Eve sat cross-legged on her bed, wearing her favorite fuzzy pajamas.
Water from her damp hair trickled at her nape. She rubbed the body towel against it. For less work, she draped the towel around her shoulders instead. Earphones popped into her ears and played mellow music. Both of her hands held her cellphone.
'Here goes nothing,' she told herself.
Opening the DTC app, a drop of water fell onto the bottom part of her screen. She wiped it off against her pajama pants but the device still struggled to recognize her touch. Her thumbs tapped on the screen, trying to get a single response.
Then, it did.
*Dialing Yan*
The music stopped playing. It had been replaced by the ringing tone. Her brown eyes flew wide. Scared to make another mistake, she locked the screen and wiped it against several places: her pants, her bedsheet and her pillowcase.
"Good evening, Ms. Evangeline," a voice filled her head.
"Ah!" Eve yelped in surprise. She dropped her phone and covered her mouth. She leaned forward, not breathing. He picked up faster than she thought. She cleaned off the screen vigorously, hoping to press the correct button to end the call.
"I never thought that I'd have a nickname shorter than 'Yan'."
Eve choked at the joke. She pulled the earphone mic closer to her lips. "If you're trying to get out of being called, 'Ambee', please save your breath. I won't change my mind."
"Never dreamed of it, Evan." Ambryan responded. "Is there a reason why you called?"
"... it was an accident."
'Could this call end now?' Eve whimpered in her head. No amount of online tutoring or work calls helped her become more confident in personal verbal mobile conversations.
Snarky remarks were harder to conjure on the spot.
The line stayed silent for a moment. Eve checked the screen, wondering if it had ended after all. Ambryan's photo with bunny ears and aviator glasses met her eyes. The rim around the picture lit up in green as he spoke.
"Is this perhaps that example of when the heart acts on its own?"
Eve gaped at his still face. "Where did you even get that?"
"I am a CEO of a romance production company."
Her brown eyes rolled. "And yet your idea of a first date is shopping."
His robotic demeanor and stiff posture made a mark in her mind. He moved, spoke and acted without a care. The only thing that mattered was the value of the items. It seemed more of a business that he hardly paid attention to.
That skating rink had been a blessing in disguise. Most of the tension dissipated from that moment on. At least, they acted more natural.
"I looked into it after that day," Ambryan informed her, going into business mode, "Couples do have shopping dates. A few articles even advise it for a number of reasons."
"Really? Like what?" Eve smiled too wide. He had really researched it? Who did that sort of thing? If it had been her, she would have asked Andie, not make a thesis.
"What do you mean?"
"What reasons did they give?" She chuckled. This had to be good.
"Possible ideas for presents, patience while the other party tries on several clothes, if both approve each other's sense of fashion, insights on future furniture shopping for a house, find out if both love to window shop or not—"
"Well, do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Love to window shop." Eve pressed her lips together. She unhinged her legs and laid down on the bed. Her gaze went up to the ceiling. Window shopping she didn't mind. She saw it more of a stroll in the mall.
Ambryan pondered on her question, recalling his previous shopping experiences. He visited stores mainly for other people. As for his case… "The place I visit the most is a tailor shop."
Most of his own shopping involved his appearance. He preferred custom-fit clothing. The most expensive suit would receive zero of his interest—anything pre-made or mass produced for clothes were eliminated from his options.
He visited more shops only for accessories, trying them on and seeing which suit his taste.
"Oh? I thought you'd have one sent to your house instead." Eve joked even when she knew the truth.
"I would but work doesn't always follow the schedule."
She nodded, amused by the response. It brought up moments when she had cancelled his appointments. He'd ask to leave a message that he'd drop by the shop instead.
Eve played with her hair. Her knuckles brushed against the pillow, realizing it was damp. She sat back up and scooted towards the wall. She propped her head against the concrete, pulling a dry pillow to her lap.
"Are you working right now?"
"I am."
"Shiznit!" Eve cursed. A groan escaped her lips. Followed by a sigh. "Sorry to disturb you. I'll leave what I have to say in a message."
"It's completely fine. I'm using bluetooth for the call. My hands are actively working." Ambryan assured her. "Although, I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me on why you called."
"Oh."
"Yes?"
"It really was an accident."
"But you do have something to say?"
"I—"
"Meow."
...
...
...
'Kiri!' Eve squealed quietly. She forgot about ending the call (again) and focused on the cat. It had been a while since she saw the feline. The moment had been short-lived but she cherished it.
"Was that a cat?" This was her chance! She could find out more about Kiri! The furball made its way to her heart with one glance.
"Yes."
"Is it yours?"
"Yes."
"He or she?"
"She."
"Well, she sounds adorable!" Eve giggled. Kiri was with him while he worked? It seemed that she was actually extra adorable. "Have you always had her?"
At first, she found it unusual that he had a pet. Then again, he spent a lot of time by himself. It made sense that he had a small companion—surely better than being completely alone.
"She was in the parking lot of my penthouse." Ambryan said. His microphone picked up faint purring. "Only a kitten, filthy and thin. When I walked by, she followed behind me. I watched as she leaped for the elevator."
"So you let her stalk you?"
"Her business wasn't any of mine."
'So he was ignoring the cat?' Eve questioned to herself. 'Didn't he say that he watched it though? So he had given his attention.'
She bit her inner cheek, thinking of how to keep him talking. "Well, what did you do then when she entered your door?"
"She didn't."
Her brows knitted together. "How did she become your pet then?"
He didn't let her in? Now that Eve thought about it, that actually didn't seem surprising. It did make the story much more interesting though.
"She found a way in. Then, I kept an eye on her and waited for her to show me how she did it so I could have it sealed."
"So you kept her ever since?"
"If she found one, she could find more."
Eve shook her head, her lips stretched in an amused smile. "Yeah, that sounds very logical."
Ambryan exhaled sharply and sounded a bit impatient. "Since I answered your questions, would you please answer mine?"
At that, Eve sighed. She had denied him twice now but he still insisted. It must be getting to him and so he trapped her as if she now 'owed' him the explanation.Taking a deep breath, Eve admitted defeat.
"Alright. Fine." She hesitated and thought of the best way to open the topic. "It came to my attention that… we don't have a story to tell the public."
The line went silent for a moment.
"Explain."
"Well, what are we supposed to say, huh? If they asked how we met? A dating website created by your mom?" Eve exasperated. Her heart raced inside her chest. Unlike the night before, today she felt shy as they talked about 'their relationship'.
"I see."
"Not to mention all types of questions they could ask," she continued. People had the ability to find the least expected questions. Pause for too long and some commentary video channel could set a theory behind it. Maybe it was just her. Maybe she was merely paranoid.
Nevertheless,
If they weren't careful, they could be ratted out.
Inconsistencies had to be eliminated.
"What are you saying?" Ambryan expressed, his tone hinting on suspicion.
Eve opened her mouth but closed it again. She gulped while her next words sank in. Her voice became small when she mentioned them out loud, "I'm saying we should get to know each other."
There wasn't another way. As a 'couple', they were expected to know about their significant other well, have memories to share, inside jokes to chuckle about, secrets to tease the public…
They were actually off on a good start with Kiri's backstory. Eve certainly felt enlightened on the subject. It was both surprising and unsurprising at the same time.
Except, that was only Ambryan's serving of life stories.
And two people composed a pair which meant that—
"Oh? You'll share your mysterious life?"