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“I
like you." My heart stopped at that moment. Did she like me? Did she want me back? "But...." There it is. Of course, something was bound to go wrong. Of course, there would be a bit. "My parents died when I was young." That was not what I was expecting to hear. "And since then, my sister has taken care of me. She is quite protective of me. One can even call for overprotectiveness. Dating, for me, is hard because of that. Most people get scared away because of her too.
I do not want that to happen, so I am telling you in advance. If you can deal with her, then sure, let us give dating a try. If it is, in fact, a problem, then I will not hold you accountable for leaving." Then, she just stared at me. I could sense that she was nervous. Her brown orbs were looking everywhere except at me. Her leg was also bouncing under the table. While she was waiting, her bouncing got so bad that a glass of water sitting on the table toppled over, spilling water everywhere. "Hannah, calm down."
She finally looked at me. That was the first time Hannah looked at me since I asked her out. "I want to date you." She was about to say something, but I stopped her. "Hear me out before saying anything. I want to date you. I am not sure how we will deal with your sister, but I do not want to look back one day and regret not even giving it a chance. I do not like having regrets." She stared at me, quiet. Then, she drank her water.
My own heart was beating at a fast pace. "Okay." "Okay?" "Yeah, okay." I could not believe it. Did she really say yes? I pinched my thigh under the table to make sure I was not dreaming. Now that I am thinking about it, she did not choose the restaurant in case I would make a scene; she chose it so she would not in case I decided to let her go.
Wow. She is amazing. I could not believe it. I will actually be with Hannah. It has been almost three months since I saw her for the first time in the cafe. Today, I was the happiest man again in the same exact cafe. Wow. Just, wow. I should call Mother.
Just got off the call with Mother. Of course, she laughed. “I told you it was going to be okay, did I not? No girl asks about where your mother lives or complements her cooking if she is not into you.” That is why she was so sure. Why did I not see it myself? Wow. Nerves really do blind a person, don’t they?
##
I think food is becoming my love language, and it is all because of Hannah. Since the day she complimented the chicken and rice, I have focused all my energy on learning how to cook. I know she loves food; that much is clear. You can ask her about any restaurant in the city, and she will know about them, and she will recommend the best food from them.
Mother is an excellent chef; the same goes for Father. So, I asked both of them to teach me. Surprisingly, cooking turned out to be the bonding point between Father and me. We talked about a lot of stuff. He told me about his childhood and how he grew up.
I never knew much about my grandfather and grandmother. "Your grandfather was a strict man. He was fine when we were growing up, but as soon as his kids got to the teenage years, he would ice them out. I still cannot figure out why he did that.
At first, I thought it was just me, and I became very confused about why he would do that to me. Did I do something? Then, I saw him doing the same thing to your younger aunt and uncle and realized his behavior was not a reflection of me but one of him." When I heard him say that, I thought Grandfather was cruel.
I am scared of ever reaching a point where I understand Grandfather. Anyway, food has become my love language because of Hannah. She loves eating good food, and I love watching her eat it. On our first date, I cooked for her. I invited her to my apartment and cooked the chicken and rice. I will never forget the smile on her face when she realized what I was doing.
##
I am scared of Hannah's sister; let us back up a little. I have not actually met Taylor, but the way Hannah continuously tries to hide me so Taylor would not find out about us just freaks me out. Like last night, as we were exiting our class, I wanted to hold hands with her and take a walk because it is what we usually do.
However, she stopped me and said, "Not today. Taylor said she would be coming to the campus because she had to meet someone. I cannot risk it." So, I gathered up my courage and finally asked her, "When will I get to meet Taylor? Who knows, I might charm her." She was too stunned to speak when I said that. Her silence made me realize that I had said something wrong. She slowly shook her head. "It is not about charming her.
She will never accept you. It will not even be about you; she just will not accept anyone around me. If you have not figured it out yet, she has severe trust issues." I am not sure whether I want to meet her or not. At the same time, I want to be included in Hannah's life. I want to get to know people who are important to her. Hypothetically speaking, why wouldn't Taylor like me? Is she afraid I will take Hannah away from her? Or is she afraid I will break her heart? Alright, I will admit it.
Both of those are legitimate fears. It is fine, though; as much as I want to meet her, what is more important is listening to Hannah. She is more experienced with her family and, thus, is adept at making better decisions regarding them.
Taylor found out. Apparently, she saw us. Hannah called me crying in the night, saying the two had a big fight. I was frustrated because Hannah was sad, but I was also kind of relieved because now we do not have to play hide and seek anymore.
I comforted Hannah, but she just would not calm down. I told her to talk to Taylor tomorrow and sort this out. "She is your sister; of course, she would respect your happiness. You just need to soothe her fears." Let us see what happens tomorrow.
##
God, I had the most beautiful day. I am grinning ear to ear right now. Even my hands are shaking while I am writing this. So, what happened was I took Hannah to a beachside resort for the weekend. Since Taylor found out about us, I wanted to take Hannah away for a weekend since we did not need to hide anymore.
At first, she got mad at me for spending so much, but then I convinced her that I really wanted to, and she should stop worrying so much. Anyway, it was nighttime when we got there, and we headed out to the beach after getting dinner. We sat on the sand as we ate: vegetable chow mein and walnut honey shrimp. I asked Hannah to order.
Hannah's expression was so precious as she ate the food because she loved it so much. At one point, I even spilled my water because I was focusing on watching her enjoy something she loves. It was moments like these where I just wished we got to put a pause on time.
After eating, Hannah decided we must swim. Now, I have a slight fear of water. It is just that you have no idea what might be underneath the surface. At night, when one can literally see nothing, that fear becomes heightened. Hannah sensed my discomfort when I refused to move.
"Jacques, is everything okay?" I explained my fear to her, expecting her to laugh. She merely nodded her head and said, "How about you hold my hand, and we go in? If it is too much for you, you tug on my hand, and we get out immediately. Deal?" I thought about it. I trusted Hannah, so I decided to do it. Before we entered the water, I was scared out of my wits, and Hannah sensed it because she kept squeezing my hand to reassure me.
But, once we entered the water, it was so wonderfully cold compared to the outside heat that my fears melted away. My whole body felt like it was floating and cooling down and just feeling great. It felt like the only anchor holding me to earth was Hannah's hand, which was still gripping mine tightly.
She kept glancing at me to make sure I was okay. "Hannah, the water feels wonderful." She gave the most breathtaking smile at my statement. How can a person be this beautiful? It felt like even the moon was cooperating with her that night. We just looked at each other under the moonlight, and it was the most beautiful experience. It felt like she kept all my fears at bay. We stayed there till we could feel our bodies becoming numb. Right now, she is sleeping on the bed, right beside me. I am so lucky.
