlier. I also realized that he was walking ahead of me and he was already putting all the food on our table, so I guess that there was no use on stopping him now. I just let him do whatever he wanted to do, and I just sat on the chair that was across his.

I saw that he finished putting the foods on our table, so I sat properly and so did he, but he stopped on what he was doing and looked at me with a frown on his face. It seems like he was trying to figure something out while looking at my face, almost curiously.

“Are you alright?” he asked that made me frown at him, as if I was showing him that I did not get what he was asking.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him as I slowly tilted my head, trying to figure out why he asked something like that out of nowhere. “But why are you asking me something like that?”

He also looked so worried about something I could not seem to figure out. There was a frown on his face as he was looking at me, intently, and that smile on his face earlier was gone and was replace by a worried look.

“Your face somehow looks a little redder than usual.” For the second time that day, I stopped moving because of what he just said. “I thought that you are sick or something?” He checked my face even more as he continued to talk. “I mean, it really looks like you were a redder than before.”

I quickly waved him off because I could clearly see that worried look on his face, and I did not want to trouble him because he thought that I was sick, when in fact, I was just flustered because of the thoughts that started to run on my mind earlier.

“I am alright,” I said him as I gave him a grin to show him that I was indeed alright. I looked around the cafe to find something that could be my reason why I was so flustered, or in his point of view, why I was so red. “It was just... Don’t you think that the inside of the cafe is hotter than usual?”

I looked at him as I started to fan myself with my hands so that he would really believe that it was the reason why I was so red. After all, I knew that my true reason would not be acceptable because I was just daydreaming about a man that was literally in front of me.

He frowned at me as he slowly nodded his head, and went to sit properly on his chair. It seems like he let go of that topic as he sighed and wave it off before he changed the topic into something else. It seems like he did not want the both of us to get awkward with one another.

I, on the other hand, started to eat the cake that I bought and gave him the other one which he said thanks, before he cleared his throat to remove the silence between the two of us. I just continued to eat the cake before he changed our topic.

“So...” he said that made me look at him and focus my attention on whatever he would say. “What is really the reason why I saw you walking alone earlier?” he asked me as if the two of us have known each other for a long time, which is odd because again, we just met a few days ago.

I stopped eating as I remembered the reason why I decided to go outside earlier. It was because I said to Aiden that I was really serious about dragging someone that I would meet, by chance, on the exhibit that would happen two weeks from now.

I even thought that it was easier said than done, but it seems like the fate was on my side because I met sher earlier. I even thought that the timing was perfect, because it seems like he was a perfect person for me to invite on something like that. Though I did not know if exhibit like what would happen two weeks from now was his cup of tea or not.

Though I thought that he would be the best choice, I was having a second thought because again, we just known each other for not so long, and I was like a feeling close person on him. I did not want to scare him, nor offend him, because of what I wanted to do. I did not want to disappoint him because I was sure that he would think that I was crossing our boundary.

I pondered if I should tell him the reason or not, but when I saw him looking at me as if he was expecting an answer from me, I just let out a sigh and decided to tell him the truth. After all, I really did not know what would his reaction be, right?

I sighed for who knows how many times I did that day, before I started to talk. “The truth is...” I stopped again because I started to have a second thought if I should really tell him or not, but in the end, I just let myself tell him everything. “I bought a ticket last night about an art exhibit of this painter called Asher C.W. and I actually bought two tickets, out of excitement,” I told him as I sighed again.

I heard him hummed to tell me that he was listening to what I was saying, and I saw him started to eat that cute chocolate cake that I bought on the counter earlier. He was not looking at me, but I knew that he was really listening on whatever I was saying.

And so, I decided to continue my little story about those two ticket that I bought out of excitement. “I went to ask my best friend to accompany me on that day, but it seems like she was busy with her work so she immediately refused. She even told me to find someone else to accompany me on that day, so that the other ticket would not be a waste.”

Asher frowned at me as he said, “But that does not answer why you were outside of that building, all alone, and no one was around you.” He looked at me and shook his head. “It was really weird, you know.”

I sighed again as I looked down at the strawberry shortcake that was in front of me as I told him the truth, “Actually, she suggested that I should drag someone that I would meet on the streets because I do not have anyone that was close to me other than her.”

I looked at him and saw that he was trying to stop himself from laughing, and I know that it was because of what I told him. I playfully glared at him, but he could not keep his laughter so I pouted to show him that I was not really impressed that he was laughing at him.

“I know that it sounds so weird,” I told him as I pout even more. “But do not laugh at us because that was the only thing that we could think of.” I pouted again, that made him chuckle and raised the both of his hands as if he surrendered.

“Sorry. Sorry.” He had this smile on his face that made me glare at him again, but he just shook his head and chuckled again. “But the way you tell the story, it was cute,” he said and he grinned at me even more.

I opened my mouth in shock, and i was about to tell him something but it seems like there was a lump on my throat that was stopping me from doing so. I also felt the same burn on my cheeks as earlier and I was praying, and hoping, that I was getting red again because of what he just said to me.

Why am I like this, really? Is it because he looks so good while laughing? Or is it because he called me cute? Or was there something else that made me flustered and made my heart pound like crazy?

I shook off my thoughts again and I was about to make a retort, but I stopped when I looked at him again, and thought of what I just think of, earlier. He stopped laughing too when he saw that I got silent, and frowned when he saw the expression on my face.

If I would invite him on that exhibit, would he immediately agree? I mean, there were a lot of things to consider. Above it all, we did not really know anything about each other, other than our names because we just met not so long ago. Also, I did not want to upset him because he might think that I was really crossing our boundaries now.

Well, there was only one way to find out if he would reject me or not, it was to ask him if he would agree to accompany me. After all, I might never have a courage again if I would ask him some other time that we would meet; or should I say, if we could really meet again because we just met each other by chance.

I bit my lips before I asked him, “What if I would invite you to that exhibit?” I even smiled at him to convince him to agree with me.

I did not know why, but it seems like Asher was the person that I could see that would fit for the person that I wanted to accompany me on that exhibit. It seems like I really wanted him to be that person who would come with me on that event two weeks from now.

It did not take longer than I expected when Asher had finally answered me. “Sure,” he said without a second thought.

He even gave me a smile that made me grin at him too with my eyes twinkling because of excitement. I even held his hands, out of excitement, that was on the table, and it seems like he realized what I did because he looked at it. Though I never saw the expression on his face because he looked down at our hands.

I immediately realized my mistake so I withdrawn my hands from him, and immediately put a safe distance between the two of us. He looked shock because of what I did, so he looked at me with a frown on his face.

I grinned at him, sheepishly, as I tucked my hair behind my ears because of the awkwardness that I felt. “I’m sorry,” I told him in a shy tone. “I was just so happy because you agreed,” I even added. “I thought that you would refuse to accompany me because we just barely knew each other.”

He just smiled at me and waved it off as he told me that it was alright for him, before he asked me, “When will this exhibit be held?”

I immediately put out my phone to check the exact date and time that the exhibit would be held. “Two weeks from now, on Sunday to be exact,” I told him, then I thought of something important so I looked at him again. “Are you free on that day? If you are not, then it was fine for me.”

After all, I might ruin is schedule for that day. He might just agreed with me because with me because he forgot that he was busy that day. Yep. This is overthinking time for me.

“I am free on that day,” he said as he shook his head without even thinking, thoroughly, if he really did not have any plans on that day. “It’s fine, really. I did not plan on doing anything on that day.”

I nodded my head at him and gave him my biggest smile, before I told him to start eating or else, it might be a waste if we could not finish our food. He just agreed with me and started to sip his coffee.

We just ate silently and sometimes, we were talking about random stuffs that we could come up with. We just decided to go home when we both noticed that we already stayed on that cafe for far too long.

I stood up from my seat when I finished asking Asher about his phone number so that we could contact each other. He gladly gave his, and so I did too, and when we were finally outside of the cafe, I looked at him again.

I smiled at him again as I asked him, “So, see you next week?”

He smiled at me as he looked at my face with an expression I could not point out what it was. “See you when I see you,” he corrected me.

I laughed again because of what he said, before he bid his goodbye at me. I saw him turned his back at me, and I, on the other hand, went to the other direction where my apartment was located. I was happily walking down on the streets as I grinned, widely.

“I can finally have someone to accompany me.”