Make Me Yours

They sat down then, and she did not miss the fact that he waited until she had taken her seat before he did the same. Hmm… a proper gentleman.

“So, what do I get you? We have a special on the house, today. It’s a Creme Bu La Faite. It’s a new recipe from Chef Louis. It’s really delicious; you’d love it.”

Zoey liked trying new things but she’d rather not take the risk today. She didn’t need anything that would upset her stomach.

“Thanks, darling. But I’ll have lasagna instead… with steak, please. Medium rare and some salad dressing on the side. Never forget the greens.” Cecilia smiled as Zoey ended, winking.

In no time, she was done scribbling, and she turned to Xen to pick his order.

“And you, sir?”

“Ramen, please. The good kind. You could serve me a small side dish of tofu. I haven’t had that in a while. I seemed to have picked its scent when I stepped in. It made me hungry for some.”

He winked too, as he finished. A hot blush accompanied Cecilia’s smile this time. Aware that it had been deliberate on his part, Zoey shook her head.

“Drinks?”

Together, they chorused, “Sparkling water.”

Surprised by this, they turned to look at each other. A small chuckle slipped through Zoey’s lips, and he caught it before she could stop it. Oh well, so what if he heard her laugh? No big deal.

“Alright. I shall be back in no time.” With those words, Cecilia was gone, leaving them alone.

As soon as they were, Xen began to talk.

“You look extra lovely, today. You did something new with your hair, no?”

“I changed the extensions, yes. You look sharp yourself, if I must say.” That was the most complementary she was going to be today. She wasn’t about to let him know that his had birthed butterflies in her tummy and were fluttering all over the place, making her stomach squirm.

“Thank you. I try to clean up nice. I think I’m not completely hopeless.”

Was that modesty? From Mr Li? Well, that was surprising.

“I never thought the day would come when I would hear you make any attempt at modesty.”

His left brow rose. “Why? You already have a diary filled with just how much of an arrogant, obnoxious ass I am?”

She snorted, trying to cover her true reaction to that almost true fact. That sounded more like the man she knew.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr Li. We were just talking about you trying out this modesty thing, remember? Why would you think you deserve a spot in my diary?”

The water arrived then, and Xen waited until Cecilia was gone before responding. Picking up his glass, he sipped and placed it back to the table. All this while, his eyes had a firm lock on hers.

“A diary is like a journal where we put in everything that’s going on in our lives, is it not? Day to day activities, people that we meet, things that are disturbing us? I’d like to say that I check all those areas. You have met me, more than once. The Belmont property- I am certain, has been on your mind because you worry about losing it, which directly points to me. I mean, I’m the reason why you are in this mess, after all. I’m just saying, it’s not particularly an arrogant call to think that you must have written one or two scribbles about me.”

“You are wrong,” she answered matter-of-factly. “I don’t have a diary.” Well, that was a lie – technically, she didn’t have a diary she scribbled into; but she had a voice journal. This speaker that she told all of her thoughts when it felt like she was going to explode from them, and she didn’t want to disturb any of the girls or her family.

“But you do have a point. If I had one, going by your analogy, I would have written about you.”

“Well, just in case you are planning on getting one now, I hope we can start all over again on a clean slate, so that I wouldn’t appear bad in someone’s book.”

“You do not strike me as the kind of man who cares about those things.”

“Maybe, maybe not. However, what I do know is that for some reason, I care about what you are going to write about me in your book.”

What was with the emphasis? Did it mean anything? Of course not. He was simply trying to get to her, as always. Shaking it off, she picked up her own glass and sipped.

“I see. I’m not going to ask why. I am simply going to ask how you plan on starting all over again, and if that is the reason why you have called me here today.”

“Well,” he shrugged casually. “Part of it. I understand that there are a lot of things that I must apologize for, Miss Martins. I have not exactly been on my best behavior.”

Her eyes twitched as they widened. Had she heard right? Mr Li apologizing and admitting that he wasn’t exactly… God?

“Hmmm… I wonder how you came to that realization.” She wasn’t going to make it easy for him; she wasn’t fooled. Knowing him, this was probably a strategy to worm himself into her good feelings and steal the property from under her nose when she was least suspecting.

He had said it himself: he didn’t play fair.

“Well, first off, I know that I am not exactly the best man out there. Sometimes, I am too self-absorbed, that I forget to be decent, modest – like everyone else. I apologize. That night at the casino, I underestimated you and barely paid you any heed. I was wrong.”

Oh well, this was a good start. Strategy or not, it sure felt good hearing it. Relaxing into her seat, she crossed her legs.

“I see. By all means, continue. Do not stop on my account.”

He smiled. It was probably the most genuine smile she had ever seen on his face. No smirk, no smugness. It made him look even more handsome.

“The next day in the elevator. For that, I must also apologize. In all honesty, I had only meant it as a joke to get back at you for winning. Silly and childish, especially as I haven’t been a child in years. I can only imagine that you must have felt embarrassed in the presence of your friends.”

Zoey scoffed at this. “Believe me, they have seen me in worse moments. I could never feel embarrassed by their presence. If they weren’t there, I would have felt just as mortified. No one had ever made me feel so inconsequential, and try to ruin my hard work right after. Not to mention, you made me cut short my birthday trip.”

“For all of those, I apologize. Especially for the last one. I had no idea.”

“And if you had?”

He paused. “Well, in all honesty, I probably would not have done differently. But all of that is behind us now – at least, I am hoping that we could put it behind us. I am willing to make it up to you, if you want me to.”

“No, it’s fine. I had a swell time, all in all. And next year is another opportunity.”

“So, does this mean I am forgiven?”

“It means that I shall give it great consideration.”

His smile was brilliant, bright; spreading from one side of his cheeks to another. It made her want to smile in return, especially those twinkles in his eyes. So she did.

Cecilia arrived with their meals.

An oddly comfortable silence settled as they began to eat, and Zoey couldn’t help thinking to herself: perhaps Mr Li wasn’t such a terrible person, after all.