Chapter 31: Chapter Thirty-one

The feeling of losing something important to you is heartbreaking. You always knew it would be there, seeing it and feeling it. But, once it’s gone, you can’t help but go crazy looking for it. Once you lose something important, you will willingly go through a lot to have it again.

It was a rare sight to me. Then again, I never knew him so well that I could find it familiar. Seeing Chad in casual clothing while standing in front of an ice cream store, similar to a child impatiently wanting to open his present, was a funny sight. His foot tapping on the ground in irritation made me want to roll my eyes at him. This man seriously needs to have patience in his vocabulary when it comes to these things.

Noiselessly approaching him, not wanting to be seen yet, I went behind him with a sly smirk across my face. Taking the tips of my hair, I brushed them ever so faintly on the man’s ear. His sudden gasp and body jerking away was the reaction I wanted. Passersby couldn’t help but stare at the grown man, wondering what could possibly be wrong. Laughter bubbled out my lips at Chad’s face etched with astonishment. Once he turned to face me, it soon morphed into a slight frown.

“That wasn’t funny, Maxwell,” he hissed while his hand rubbed the side of his ear.

Casting him an innocent smile, I folded my arms across my chest. “Why? What did you think it was?” And didn’t he even notice me behind him? I mentally smirked at the idea, happy that my plan to scare him worked.

When he didn’t answer—or refused to—I cocked my head at him. “Come on, tell me,” I egged on. He mumbled something under his breath, making me lean forward. “Come again? I didn’t hear it.”

“A spider.”

My eyes widened at his words, finding it hard to believe. “Are you serious?” I asked in a curious voice. He’s kidding, right? Judging by the way Chad narrowed his eyes at the ground, my thoughts were confirmed. I stifled a laugh and directed my attention elsewhere. The ice cream shop wasn’t crowded, much to my liking, and the interior was mostly in pink color schemes, reminding me of the strawberry ice cream I consumed a while ago.

“All right, let’s go in!” I pointed to the door. “You might as well treat me.” The glass door swung open and I gestured to the blond man to follow. “After all, it was you who wanted to eat ice cream with me,” I added.

Chad grunted in reply before stepping towards me. Glancing at the side, Percy stood a few feet away. I gave him a smile and entered the shop. Once inside, I immediately approached the glass and examined the ice cream flavors. Oh… These flavors are all good. What should I choose? Neapolitan? Raspberry Ripple? Standing straight, my eyes landed on a few glass containers that consisted of sprinkles, chocolate drops and marshmallows.

I inwardly sighed. Just great, now I have to decide which toppings will go best with my ice cream. Slightly turning my head, I secretly stole a glance at Chad, who remained by my side, his eyes scanning the offered flavors as well. What about you, Chad? What ice cream will you get? Are you the type to get coffee? Or chocolate?

Seeing that he was still choosing carefully, I went back to my own search and finally decided to get Neapolitan. Cause, why not? I looked up and smiled at the man behind the counter, whose face was the epitome of boredom—a huge contrast to the bright uniform he wore that had a huge smile on the front.

“I’ll have the Neapolitan, and for the toppings I want sprinkles.” Then, the image of having chocolate syrup drizzling on it made my mouth water even more. “And please add chocolate syrup,” I added.

In my peripheral vision, I saw Chad wrinkling his nose, but he said nothing. I pressed my lips tightly, holding back an aggravated huff. If he thinks my choice of ice cream is bad, then he should reconsider—

The man behind the glass held up the cup with my soft serve, making my train of thought stop in its tracks.

“Here is your ice cream, Miss.”

The cup was cold, a contrast to my hands as I accepted it with a huge grin. “Thank you.”

“I’ll have Chocolate,” Chad ordered, and waited as the employee scooped the ice cream, placing it on a cup. Once he handed it over to Chad, the man returned to the cashier.

“That’ll be ten dollars.”

Chad pulled out his wallet and handed the bill over. At the sight of cash, the employee took it with a huge smile and enthusiastically waved farewell at us.

“Thank you, come again!”

“Boy, he seems happy now,” Chad muttered, loud enough for me to hear. However, I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I dug in the pink plastic spoon and hummed softly at the taste of the delicious dessert. Giving Chad a side glance, he seemed content with eating his own ice cream—if his silence was proof enough.

“If I knew that chocolate ice cream could render you silent…” I mumbled softly, not wanting him to hear.

Chad craned his neck, lips having chocolate stain at the sides. “What? Did you say something?”

Scratching my cheek at his appearance, I took out a tissue from my bag with my free hand and wiped the brown stains off. The intensity of Chad’s stare could burn a hole through my head as I finished wiping the corner of his lips. Not able to notice until I looked up to see those blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean.

The sudden urge to disappear came back as I crumbled the tissue in my hand, eyes diverted to another direction. My cheeks felt hot and I didn’t have to guess that they’d turned red due to embarrassment. Even the tips of my ears fell to its curse.

Chad chuckled. “Thanks.”

Walking past shops, I could feel Percy and the rest of the bodyguards watching from the sidelines. Even as we continued to walk with no direction at all, they remained vigilant.

“So, what brings you here to the mall?” Chad questioned suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that blanketed us for a few minutes. “I figured that you had some errands to do here and having ice cream with me was just an afterthought—unless you really wanted to see me.”

Licking my spoon free of ice cream, I glanced at the blond man beside me and nodded. “Yeah, I’m actually here to buy something,” I answered. “It’s Halloween tomorrow…”

At the mention of the famous holiday, Chad’s eyes brightened, though his face didn’t show his excitement. “Yeah, I know. It’ll be a hectic day, with those little kids running around in hideous costumes and a bag of candies.”

“You’re not a fan of Halloween?”

Chad shook his head, much to my confusion. Is this guy messing with me again? I was about to chastise him when Chad beat me to it.

“Who doesn’t find Halloween fun? You get free candy for just dressing up like a zombie and get to raid every house without anyone complaining.”

“Then, why are you not excited?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know… It seems different when you’re grown up already. Instead of trick-or-treating, we grownups throw parties—get drunk, and all.”

Silently agreeing, I averted my gaze and focused on the path ahead of us. “There comes a time you have to act your age, but that doesn’t mean you have to let go of your childhood. I can’t imagine life without one.”

A huge gasp escaped his lips, although I could tell it was all pretend, being exaggerated and all. “Really? Rachel Maxwell has a childhood?”

I lifted my hand and hit his arm with no hesitation. Fortunately for him, it wasn’t hard enough for the cup in his hand to fall. But it did hurt a bit.

“Ow!” Chad hissed. “I was just kidding, you know!”

I rolled my eyes and hurriedly walked away, hoping to lose him in the crowd.

“I can’t believe this…”

This is the right time for you to go and buy Harvey’s costume. You don’t have to deal with his antics again. Unfortunately for me, Chad kept up and was at my side in a few seconds, ranting my ear off.

“Is that how you treat people who buy you stuff? I was only joking! Don’t tell me your sense of humor has flown out of the window since the moment you woke up this morning! Why are you ignoring me? Hello?”

I kept my lips tightly sealed, eyes scanning around to find Percy but finding no sight of the man. It was then I bumped into someone so hard that I would have fallen face-flat on the floor, if not for Chad. His hands held me by the waist, steadying me.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Chad retorted heatedly.

The victim of Chad’s fury gave us an apologetic smile and bowed his head several times. “Sorry! I’m really sorry.” After that, the man walked away at a brisk pace.

“It’s all right, Chad, it was my fault.” I sighed. “I bumped into him. He didn’t do anything.”

“Tch. You better be careful then…”

The rest of his words fell on deft ears once I realized what sat a few feet away from my heels. Cup turned over, the green colored ice cream was kissing the ground, melting away. Even my spoon lay down beside it, the rainbow sprinkles littered all over. It was such a sad sight.

“Hey? Are you listening to me?” Chad demanded. “You have to be careful, you might hurt yourself—”

His words died down in his throat, silence enveloping us both, a huge contrast to the bustling world around us. Huge tears rolled down my cheeks and landed on the ground, meeting the same fate as my ice cream. Chad’s huge hand placed itself on my shoulder and he turned me around to face him. However, I didn’t look up to meet his eyes as sorrow filled my soul.

“Rachel? Are you all right?”

There were days where I just felt down because of the weather. There was also a time that I almost died of embarrassment when the television went black while I was singing full-out in a karaoke room with Francine and Patton—the music died while I was about to hit a high note. And there was a day that I mourned the death of my very first goldfish named Marine.

But, today, my ice cream gave up on me; committed a suicidal jump and was now splattered all over the floor. And suddenly, all the problems I encountered—the harassment, Nathan, trying to prove my worth, and everything else—came crashing back.

I let out a few small sobs in grief. Slowly, they grew and were loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. Chad gently shook my shoulders, trying hard to get my attention.

“Hey, Maxwell, why are you crying? Hey, hey…”

A huge wail escaped my lips and this was just the last thing to attract attention.

“Hey, Rachel. Stop it, people are starting to stare. Judging by the narrowed eyes they’re casting my way, they think I made you cry. Please, Rachel…”

I continued to cry, mourning for my ice cream. Panicking, Chad took my hand and pulled me with him to a more isolated area. Standing at the side, my sobs turned to whimpers, hands doing a poor job of wiping my tears. The blond man in front of me sighed and, in a few moments, wiped my tears with his handkerchief.

Glancing up, I stared up at Chad busy wiping, blue eyes trained on my cheeks until they met up with mine. Chad… Why? Seeing the worry in his eyes, I let out a faint gasp, face red and warm. This made Chad alarmed.

“What? What is it?”

I shook my head vigorously, not wanting to be questioned why I was blushing. No, that would be unbecoming. Luckily, Chad accepted this and pocketed his handkerchief before staring at me once again.

“What’s wrong? Why were you crying? Did I do something to upset you?” Then, his eyes widened. “Is it because of my joke earlier?”

“N-no, it’s not that.” Please, don’t ask any more, Chad. If I tell him the truth, he might even laugh at me!

“Then, why?”

My spine went straight, tensed when his fingers caressed the skin of my face, the hairs on my neck standing at the act.

“Why were you crying, Rachel?”

Playing with the hem of my coat, I nibbled on my lower lip, contemplating whether I should tell him. That’s when I saw his eyes darken, focused on my mouth. Before I even knew it, Chad leaned forward and his lips met mine. I stood still, letting him kiss me with his warm lips that soon turned to my cheeks, pecking each one.

His lips soon returned to my lips, nibbling on my lower ones. It was enough to make me dizzy, mind spinning at his affections. My hands had a mind of their own, pulling Chad close by the lapels of his black polo, my lips kissing him back with the same force. I didn’t have to know that Chad was a bit surprised and feeling satisfied.

When his tongue licked my lips, begging for entrance, my legs almost gave away. Instead, I gasped at the daring action. Apparently, it was the reaction he was expecting, and soon his taste invaded my mouth. I shut my eyes tightly as our tongues battled for dominance. Chad smirked in the kiss, obviously liking how it turned out.

It was when he pushed me in a not-so-gentle manner and my back hit the wall that I pulled away. One, it was getting—for lack of a better word—steamy. People might suddenly walk down this path and see us making out. Or worse, children, or perhaps Percy, discovering us. That’s the last thing I wanted to happen. The thought of Percy reporting to my father, telling him how he saw us kissing, would make Dad go berserk. Two, my lungs were almost out of air. I found it hard to breathe.

We shared the same air, breathing heavy as we stood there looking at each other, the atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife. Chad smirked down at me.

“Did we just make out?”

I hid my red stained cheeks, the color almost similar to a lobster.

He chuckled. “I was just teasing you.”

“Okay...” Hearing my own voice, I mentally cringed at how breathy I sounded. Control yourself, Rachel! I cleared my throat and nodded firmly at the man. “All right.”

“I’m not yet finished about asking why you had to use your waterworks a while ago.”

“Just…don’t ask,” I begged softly. “Please, don’t.” Cause I won’t be able to live with myself if I tell you why I cried.

“Come on, you can tell me,” Chad urged with a soft smile.

Should I? Maybe I can… Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled through my nose and nodded.

“Fine… Just, don’t laugh about it.”

“Sure, I won’t.”

Scanning his face, I tried to find any lie in his words, only to find none. Except for the curiosity in his eyes, clearly intrigued.

I heaved a sigh. “I cried because…” My words trailed off, still not having enough confidence to tell him. What am I even doing? I should be buying Harvey’s costume right now!

“Because?”

I shut my eyes tightly, silently praying he wouldn’t laugh. “Because I lost my ice cream that you bought. I’m sorry for dumping this on you but I wanted to eat it! I love ice cream so much that seeing it lying on the floor was heart-wrenching for me.” Panting after I rambled, I watched as Chad took in all the words. When he didn’t respond right away, I began to worry if he even heard it all. I wouldn’t wonder if he hadn’t, though, considering how fast I explained it.

Chad, say something…

“What?” he questioned, eyes examining me as if I was not serious.

Defeated, I shook my head at him, not wanting to explain all over again. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

Chad grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close so fast, I didn’t have time to react. So, when he pressed his lips against mine, I was staring at him with eyes wide in surprise. However, his kiss was chaste, and afterwards he stared down at me with laughter in his eyes.

“Seriously? That’s what made you cry?”

Not liking his tone, I flicked his forehead, earning another groan in pain. “I’m having my friend right now! I’m experiencing this monthly pain!” I gestured to my body. “If you’re too blind to see, I’m a woman!”

“Ah… I see. Fine, I’m sorry,” Chad mumbled, and then smiled. “If you want, I can buy you another ice cream. Would you like me to buy?”

A few moments later, I finished my cone of Raspberry Ripple as we headed to the clothing store. We both agreed to keep it secret, never to speak of it again. But I doubted Chad would keep it under wraps. I was expecting him to keep bringing it up until I died.

“So, what are you buying here?” he inquired while scrutinizing a t-shirt that was badly printed. I pointed to a few mannequins wearing colorful costumes down to curly wigs.

“I’m buying Harvey a costume,” I answered.

It took me a few minutes to find a mummy costume, happy to find it instead of asking for help from a sales clerk who would only slow us down. Chad eyed it in distaste.

“Why a mummy? I’m sure your brother would want that robot costume or that zombie get-up.”

I waved off his comments and grinned. “Nonsense! Harvey would want to wear this mummy costume, he’d absolutely love it!” And it’ll hide his identity completely, which is the whole point of having this get-up.

Chad shrugged, not wanting to argue. I immediately went to the cashier and paid for it.

“Your parents will be throwing a party tomorrow?”

I knew it was an innocent question and all, but I couldn’t help feeling how odd it was. Nevertheless, I nodded.

“Yeah, I’m sure Mom will invite you and your family. I think the invitations will be sent out later.”

Chad merely nodded and stayed silent. I clenched my hands, silently praying that Dad was wrong for once. That Chad didn’t have an evil motive as he claimed.

Please, Chad, don’t break the trust I’m trying to build.