It was 7pm. Bryan was in the living room having a glass of whiskey, when the door bell rang. He didn’t bother to let the maids get the door, since he was expecting Amy. He downed the rest of his whiskey and stood up from the couch to answer the door.
On opening the door, he saw Amy. She looked terrible. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her hair looked like she had ran her fingers through it for over a million times. Her makeup was smeared and there were traces of dried tear marks on her face. In total, she looked exhausted.
Bryan was surprised to see her looking like this. She looked far worse than he had expected. He couldn’t control his emotions anymore, he brought her close to his chest and wrapped his strong arms around her small frame. He was the cause of all this. He shouldn’t have been hard on her.
Amy wrapped her arms around Bryan’s torso, silently crying into his hard chest. Her throat was sore from sobbing for a long period of time and she was too weak. She hasn’t had anything to eat because she couldn’t bring herself to eat when Bryan was upset with her. She let his warm embrace and the smell of his cologne give her the comfort she has been craving.
Bryan slowly pulled away from the hug.
“Go wash up” he said to Amy. She gave a quiet nod and headed upstairs.
He closed the door behind him, carried the empty whiskey glass from the coffee table and made his way to the kitchen to ask the maids to make two cups of coffee. He also asked them to make grilled caprese chicken for dinner. After giving the orders, he returned to the living room to wait for Amy.
It didn’t take long for Amy to join Bryan in the living room. She had changed into a black joggers and white tank top. Her hair was now in a messy bun and she was makeup free. She sat quietly beside Bryan. She knew he was still angry at her, but she couldn’t help it, she wanted to be close to him.
“Here. Have coffee” Bryan said, gesturing for her to take the cup of coffee on the coffee table.
Amy shook her head in response, as she didn’t want to have anything. All she wanted was Bryan’s forgiveness.
“I insist” he added, giving her the coffee himself, so she wouldn’t refuse.
Amy stared at the cup in Bryan’s hand. How could she refuse him? She slowly collected the coffee and took a sip from it.
“Thanks” she murmured, placing the cup back on the coffee table.
“I didn’t mean to do it” she started to explain.
“We were talking and-“
“I don’t need to know the details” Bryan interrupted. He didn’t want to talk about that issue. It would only anger him if he is reminded about the kiss.
“I just want to know one thing..” he continued, as the question he was about to ask has been bothering him.
Amy nodded almost immediately. She would give him whatever answer he wanted, as long as it would make things better between them.
“Who was Kyle to you?”
Why did it have to be this question? Amy wondered, biting her lower lip. She stared at her fingers like they were the most interesting thing in the world, just so she could avoid Bryan’s gaze. What if her reply doesn’t make things better? What if it makes things worse between her and Bryan?
Amy’s silence was killing Bryan. It was making him doubt everything she confessed to him. Does she even love him at all?
“He.. he was my first crush and.. my first kiss” Amy finally replied, her voice sank into a whisper at the last part, as she was too ashamed to reveal that piece of information. This could ruin their relationship, but she had to tell him the truth because she didn’t want to keep anymore secrets from him.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Bryan asked after some seconds of silence.
“I didn’t want you to misunderstand me” she sincerely replied, finally finding the courage to look at him.
“Amy…” Bryan paused, wondering if he should go on with this conversation or just drop it at this point.
“Bryan, please don’t hold back. I don’t want us keeping anything from each other” Amy pleaded when she noticed his hesitation. She took the bold step and entwined her fingers with his. She felt a wave of relief when Bryan didn’t move away, so she went further by placing her head on his shoulder.
“How do you see me?... When you look at me, Amy, what do you think of me as?” Bryan eventually asked the question he has been holding back.
Amy wasn’t expecting such a question. Was he being serious? Does he really want her to answer that, when it’s so obvious? She lifted her head from his shoulder, to gaze at his eyes. The way his eyes searched hers, only meant that he sincerely needed an answer to his question. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted before she even started to speak.
“I want the truth, Amy” Bryan emphasized.
‘Okay. He wants the truth, give him the truth’ Amy concluded within herself.
She cupped his face in her hands, so he would see the sincerity in her eyes while she spoke.
“I see you as a man. A real man… Whenever I think of you, Bryan, I think of you as the man I want to give my all to. The man I want to spend the rest of my life with… I know that sounds scary, but it’s the truth” Amy smiled at her own weirdness.
“My heart flutters whenever I hear your voice. And when you touch me.. I feel like I’m in paradise. I don’t want to be anywhere else when I’m with you” she wanted to express herself more, but she was too shy to say anything.
“Don’t you see me as a father?”
“A father?... Not once have I thought of you that way… Want me to tell you a secret?”
She drew her mouth close to his ear and whispered
“I dream of you every night”
Bryan’s throat suddenly went dry from Amy’s confession, as his thoughts went back to the different times they almost went all the way.
“I don’t think anyone dreams of someone they consider a father” Amy said, bringing him out of his thoughts. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“I’m sorry” she whispered, her lips brushing lightly against the corner of his lips.
“Please, say you forgive me” she stared at his gorgeous blue eyes, waiting for his response.
“Don’t keep anything from me again” he said with a stern voice.
“I won’t, I promise… From now on, I’ll tell you everything I do” Amy replied with a mischievous smile, knowing that she was already forgiven.
“Not everything”
“Nah. I’ll stick with everything, that way there won’t be any misunderstanding”
A smile appeared on Bryan’s face for the first time since he got back from his business trip.