35.

-HER-

After my conversation with Brooke, she told me to keep it to myself.

Two weeks pass by and he still doesn’t show up. Brooke told me that he has gone out of state for some work. Even after that I couldn’t help but wonder if he was still mad at me.

Should I apologize to him? Even if I do then how was I going to approach him? I couldn’t decide what to do.

Brooke informs me when he’s back. I see him in the office the next day. The air changes around us and the way he looks at me makes my stomach dip. I look away and continue to work. I do catch him watching me but he deliberately seems to not be subtle about it.

“Most of the place is in order. If you wish then you can stop coming from tomorrow,” He tells me halfway. There was this dismissing tone in his voice that tugged at my heart but I nodded anyway.

The next day, after classes, I find myself going to his office out of habit. Though, it’s Lisa who reminds me that I wasn’t required to go there anymore.

“Why don’t you come with me? I want to introduce you to Sidonio!” She chirps happily.

“Are you sure I wouldn’t be a third wheel?” I ask.

“No. He has invited me to this architecture exhibition. You can come if you want,” She offers and I end up going with them.

Sidonio turns out to be a great guy. The exhibition was in Itaville college, where he was studying and he was taking part in it. He showed us around and explained to us a lot of interesting things about the exhibition.

We ended up exchanging numbers and turning out to be good friends. For the coming weeks, I’d hang out with him and Lisa because Ivy and Troy were busy with finals.

Meanwhile, Ivelle moved out to another city because she got into a good fashion school. Though she would visit us once in a while.

After the incident, I don’t see him much. Just a few times here and there but he seems busy due to his finals and lobby work.

I think of texting him multiple times but couldn’t find anything to say to him.

Things slowly turn out to be normal. People from my class don’t bother me much. As for Holly and her minions, they don’t show up for classes that often so I need not worry about them. Though sometimes it worries me if she has plans to take revenge in the future.

Slowly, December comes in. Troy and Ivy still have a couple of exams left so they are still keeping to themselves. Meanwhile, I go out with Lisa and Sidonio. As much as they try to keep me entertained and invite me just for the sake that I don’t feel alone since Ivelle is gone, I feel like a third wheel whenever I am with them.

As their relationship grew more and more serious, I went out with them less but this particular evening, I found myself going to this party with them out of boredom.

“What is this place? I haven’t been here before,” Lisa says when we enter the place. Sidonio grins at her like a Cheshire cat before he leans down and whispers something in her ear. I instantly look away to give them a moment of privacy.

My heart stutters in my chest when my eyes end up finding a pair of familiar black eyes, looking at me keenly. His eyes shift from me for a moment to look at the couple near me before he looks back at me and arches an eyebrow.

He is sitting at the bar counter by himself, looking as handsome and mouth-watering as always. I look at Lisa and Sid to find them busy among themselves. They seem to have forgotten that I have come with them.

I chose this moment to step away from them. His eyes never leave me as my feet carry me to him. It’s as if there’s this invisible force guiding me there.

In no moment, I find myself stepping in front of me before I finally utter, “Hello,” It’s now that I realize that I have missed him so much.

“Cybele,” He breathes while I take a seat beside him.

“So, your finals are over?” I ask him to initiate a conversation. He doesn’t answer right away and keep staring at me.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to take to me after the office incident,” He grumbles, sipping from his drink. I can hear the hurt in his voice and it instantly tugs at my heart. Brooke had been talking to me secretly a lot but she usually did not talk about him now.

This could be the opportunity I explain everything to him and apologize. Just when I start to speak, the music in the background gets louder. I had to lean in to speak, “I… I want to apologize to you,” I say in his ear.

I was leaning back when his head snaps towards me and our noses brush, sending in those strange sensations that Brooke told me about. A part of me missed it.

He looks at me in bewilderment before I had to yell at him over the music, “Can we go outside? I don’t think we could talk here,” He stares at me momentarily before nodding at me.

He finishes his drink before leading me out. It’s snowing lightly outside so he ends up taking me to his car. After he shuts the door behind him and turns around to face me, I am instantly aware that we are completely alone.

He seems to notice this at the same time before he leans back and mutters more to himself, “This is a bad idea,”

“It’s months since that happened. I should’ve talked to you earlier,” I whisper as I fiddle with the edge of my jacket, “I wanted to text you-“

“Then why didn’t you?” He demands. My heart rate shoots up at this. I gulp before I answer, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk to me after that,”

“Why have you come to me now?” He demands, leaning closer. His eyes have completely darkened. I should be scared but I am not. I am rather more and more attracted to him.

“I had a lot of misunderstandings about you,” I breathe, looking at his lips before my eyes flicker back to him to find a guttural look on his face, “I didn’t know that you have a twin. I thought that you were dating Brooke and were trying to cheat on her with Tiffany and me,”

When I finish speaking, he is in shock. He takes me by surprise by throwing his head back and laughing. His deep and masculine laugh makes my stomach dip.

“I’d never cheat on the girl who’d date me,” He mutters after he’s done laughing. I am aware that he is leaning closer than ever. His eyes are hungrily set on my lips before he mutters, “I have terribly missed you,”

I open my mouth to speak but I am being shushed by his lips. The strange sensation due to the contact is strong as it travels through my whole body. I moan before moving my lips against his.

I kiss him back while he shifts me to his lap. He then deepens the kiss by putting one his hands behind my neck and levelling me against his mouth. I am aware of nothing but him as we kiss.

“Jake,” I breathe when I finally pull back. He instantly buries his face in the crook of my neck and breathes deeply.

“You still smell like me, Cybele,” He remarks.

....

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