No Waiting(3)

14

In the evening, I went to the basketball court.

I sat on the steps and watched Stanley play alone, not far away.

His movements showed that he was venting rather than training.

After throwing a three-pointer, he stopped playing and walked toward me with the ball in his arms.

I inched away from him.

He frowned and said impatiently, "Why are you hiding from me?" Then he sat beside me and habitually reached out his hand to me.

I realized that he was asking for water.

In the past, every time he finished playing, he took the water and towels I prepared for him, but I was obviously not prepared presently.

I really forgot.

He was a little angry. He lifted his basketball shirt and used it to wipe off the sweat on his face. He sat beside me and began interrogating me, "Why didn't you contact me for so long? Why didn't you answer the phone?"

I took a deep breath and asked him, "What do you want to say to me?"

Stanley slowed down when he heard that. He wiped off the sweat on his neck, put down his basketball shirt, and slowly asked me, "Did you meet Charmaine?"

I looked at him.

I felt that all my previous nervousness and uneasiness were like a complete joke.

In the past, I could be his wingman and his tool to get his girls, but now...

I could not do it to Charmaine.

Charmaine was my friend.

It was already 6 p.m., and the sunset could be seen across the playground. I stood up and looked at Stanley's still beautiful and arrogant side profile.

However, I started to think it was no longer that good-looking.

I walked to Stanley. He looked at me. I looked into his eyes and said, "Stanley, did you know that I have always liked you? I have liked you since I was nine years old."

He froze.

In the past, I would be upset when he frowned and sad when he looked cold. However, presently, when I looked at his frozen expression, I felt a trace of pleasure in my heart.

"Stanley, you must understand that I have been kind to you for so many years for no other reason but because I like you. You're just using me because I like you. However, now, I'm not going to like you anymore."

I did not stop. I simply walked down the steps, but he suddenly held my right hand.

Stanley stood up. His body blocked the setting sun. I could not see his expression clearly but heard him say, "You are my best friend. If that's what you think, we... can try."

I laughed.

I found that I had made a bigger mistake.

I thought I was the only one who felt sad when I had been his lackey for more than ten years, but I did not expect that my kindness for more than ten years would make him an idiot.

I wondered whether I should slap him on behalf of his parents, Zayn and Nancy, who were good to me, but I did not expect someone to help me do that.

Just when we were in a stalemate, a man punched Stanley from the side and hit him directly onto the steps.

I looked up and saw Zachariah gritting his teeth without saying a word.

I had never seen Zachariah look like that before.

His eyes, which had always been warm, were cold presently. He stood in front of me and said to Stanley, "If you want to contact Charmaine, you can ask for her phone number by yourself. Why are you looking for Jess?"

My heart tightened. Did he hear what I had said from the beginning?

After that, I told Stanley that I liked him. Did he hear it clearly?

Stanley wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth, stood up, and approached us. He stared at Zachariah and questioned me, "Were you with this boy? Was it because of him? You didn't answer my call because of him, right?"

Zachariah and I were not together, but I did not want to explain it to Stanley at all.

At this moment, I felt a warm sensation on my head. Zachariah had pressed my head on his shoulder and held me tightly.

I heard him say to Stanley, "I don't care how long and how many years she liked you. Now, she is in love with me. I'll give her what you took away from her in the past. You'd better scram as far as you can."

I buried my head in Zachariah's shoulder. When he said that, his Adam's apple trembled beside my ear, and the crisp and numb vibration made my heart feel like an electric current was traveling across it.

My eyes seemed to be wet.

15

Presently, in a coffee shop, a girl was drinking coffee calmly. A boy sat opposite her with his head leaning forward. His eyes were so pitiful, and it was painfully obvious that he wanted a hug.

Zachariah carefully observed my face. "Jess, I'm sorry. I did not have your permission when I said you were dating me. I was anxious when I said that. You won't blame me, will you?"

I did not speak.

Zachariah was even more anxious. He reached forward with both hands, trying to touch me but not daring to reach out. He looked like a Samoyed who attempted to steal a treat and was caught.

I drank my coffee silently.

Zachariah looked at my expression and withdrew his hands. He lowered his head and said, "It's my fault. Then, I won't disturb you anymore, Jess."

After finishing my last sip of coffee, I picked up a tissue and wiped my mouth. Then, I slowly said to Zachariah, who had his head lowered, "What? Do you want to take back your words and be like Othello?"

Zachariah raised his head instantly, his eyes wide open, and rushed over to the table next to me a second later.

I pushed him gently. "Watch the cup!"

Zachariah held me in his arms and said, "Jess, you took the initiative. You should be responsible for me."

I patted him on the head. I was amused.

Zachariah grabbed me like a koala and followed my steps until we returned to his rented house.

I said, "I feel hot."

Zachariah stepped back, but his hands were still wrapped around my waist.

The atmosphere changed.

Zachariah had a pair of beautiful hands, and even Charmaine, who had always teased him, praised him for having two artistic hands.

His knuckles were fair and slender, and there was a tiny mole near his right wrist. At the moment, it was more and more seductive as fine beads of sweat glistened on his hands.

Now, these attractive hands were wandering around my waist gently. It was as if he was the most affectionate pianist who was playing a symphony on my body.

I only felt a numb and tingling sensation at the bottom of my heart, which had been covered by scars for over ten years. It seemed that something was going to break out and overflow.

It was not enough. Zachariah's hand touched my eyes again, and he whispered in my ear, "Jess, you are so beautiful."

I covered my eyes.

"Jess, you are the most beautiful girl. I like you so much."

"Stop it."

I covered his mouth; my face had become red.

Zachariah held my hand and looked at me with raised eyebrows.

Just as the atmosphere in the whole room was slowly becoming intense, Zachariah suddenly stopped.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "What's wrong?"

He looked embarrassed. "I don't have that thing."

"Pfft!" I could not help laughing.

The atmosphere was interrupted, and I looked around to visit his room, giving the dejected Zachariah some time to calm down.

When I walked to the bookshelf, I was attracted by a certificate.

[Avant-Garde Photo Awards Gold Medalist Zack.]

I knew that the Avant-Garde Photo Awards were specially held by a fashion magazine for young photographers. It was well-known in the industry, and the winners of the gold award were influential photographers. They would not waste their talents on commercial photography.

I thought that Zachariah must have been keeping a secret from me.

When I asked him, he took a long time going through his phone album before showing me a picture. It was the picture that got me eliminated from the competition that year.

I looked at him in confusion.

That was the only competition I dared to participate in in the last 20 years.

At that time, Stanley's girlfriends came and went. I was depressed to the extreme, desperately trying to find the good points in myself and signing up for a model competition without much thought.

As I said before, the photo Stanley took for me was eliminated at the preliminary stage.

This picture was now lying quietly in Zachariah's album, and he had even created a folder for it.

Zachariah told me the truth.

It turned out that at that time, he had just started and was practicing taking pictures, but he always felt that the photos he took were missing something until he saw my photo.

In his words, he was attracted by my inexplicable aura. It appeared that I had a story.

He thought I could be qualified for the following rounds, but he did not expect that I would be rejected in the preliminary round.

When Charmaine went to him with my photo, he immediately agreed to take pictures for me even though he had never taken any work related to e-commerce.

"Jess, isn't this fate?" Zachariah looked at me smugly as if he was waiting for me to praise him.