Main Dish

 

BGM: GPS - Galimatias, Bas

Sam woke up to an empty blanket. He found her outside in the couch, looking sleepy and puffy-faced, reading a book. He sat next to her, rubbing her back.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I overslept until 8.”

She let him cuddled her. He could smell the fresh baby powder scent. He inhaled deep and let out a contented sigh. “You showered without me,” he pouted.

“I was going to make coffee, or tea, but… I don’t know where you keep things,” she put down her book.

He gave her a tour to his small kitchen. Five minutes later, she was already busy reheating the food they didn’t get to eat the night before. When he finished showering, the table was already set with food.

“Do you have plans for today?” Sam asked. Esme shook her head.

“Do you have work today?” She asked back.

He clicked his tongue and checked his phone, “One schedule in the evening. I would need to go by 5PM.”

They had the late breakfast sitting next to each other, feet touching under the table.

“Do you want to go out after this?” Sam asked. Esme just shrugged, and then shook her head.

Sam then asked about her child. She told him about Lila and showed him photographs of the teenager. Lila was currently living with her father and they talked on the phone nearly every day. She stopped talking and studied his expression closely. He asked if she missed Lila.

“Sometimes,” she answered as she kept studying his expression. “She visited me every summer, and the plan is to keep the visit an annual thing until I could get her to move in with me.”

“That’s good. I hope I get to see her next summer,” Sam smiled. Esme smiled back at him. He didn’t ask why she separated with Lila’s father, so she didn’t venture to explain it either.

He washed the dishes after they finished eating. She watched him with a mug of hot coffee in front of her.

“Can I ask you something?” She suddenly said. He let her go ahead. “Are you dating anyone?”

Sam looked surprised. “You want to know the women I dated?”

“No, I mean, like, right now. Are you seeing anyone?” Which was something she should’ve asked before. She just hadn’t really thought of it. Only just now it occurred to her that she might be just that…a snack. Hardly the main dish.

Sam dried his hands with a towel and answered, “Yes, I’m seeing someone.”

Esme bit her lips and nodded to her mug of coffee. “Oh,” was the only thing she managed to say.

Sam snorted, “It’s you. I’m seeing you.”

He laughed when Esme looked surprised one second and flustered the next. He exclaimed how cute she was being while cupping her face with his hands and kissed her lips.

“Are you dating anyone?” He asked her.

“I really like Sam Duan,” she answered matter-of-factly.

Sam shook his head, “Ah, too bad Sam Duan is dating someone now.” Esme chuckled.

“Should we set it to this date?” He asked while checking his phone.

“Set what to this date?”

“The day we become a couple.”

Esme chuckled again. “Is it still a thing, to actually mark a date of officially dating someone?”

“What are you talking about? Of course!” He marked the date on the calendar app. “By the way, don’t you miss me when I don’t call?”

She explained that she knew he’s a busy person and that she’s actually not good at handling rejection. She also didn’t want to read too much into his attention and the text messages he sent her.

“You know, about last night,” he suddenly changed the subject. “That was really something. Were you planning to do that, and then not thinking that we’re together?”

Esme was caught off guard. She instinctively covered her face and whimpered, which made Sam chuckled.

“Can I ask you to do something for me?”

“What is it?”

“I want you to see only me, okay? Because I am your man,” Sam said while holding her shoulders. Esme covered her eyes.

“I am serious. I will take care of you. Here. Me. You are my woman, okay?” He put her hands to his chest while putting on the most serious face to convince her.

“Why are you like this? This is so cheesy,” Esme was flustered. Sam gave her a confident snicker, still holding her hands against his chest.

“Do you want to know a secret? When I went to that party, I came with the intention to see you,” Esme confessed.

Sam gasped. “So, this is going well in accordance with your plan?”

“Kind of?” She really blushed this time.

“Wow. You were so cool that night. Flirted with me, giving me your number. Wow, femme fatale!”

Esme pouted, “I’m lucky you’re into that kind of thing.”

“I thought you hate rejection,” he teased.

“I also believe that you only lived once,” she replied in a more serious tone. “I would regret it more if I passed the chance to go to that party, not finding you, or gave you my number, or being here.”

Sam wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling her closer to him for an embrace. “What would you do if I hadn’t called?”

“Nothing. At that time I thought, oh well, he’s not interested. I was a bit sad, but you not calling wasn’t the only thing that I was thinking about. I have a good life. This…,” she put one of his hand on her chest where her heart is. “This is a very nice bonus. Finally getting that call from you, receiving text messages and DMs, those are very nice bonuses. It makes my heart race. It’s a very good feeling.”

Sam tried to formulate some words to say to her, but came out empty. So they just stood there, smiling at each other for a long while.

“I am glad you gave me your number,” he said to her.

“I am glad you decided to call me.”

When the manager came to pick Sam up for the job schedule, he was surprised to see Esme in the apartment. On the way to the job location, they dropped her at the most convenient bus stop. Sam held her hand before she got off the car.

“Call me, okay?”

 Esme smiled.

When Sam returned to his apartment later that night, he was going to change the bedsheets, but then decided to just lay in it. He could still faintly smell her scent. He hugged the part of the blanket where her scent lingered. It smelled of baby powder. Holding her felt so good and even thinking about it made him happy.