43

As promised to my very first client whose mouth could no longer accommodate his cumulating saliva, Edward was completely seduced by the salt bread I was slowly unwrapping for him. His fingers lurched, itching to seize hold of the bread, but he peered at me, anticipating my signal.

And albeit Myla continuously digging its paws onto his legs, it failed to achieve even a speck of his attention.

He's really thrilled about my bread.

I inwardly laughed at how animated he was, coming from someone with such a rough exterior and a countenance that rarely budged an inch. Honestly, he looked like a dog who was impatiently waiting for its owner to give the green light on munching its dinner away.

"H-Here you go, I hope you like it," I murmured as I passed the bread towards him. If his intense gaze was tangible, it would have decimated all the pastries into oblivion, and we would be left with nothing.

And with no time to waste, Edward gingerly received-I was surprised he did not grab it-the bread from my hand. However, he wasted no time studying it; he shoved-yes, he plunged the entirety of the pastry into the confines of his starving mouth, making my heart skip a beat.

It looks so tiny the moment he devours it.

His cheeks bloated up-obviously as he swallowed the whole thing-while he masticated the pastry. He closed his eye as wrinkles in his forehead formed, searching for the flavors that might or might not hit his taste buds. Meanwhile, my tingling fingers fumbled on the fabric of my clothes as my ribs were pressed together; he was chewing it longer than usual.

Was it up to his expectations? Was it good? Was it something he would come to buy? Only he had the answers, and I had no choice but to wait for him to finish. As he finally swallowed the entire meal, he licked the corner of his lips and took all the crumbs, making sure nothing was left.

"Delicious," Edward reported and the waves of relief crashing against me allowed me to release a ridiculous amount of air. I tore up into a cheeky grin as he went on, "This is so rich. It's salty and crispy on the outside, yes, but sweet and buttery at the same time. It's the perfect combination of flavors. I've never had bread like this before... I could eat this for the whole week."

"T-Thank you!" My heart was racing a thousand miles at his compliments, but I definitely believed he could survive weeks, let alone a month with only devouring these rolls. He should have varied his food, but not that he cared much though.

But... he's gushing so much right now and he doesn't have to hold back anymore. He's expressing more of himself; his old self.

On the other side, Lynn and Aly's eyes had been glinting, their curiosity had them scrutinizing us like eagles from their respective laptops. Without the need to inquire and now that Edward had tried the pastries, I passed some of them to the girls, and almost immediately, they were lost in their own paradise, melting like butter.

"As always, your pastries are the best! I would have paid for this!" Aly exclaimed between her muffles and I chuckled. My parents and I would give you lots for free...

"You said you brought more?" Edward murmured, and my guts somersaulted beyond belief when he budged towards me. "You don't mind... if I can have seconds, right, Rena?"

Well, Edward... I would not have packed and brought so many of these rolls if not for your bottomless stomach.

***

"T-that's why it's called tertiary structure... Is it more c-clear now?"

I finished, performing a series of gesticulations to the protein structure flashing on the screen. Hopefully, my stammerings-impossible to mitigate even as I tried my best-would not get in the way of my explanations. This was Edward I was trying to teach and not Aly, I have to make sure he absorbed all the information.

He had taught me physics... I have to at least reciprocate that back.

He nodded with one hand punching all the details in his report, while his other held on a half-bitten salt bread-the sixth one. Then on the other hand, Aly and Lynn were also feasting on my pastry although they have not even reached the third roll.

"Thanks Rena," he said with no distinct inflections, much to my relief. He understands... Thank goodness.

"N-No problem..." My voice went low when upon locking gazes with Aly, she simply fluttered her brows and snuck in a thumbs-up under the table. Thankfully it all went without a word, so with my lips withdrawn, I ignored her and continued with my work.

Myla chose to sit on Edward's lap, staring at the bright screen. It raised its paws to put on his typing hand, although he gently pushed them aside. Despite all the distractions, he was not at all bothered as he devoured up the remnants of the roll.

"Rena." After swallowing his food, Edward leaned towards me, brushing me once more. "If there is primary, secondary and tertiary, what's quaternary then?"

"Ah, yes, t-those are basically multiple polypeptides interacting together."

"Are the hydrogen bonds involved as well?"

"Y-yes." I stumbled even on just one word. I could literally feel the warm air coming off his nose blowing against my skin. He was comfortably getting closer to me now when he would usually keep a little distance.

"Alright, got it now."

He finally shifted away, and my muscles immediately loosened. Not that I did not want... to experience his touch or anything, but we were in the sight of the girls and I did not want to cause any more uneasiness between us. He's fully aware I have feelings for him and so he's been acting a little off too.

Ugh, I should not have said anything.

"Seb sure takes a while," declared Lynn, her attention whipped towards the direction of her door. "With all the upcoming shows, he had a lot of projects to finish."

"So he's a pretty diligent dude, huh," Aly snorted, casting a bored look. "Good for him."

"He just finished and is on his way," Edward informed. "He'll be here soon."

Hearing them talking about Seb reminded me of my chats with him yesterday. Of course, I have not told Aly about our Sunday hangout, and I have no intentions to. They were both sworn rivals anyway, and complicating their relationship was the last thing I should do.

"The busier he is, the less time I'll see him today." Aly folded her arms.

"Jesus Christ, you two. You ain't kids anymore, tone down with the bickering and all," Lynn groaned. "Is there a time where you can settle down?"

"That won't happen like in a millenia," she retorted. "He's always masquerading like he's the best man ever and running around being so goddamn annoying. He's even worse now than when we were kids."

It's giving off the same vibes as Seb's response. Even the wording was similar. Their opinions would never cross paths together, perhaps once in a blue moon.

"He's definitely more talkative, sure..." Lynn rebutted, making me remember those solemn eyes he used to have. "But I feel like he'll drop his sarcasm and you'll get along once you start treating him like he's a normal human being."

"Normal? He's anything but normal. Also, he's the one who started everything!"

Another huff slipped out of Lynn's lips, as she hastily brushed her short hair. "Look, here's the thing. If Seb's not then..." Her eyes gravitated towards Edward, who quickly noticed her. "...he would not have cared for Ed and Rena for that matter."

Both Edward and I piqued up, lifting our gazes from our laptops, while Aly had no remarks to refute that. She was right, at the end of the day, Seb was still the first one to reach out, putting lots of effort.

"Ah, don't you guys know... years ago Seb came up to Rena and he said he likes her?" Aly sneered and I tensed up at the abrupt recollection of Seb's confession. "It was all so jarring, it was out of nowhere. I immediately chased him out. He was scaring her!"

Lynn's frown straightened, before she slammed her hand on her dangling mouth rather quickly. Her hefty chuckles were coerced, as she drummed her fingers on her keyboard. "Wha... I didn't know about that! Seriously?"

However, Edward's reaction... stole the spotlight. His jaw was clutched tight, Aly was oblivious of how he was glowering at her direction, but when he glanced at me, he immediately averted back to his project. He then pressed his curled fingers on his mouth and the table slightly trembled when he bounced his leg.

A hand then tapped my shoulder, belonging to none other than him. He beckoned his head to the laptop, as though he wanted to show me something. Tilting my head, I neared him to see what he had to disclose.

Alyssa is getting on my nerves.

This was so ironic; Edward and Aly were inseparable friends who would bicker but also were partners-in-crime and even had me envying their rapport. The tables were turned now; Edward was most likely agitated by the fact Aly—who he engaged with little to no talks—had been constantly deriding his best friend, who had been beside him for all those years.

I pondered my response, gingerly typing it and tilted the laptop towards him.

We all know how much Seb and Aly like to argue and throw insults. I'm sure she didn't mean for it to be malicious, Ed.

Edward took a deep breath.

I know, but both of them need to learn how to shut the hell up and stop squabbling like idiots.

My heart sank deep to the bottom of the abyss, and my fingers hovered over my keyboard, not knowing what to type next as my answer. This was coming from someone who would never once bothered about their vitriols and even told me to ignore them.  I don't know if it's just me, but he seems upset at Seb as well...

Well, I thanked the lucky stars when Lynn's doorbell finally rang across the house. Edward and I immediately erased all the messages from our reports... carrying on as though nothing happened.

"Seb, finally!" Lynn cried as she paced for the entrance. At this, Myla hopped off Edward's lap and pursued after Lynn, disappearing behind the walls. Piercing barks from the puppy echoed throughout the vicinity when the door clicked open.

"I'm kinda halfway through my paper!" While the two were busy talking at the doors, Aly decided to strike a conversation. "You and Lynn really helped a lot."

"You didn't ask me anything, though..."

"Well Rena, I simply eavesdropped on your explanations." Aly placed a finger gun on her chin as she smirked with so much pride, but she scrambled back to her spot when Seb and Lynn entered the living room.

Myla appeared first and it quickly jumped back to Edward's embrace again. Aly pretended to play with her laptop, but she shot daggers at him. Seb completely disregarded her presence, brightening at both Edward and I, although for some reason, my vision decided to play tricks on me by noticing Seb's smile twitching.

"Sorry I'm late! How's our paper going?" Seb asked as he peered at Edward's laptop.

"There's still more to go," he murmured. "Rena helped me with some of the topics."

"Looks fine to me," he said as he skimmed through the report. "Alright, let's get this shit over with! What can I do?"

He pulled an empty chair and positioned himself between Edward and I. While I dragged myself aside as they needed to work together as partners, Edward slammed his elbow in the spot where Seb was about to put his stuff out. The abrupt maneuver flinched his best friend and had him arching his brow.

Edward promptly cleared his throat and blurted out, "I need Rena's help... I still have lots of topics I didn't understand and I'm still asking her questions. Sit on my right side instead."

"Ah... uh, gotcha. I suck at this too, man, we both need her help." Seb snickered, as he slowly retreated towards the vacant area on Edward's right.

"So how's your project going?" Since Edward straightened his back as he worked, Seb inclined against his chair to get a good look of me.

"I'm nearly finished!" My lips upturned. "Mark and I did our parts bit by bit, and he's gonna finish his part up tomorrow."

"Oh, you didn't ask Florie for help?"

"Ah, well... n-not really..."

I faltered, my smile shrinking when I felt an unknown force weighing down my body. The cold, biting look she had thrown upon me on that staircase was all I recalled in my memory. Since then, Florence's presence had me peering down at the ground and whirling on my heels to maintain a distance, cutting off any potential interactions. When's the last time I even properly interacted with her?

"Let's get it going," Edward chimed in before Seb could speak more. "You're the only one who hasn't started a single shit."

"I did something, Your Majesty. How slanderous of you." He rolled his eyes as Edward merely sighed in defeat.

The rest of the time was spent on editing and rewriting most of my passages. While so, I simultaneously answered the men's concerns. Lynn and Aly were assisting with each other, though sometimes they too asked for help, to which I obliged.

However, one thing leaving me on the edge of my seat was Edward's very intense stare. He wanted to ask a question but was held back-similar to a few days ago, but I chickened out from looking straight at him, so I used my peripheral vision. Not to mention, all parts of his body were tense, and he would not stop shaking his leg.

What's he gonna do? Since the bus, each and every of his out-of-character demeanor had my instincts going ballistic. I was so sure the question he came up with was not related to the assignment-he would have asked earlier. Don't tell me... it's something that would leave me stumped to the core.

Was he going to reveal it in front of everyone just like that? Maybe that was why he was hesitating so heavily?

"Um, Lynn?" I shot up, trying not to catch his widened eye. "Where's the b-bathroom?"

"Just go to this hall," she pointed, "And it's in the second door to your right."

"T-thanks!"

I rushed out of the living room, my hips nearly knocking over my chair. Edward's gaze ultimately vanished when I reached the bathroom, frantically slamming the door behind me and turning the lights on. With a pounding heart and sharp breaths, I slumped on the toilet bowl without opening my dress, and I found myself exhaling so loudly.

So much for my self-motivational speech.

Right now I returned back to the previous Rena, the girl who ran away from disputes and ended up not solving absolutely nothing. Letting others take the charge whilst being the cowardly person I was.

I could have taken the charge, asking Edward and hearing what he has to say. Maybe he would not tell me directly, but at least I had something-a response that I could properly deduce. Instead, I decided to choose the easy way out.

Damn it, Rena. You are certainly not breaking out of your old habits.

I brushed my shivering arms together, as if it was going to achieve something. The glittering beads of my scarlet bracelet on my wrist were absent-I had left the accessory back home. Yet another breath left my lips as I slouched back, facing at the sole lightbulb illuminating the whole bathroom.

Well, as you have learned from experiences, there's no point in hiding, Rena.

It was a temporary solution, to stall and delay the conflict, not to appease and put it into rest. Moving forward would be beyond impossible if there were no hurdles in the way. I would be stuck in the same spot for God knows how long, and nothing would change. I would wallow in my own misery for weeks, months, years.

"Am I okay with being like this all the time? No, right? I'm done with my former self." I said to no one in particular as a sudden surge of energy had me up on both of my feet. I then clenched my fists on my sides. "Then go. Go and do something. Do something that would alleviate this awkwardness-"

Without any warning, the door quivered under a series of incessant pounds, both snapping me out of my soliloquy as well as jolting me awake to the reality I was in.

"Rena! Are you still there?" It was Aly; her voice sounded constipated as though she was... holding in some sort of pain?

"Yeah... um, why?"

"Please, you need to hurry! I'm in a pinch, my stomach hurts a lot!" she screamed.

"Oh! I'm almost done!" I exclaimed back, before I slapped my temples and hastily rubbed my hair in the mirror.

Stepping out revealed Aly, who doubled over and grasped her abdomen. In the midst of her grimacing face, she forced a crooked smile at me. Without further ado, she pushed me aside as she flew right in and rammed the door shut, making me squirm. Well, this is it. I hope this short getaway... will help me sort my thoughts together.

Swallowing the lump in my throat and with a very composed mind, I marched back to the group where my friends were.

"God, did you see how she runs? That woman literally flew!" Seb guffawed, his chest heaving up and down. "The power of number two, huh?"

Lynn shook her head but she also laughed heartily, "She'll rack up first place in the marathon, that's for sure!"

Turning back towards my laptop, I realized the battery was cut down more than a half. I was about to rummage my charger in my bag, but not before my dearest friend...

"Rena."

Here we go. Just ask what he wants. I stopped in the middle of my actions, and yes, I kept my spirits up high as I turned towards him. "Y-Yes, do you have more questions?"

"It's not that. I felt bad for this, but can I have more... of your salt bread?" Edward breathed. "I'm still hungry, but it's fine if you don't allow it... I understand."

The silence thickened within seconds, I could practically hear the repeated batting of my lashes.

"Eh?"