Chapter Thirty Two

"I'll be going back home tomorrow." I informed Tay as he removed the seat belt before exiting the car.

"Already?" He questioned, looking surprised.

"There's nothing else to do here except waiting to hear from Mr. Santos. I can do that over there too." I answered with a shrug.

"Yeah?" A smirk took over his face. "Try to be a little honest and just say that you miss your lover boy."

I felt my face heating up and I averted my gaze, feeling embarrassed.

"You can blush too?" He exclaimed in an ear-splitting loud voice.

"Just leave already." I muttered, keeping my head lowered and my face hidden.

He cooed in a weird voice. "You're so whipped already."

I let out a frustrated grunt and pushed his side with my hands. "Leave."

He chuckled before finally opening the car's door. "Now that Aaron is no longer a potential partner for you, guess I'll give you my blessings. I just wanna be your best man in return."

"Deal?" He asked again, stubbornly holding the car door open.

"Whatever. Just go now. Bye." I said, dismissing him before reaching over to close the door.

He let out a loud 'yes' and let go of the door. He waved over to me from the entry of the building and I glared at him in return. My response just fueled his laughter and I drove past his boisterous laughter.

~~~

It was already evening by the time I placed all of my boxes in the car along with the two bouquets I've bought on my way back. The white daisy bouquet for Nicolas and the sunflower bouquet for grandma.

As I was passing by the flower shop on my way back, the idea suddenly struck me. I remembered Marco telling me that white daisies were Nicolas' favourite flower. Though I had to visit a few shops to get the bouquet, just thinking about Nicolas' reaction made me all giddy and warm inside.

Fortunately, grandma's favourite bouquet was available on the very first shop I had visited and that's how my car ended up smelling heavenly on my way back.

As soon as I was done organising the boxes in my car to make sure they all fit, I quickly texted grandma to let her know that I was coming back. Another text was sent to tell her to keep it a secret from Marco in case he was around.

By the time I had locked up my apartment and started the car, I had already received grandma's response. Though she was worried about the fact that I'll be driving the whole night, I somehow ended up convincing her that it was okay and that I wasn't sleepy at all, especially not after looking at the bouquets in the passenger seat.

I texted Marco's number as well to let Nicolas know that I won't be able to talk tonight. I had to lie and say that I was busy with some university related stuff. The sun had already gone down by the time I started driving and though I felt guilty for lying to him, I could no longer wait to see Nicolas.

~~~

It was time for breakfast by the time I pulled up in front of the house. I was glad to see that grandma wasn't sitting on the porch, waiting for me. I hoped she had gotten some sleep instead of staying up and waiting for me.

As usual, the door wasn't locked and I walked right in. Much to my dismay, I found her dozing off on the couch in the living room. She wasn't even lying down, just resting her head against the back of the couch.

I sighed, before taking a seat beside her.

She woke up instantly, turning to me and smiling at me.

"Grandma, I told you to not wait for me." I complained, quietly.

Ignoring my complaint, she hugged me tightly instead. "Welcome back."

I hugged her back with a lot less strength than her. I bet I looked way more exhausted than her. "Go take a nap. I'll take a shower and prepare breakfast for you."

"I got enough sleep. Get showered, I'll make breakfast. Eat and then you can go meet Nicolas. I won't be surprised if he sends over Marco to get you before you even finish showering." She chuckled before releasing me from her hug.

Hearing Nicolas' suddenly reminded me of the bouquets still sitting in the car.

"Shit. Wait here." I jumped to my feet before running back to the car.

After getting both of the bouquets out of the car, I walked back inside again.

"For you." I presented the sunflower bouquet to her after placing the other one on the table.

"Thank you so much." Grandma beamed and ruffled my hair. "Such an adorable grandson I have."

"Now go get showered." She gestured me to get up and go to my room.

Nodding, I ran to my room to get ready to meet Nicolas.

~~~

"Porridge?" I exclaimed happily, looking at the bowls on the table.

"Take a seat." Grandma said before taking a seat herself.

"I love you." I told her as I blew up on the spoonful of porridge in my grip.

Grandma laughed and shook her head before doing the same.

"I'll do the dishes." I declared, stubbornly before taking over the sink and moving her to the side.

"And Nicolas?" She asked, standing beside me.

"It won't take long." I convinced her before quickly getting the dishes done.

"See? Didn't take long." I said to her as I wiped my hands on the kitchen towel.

"Get going now. I'll go take a nap." Grandma responded, already making her way back upstairs.

"I'll be back soon." I said loudly to let her know before grabbing the bouquet and rushing out of the house.

I couldn't help but run on my way out and past the backyard with a huge grin on my face. I barely stopped in between to catch my breath before starting running again.

I could feel my heart pounding in my ears by the time I saw the clearing in the distance. Cradling the bouquet closer to my chest, I landed in a heap under a huge tree nearby as my legs gave out underneath me. Both of my legs ached and trembled from the exertion.

I laid under the tree on my back with the bouquet lying on top of my chest as I struggled to catch my breath. I was surprised I didn't feel dizzy or nauseated after running so much.

"Blue?" I heard Nicolas in the distance and before I could've opened my eyes he was already sitting beside me.

"What's wrong?" His worried voice and his gentle hands lifting my head off the ground to place it in his lap made a huge smile appear on my face again.

"I missed you." I whispered in between my laboured breaths and held his hand in mine.

His worried frown didn't disappear and I beamed brighter.

"I'm just catching my breath. I ran all the way here." I explained more clearly, trying to make his frown disappear.

A smile broke out on his face and it knocked my breath out of me yet again.

"Your smile. It's too bright." I raised my free hand and placed it in front of my eyes as if shielding from the sun itself.

It took him a moment to understand before he started laughing softly.

My heart throbbed and cheeks hurt from the wide grin. I couldn't believe that I had made him giggle like that. Nonetheless, all of my senses thanked me for the treat.

He started running his free hand through my hair and I almost melted into a puddle right there. We stayed like that for the next few minutes, just savouring each other's company in silence.

"I'm sorry for lying last night. I just wanted to surprise you." I spoke after a while.

He lowered his head until his lips rested against my forehead and gave me a quick kiss there before speaking. "It's alright."

A squeal left my mouth in surprise and I felt my face reddening. "I- I brought you something." I said, raising the bouquet over my face and hiding underneath it.

"Marco once told me that you like daisies." I explained further when he didn't say anything.

"Was he kidding?" I asked again, before getting up to look at his face.

He looked at me with widened eyes, looking as if he was caught off guard. "Nicolas?"

He slowly extended his hand to get the bouquet from me and held it close to his chest. His sincere and soft 'thank you' made me feel like I had conquered the world in that moment.

He parted his lips as if to say something but Marco's voice cut him off.

"I was expecting an actual kiss, won't lie." He walked past the trees and came to stand beside us with a grin on his face.

"You were eavesdropping?" I asked in disbelief.

"It was hard not to. You two weren't exactly whispering." He retorted before crouching in front of me. Then he glanced at Nicolas before speaking to me again. "You still remember what I told you back then? Aww."

"Don't you have something else to do?" I grumbled, feeling flustered.

"I was training the kids until they heard your weird scream. They want to meet you, so I came over to make sure you two are… appropriate." He shrugged and stood up again.

"I'm seriously disappointed though." He shook his head and muttered under his breath before walking back in the direction he came from.

I frowned at his retreating back until he disappeared from the sight.

"Come on, let's go see them." Nicolas said as he stood up and extended his hand for me to take.

I grabbed his hand almost immediately and he pulled me to my feet. Grinning, I held his hand tightly in mine as we started walking to meet the pack members.

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