067: Meteor?
**Chapter 67**
“What?” Tom asked as all three girls gave him strange stares ever since he came down. The girls looked at each other one by one before they replied in unison, “You know, motels are pretty good these days.”
“What?” Tom asked as if he had no idea what the girls were talking about. I, on the other hand, should have been nervous, but oddly enough, I wasn’t. I didn’t know why. So, I asked Tom, so as not to be left out, “You had a good night’s sleep, Tom?”
“I slept like a log,” Tom replied.
“No wonder, after that,” Sasha muttered under her breath.
“What?” Tom asked.
“Nothing. She said nothing,” Sara quickly said before the atmosphere got any more awkward. Aunt Elise also chimed in to change the topic and asked, “What are you girls up to today?”
“Going to school. Have some business at the club. Then I’ll check up on Betty,” Mira replied before she asked, “Why?”
“Well, seeing as Tyler is a guest, I think you should show him around town,” Aunt Elise said.
“He’s already seen the town,” Sara replied. Well, it wasn’t my first visit here, so it made sense.
“Not like that,” Aunt Elise replied.
“I know what you’re saying, and don’t worry. We’re going shopping today,” Sara said with a smile.
“We are?” I asked.
“Yeah. Don’t you remember? You said you’d buy me all the clothes I want,” Sara said with the purest and most charming smile that could be on an innocent person.
“I did?” I asked.
“Yeah, silly,” she said with a straight smile.
“Haha,” I nervously chuckled and said, “I guess I did. Silly me.”
Rule number one when dealing with women you care for. Never antagonize them. That includes being a ‘Yes, ma’am’ man.
“Great,” Aunt Elise said before she asked Tom, “And when will you be off, honey?”
“Sometime around six. Why?” Tom asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to know if we can expect you to be at dinner or not. I’ll make your favorite tonight,” Aunt Elise replied.
“See what a good night’s work gets you, Dad,” Sasha said.
“What?” Tom was still at an immense loss.
“Ignore her, Dad,” Mira replied as she eyed Sasha sternly, who mouthed, ‘What?’ with an annoyed expression.
Needless to say, breakfast came to an end, and Sasha left for her room to study. Mira left for her club activities, and Tom left for work. Aunt Elise winked at me when no one was looking and went to her room, mouthing the word, ‘Later.’
Sara and I, on the other hand, were in my car after ten minutes, with her recounting clothes that were… well, complicated. All my life, I knew clothes were just that… you know, clothes.
But in her opinion, they were…
“Ponchos or cardigans would be best, don’t you think? Parkas or shrugs would be too revealing, if I have to say. I know it’s the weather of this place, but still, those would be too revealing.” Sara went on and on for quite a while, mentioning things like tube tops, crop tops, and many more types of things that had the word ‘tops’ in them until we finally arrived at the mall.
All the way, we didn’t talk about our intimate relationship even once.
“So? What are you buying me?” she asked with a skippy smile as we entered a department store that was a little too expensive for my taste.
“Anything you want.” Still, money was never above the girl you cared about.
That was a mistake I realized after just an hour when we came out of the store, with me wishing for more arms so I could carry the bags in my hands. The store owner had a look in his eyes that said, ‘I’ve found my golden goose.’ I swear I could see him looking immensely sad when we left.
Well, it wasn’t every day a customer who’d buy almost half the store came in. And that wasn’t even the end of it. We spent about six hours in the mall, from clothes to shoes, garments of different kinds, different coats, styles, watches, perfumes, and many more. My car was filled to the brim so that there wasn’t even space for me in the car.
Wanna know my bill for today?
Well, let’s just say I soon got a call from my accountant who asked, “Are you buying another car?”
“Trust me or not, but I’m not,” I replied as I ended the call. My car was now twice the price with Sara’s stuff in it. Sara loved to shop; most of her pocket money went into doing so. She loved to dress, and she showed it when she got hold of Tom’s credit card the first time.
Done with all of that and finally free of shopping, we were leaving when I saw a jewelry store on our way out.
“You’re not gonna buy anything from there?” I asked.
“Naw. I’m good,” Sara replied. She was never the type to wear any accessories except for watches. Even the jewelry she owned either went to Mira or Sasha.
“How about I buy you something? Anything?” I asked.
All things aside, she was special to me, and all the stuff that we bought was different. Something like this would be… different.
She looked at me before a smile appeared on her face as she replied, “Sure. Why not?”
We entered the shop, and even though I insisted on buying a good one, an expensive one, Sara simply bought a simple solitaire diamond ring that was hardly worth two grand.
I guess it was indeed about expression and not the size. We left the store and made our way home, with me wishing the entire way that no cop would see us because I couldn’t see through the back mirror at all.
We talked about different things, but once again, nothing about our relationship. But ever since we bought the ring, Sara was emitting a pink hue of lust that hadn’t been there the whole day before.
Of course, I didn’t mention anything about that. I was having such a good time talking to her like normal. Why would I ruin it by talking about something like that?
However, I was the only one with that idea because as soon as we arrived home, Sara suddenly called my name out, in a serious tone at that, “Tyler.”
“Hm?” I asked.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Go ahead.” Seeing as how serious she was, of course, something about our encounters was coming, and I was proven right when she asked, “Do you love me?”
No hesitation.
“Of course,” I replied as if it were obvious, before I tried to lighten the mood by throwing a joke. “But my answer might change if you were a squirrel.”
But she wasn’t amused. She remained as serious as she was and asked, “Then what we did the other night was an act of love, or lust?”
“Love,” I replied straightforwardly.
“You wouldn’t have done it if it were lust?” she asked.
“I stopped the first time, didn’t I?” I countered. It was true that lust was involved, but I wasn’t drowned in lust to the point that I’d take advantage of her. If I wanted to do something with her, then it could only be after her permission. I wouldn’t even use the words, ‘Your lips are saying no, but your lower lips say something else.’
No meant no, and yes meant yes. Anything other than that was inadmissible.
Especially when it came to her.
“Hm!” She scoffed slightly, but she wasn’t scoffing at me, but at herself as she said, “That only makes me feel like a jerk.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? I came on to you that night,” she said.
“And I was perfectly capable of pushing you off,” I replied, making my point.
“Don’t tell me…” I suddenly realized and asked, “Do you feel like you’ve taken advantage of me?”
She nodded with her head slightly lowered.
Wow. The situation should have been the other way around. But then it would quite literally be criminal. Sounded a bit sexist.
I could only smile softly at that. I just didn’t know what to do with this girl. I sighed deeply before I raised her head with my hand and said, “Hey, always know just this much. I will never hate you. No matter what.”
She looked at me with her eyes so deep that it felt like we were one and the same, and I had a feeling it wasn’t just because of the atmosphere.
I had a strong feeling the system was at play. The bonded partner thing- there was more to it than I realized, and more yet to discover. The most I was curious about was whether or not it would change Sara’s feelings for me. A little afraid, too, because one might say they weren’t real, but influenced by the system.
Well, that was the conversation for another time. Right then, I had to deal with this lovely lady who was digesting my words.
She took a deep breath, momentarily closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She looked straight at me and said, “I know about you and Mom.”
And that, kids, was how a ninth-circle spell, Meteor, was dropped straight on my head.