It was exactly eight o’clock when I heard the front door open. I watched her drop her purse onto the couch beside the door and wondered why she was staring at it for long. When I realised that it was the same couch that we made out on last night, I couldn’t help but smirk at her flushed face.Noticing my gaze on her, she instantly looked up and locked her eyes with mine.“Hey,” I said and nodded at her.Gulping, she opened her mouth but seemed to have been at a loss of words.I couldn’t help but feel amused at her, she was clearly as affected by it as I was, if not more. To help her out of her agony, I continued.“I made dinner, hope you haven’t eaten already.”“Um, I didn’t. I’m starving, in fact.” She said.“Good, I’ll fix the table while you get changed,” I suggested.She nodded at me in relief and escaped into her room.Sighing, I realised that if her guard was going to be up like this for the entire evening, it would be very difficult for me to strike a conversation. Well, she wa
I was stunned. More than once?I simply had no idea what I wanted. I was definitely into him, that I was sure of, but I couldn't understand the magnitude of it. Would my cravings be sated once I had sex with him, or were my romantic feelings unimaginably involved too?I was at a loss of words when he stared into my eyes intently with his. Trying to form words that would best describe what I had in my mind, I utterly failed when I found myself in a deep complex mess of overwhelming emotions.Sighing, he hung his head low, dejected. "I know you're not there yet." he mumbled, "But I know that I'm not just drawn toward you because of mere lust. I'm more invested in this. Honestly, Rachel, if we were not married, this is the stage where I'd ask to be your boyfriend."Seeing how his words were just adding to my misery, I burst, "Alan, this is way too fast." I said, "We don't know anything about each other and-""Which is precisely my point." He cut me off. "I want to get to know you before
Rachel's POVA week passed by since that night.Things had indeed taken a turn for us ever since. Living under the same roof became relatively easy as we learned to communicate more. The brief window that we let each other share to look into each other’s mind since that night had helped us overcome any hindrance that previously stalled us.On another note, April was discharged from the hospital and that was when I last saw Douglas.As he made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want anyone around him for the next few days, I heaved a sigh of relief. That also meant I didn’t have to be in frequent contact with him regarding April’s treatment, as they intended to start another doctor who they personally knew.Coming back from the present moment, I heard two gentle knocks, “You ready yet?”“Give me a couple of minutes,” I replied.“Alright.”Only yesterday did Amy ask me if I’d like to bring Alan to their engagement party. I’d actually seen it as a golden opportunity as Alan had never had
Rachel's POV“He’s such a gentleman.”It was expected of Emilia to say such a thing when my husband checked all the boxes on her list when we arrived at the party.To say Alan was on his best behaviour would be an understatement.From the moment we walked in, the entire vibe around us seemed to change. Perhaps because I rarely went to parties with my husband, but something about him was definitely intriguing to me.My previous worries of how I’d manage to include him in my group without forcing his presence into it had seemed to vanish into the thin air as Alan’s charms seemed to work their way through everyone.“Yeah, he kind of is.” I agreed. “The first time he met my dad, he was on his best behaviour and won his approval in mere seconds.”“Honey, he won his approval when he made him aware of the size of his wallet.” Emilia had always been aware of the kind of person my father was, although she met him personally just a few times.The fact that father barely called me when I was in
Rachel's POV “Fine.” I forfeited, seeing as she’s clearly not going to be a good judge when it came to him. Seeing that it was something I should do solely on my own, I tried to divert the topic. “How did your date go with the dermatologist?” At the mention of him, she beamed. “Well, turns out Tinder isn’t that awful after all. We actually had an amazing time.” In a desperate attempt to get rid of her single life, Emilia signed up on Tinder upon Mark’s advice. Since the dating apps mask the real personality and only provide pieces of superficial information like his looks, Emilia was never convinced with her matches. One day, she happened to tell me how she’s intrigued by this guy she matched with, who also happened to work in the same hospital as we did, however in a different department. “Dermatology, Rach. It’s like a pin against a sword. He’s not hardcore or a workaholic like me.” “It won’t hurt to go on a date, would it? And undermining other departments just because we trea
Rachel's POVShrugging, I took lazy steps toward him. “Nothing. I was just remembering the times I spent the nights here. It was mostly when we got too drunk and Henry’s place was the closest from the bars we went to so all of us ended up spending the night here. Good old days.”Seeming to have noticed the longing in my eyes as nostalgia took over, he frowned. “What changed?”“Um, nothing. Except that I got married and depressed.”That drew a laugh from him, “I wouldn’t have had any problem if you wanted to go out here.”“Didn’t you hear what I said? I was depressed after marrying you. Having fun with my friends didn’t occur to me as I was busy hating you.”“If it’s any consolation, I wasn’t in my best spirits either after our marriage.”“Yes, because you were busy chasing me in clubs worried someone might kill me.”He didn’t look pleased, “Now who is talking about death? I thought you hated it.”Reclining backwards, somewhat, I said, “Alright, sorry. Just kidding.”“Don’t repeat it.”
Rachel's POVThe entire while I walked back to join Emilia and Amy by the bar, I was thoroughly aware of the heat that climbed to my cheeks. If someone had taken a look at me right then, I was sure they’d think I had been in a steam room.Trying my best to avoid glancing behind my shoulder, preventing myself from taking one last look at him, I made sure I kept my head straight the entire while I walked toward the bar counter. Amy was playing with her glass, which was brimmed with liquid, while Emilia was nowhere in sight.“Where’s Emilia?” I questioned as soon as I reached her.“Oh, she’s having a chat with Mark in the hall.” She said. “What took you so long?”If she hadn’t taken the hint already, I was sure my blush right now would surely make her aware of the reason why I was late, “Yeah, well, I met Alan on the way so ended up having a little chat with him.”“Oh,” She nodded and sipped on her drink. I almost widened my eyes at her obliviousness but realized that it was indeed for t
Rachel's POVWhen we approached everyone at the table to wave them goodbye, the tables have turned against poor Alan.His attempts at dragging me back home from indulging myself in more alcohol have proven to be futile when I strongly insisted on having some more fun. He knew better than that, and he also knew that if he’d let my drink more - she’d get completely out of control.Knowing that he’d drive a hard bargain, I teasing said,“I miss having drinks with my friends, are you going to take that away from me too?”“Smart one, aren’t you? You know exactly how to get things done your way.” He said as he watched me hop onto a stool by the bar.“Yes.” I grinned, “You think you don’t have a weakness? Hell no! I’ve learnt that guilt is your one huge weakness. And I’m going to make use of every opportunity I get to exploit it.”“Mind your actions, you’ll render me immune to it if you over-use that tactic,”“Oh, I know you won’t.”“You know me that well?”“Yes.”“Well, if that’s the case,