Chapter 111 - That's My Friend
Chapter 111 – That’s My Friend
Once it was time to leave for the Cinema, Lucy met Tom by the car. Neither of them said anything as they gazed at each other. To a casual observer, it would seem like they were two lovers staring at each other, but that wasn't the case.
As Lucy looked at Tom she wondered how her boss' knowledge of her relationship with Sonia was going to affect the dynamics of her job at the office, and what she was going to do about her relationship with Tom if her boss eventually gave her the go-ahead to get a new driver.
The major reason she had gotten herself involved in all this mess of trying to please him by helping him get the lady he liked and being his temporary girlfriend was that her boss had said she couldn't fire him and that if he left she would have to lose her job too. Now that she had decided to help him be the perfect boyfriend, she wondered what would happen after now if he was unable to get Anita and if the CEO still fails to grant her permission to change her driver.
Tom who was also staring at her and wondered why she could have asked Sonia to tell Bryan that she worked with his brother. Was she interested in the CEO after all? Had he misjudged her in haste because he wanted her to be the one? He hoped not, cause he was already more interested in her than he had been in all the past ladies combined.
"You look nice," Tom said, breaking the silence between them as he looked her over with a smile.
She was dressed in a short denim skirt with a black bodycon turtleneck tucked into it, and a pair of black sneakers to match.. Her hair was packed in a ponytail as usual and her glasses were back in place on the bridge of her nose. The only sign that she was wearing make-up on her face was the lipgloss on her lips. Seeing how she was dressed, she could easily pass for a college student.
"Thank you," she said with a small smile as she also took note of his outfit. Tom was dressed in khaki combat shorts with a white t-shirt and black sneakers which matched the baseball hat on his head.
"You are driving?" Tom asked in surprise when she auto unlocked the car and got into the driver's seat, while he remained standing where he was by the bonnet of the car.
"Yes. We are not going to work, so I figured you don't have to drive us today. Get in," she said jerking her head in the direction of the front passenger door as she shut her door.
Tom smiled a little before walking over to where she was, "I should check the car to make sure it's fine before we leave," Tom said, motioning for her to unlock the bonnet.
Once he checked the bonnet to make sure everything was okay, he went around the car and got into his seat, "Do you know where we are going to?" Tom asked as he put on his seatbelt. Since Lucy was new to the city he knew she didn't know her way around.
"She said we should meet at Eastside Cinemas. Although I told her I don't know the place, she thinks you might know it since you are not new to Ludus. So do you know it?" Lucy asked as she turned on the car's ignition, but made no move to set the car in motion.
Eastside Cinemas? Of all places to go to, why did it have to be there? Tom mused with a slight scowl. That had been one of the places he had asked Anita to meet him for their date and she had stood him up after he waited for over two hours for her to show up, "Sure. I know it," Tom said with a nod.
Anita didn't matter to him in any way. As long as he was going out with Lucy, it was fine. He at least had a girlfriend who he was sure wouldn't stand him up. How could she even stand him up when she was the one driving them to the place? Tom reasoned with a grin.
"Good. So make sure you point me in the right direction," Lucy said as she reversed the car.
"Left," Tom called to her so she would know the direction they were going. Lucy said nothing as she took the left route.
"I was wondering something," Tom said as he watched her while she drove.
"What?" Lucy asked without sparing him a glance.
"Even though you warned me you were probably going to fall asleep halfway into the movie, I'm surprised that you slept off so soundly in my apartment," Tom said, making color flood her cheek in embarrassment.
"I guess it's because I ate too much, the clothes were warm, and I don't do movies much…" She stopped when Tom chuckled.
"I guess that explains why you snuggled closer to me when I carried you?" Tom asked with a teasing tone and chuckled again when she turned to look at him in disbelief.
"I'm not saying I mind that you did. I just wanted to be sure you are not that comfortable with everyone," Tom said with a serious expression in his eyes.
"I don't visit others or spend the night at their place," Lucy said defensively.
"It's a relief to know that," Tom said with a nod.
"So, I took the liberty to make us a list of things we can do as a couple, as I told you I would do earlier," Lucy said after she drove in silence for a while.
"You have?" Tom asked, sounding not so surprised.
"Yeah. Hold on," she said as she kept her eyes on the road, and reached into her bag which was on the space beside them for a sheet of paper, "Here, I made you a copy," she said as she handed it to him.
Tom took the paper from her and he raised a brow when he saw that the first two paragraphs had been ticked already, "Sleepover at boyfriend's house, and watch a movie with boyfriend at the Cinema, why are they ticked already?" He asked, glancing at her curiously.
"I slept over at your house last night, remember? And we are on our way to see a movie," she pointed out.
"That sleepover doesn't count since you did it before you thought of creating the checklist, and you can't even call that a sleepover. You only dozed off at your boyfriend's place. Besides, don't you know that most ladies visit their boyfriends and stay with them for days? Even weeks?" Tom asked, making Lucy's brows pull together in a frown.
"Not all girlfriends do that. Left or right?" She asked when they got to another intersection.
"Right. Not all girlfriends do that but I want my girlfriend to do it. I'm teaching you how to be my girlfriend, remember?"
"That doesn't make sense. I am your next-door neighbor and seeing me every day…"
"Would you like me to move out of the house? I could move to a different place," Tom suggested making Lucy laugh out loud at the joke.
She turned to look at him when she didn't hear him laugh, and stopped laughing when she noticed that he was looking at her with a serious expression, "You…you are joking, right?" She asked with a wavering smile.
"Why? You don't want me to leave?" Tom asked with a slightly raised brow.
Tom leaving? That wouldn't be such a bad idea. Actually, it would be a great idea. That way she would have to worry less about him being her neighbor after their relationship comes to an end. And if her boss gave the go-ahead for her to replace Tom with a different driver, then she could finally relax and not ever have to worry about his presence in her life anymore. But how would he get the money to move? Where would he move to?
"You don't have money to…"
"My friend's place is available. I could move there, and you can visit me and sleepover as much as you want," Tom suggested.
"Your friend would let you do that?" She asked, thinking that it would be really awesome if he could move once they returned from the Cinema. But then again that would also make coming to her house to pick her up in the morning difficult.
Seeing the thoughtful expression on her face Tom could tell that she liked the idea, but he couldn't understand why. Was she still that uncomfortable around him?
"Sure. But you'll have to visit me a lot. Take the next turn," Tom called out to her abruptly when he noticed that she was about to miss the turn, and Lucy quickly did as she was told, almost causing the vehicle behind them to slam into their car.
The driver blared his horn angrily and swore at them before driving away, "Sorry. Should I drive instead?" Tom asked when he noticed that her face had gone pale.
She quickly shook her head, "No. It's fine. I'm okay," she said more to herself than to him as she drew in a shaky breath and kept driving.
Although Tom didn't believe her, he chose to let her be. Neither of them said another word to each other until they got to the cinema and Lucy parked the car.
"Maybe we could discuss the checklist some other time," Tom suggested, wanting to push it off as far as possible since she had said they would break up once they had done everything on the list.
Lucy gave him a nod as she picked up her handbag and reached out to open her door.
Once they got out of the car, Lucy's cellphone started ringing and she took it out to see that the call was from Anita, "Hey! We just got here, are you inside already?" Lucy asked as she met Tom's gaze.
"I'm just driving in… Oh! I can see you both," Anita said excitedly as she quickly hung up, making Lucy turn in the direction of Anita's car which she recognized from the previous day. Tom followed her gaze and squinted against the glare of the sun reflecting on her windscreen so he could see who was inside the car.
"That's my friend," Lucy announced, watching Tom with interest to see his reaction as Anita drove over to the available parking space next to their car.
Lucy grinned when she saw Tom's eyes widen in surprise as Anita got out of the car, and she mentally patted herself for giving him such a beautiful surprise. He would be happy to spend the day in the company of his soon-to-be girlfriend.
Anita? She was Lucy's friend? How? Since when? Why????? He wondered as he looked from Anita who was smiling at them as she approached where they were standing, to Lucy who was also smiling cheerfully at him like she had just done something great. Oh, no!