Chapter hundred and two

Dallas.

It's been two days since Oliver and I returned from the cabin. I couldn't stop thinking about the text I received from Ron. The text was completely harmless. He was simply reaching out and asking if we could hang out some time. It was full of a fan enthusiasm.

I hadn't told Oliver about the text I received from his future father-in-law. He hadn't been home a lot lately. The one day he took off seem to have piled up work for him. I could only imagine the stress he was under with the media speculations flying around about his late former employee.

I understood that he needed Ron. It wasn't the right time for me to burden him with my feeling over an ordinary text. So I decided to push the uneasy feelings to the back of my mind. It's not like I was going to meet up with Ron anyway. I would just give him an excuse.

“And now, it's time to put it in the oven then we'll leave for thirty minutes.” Heather's voice interrupted my trail of thoughts.

“Got it.” I placed the baking dish in the oven after covering the lasagna with aluminum foil.

Heather and I were making lasagna in the kitchen, except this time I was the one making it. She was just making sure I don't “burn the kitchen down”, her words. She wasn't over the way she met the kitchen after her day off.

Oliver and I didn't have the chance to properly clean the kitchen that day before we had to leave for Ron's house. Although Oliver asked someone to clean it, but there were obvious signs of broken dishes, and some persistent oil stains.

“So you ready to tell me why you suddenly want to learn how to make lasagna?” Heather asked.

A smile touched my lips. I threw a knowing look at her and she mouthed an “oh” before smiling widely.

“Are you sure he'll eat it? I've never seen him eat something like this before, and it wasn't in the diet schedule Tabitha gave me when I started working here.”

I removed the oven mittens and placed them on the kitchen counter.

“I'm sure he will.” I said with a certainty I don't feel.

After our date and the cabin scenario, I had it in mind to do something nice for him. I woke up this morning, thinking of several things to do for him but nothing came to mind. I thought of buying him a gift, I spent hours thinking about the perfect gift but I couldn't make a decision.

Then I thought of arranging a date, but quickly discarded the thought. I couldn't find a nice restaurant on such short notice.

I wanted to do something really special for him. After so many deliberations, I finally settled on making his favorite food. Well, I hope it is.

It was kind of hard to guess what his favorite food was when he religiously stuck to healthy diet only. Chicken breast and brussel sprouts. So I did my research. I vaguely remembered him mentioning how much he loved lasagna as a kid. His mother used to make it for Ethan and him. He hadn't eaten it since the incident.

I managed to collect Ethan's number from grumpy Tabitha. I called him and got the confirmation I needed. So now, here I was, making his favorite meal as a kid for him. I prayed silently that he'd like it.
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I rubbed my palms together as I inspected the dining table one last time. I'd set the food on the table and shot a text to Oliver. He'd be back any minute from now.

I lit a few candles in the dining hall, giving it a calm and romantic mood. Heather had retired to her room after helping me set everything up. The atmosphere was light and full of love. I wore one of the silky night wears I got a few days ago. It was a simple short and shirt.

I was already getting nervous with how long it was taking him to arrive. I picked up my phone and sent him another text.

DALLAS: You said you'd be back soon, it's been almost an hour.

OLIVER: Patience, little monkey, I'll be home soon.

OLIVER: Miss me already? (winky face emoji)

I chuckled slightly. Never in my life would I imagine Oliver Kang sending an emoji in his text. But he has transformed into a whole different person ever since we started dating. A small smile touched my lips as I remembered all the things we've done together.

DALLAS: Just come quickly. There's something I want to show you.

OLIVER: Alright! See you soon, babe.

I bit my lower lip hard to refrain a blush as I read the text. I couldn't believe I was this red over a simple word.

Few minutes later, Oliver trudged into the living room, a suitcase in hand. I practically jumped from the couch immediately I saw him. I gave him a soft kiss on the lips before hugging him tightly.

“Hey!”

I was beaming with smiles when I pulled away. I didn't get a chance to see him before he left that morning.

“How was your day? Did you miss me?” he asked.

“A little bit.” I smiled.

“I missed you a lot.” he kissed my forehead gently.

We were acting like two teenagers in love. Like we were a completely normal couple. Like we didn't have the weight of our inevitable separation hanging in the air. ..

I wanted to live in this moment forever. I wanted to do normal things with him. Giving him a kiss when he comes back from work while I prepared a meal for him. Helping him relax while listening to him talk about his work drama. And so many small things normal couples do.

When he finally pulled away, I could see the yearning and admiration in his eyes for me. That was everything I needed. We were going to get through this together.

“I made something for you.” I chipped.

“What is that?”

I grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the dining hall. I should have probably allowed him to go freshen up first but the food was already getting cold.

He stood dumbfounded, probably taking in the scene before him.

“You did all these?” was the first thing he said. His eyes was transfixed on the table with a plate of lasagna and candles at the edges. It was quite simple but the way he looked at it was priceless. Like it was an expensive entree from a five star restaurant.

“Lasagna?” he asked immediately his eyes landed on the food.

I nodded.
“I remembered you said you hadn't eaten it since you were a kid.”

I refrained from asking why. But he must have seen the question in my eyes.

“I couldn't stomach it if it wasn't made by my mum. I had only eaten her lasagna my whole life.”

I shifted my weight as we both took our seat at the table.

“Ah! Well, I hope you'll be able to eat this.”

He looked at me and squeezed my hands gently.
“I'll love everything that's prepared by you.” He flashed me a smile before saying, “thank you.”

A wide grin appeared on my lips.
“It's nothing.”

I was so tempted to add those three words in that moment. So tempted that if I hadn't caught myself I would have uttered them.

“Now, let's eat before it gets more cold.”

I put the food on a plate and watched as he grabbed a fork. I discretely held my breath as he lifted a forkful in his mouth. He chewed gently and with so much grace that it was difficult to tell what he thinks of the food from his facial expression.

“It's great.” He nodded and continued eating.

I didn't release my breath until he took a few more bites without throwing up.

For once since we started dating, we ate dinner together at home whole behaving like a completely normal couple. If only we could be.