Chapter 71: LXX

"WHAT'S WITH THE SMILE?" Laia asks.

The boy pointed at his lips innocently. "Am I not allowed to smile now?"

"You are," Laia instantly frowns when she realized that the asshole was deliberately changing the course of their conversation so they wouldn't talk about what they should be talking about. "Why did you even bring me here if you're not going to talk?"

"I am talking, though?"

"You--" Laia shook her head in frustration. "You are frustrating,"

"So I've been told," He suddenly reaches out for the car drawer in front of Laia and took a box of cigarettes. "Do you mind if I smoke?"

"I already told you before that I hate how it smells," Laia rolled her eyes. Of course, he wouldn't remember it. "Whatever, it's your car,"

Looks like Laia would just have to cover her nose with the handkerchief that she somehow still had with her.

Weird. She thought she left it on one of the tables or misplaced it like how she usually does with most of her handkerchiefs.

Probably why her mother never bothered buying her too many handkerchiefs.

"I'll just open the window," Samuel pressed a button on his side which opened the window to his side almost immediately. He started smoking and Laia automatically pressed the handkerchief closer to her nose to avoid smelling any of the smoke. "Does it smell that bad? I bought the strawberry-scented one, though?"

The boy's words made Laia turn towards him. "Strawberry-scented?"

"Yeah," He inhales and then exhales the smoke towards the window. "You like the smell of strawberries, don't you?"

How does he even remember such minor details?

Laia couldn't even remember when did she tell him about her preference when it came to scents. She couldn't even remember if she even told him in the first place or was he just playing with her again!

"Back at your house," The boy momentarily placed the cigarette between his fingers and turned his full attention to the still-perplexed girl on his right. "When I gave you the new script,"

Oh. That scene felt like forever ago.

Almost like those flashbacks in the movies.

He laughs. "You even guessed how I ate strawberries whenever I take a bath,"

Laia flushes at how the image of the boy naked and in a bathtub entered her train of thoughts. Shaking those thoughts away in embarrassment, the girl failed to notice how the boy's eyes didn't leave her.

"Gross," Laia looked away. "Why are you even bringing that up--"

"To refresh your memory, what else?"

"I don't need to have my memory refreshed about those kinds of stuff, thank you very much," Laia kept her eyes on the window at her side since she could feel how her cheeks are still warm from the images that entered her head without permission. "Are you done smoking?"

The boy puts out the cigarette by pressing it on the side of his chair, making Laia raise a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you planning to damage your car right after you just bought it?"

Samuel merely raises an eyebrow in return. "Who says I just bought this?"

Oh. Looks like Laia was wrong.

But it looked extremely new, though? Or maybe it was because of how shiny it was painted black?

"It looks really new," Laia says absentmindedly. "How long have you had this car, then?"

Or more like how long does a car stay in his possession until he decides that it's okay to just press cigarette butts on its interior to get rid of the flame?

The boy looked as if he was deep in thought for a while and then replies. "I got it from Sawyer three years ago,"

That's surprising. "When you were fifteen?"

"Nah, sixteenth birthday," He appeared to be lost in thought again, almost as if he was reminiscing the exact moment when his older brother gifted him the car. "I thought it was his idea of a joke,"

Laia raised her legs and sat cross-legged in the passenger seat. "You rich people really have different ideas when it comes to jokes,"

Samuel laughed and gently touches the steering wheel. "He fell love in first sight with this car, you know?"

"Mmm," Laia hums as a response, not wanting the boy to stop but continue instead.

It's not often that he tells her about himself, after all. It's mostly just Laia figuring out everything herself or learning bits of the boy's life through the eyes or mouths of others.

"And then I think I mentioned wanting a car," The boy scoffs at the memory, and then shook his head in amusement. "I was also in that phase that I liked everything black,"

Laia tried to stop herself from laughing but failed, giggling in the process. "I thought I was the only one who had that phase,"

"Nah," He grins. "Everyone had it,"

"I don't think Brie had that phase," Laia chuckles. "The only phase she had was pink,"

Pink. Laia chuckles again upon remembering how Brie got so angry when their freshmen year adviser reprimanded her pink jewelry and bag during their free time. The argument between them was loud that it made Laia stop studying altogether and pull Brie with her towards the nearby comfort room.

When she was about to scold Brie herself, Brie sobbed uncontrollably in front of her and started complaining in French at the same time.

The supposed reprimanding was forgotten immediately as the two girls burst into laughter. That was the start of their friendship that lasted more than Laia thought it would.

I mean, would somebody really assume at first sight that Laia, an introverted snarky perfectionist, and Brie, an extroverted popular and rich girl are best friends?

"What are you thinking about?" Samuel asks.

Laia blinked and turned to him. Looks like she was deep in her reminiscing for a while. "Uh, I just remembered how Brie and I became friends because of her favorite color,"

He's probably gonna laugh.

The boy doesn't and instead rested his head on the steering wheel while he looked at Laia with a small smile. "How did you become friends?"

"She was arguing with our adviser," Laia relays the same memories that just resurfaced. "I was self-studying--"

"Of course, you were--"

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She gave him a blank stare. "Was I done talking?"

The boy laughs. "Sorry, sorry,"

His apology was obviously not sincere enough but Laia just wanted to continue on with her story. She will just smack him in the face later.

If she remembers.

"As I was saying before you interrupted as usual," Laia rolled her eyes when the boy grins in an unapologetic manner. "I was self-studying and their argument was getting so loud so I decided to pull Brie away from their argument and bring her to the nearby comfort room,"

"How did your teacher react?"

"Well," Laia actually doesn't remember. "I don't remember but I do remember how Brie immediately started sobbing as she complained in French after I locked the door,"

Samuel chuckled. "She does speak French when she's aggravated,"

"How long have you known each other?" Laia asks. "It's just weird how you both know many things about one another but she didn't even react when you transferred to the school,"

"Ah," The boy leaned back to his seat. "Her parents and my father are close confidantes,"

Childhood friends, then? "So you knew each other since you were kids?"

"I guess?" He seemed lost in thought for a while. "I don't remember much of my childhood,"

That's unexpectedly sad.

Laia doesn't voice it out loud thinking it may be offensive but based on how the boy grinned at her in a reassuring way he might've already guessed what was she thinking of.

As usual.

"Mind reader," Laia whispers.

"I am not," The boy says back.

The two were silent for a while until the boy spoke up. "Do you want to see the view of our town?"

Laia returned her legs back to their original position as she stretched them. "The view of our town?"

"Yeah," Samuel pressed the same button earlier to close the window on his side before placing his hands back on the steering wheel. "Are you okay with that?"

It was unexpected to hear such doubt on the boy's voice.

It was almost as if he was prepared to hear a rejection from Laia.

Laia doesn't make his assumptions come true, though. "Yeah, let's go,"

The boy couldn't hide the boyish grin that remained on his lips as he started the engine and until they reached the so-called spot on where they could see the view.

And he wasn't lying.

It was indeed a perfect spot to see the view of their town.

As if they were on a movie, the darkness of the night helped made the view more pleasing to the eyes.

Laia immediately stepped out of the car after the boy unlocked the doors. She breathed deeply as she felt the cold breeze on her skin, causing goosebumps. "Shit, it's cold,"

Samuel appeared behind her and placed a jacket on her shoulders. "Why did you immediately get out of the car without a jacket?"

The girl glanced at her work uniform which definitely wasn't the perfect outfit for this spot. She reluctantly turns to the boy with a sheepish grin as she wore the jacket. "Thanks,"

He doesn't say anything and returned to his car. Laia was about to follow him with a questioning look when he suddenly pressed something on his keys which opened the trunk of his SUV which was facing the view.

"Come here,"

Laia raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

The boy pats the spot beside him on the trunk that he just covered with a soft-looking blanket. "Here,"

"Won't I get my poor germs in your car trunk if I do?"

He rolled his eyes and beckoned the girl towards him again. "No, you don't have poor germs,"

"Really?" She settled beside him and started swinging her legs back and forth. After being unable to get a response from the boy who remained silent beside her, she decides to change the topic. "Why are you not enjoying the view?"

"I am?" His eyes didn't leave her face.

Laia looked away as she felt her cheeks flush again. "Sure you are when the view is in front of you not beside you,"

"I'm sorry,"

His sudden apology made Laia turn to him in bewilderment. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry for what happened yesterday," His eyes remained on her lips. "And I'm sorry for this if you end up not liking this and punch me after,"

"Punch you after what-"

Even with how agitated she must've looked right now, Laia couldn't ignore how fast her heart was beating that she even had difficulty getting a decent breath at how intense the look on the boy's face was.

Despite that, Laia's eyes couldn't, no, wouldn't leave the boy and watch him as he reaches out for her hand which he intertwines with his.

Laia doesn't pull away. She lets him hold her hand gently.

After a few moments of silence between the two, Laia shivers at the feeling of the boy's breath on her cheeks at the sudden close proximity due to Samuel leaning close.

The girl watched the boy's eyelids flutter, then close.

And then, just like in the movies that she never enjoyed before, their lips met in a soft kiss.

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