CHAPTER 2

“Deira?” Someone called my name and when I raised my head, the guy I was looking at earlier was now in front of me.

“Uh… Yes?” I responded, confused.

He offered me a hand shake. “Hi, I’m Lurcos, watashi wa kyo no anata no service desu, ouju,” he said, which means ‘I am your service for today, princess’. I was immediately convinced. His Japanese is terrible, but manageable.

“Daijoubu desu,” I replied, which means ‘okay’ and accepted his hand. He then helped me stand up and gently grabbed my backpack.

My heart silently celebrated with the fact that it’s not my uncle and just a random stranger who fetched me up. I don’t care whoever he is, as long as it’s not the guy I hated most in this world. Though he looks a little scary, with the way he looks overall and that gun on his waist. But, I admit, he looks cute when he smiles.

“He’s the guy. And believe me, I’ve never seen him before,” I mouthed to Dell so he won’t hear. He’s still not letting go of my hand.

She just gave me a sly smile. She stood up and moved her face closer to my ear. “You’re so fucking lucky, girl. Keep him, okay?

I rolled my eyes at her. “Whatever you are thinking is not happening,” I whispered back. “Bye, Dell, see you again tomorrow!” I then waved at her.

“Bye! Take care!” she responded without a smile leaving her lips. I just shook my head and ignored her.

“Let’s go,” the man said and he gently grabbed me towards the direction of his car.

I thought of telling him that he can now let go of my hand, but for some reason, it feels good that he’s holding my hand. His palm is soft, contrary to what I expect that it would be rough for he’s obviously a tough guy.

He opened the passenger’s door for me and guided me until I got in before giving me my backpack. He then went to the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“Uhm… Is it fine if we’d go to a boutique first before I bring you home? I forgot, I have a party to attend to and I need to pick something perfect and decent to wear. You know, to cover my tattoos and stuff. It’s a formal party, a week from now,” he shyly said as if he was asking for too much.

“Okay, no problem.”

“You could help me decide, too. Ladies are good at fashion stuff,” he added.

I just smiled and nodded. I’m actually awkward with people I am not close with, especially with strangers so, words coming out of my mouth are minimal, though I’m comfortable with him.

Silence enveloped us until we reached our destination fifteen minutes later. He got out of the car first. He opened the door for me while I was still taking off my seatbelt. He’s fast, wow!

I went out and he guided me all the way in. He suddenly and gently grabbed my backpack from me. “I’ll carry this for you,” he said, smiling.

I didn’t say anything and just let him do whatever he wanted. We went straight to a boutique full of tuxedos. They were the casual ones, nothing extra. I sat on a chair as I watched him look through the tuxedos while the salesman was talking about their products.

A few moments later, he turned to me while holding a white pair of tuxedos. “What do you think?” he asked.

“Hmm…” I estimated if the color fits his skin tone before nodding my head. “Yeah, it’s pretty and does blend with your skin tone.” I stood up and went beside him and grabbed the dark blue pair of tuxedo. “But, I think this one will fit you well.”

He gave the white tux to the salesman and looked over to the one I am holding. “You think so?”

I nodded. “Yup, this is perfect. A casual pair, but with your skin tone, this will have a special effect on people once you wear it.”

“Then, I’m buying these,” he said with a smile before he took it from me and handed it to the salesman. “She’s an expert and I believe in her taste in fashion,” he said to the man.

The salesman smiled widely. “Certainly, sir.” After paying, we left the store.

“Hey, wait here first!” he suddenly stopped and ran towards something. I didn’t see what he bought and just patiently waited for him.

He returned while hiding something behind him, but I didn’t bother asking what it was.

When we started walking towards the exit, I saw a familiar figure. And when fate loves messing with me, it was the man I never ever wanted to see again. I was happy he wasn’t the one I am with right now, yet I still saw him in a super unexpected place.

He’s with an unfamiliar woman, probably his new toy to play with. They exited the store where they were just in and were about to pass through us.

I simply moved to hide behind Lurcos’ back. And when they passed through us, I didn't know if Lurcos understand what I was doing, but he intentionally moved to blocked me from my uncle's sight. He's big and surely, no one in front of us can see me.

“Well, hello there, Mr. Santanal! What an unexpected place to meet you,” he sounded elegant when he talked, contrary to how dirty he is in closed doors.

I could hear my own heartbeat going fast and would sometimes skip a beat. My knees are getting weak and my palms are trembling just by hearing his voice.

“Yeah, I also didn’t expect to see you here. I see, you’re spoiling your new toy,” Lurcos responded in a much cold tone. He has changed his tone from a sweet one to a cold and serious one

My uncle let out a devious laugh. “You know me, I love all of them fairly.”

The girl he is with is not saying anything, she’s probably not even offended with what he just said. Probably because she likes being toyed and loves the money he’s pouring on her head.

“Anyways, we’ll get going now, we still have a lot of things to do tonight,” my uncle said and left.

When I peeked and they were already gone, I went beside him and started walking towards the exit without waiting for Lurcos. He walked so fast that he was still able to open the door for me.

When we got inside the car, we were both silent. He didn’t say or ask anything why I was hiding from that man and I am glad that he didn’t ‘cause I don’t wanna talk about it.

I rested my head on my seat and focused my eyes on the window. I felt exhausted. The past few days have been a lot stressful. Thank God I managed to get through this another not-so-kind day.

“Uhm… Wanna have dinner with me?” he asked, breaking the silence between us.

“Oh, sorry. We’ll be having our family dinner tonight. I can’t join you.”

“That’s okay. Maybe next time, then.”

“Sure,” I replied.

After a few more minutes of silence, he cleared his throat. “Uhh… If it's not too much to ask, can you be my date for the party?” I slowly turned to him, slightly shocked and confused. “I actually don't have anyone to accompany me. Well, I don't have a girlfriend,” he playfully smiled. “And, all my girl friends are busy with their own lives. So, what do you say?”

“Uhm… I-I don't know. I never went to a party as someone's date before,” I replied, giving him an unsure smile.

“Great! Then I will be your first,” he happily and proudly said.

“Wow! You're so confident that I would say yes.”

“Why? Are you rejecting my proposal?”

“I haven't said anything.”

“Well, for me, no answer means yes,” he then chuckled.

“That's an irrational belief of yours,” I commented.

“Sooo… You're coming?!”

“Can I say no?”

“No!” he fastly replied. I couldn’t help, but smile with the way he acts.

“It's a yes, then.”

“Yes!” he happily exclaimed and lightly punched the air.

He doesn’t look scary at all. He acts completely different from the way he looks. A perfect example that looks can be deceiving. I’ve never seen someone looking so tough yet acting cute at the same time.

I stopped myself from smiling from ear to ear. I got a lot comfortable with him. He looks fun to be with.

And to be honest, I’m a little overwhelmed and flattered with his proposal. This is the first time someone asked me out. Boys are just afraid to approach me because they are afraid of my brothers, my whole family, in general.

“By the way, where’s my driver? Why did dad have to send you instead?” I asked.

“He ordered him to deliver something important. I was with him when he was thinking of who to send to fetch you and I offered my help.”

I nodded. “Where’s dad? What was he doing?”

“He’s in a business meeting. Up until now actually. He’s having a meeting with an important client.”