CH 3: A Date After Six Years

Lizzy Ford’s POV

And within seconds, she was standing in front of me, smiling.

“Let’s take a shower, Mom,” she said with a smile.

Right at that moment, the doorbell rang.

“Anya, go to the bathroom. I’ll catch up soon,” I pleaded.

She obediently rushed into the bathroom and closed the door, while I rushed to open the door.

“Ah, Aaron. I thought we will leave in fifteen minutes,” I said as I hugged him and he kissed my cheek.

“Yeah. I just wanted to visit you earlier,” Aaron replied, my boyfriend and also our neighbor. He lived two units next to us. He just moved in six months ago. I didn’t know if it’s because we were both single and have had our hearts broken, but we became close and felt like we fit together.

I still haven’t gotten over Jason even though six years have passed. However, Aaron’s attitude and way of talking made me melt even though I still couldn’t love him. Mia supported me to be with Aaron because she thought Anya needed a father figure. At first, I thought I could be both father and mother to Anya, but I realized I couldn’t play both roles at once. Eventually, I accepted Aaron’s invitation to date a month ago.

He’s a gentleman and knows how to respect a woman. In fact, during our date, he would ask my permission if he wanted to hold my hand. From all those things, I tried to open my heart that had been closed before. Besides, Anya was close to him, and Mia liked Aaron. However, there was still a little doubt in my heart. I was afraid of not being able to love him like I loved Jason and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings and put a damper on our relationship.

Maybe it would be better to get to know him better before formalizing our relationship to a more serious level.

“Hi, Mia,” Aaron greeted. At that moment, Mia had just come out of her bedroom. On that Saturday evening, Mia would take Anya to visit the carnival taking place in the city park. Meanwhile, I was going on a date with Aaron.

“Hi, Aaron. Have a seat,” Mia replied.

“Aaron, wait a minute, okay? Anya is taking a shower and we’ll be ready in a minute,” I said.

Aaron nodded as he pressed the television remote while I hurried into the room.

Fifteen minutes later, Anya and I were ready.

Before Mia and Anya left, I hugged my little girl and kissed her, “Obey Mia, okay? And never take your hands off her. Promise me.”

She held up her tiny little finger and smiled. “I promise. Mom, don’t worry.”

“I love you,” I said to Anya.

“Love you too, Mommy,” she replied.

“Bye, Uncle Aaron,” Anya said to Aaron as she waved.

“Bye, Little Anya,” Aaron replied as he waved back.

“Mia, I’ll leave Anya with you,” I said to Mia.

“Okay. Have fun and don’t worry,” Mia replied. Then Mia and Anya hurried away.

Aaron and I walked out of the apartment to his car, which was parked in front of the convenience store across from our apartment.

Once inside the car, he quickly started the engine and joined the other cars lined up, waiting for the traffic light to change color.

I turned my head and looked at him. He was quite handsome and well-established. His life was simple, even though he had a well-established job. However, he never told me about his past, so I didn’t dare to ask him even though I was very curious.

“Aaron, where are we going?” I asked.

“Umm, we’re going to have dinner at a new restaurant by the beach. However, before that, I need to stop by a shop. Is that okay?” he replied while continuing to stare straight at the highway.

“Oh, but the beach is quite far from here. I guess we won’t be going far.”

“Why? Do you mind?” he asked.

And that’s when I felt something wasn’t right. His tone of voice changed for a moment. Either I misheard him or his original tone was like that. Still, I tried to think positively.

While shaking my head, “N-no. But, I hope we get home quickly. I don’t want to worry Mia, because she’ll think we don’t go far.”

“You’re not a teenager anymore who needs her permission. After all, we’re both adults and we’re the ones who may manage our lives, not her. Let’s enjoy this beautiful time together without thinking about anything else,” he replied as he touched the back of my hand.

Like lightning striking in the night, my eyes widened at his words. In the one month we had been together, he had said nothing like that. Could he be showing his true character? My heart was beating quite fast, and I didn’t feel like it.

“Why are you silent?” he asked again.

“Umm, it’s okay.”

Moments later, the car stopped right in front of a closed shop. The gate was closed and there was no signboard with the name of the shop and the type of goods it sold.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” he said and got out of the car.

I saw Aaron enter through the slightly open side door. He was in there for quite a while until, about fifteen minutes later, he came out carrying a black package and put it in the car's trunk.

After he got into the car, I asked, “What did you buy? Isn’t the store closed?”

He didn’t run the car and turned his head while glaring at me. “You’re so noisy today. Can’t you shut up and not ask so many questions?”

I immediately shut up and looked away. For a moment, his face took on a sinister look. Could it be that all this time he had only been pretending to be gentle and kind? His tone of voice was high, and it was as if my being there was just annoying him.

After driving toward the beach, I stayed still and stared straight ahead. The same thing happened to him. Suddenly, he touched the back of my hand as he said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. You’re okay, right?”

I nodded. He smiled.

“We’ll be there soon and I’m sure you’ll like it,” he said.

I remained silent. His behavior and words surprised me enough to question things.

Finally, we reached the beach. As far as I could see was a row of luxury cars parked near the restaurant. We got out of the car and he took my hand as we walked into the restaurant.

Aaron had prepared everything. He chose an outdoor room with a view right down to the beach. I had to admit he’s good at choosing. It was just that I felt he was a little mysterious in some ways.

“Have a seat, Lizzy. The food will be here soon,” he said.

And sure enough, two waiters came to deliver the food ordered by Aaron earlier. Again, I was surprised by him that night. All this time, he always asked me what I wanted to eat. But that night he arranged everything. He had changed a little, and I felt a little scared of him even though my mind tried to think positively.

Without saying much, I focused on finishing the food he had ordered. Now and then he would ask a question and I would answer. There was no laughter like before. I thought he realized that too, and the atmosphere felt strange.

After dinner, he took me somewhere. He drove his car up the hill behind the restaurant. From afar, I saw a hotel that wasn’t too big but was quite crowded.

He parked the car near to the hotel and then invited me down. “Come on. I’ve booked a room for us. The view is pleasant and you’ll like it.”

“B-but are we staying here? Anya,” I stammered.

“Anya, Anya, Anya. Can’t you focus on our relationship and forget about that kid for a moment? Let’s go in because I have paid quite expensive for that room,” he said.

He wasn’t the Aaron I knew before. He’s changed into someone else, or that’s his true character. What should I do now?