Chapter 49: A Call from Sara
"Did something happen? Jonathan’s call?" Aeri asked, her voice light but curious, her dark eyes flicking down to my hand where I gripped the phone tight, the screen still glowing with *Sara*’s name.
"Ahh... nah, just another friend I was supposed to meet," I said quick, forcing a sweaty smile, my thumb brushing the screen off as I shoved the phone back into my pocket.
My heart thudded hard, but I waved it off, leaning back in my chair like it was no big deal, brushing the topic away before she could dig. "Nothing important," I added, wiping my hand on my pants, hoping she’d let it drop.
"Ohh, I see," she said, nodding slow, her eyes lingering on me for a sec before she went back to her food, popping the bite into her mouth. She chewed casual, her fork clinking soft against the plate. "You don’t wanna pick up?" she asked, glancing at me sideways, her tone easy, like she didn’t care either way.
"Nah, it’s good," I said, shaking my head, grabbing my fork again and digging into the eggs fast, focusing hard on the plate. "I’ll call him later—right now, I wanna focus on this food and the beautiful woman next to me." I flashed her a flirty grin, my voice dipping playful as I nudged her elbow with mine, trying to steer us back to the good stuff.
"Hmph," she huffed, her lips curling into a smile despite herself, her cheeks going a little pink again. "There you go, starting with that flirty stuff again," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Hehehe..." I laughed, short and goofy, scooping up more food, the tension in my chest easing a bit as we settled back into the rhythm.
After we finished, we moved to the kitchen together, standing side by side at the sink, washing dishes like we always did. I didn’t like seeing her do it alone—felt wrong to just sit there—so I grabbed a towel, wiping the plates she handed me, the water sloshing soft in the sink.
"So, what’s your plan for today?" I asked, casual, drying a fork as she scrubbed a pan.