Chapter 10

“WHAT ARE you doing here?” Zharm asked.

“I want to join you here.” He smiled and walked towards her. He pulled out a chair beside her and sat there comfortably. “Besides, it’s tiring to talk to you because of the distance. I have to talk loudly for you to hear me.”

“I didn’t ask you to talk to me so, why are you complaining?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“I know. But I want to talk to you.” She smirked.

“If you wanted to talk to me, you would’ve come to my place, not Gail’s, in the first place,” she said in a low voice, not wanting him to hear. She’s basically talking to herself.

“What are you mumbling?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she rolled her eyes. There was a hint of a smile on his lips and his eyes were alight with humor like he was enjoying a private joke. She shrugged.

“I came by to check you work. Did you finish writing your novel?”

She looked at him with curiosity. What’s with his sudden interest about her writing? But instead of questioning his motive, she just nodded. Maybe he’s just curious about it since they talked about it a few minutes ago.

“I’m thinking of sending it to a publishing company that I know.”

“It’s nice to hear that.” He smiled widely. “Can I read it?”

“What for?” She raised her eyebrows.

“I just want to read it first, as your number one fan.” He smiled. Something warm enveloped her heart when he said that. She’s not even a published writer, yet, but she can feel that he’s already proud of her.

She shrugged. “Sure.” She opened her laptop and she pointed at the screen where he should read first. Before she can even say something, Jared pulled his seat closer to hers and leaned a little bit more to her. Her heartbeat quickened when she realized how close his face was. He was intently reading her novel while she found herself watching him.

Jared is the type of guy who deserves a second look. If not, the chance is that you can’t take your eyes off of him. He is handsome with a beautiful personality to match. She doesn’t know if God made him perfect or he’s just perfect in her eyes. He makes her fall for him easily without even doing anything. Just like now, he’s just sitting beside her, reading her novel and yet, her heartbeat accelerated and her cheeks heated up again. Why does he has an unnerving effect on her? Maybe, it’s because she can feel his breath at the side of neck that it sends shivers down her spine. He wasn’t even aware of what he’s doing, but her heart is already beating crazily. That moment lasted for a while that she can’t help but feel relieved when he finally finished reading some parts of her novel and he moved a little bit to his left to give them a little distance in between.

“It’s good.” He looked a bit surprised but he seemed really pleased about it.

“Really?”

“Yes, I like it.” He gazed at her with his beautiful gray eyes. She knows that he is referring to her novel but during that moment that he stared at her, she can’t help but think that it’s her that he likes. Oh My God!

“Thank you,” she responded. She gazed back at the screen of her laptop, pretending to read, but actually, she’s just diverting her attention to keep herself from staying at him. She should make her heart calm. There’s nothing good that she can get from letting herself fall for him. She had always believed that falling in love would just be a hassle, but why is it that every time she’s getting closer to Jared, she wanted to feel how it would feel like to love and be loved back? Was he finally able to creep inside her heart? This can’t be happening!

“I’m sure it will get published. I believe in you.” Jared reached for her hand on top of the table and gently squeezed it. He smiled a reassuring smile.

“I’ll submit it in a few days. I still have to edit this, first.”

“Okay. But before you become famous, I want you to know that I’m your number one fan.”

He let go of her hand and leaned back at his seat while he was holding his gaze at her. He really is good-looking. It’s distracting. The intensity of his stare took her breath away. Why is it that everything he does, or everything he says makes her heart flutter?! Why did she realize just now that she likes him more than just a friend? She gazed at a different direction to keep herself from looking at Jared when she caught of glimpse of someone who could ruin her day. Of all the directions she can look at, she chose to look at the direction of Gail’s balcony.

“Jared!” Gail called out. “What are you doing there? I’ve been looking for you.”

“Zharm and I were just chatting,” Jared answered. Gail gazed at her and gave her a fake smile.

“Hi, Zharm,” Gail said in a sugar-sweet voice that Zharm distrusted.

“Hi,” she responded without enthusiasm in her tone.

“Jared, can you please go back here? Why don’t you start painting my portrait?” It was then that Zharm realized that his canvas and easel were at Gail’s balcony. That means, he spent time with Gail to paint her portrait. Zharm felt irritated when Jared stood up from his chair.

“Zharm, I have to go. I have something important to do.”

She admits that she’s jealous about him spending time with Gail but she can’t bring herself to stop him from going. She can’t believe that his time with Gail would be more important for him than her. She had been beside him for so long, but he’s now enjoying the company of others. She felt really sad about it. And as Jared turned his back on her, she realized that maybe, she will always remain as his friend, and nothing more than that. From that moment, she thought that it would be better for them to remain friends. In that way, she can protect her heart from getting hurt.

Nothing good comes out of loving someone. She saw it happen to her parents and she doesn’t want it to happen to her.