(Dite's POV)
I took Valin's advice, and the next time I saw Zaikel, which was five days later, I approached him saying,
"Can we talk alone?"
I was hoping his entourage would take the hint and leave.
Zai smiled at me.
"Yeah, sure... come to my office."
He waved the people surrounding him off, and I let him lead the way. Once inside, I closed the door behind me and said,
"I'm interested in you!"
"Okay," he replied flatly.
What a dispassionate response!
"I mean... I heard you haven't had a proper relationship before..." I muttered.
He tilted his head, and his eyes widened slightly so he looked angry despite maintaining his smile.
"From whom?" I cleared my throat and looked away from him so I could steel my nerves.
I probably shouldn't tell on Valin since he seems upset.
"Doesn't matter, it's just the word going around," I replied.
When I glanced back at him, his smile was gone, and his eyes narrowed.
There was a brief silence.
"What about it?" Zai asked coldly.
Until now, he'd always seemed warm and friendly, so this conversation was taking an unexpected turn.
"You should probably give dating a shot... You don't know, maybe you'll feel something later, and I'm willing to be your live test subject!"
After my declaration, his smile returned, and he laughed softly.
"Aren't you a little young to be offering yourself to me like that?" he admonished.
"I'm past the age of consent!" I shouted.
He snorted a bit from trying to hold in his laughter, and then I added,
"You're only four years older than me!.. I looked it up."
Zai's eyes met mine, and he tried to stifle his laughter.
I regret admitting that now.
"You're bold, I do like that, but... how about in two years? If you feel the same way, we can date then... maybe," he offered.
Two years?? That's over seven hundred days; it sounds like an eternity right now.
"Yeah... I can do that!" I agreed reluctantly. He smiled, saying,
"Okay, good, you can go now."
Then he turned towards his computer screen and ignored me until I left.
Should I tell Valin about this?
It's technically a step forward, but I also feel mildly rejected... It's probably not even worth mentioning.
Plus, it feels like a weird thing to bring up to him...
This was my second mistake.
I asked Valin to meet me for coffee during my lunch break.
I dropped my location in the text.
He texted me back saying he was busy, so I was surprised when he showed up anyway and sat at my table.
"I thought you couldn't make it," I teased. Valin glanced at me and pouted.
"I said I was busy; I didn't say I wouldn't come. Appreciate my time more," he grumbled.
I laughed and slid the iced macchiato I got for him, just in case, across the table towards him.
"What do you do... for work?" I asked.
Valin has been helping me with my dance routines, encouraging me in my dating life, and I still don't know much about him.
"... Mainly data analysis right now as well as looking into future investment options. Working on a few new software projects, and I'm also designing a game right now..." he explained.
That sounds like he has a full-time job.
Isn't he in high school?
"How old are you?"
I had assumed we were the same age, but I could be wrong.
"I'm 16," he answered.
I was right.
"What school do you go to?" I inquired.
"I'm not in school anymore," he explained while sipping his drink.
"Why not? We could go to school together."
His eyes met mine, just like Zai's did earlier, but it felt like he was seeing through me, looking into my soul.
It made me feel naked and exposed, so I looked away.
"There's no point, there's nothing I have left to learn from school, and I already own a business."
Owns a business?! I wonder if he's involved in Ziren Studios much more than I originally imagined.
"Oh, I see. If you're such a genius who doesn't need to go to school, you can help me with my homework, right?" I teased.
I must have imagined it, but it seemed like his eyes lit up at the word "homework".
"Yeah... anything you need help on?" he replied while sipping his drink.
Anything?! My mind went straight to being physical, and I blushed...
Why am I blushing so much around him lately?
I feel like an idiot.
I shouldn't meet him in person; texting is much easier.
"I'm in Advanced Calculus so it won't be easy," I remarked.
Valin grinned at my warning and said,
"Do you have any work on you right now?"
I told him I didn't and that it was all saved on my laptop, but I invited him to my apartment.
That way, he could take a look.
By the time we made it, I only had thirty minutes left for my break.
I can't believe I'm letting someone into my home, and he's not shy about looking around either.
Because of the time constraint, I rushed to get the school website open and navigate to my homework page.
Valin sat beside me on the couch, our shoulders touching again as he leaned over to look at my screen. He was making me nervous.
Once I pulled up the first page of questions, I expected him to be shocked by the difficulty.
"Do you know how to solve this?" he asked.
"Yeah... we just started learning this formula today, so it might take a while. But I can do it once I get my calculator."
"The answer is \( f'(c) = 0 \) and \( f'(c) \) is undefined. Do you understand, or should I review the steps in more detail?"
I hovered my cursor over the answer he gave me on the module.
Should I trust him or pull up the calculator to double-check first?
I decided to take a chance and clicked it.
His answer was right.
Wow... I guess it is possible to solve this stuff mentally.
"That's cheating," he teased, "I won't give you the answer anymore."
After that, he helped me through a few more questions step by step, focusing especially on the ones I got wrong so I could grasp the concepts.
Thirty minutes flew by so fast that I began panicking.
"I have to go!" I said, closing my laptop and standing up quickly.
I had been so focused on the work that I forgot we were practically cuddled up on the couch until I moved and noticed the absence of his body pressed against mine.
"Yeah... I'll walk you back to the studio. If you want," Valin offered.
I looked down at him, sitting there on my couch, looking effortlessly attractive, and I nodded rapidly.
As soon as Valin stood up, I kissed his cheek.
He turned to me, startled, and I pushed through my shyness to kiss his lips, gently grasping his shoulders.
This feels right.
I'm tired of fawning over a guy I have to force to spend time with me, someone who won't even consider me for two years...
Why would I wait for him when I have someone who is perfectly good at my side already? He placed his hand on the small of my back and pulled away a few inches to read my expression.
"I'm sorry... I was impulsive... I shouldn't have kissed you like that... I was just caught up in the moment," I reasoned, my racing heart making me tremble in his arms.
"It's fine... you can kiss me whenever you want... As long as I can kiss you whenever I want," he replied in a seductive tone.
My body felt like it was on fire with desire.
We were just doing homework together... how'd it end up like this?!
Oh yeah, it's my fault.
"You... you've wanted to kiss me?" I asked, being sure to flutter my eyelashes at him, just before making eye contact.
"Yeah... a few times," Valin admitted, placing his free hand on my cheek and gifting me a smooch.
It was not my first kiss, but it felt so passionate and intense that I was seconds away from losing myself when he pulled away.
"Wow... um... okay..."
I was too bashful to say anything else.
Valin took my hand and intertwined our fingers as he walked me to the Studio as promised. At the entrance, he released my hand, saying,
"See you later, Dite."
I still melt whenever he says my name.
"Yeah, see you," I replied shyly.
I felt like I was walking on air when I went back to work, even when my manager yelled at me for returning late.
Everything was wonderful until I saw a text from Valin saying,
"So you proposed to my brother today?" Proposed?
Oh, he means when I asked Zai out! For some reason, the vibes from this text make me anxious; I almost feel like I cheated on him even though I know that's not true.
"I did ask him out, but he turned me down," I assured.
"He gave you a two-year probationary period; that's a better response than anyone else has gotten. Is that why you kissed me, because you thought he rejected you?"
Would he be upset if I said yes? Putting myself in his shoes, I would be upset, so...
"No, I kissed you because I wanted to kiss you."
After my response, I didn't hear from him for the rest of the night... oh... he's mad, definitely mad.
The next morning, he only replied with:
"Okay."
After that, he proceeded to ignore me for a week.
Maybe ignore is too harsh a term, but he replied to my texts impassively and turned down all my attempts to meet in person.
I ended up ruining my manicure by biting my nails because of the stress.
I was close to giving up on seeing him when I saw a glimpse of what looked like his hair in the parking garage, so I rushed over.
There was no mistaking him.
It was Valin, standing with Zai, talking.
I'm not sure what to do, should I talk to Zai... or... Valin...
It's so hard to decide!
"Hey, Dite."
Valin was the one to cut his conversation with his brother short and acknowledge me.
"Oh, hey, you two..."
It feels awkward to ask to speak to Valin alone in front of Zai... I don't want him to get the wrong idea...
"Yeah, hi." Zai greeted, then Valin said,
"I'm leaving," with a frown on his face.
He was making long strides towards his car.
I had no choice but to chase him, even if Zai could see me.
"What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?" I inquired, holding onto the passenger side door of his car.
He rolled his eyes, unlocked the doors, and I rushed inside.
Valin stayed silent even after cranking up the car and taking off.
He only spoke after a few minutes on the road.
"Are you serious about my brother?"
What an odd question to ask all of a sudden.
"Um... yeah," I blurted without much thought.
Another mistake in retrospect.
"Then act like it. Don't shift to me because I seem easier or more convenient."
"I told you that's not true," I argued, and then he pulled over onto the side of the road to say,
"Don't lie to me. It pisses me off every time you do that. You lie about the dumbest s*** too. I don't understand your reasoning... do you do it to hurt me? Or do you think I'm stupid?" he asked, clearly irritated.
I looked down at my hands and fidgeted in my seat.
"I'm sorry..."
He groaned as if that wasn't the response he wanted either.
"I truthfully got caught up because... I was enjoying my time with you. I should have told you that I confessed to your brother, but I thought... it would be best not to," I admitted.
"Why?"
His one-word question filled me with so much anxiety.
"I ... thought you might... um... get jealous," I admitted, making him laugh.
"Me?... I'm not jealous, I'm just mad that you spent the whole day with me and said nothing. Then I had to hear that crap from my brother. It felt like you were playing with me."
"I'm sorry! I won't... hide things from you, or lie to you again..."
He sighed before saying,
"Look at me." When I did, he kissed me deeply, massaging my tongue with his while gently holding my chin.
As he pulled away, Valin whispered,
"Good. That's all I wanted to hear."
He then drove me to my apartment. He must have remembered the address.
My legs were trembling when I got out of the car, and my beating heart made it hard to think straight.
"Good night, Dite," he called from his car window.
I squeaked and waved, doing my best to act unfazed.
"Night!"
After shouting, I ran to the entrance, then the elevator, and finally clumsily rushed into my room, to lie face down on my pillow, squealing until I could finally get my heart to relax.