Chapter 62: Clueless

< Dylan >
"Boss, if you don't mind us asking, why are your cheeks pink?" Jeremiah, my bodyguard, asked when I came out from Shirley's apartment building.
Really?
I touched my cheeks to feel them slightly hot. "It's nothing," I tried to brush it off.
"But you have to admit, Boss looks quite cute though," Tim added.
"I'm going to punch the two of you in the face," I let out and glared at them before getting in the back seat of the car. Tim and Jeremiah sat on the front seats and started the car.
Meanwhile, I was looking out of the window, lost in my deep thoughts.
What was happening between me and Shirley? Why were we going back and forth between kissing? What was even our relationship? And what were our feelings about each other? I questioned myself.
I initially went to her apartment to wish her a happy birthday. However, I was too early and had to take her to dinner. She even noticed the bullet wound on my arm, which was still fresh and hurting.
When I finally wished her a happy birthday, I expected her to give me a peck on the cheek, but what happened was totally beyond my expectation.
I was totally unprepared, yet I ended up kissing her back, which was quite strange of me. I could always hold back my desires, but with her, I couldn't. I just gave in.
Besides, those kisses with her always felt so different than all the other kisses I ever had; as if there was an addicting electrifying spark to it.
It wasn't just that. Shirley acted all weird around me, probably crazier than before, which turned me on—somewhat in a lovey-dovey way. Still, somehow I find her annoying craziness adorable. Sometimes, I just found myself staring at her. Most of the time, all I could think of was her. As though all I wanted was— her.
Argh! Maybe I'm just over-thinking. It's just stupid lust and all, I scolded myself and shook my head vigorously.
Jeremiah questioned, "Boss, what are you going to gift Lady Shirley? It's her birthday, right?"
"I have no idea," I responded. "And why do you guys insist on calling her Lady Shirley? She's not my woman."
"Are you sure she's not?" Tim arched an eyebrow.
"Pretty sure," I replied, gritting my teeth.
"We are still going to call her Lady Shirley because she's close to our boss, and we should respect your close ones," Jeremiah added.
"I swear, you guys, I'm going to throw you out of the car," I threatened.
"With your injured arm, sure," Tim jeered. "You are really so clueless, boss."
I huffed and crossed my arms. I stayed silent the whole ride, thinking about any suitable birthday present for Shirley. But my mind was blank. I really sucked at such stuff.
After reaching home, the guards bowed their heads, seeing me. When I entered the living room, I saw Sienna sitting on the couch with a tense look on her face, Xavier playing games on his phone, and Riley was studying a file.
Everyone looked up at me once they heard my footsteps.
I gulped.
"You are dead meat," Xavier mouthed, flashing me a cheeky smile that radiated off an evil aura.
"Look who's home," Riley grimaced.
"Why bother coming here? You should have stayed where you went," Sienna taunted, standing up.
Some scary family members I had; they made me shiver with their rage.
"I—" I tried to open my mouth but was roughly cut off by Sienna when she approached me.
"Don't try to justify, you idiotic careless brat..." Her lectures went on forever. I didn't even pay attention until she started questioning me. "...Why are you so negligent about your health? I don't know what important work you had, that you had to leave the house despite my warnings. What work did you have, huh? Was it more important than yourself?"
"Yes," I answered firmly.
There was no doubt in my mind about it. Even if I was always mad at Shirley for being insane and said the wrong things to her, I couldn't take it, knowing she was upset with me.
"Really? Tell us more about it then," Riley inquired, flashing me a blunt fake smile.
I was about to open my mouth, but Xavier beat me to it. "Oh, so you must have been at Shilly's place. I knew you guys had something going on."
"Why were you at Shirley's place, Dylie?" Sienna interrogated, shooting daggers at me.
"It's a long story..." I had to tell them everything, excluding the kiss, unless they wouldn't let me sleep.
"You should have told me sooner, Dylie. I was getting worried for you," Sienna cooed, pulling my cheeks, and I rolled my eyes.
Talk about being biased.
"You intentionally missed the business conference for her? Is that what you're implying? Is she that important?" Riley looked into my eyes with his cold, intimidating ones. Trust me when I say intimidating, he could even scare me.
"Sorta? I mean, it was my fault. It—"
"Couldn't it have waited?"
"In easier words, Shilly means the world to Dylan," Xavier interrupted in awe. This jerk never helped in any situation.
"No, dummy." I poked his head, and he frowned.
"You're clueless," Xavier murmured.
Why did people insist on calling me clueless? What was I clueless about?
"Whatever. Since Shirley darling was the reason, I forgive my baby Dylie. Plus, I think Dylie did the right thing by apologizing to her before the day passed. One should never go to sleep with unspoken words in their heart," Sienna said, ruffling my hair.
I swatted her hand away and shot her a glare.
"Now, go to bed, sweeties," Sienna ushered us all to our respective bedrooms.
After changing, I laid down flat on my bed, feeling exhausted. I had work to do, but I didn't want to get up. Screw work. Sleep was life.
I was drifting to sleep when my cell phone started ringing.
Which can of annoying was calling me this late? I wondered.
If someone was wondering where I got so many cell phones, I kept a few extras in my cupboard along with a sim card and memory chip inserted, especially after Shirley came into my life. She loved breaking my phones.
"Hello?" I spoke up.
"Hey, are you awake?" Shirley's angelic voice echoed in my ear. I rubbed my eyes to check whether I was dreaming or not.
"Even if I wasn't, I am now," I responded flatly and rested my back on the headboard of my bed.
"Do you like oreo cheesecake?" My ears perked at the mention of cheesecake.
"Do you have any?" I asked eagerly.
"Yes, I do. I will save some for you. My friends brought it over."
"Your friends?"
"Yep. They came over to surprise me after you. They're still here. Sleeping in the living room like logs." She chuckled, which was good. She wasn't alone on her birthday.
Sometimes, the thought of her being all alone at her apartment at night scared me. Anyone could attack her. Gosh, if only I could confess to her how much she worried me with her clumsy self; I would never say it out loud though.
"Why are you awake then? You want dark circles under your eyes at your birthday party?" I asked to keep the conversation going.
"There's a thing called the foundation, you know?"
"To be frank, I don't know," I admitted bluntly. I had absolutely no idea about the makeup items girls used. Even though I might have mixed acid inside quite a few makeup items before.
Shirley started laughing. Her melodious laugh was like music to my ears. It was official that I need immediate medical attention. Her laugh should sound melancholic to me, not angelic.
"Hey, don't laugh. If I don't know anything about foundations and all, you have zero knowledge on guns, weapons, explosives, and etcetera harmful stuff," I objected.
Somewhere in my heart, it felt soothing to talk to her, even last night I kept talking to her till we fell asleep. It was as if I could tell her everything about the past and secrets, and she wouldn't tell a soul about it. Though, I wouldn't risk her life by telling those.
Yet, being able to share my feelings with someone, without worrying about the consequences, was what I was searching for my whole life. But I ended up losing everyone I told about my secrets, would I lose her too?
Would I end up broken-hearted again?
These thoughts restrained me from any sort of relationship. Anyone who indulged themselves with me ended up murdered unless they were just as unlucky as me, I meant Xavier, Riley, and Sienna here. My mom, sister, cousin, best friend, my maternal grandparents, all of them were dead. No one except my aunt, Sienna, and my bastard of a dad and uncle were blood-related to me in this world.
"Dylan?" My chain of thoughts was interrupted by Shirley's voice.
"Yeah?"
"Where are you lost?" she asked.
"I was just thinking if you will ever leave me alone," I muttered subconsciously and immediately regretted saying that.
"Very funny."
Thank Goodness, she just took it as my sarcasm.
"But you know, I will never leave you alone." Her words startled me. I could picture a heartwarming smile on her lips. Even if she didn't want to leave me, fate was going to separate us either way. The two of us weren't just meant to be. What we had between was only a fleeting attraction.
After the tournament, her life will crumble into pieces, and I will be the one to do that. Our paths would never cross again. I knew it deep in my heart. Everything was fine now, but it wouldn't stay like that.
Even though I knew what the future held, I wanted to live in the moment, so I kept talking to her, selfishly.
___
"O Dylie baby, wakey wakey," that was the first thing I heard in the morning.
"Fucking shut up," I grumbled and threw the blanket at Xavier's face. "What in the world is wrong with that sadistic brain of yours? For fuck's sake, get lost."
"You are already awake? I already brought some cold water." Xavier pouted, pouring the cold water on my bed. I squinted and jumped out of the bed before the cold water could touch me.
Seeing Shirley's innocent face was the best thing early morning, not Xavier's ugly face. Waking up to Shirley's sweet voice was becoming my habit—a bad habit. However, it was obvious that she wouldn't come today, considering it was her birthday.
I started choking Xavier by pushing him against the wall. I stayed almost the whole night talking to Shirley, and he dared wake me up before 11 o'clock. Riley had already told him that I wouldn't go to the office today due to my injury.
"Will you guys knock it off?" Riley yelled from his bedroom, which was beside my room. I stopped strangling Xavier and ran a hand through my hair.
"Hey, I can't decide what to give Shilly. Help me," Xavier urged, and I punched him in the guts. He was asking the wrong person.
"I will help you by telling God to give you some brains," I snorted.
"But that's God's fault, not mine. So, help me, please, Dylie." Xavier flashed me his puppy eyes. I couldn't reject Shirley's puppy eyes, but I could reject his.
"Call me that ridiculous name one more time, you will regret it. Only Sienna can call me that," I bellowed and he grinned sheepishly.
"What's wrong, boys?" Sienna walked into my bedroom.
Great. Just fucking great.
Whenever Sienna and Xavier were together, I felt like I should just run somewhere far away in Antarctica and settle down there with polar bears. I should have just gone to the office today.
Sighing, I went to take a shower. After freshening up, I went downstairs after putting on a velvet t-shirt and trousers.
Something told me that it was going to be a really bad day; as if I was going to meet someone I didn't want to.
When I was eating my brunch, I mustered my courage and asked, "Sienna, can you help me with something?"
"What is it, Dylie?" she inquired, sipping her latte. A certain matter has been disturbing me for a while.
"Um... I need your help regarding Shirley."