Chapter Sixteen

HER father kept on giving Roeden a scrutinizing look as they ate dinner in their house. Roeden decided to tell her parents about them. Her mother knew him since they were in high school, and the two met a couple of times already. But in her father’s case, it was the first time he ever saw Roeden in person. Avon’s dad worked abroad for years, and he just settled recently. Her dad only knew him through her mother’s stories about him and her.

“Where do you work?” her dad asked with his gaze focused on the steak he was slicing. He did not even throw Roeden a glance.

Avon’s mouth opened to answer the question, but her mother beckoned her not to. So, she closed it again and turned in Roeden’s direction. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her confidently.

“I work at Lionsoft, Sir. It’s a company that develops phone applications and computer games,” Roeden told her dad politely. He then picked his glass of wine and took a sip.

“And what’s your job description?” That was when her dad turned to Roeden.

“I’m the CEO.” Roeden smiled.

Her father plopped a slice of steak inside his mouth and nodded as he chewed the meat. He did not comment anything about his work, so she thought it ended there. But she was wrong.

“Were you an only child too?” her dad asked afterwards.

“I have two younger sisters.”

“Dad, do you remember Claudine? That friend of mine that we met in the mall last time,” Avon chimed in. “She’s Roeden’s sister.”

“Oh, I see.” Her dad took a sip of wine. “But there’s this thing that I’d like to know. It’s the most important of all.” He turned to Roeden. “How long is the thread of your patience?”

Avon’s mother laughed at that.

“Daddy…” she uttered in embarrassment.

“I just wanna know how far his patience could go. Your head is as hard as a rock. You have a lot of crazy antics too. You need someone who can bear with it.”

Avon was about to complain, but it did not happen when Roeden’s hand cupped hers and gently pressed it.

“Don’t worry, Sir. I have a long thread of patience that could go for miles.” He looked at her with a wide beam plastered on his face. “And I’ve been patient with her for many years now.”

“I’m glad to hear that, and I’m relieved to know that she’s in good hands. And oh…” Her dad turned to her again. “He’s a good cook. I can foresee you’ll get fat in the future.”

They all laughed at her father’s remark.

SINCE Roeden was the one who cooked dinner, Avon volunteered to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. At first, he watched her do the chore, but he helped her, later on, to make it fast. After they were don, Avon tugged Roeden outside the house.

“Where are we going?” Roeden wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, so they walked side by side.

“Somewhere dark… and cold,” Avon drawled near his ear.

“Here you go again… acting naughty.” He lightly pinched her cheek. “Seriously, where are we going?”

“Well, the night is calm, so I thought it’s perfect for a walk after a heavy meal.”

They went out of the compound and walked on the lakeside until they reached the view deck. There were no lights in the deck, and the only thing that guides them on their way up was the faint light coming from the moon. And just like she expected, it was indeed cold there.

Standing side by side, Avon and Roeden stared at the mountain across them and watched the lights that seemed to twinkle from a distance. Soon, she got tired of standing. She sat on the ledge, right in front of Roeden, blocking his view of the beautiful scenery. But he did not mind at all. He just positioned himself between her legs and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“How’s your family, Roeden?” She pressed her forehead against his.

He would not be surprised if Avon knew about her parents’ separation years ago. His sister was so close with Avon, she would share and confide everything to her as though she was part of their family. Truth be told, his sister loves Avon more than him.

“I bet you already know,” he said nonchalantly.

“Mm-hmm…” She heaved a sigh.

“Let’s not talk about it, can we?” He felt uncomfortable talking about it, for now. “You already know the story.”

“Okay.” Avon looked up in the night sky. “Look at the stars, Roeden. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

He stared at her face instead. “Yeah, they are.”

“Did you know that you’re just like a star?” She lowered her gaze on him.

“Why?” Roeden already knew where that conversation was heading, but he pretended that he has no idea.

“Whenever I look at you, you shined.” Avon laughed at her own remark, so he laughed too.

“Don’t try to be cheesy. You know it makes me cringe.”

She cupped his cheeks and met his gaze. Roeden thought she was going to kiss him, but it did not happen. Avon just stared at him, for he did not know how long until she heaved a sigh and freed his cheeks. And it bothered him.

“What’s the matter, Avon?” he asked worriedly.

“Nothing.”

But he knew better. That word means a lot.

“Avon.”

She heaved a sigh. “Do you really wanna know?”

“Yes.”

“I’m scared…”

His brows furrowed. “Of what?”

“Everything between us seems so perfect since yesterday, and it scared me…” Her emotion was evident in her voice. “What if this is just a dream?”

“Hey—” Avon put her finger above his lips to silence him.

“If we don’t get to have a happy ending this time around, I don’t know if my heart could still manage to survive.” She shook her head.

“Stop overthinking, will you?”

“You know I just can’t stop thinking about the possibilities.” Her shoulders dropped. “Maybe this is the cons of being a writer.”

“Well, you should learn to free your mind. What we have now is the reality. It’s way too far from those stories that you write—” She kicked his leg. “Ouch! That one hurts!”

“Oh… My… God!” Avon suddenly cupped her mouth. “I’m a writer!”

“Yes, you are. What do you think—”

“I’m cursed!”

Roeden’s forehead formed a deep knot. “What are you talking about? Did the cold breeze penetrated your brain?”

“What if writers are really cursed? Most of us are unmarried—”

“Seriously?” He scowled at her.

“Roeden… you have to break the curse!”

He looked at her with his mouth wide open. Avon kept playing her game because she wanted something from him, and there was no way she would stop until she got what she wanted. Roeden’s hand went to her nape and pulled her closer to his face, but just when he was about to kiss her, his phone rang. Avon groaned in frustration as he moved away from her to fish his phone from his jeans pocket.

“Damn that phone.” She sneered.

“Good evening, Mr. Sandejas,” Roeden said when he brought the phone to his ear. “What can I do for you?”

“How’s the project going, Mr. De Leon?” the publisher asked.

“Oh. I will pay you a visit tomorrow to show you what we’ve made so far.”

“That’s great. Let’s meet in the afternoon.”

“All right. See you tomorrow, Mr. Sandejas.” He hung up.

“Is he pressuring you?” Avon asked right after the call ended.

“Not really.” He beamed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“It’s part of my job. Work is all about beating the deadline. You know that.”

She pouted her lips. “It’s just that I don’t want you to be burnout.”

Roeden planted a quick kiss on her lips.

“You said you wanted four children. How could we raise them well in the future if I don’t work hard now?”

“It’s okay, you have me for back-up.”

“How sweet of you.” Roeden pinched her cheek and pulled her down from the ledge. “Let’s get you home. It’s getting colder. You might catch a cold.”

“Can I join the meeting tomorrow?”

He gave it a thought. “Of course.”