INDIRECT KISS
Elijah left the 'couple' alone because he thought he was invading their space and his wife would probably kill him if he caused his son to break up with his girlfriend. Belle was not able to correct this misconception because she was still not over with the thought that she was Eli's girlfriend.
"Sorry about that," Eli said and placed the food on the table before putting away the books that he bought for her. "I didn't expect that my father would come and talk to you. I mean, it is my fault."
Hearing his last statement, Belle looked at him at once and confusion was apparent on her face. She could not understand how it became his fault. "Did you do something?" she raised because she started to feel that she might be missing some points in between. Observing his gaping mouth as if he wanted to say something more, Belle took a deep breath and sighed. "I'll listen." She encouraged.
That was all that it takes.
Eli explained the reason why his father was misunderstanding their relationship and he apologized for using her as an excuse without her permission. Now, she got involved in lying to his father.
"I didn't really mean to say it. My back was against the wall and I could not find any other reason to refuse my mother's urges. I don't want to hurt her but I don't want to go against her either. I could only find a random excuse and my time with you just came at the right time."
"In short, you are using me. Did you plan this from the beginning?"
"No!" Eli exclaimed with a horrified expression. It was never his plan to use her for his gain and he would never do something that could hurt. It was probably his instinct as a doctor to keep her away from harm's way because no matter how he thinks about it, he could not bear to see her sad. "I never planned to do this. My intention to help you was pure and genuine."
"I believe you," Belle said and smiled. "There is really nothing you can get from me, but haven't you asked yourself that I might be the one taking advantage of you?"
"What's there to take advantage of me?" Eli retorted because he could not think of anything worth taking advantage of. "I'm just an ordinary doctor and I am just helping you. I am just doing my job."
Listening to their conversation, Ceres, who has slowly gained control of Belle's senses even though she was hiding at the deepest part of her mind; felt that something was wrong with these two people's brains. She could tell that something has happened that crushed their confidence because both of them could not see their own value.
Many people viewed them highly because of their skills and capabilities. They were both loved by their colleagues and their patients; although not all of them. They're both handsome and smart, but they have very low self-esteem.
[God! If I were you, I'd be wearing my poise and confidence like a proud warrior who returns victoriously from a war. Why are you always shy around people?] Ceres fired away the thoughts that she kept in her mind. [You are not inferior to them. You have both the body and brain. Well, your body needs a little recovery before we can get up and show them what we're made of – what you're made of since this is your body.]
Belle heard Ceres rattling something in her mind but she didn't say anything. She focused her attention on the doctor who was telling her about his family because of the deal that they agreed to.
"So, I will correct my parents about our relationship and just tell them that I am still courting you. What should I say if they'll ask how we met?"
"Just tell them that we met long ago but we weren't attracted to each other and for some reason, we just came to like one another."
"Okay. That sounds good. Oh! Since we still have my laptop here, how about you list down the things that you like and dislike? It might come in handy in the future."
"You do the same. Just in case I'll meet your parents somewhere, I'll have something to talk about with them."
"And when are we going to end this?"
Eli thought about it really hard. If they end this pretend game of being a couple, he will have to tell his parents about it and his mother might start looking for another blind date. "Let's end it once we find someone that we want to spend the rest of our lives with. If you find someone, tell me and we'll end it and I'll just explain to my mother that I'm not good enough or something."
"So, does that mean we can go on dates even though your parents are thinking that we're in a courting stage of the relationship? It sounds awful."
"Let's just think about it when the day comes. For now, let's just say that I want to spend my time with you."
"O-okay."
Belle wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing and she didn't care if she was actually doing it wrong. A chance like this rarely comes around and she didn't have any plan of letting this opportunity go. [You'll regret this.] Ceres said and Belle couldn't find a word to retort. Even if Ceres didn't say it, she knew deep in her heart that she will regret this.
Eli noticed that she was oddly quiet in front of him and she didn't even touch the spicy noodles and spicy prawns that he bought for her. "You're quiet. Do you need time to think about the plan? I can wait until tomorrow."
"I was just wondering what Neon would think. Can we keep this a secret from him? We can just say that we're close friends if he ever asks us. I don't want him to get hurt since he is becoming close to you,"
Eli nodded his head in understanding while he removed his lab coat and placed it on the back of the chair. Sitting down on the stool, he put on the plastic gloves and started peeling the prawns. "You wanted to eat these, right? Why are you still staring at it? It will turn cold and the noodles will be soggy if you keep looking at it."
"Don't you have work to do? I thought you will only visit me during your free time."
"I have nothing booked until 2 p.m. I got hungry while looking at the food and I bought a lot as well. I don't think you can finish all of these. Here. Ahhh."
To him, there was nothing wrong that he was doing this for her since she was a patient and someone who will be playing the part of being his girlfriend. However, it was different for Belle. She didn't expect that they will start playing their game right this moment.
"You don't want it?" Eli asked with his hand paused midair. "It will be tiring if you peel them by yourself and you have noodles to eat, too. Let me remove the shells for you and you can just eat them."
Still raising his hand, Belle blushed and couldn't take this treatment anymore. She pulled Ceres back to her body and left her to deal with Eli's sweet gesture. [I can't calm down! You need to help me.]
Ceres blinked her eyes upon realizing what was happening and seeing the expectant expression on Eli's face, she lowered her head and eat the peeled prawn in his hand. "It's delicious." She commented and started moving her hands after she recovered from her surprise. Snapping the chopsticks in two, she twirled the noodles and moved them toward Eli. "You have to try the noodles, too. It smells great. I bet this is delicious just like the prawns. Did you buy them from the same store?"
Eli chuckled now that she has become talkative again. She felt like a different person but when she smiled, he knew that it was Belle sitting in front of him.
He peeled the prawns and feed her from time to time while she was responsible for feeding both of them with the noodles. At first, she was using chopsticks for him and a fork for her to make sure that they won't be using the same utensil. As they continued to chat over food, she has forgotten to change the items and continued to use the chopsticks for both of them.
He blushed when he ate the noodles thinking that he had an indirect kiss with her. This never happened to him before and he did not know if he should tell her about it or not. In the end, he coughed drily and ate while keeping this matter to himself.
It was not until they almost finished the noodles that Ceres realized what happened. Her face turned red and she did not know how to face him. [That's what you get for being so smart.] Belle taunted while laughing at her mentally.
[Don't forget that this is your body. Idiot.]