"Can you help me with something?" some days later , Xavier asked "she" for helping him.
"Sure, how can I help you?" "she" replied.
Xavier asked her to help him buying a birthday present for his acquaintance. He actually knew what he was going to buy, but decided to ask her anyway, because deep down inside he wanted to see her smile again. The same smile "she" showed several days ago while "she" was asking
that brutal question.
"She" agreed to help and to the delight of Xavier, they made an appointment to meet up at the downtown.
Summer has faded away and autumn starts to breeze in this lovely city.
"So, what are we going to do?", that question came up when "she" finally faced Xavier in the downtown. Xavier tried to be clueless, and asked for her opinion. It was a stupid decision by him.
They wandered around inside the department store and visited every chic store that they could find. Xavier could see that "she" didn't enjoy getting the burden to think, but deep down inside his heart, he wants to be together with her, even just for a little bit longer. It's just the way "she" smiled, the way "she" looked at things that made him wanting more. He knew he has a feeling for "she". Finally, when the day is getting late, he decided that that was it for the day, and led her to the store he actually already decided long time ago. He bought the present after pretending to ask for her opinion beforehand.
"I have nothing to do today though," "she" said when they had finished shopping. Xavier was surprised with what he just heard. He didn't expect her to said that. "Well, we can have dinner if you want to," he replied. It was a rather chilly evening that day, and most couples could be seen walking hand to hand or even closer to each other. That situation did not help Xavier's case.
"She" suggested a restaurant which located on the other part of the downtown. They walked to a different direction than where they came, meaning that the walk to go back home would be even further and take longer time. Xavier wasn't sure why "she" did that. Even more, since they met earlier today, "she" never asked that brutal question "she" asked several days ago, much to Xavier's dismay.
They went on to a noodle restaurant, and ordered the food. Surprisingly, they could see that the waiter was a newbie. Several times the newbie made mistakes here and there, which somehow irritated "she". Xavier was not so pleased with how "she" reacted to the situation. He even thought that maybe "she" did just that to show him how tough a girl "she" was, but maybe "she" just went too much with that.
He tried to calm her down, saying that mistake is part of human life, mistake that even he did all too many during his relationship with Mary,
"She" listened to him well and calmed down.
The food was pretty much delicious and they actually had a good time, they chatted for some time before finally stood up and went back home.
Quite long way to go back home from that restaurant, so Xavier decided to accompany "she" to her house. It was late already. During the way back home they started to discuss about future, a magic word that both of them still don't know about. Something that they still try to figure out. But again, her lips never spelled out that question that she asked earlier, making Xavier really anxious.
As they arrived to the front gate of her apartment, Xavier bid her goodbye.
"She" thanked him for today, and as Xavier going to leave, there was some pause in between the conversation; they looked each other at the eyes. Xavier tried to regain his composure, knowing that at any moment he could succumb to his real own feeling that he's been trying to hide. He wanted to embrace her and told her the answer of that brutal question.
He did not. He cut his eye contact towards her, and said good bye while turning his back against her. There was this funny feeling of him that said "she" maybe want him to do it the other way around.
As he was leaving, he passed through another noodle restaurant located just two blocks away from her restaurant. To his surprised it was another branch of the very same noodle restaurant that they ate earlier. "Why did "she" suggest me to the other branch that was far away then?", his head started asking, and as he did that, a text message from Mary came..
