7

"Oh my god, everything about this is a date!" she shrieked, closing the tab and throwing her phone on the sofa. She facepalmed and told herself to be calm. Everything was gonna be okay.

First, she had to find a way to cancel it. She picked up her phone and dialled Daniel. He answered instantly.

"Hi?"

She could practically hear his smirk and see raised eyebrow. There was a lot of noise in the background and she wondered if he was at a party or something.

"Hey, I was wondering what you'd like to discuss and whether or not it can be postponed?"

"I knew you'd try and cancel on me," he said lowly on the other side of the phone. She heard shuffling and a door closing and it became quieter now. She bit her lip, feeling guilty for letting him down. He sounded excited earlier; he was probably looking forward to this.

"No, I'm not," she changed her mind, biting her finger. Why should I care whether or not he feels disappointed?

"You aren't?" he spoke, sounding hopeful.

"But we can't meet up at my place, though. Maybe a restaurant or-"

"Come over."

She blinked, wondering if she heard him right.

"I'll send you my address, okay?"

Just then, she heard a couple guys call for him in the background and he told her he had to go. She slowly pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it, wondering what got into her.

Come over? Was she a girl someone just calls over and she jumps? She clicked her tongue. "The nerve of him. Come over my foot."

She quickly dressed up and decided she'd go shopping. That would take her mind off things and also pass time until 8p.m. She got dressed in jeans, sandals, a simple tee and a cardigan. Then she took her handbag and purse.

She drove the short distance from her house to the supermarket, where she found a parking space after two rounds of searching. It was packed since it was Saturday and most people did their shopping in the morning.

After buying all that she needed, she also made separate shopping for Ma and the little two kids. She knew Ma couldn't find time in between taking care of the kids and homeschooling them to do simple shopping, so she usually bought groceries for them whenever she found the time. Other times, she would buy online and have it delivered to their house.

It was around 4p.m. when she was done with all the shopping and other errands. She had a few of the staff help her carry the items to her car and she tipped them generously. Then she drove to Ma's house and they unloaded and packed away the food. Once they were done, they sat at the table and had a little chat.

"Is Gershon improving?"

"Only when it comes to phonetics. But he needs more time to learn his numbers."

"I can arrange daycare for him. That'll remove some load off of you. And the teachers there can help him, too."

"No, I like having him around all day."

"Okay, what about Scy?" she was hesitant to ask. Ma's smile fell and River had a sinking feeling.

"She's not-" she tried to say but paused, shaking her head. "She's not reacting well to the medication. She hasn't eaten anything all day. She keeps throwing it up. I gave her some pills and she's napping now, so hopefully when she wakes up she can keep something down."

River laid a gentle hand on Ma's frail one. "She'll pull through. She has the best doctors in the country."

"Sometimes I wonder how you hold it together so well."

I don't. "Faith. You gotta have loads of it."

After a little more talking, she told Ma she had to leave since she's meeting up with a friend.

"Send my regards to Beatrice."

She turned around, biting the inside of her cheek. She suddenly felt like a child telling her mom she was going out with a boy. "It's not Beatrice. It's... another friend."

"Oh? I didn't know you had more friends," Ma chuckled, making River dramatically roll her eyes.

"What are you trying to say?"

"You don't let anyone in so easily. Whoever it is, is special."

"He likes to think of himself that way," River muttered under her breath.

"Oh? It's a gentleman?" She didn't have to look at Ma to know that she had a teasing grin on her face.

"Cut it out. It's not a big deal. We're just discussing something from the office. I don't even like him. I can't stand him."

"Don't over-explain yourself, hon," Ma said, standing up and walking River to the door. "Just go relax and have a nice evening with this gentleman. And one day, I hope you bring him here. I'd like to meet your second friend ever."

River chuckled, not seeing it necessary to argue with the old woman. She just nodded, kissed her goodnight and headed home to get ready for her da- her meeting with Daniel. In his home. Her meeting with him in his home.

***

She parked outside a grey house and switched the car off, sitting in the dark. His lights were on but she couldn't see any movement whatsoever. She checked the time on her phone: 19:10. She was way too early.

She wondered how he was at this very moment. Was he nervous? Excited? Comfortable? Or was this just another regular thing to him?

She knew it wasn't anything special. But the fact that she had never been to a guy's place in years kind of unsettled her. She'd be alone with him in an enclosed space. His space, to be exact.

What was he like? Was he loud and rowdy? Or quiet and calculated? She didn't really know him; only what he wanted her to know about him. Stepping into his house would give her a view into his world. Did she want that?

What if he tried to make a move on her? She checked her bag and made sure her pepper spray was in there. She shook it to make sure it was still full. She wouldn't hesitate spraying him in his eyes if he got out of line.

She contemplated calling Beatrice and asking her to join them, but she knew Bea was busy. She could never ask her to cancel something just so she joined her here. And having to explain that she was afraid to go into a guy's house was pretty pathetic. Just then, she got a text from Beatrice. She quickly unlocked her phone and read the message.

Bea M: Relax and have fun tonight. Don't forget, you can always chase him out if he makes you uncomfortable.

Me: I'm actually outside his place rn

Bea M: What?

Bea M: Why? I thought he was coming to yours?

Bea M: Anyway, are you sure? With everything that happened...

Me: yes, I'll be fine. I will leave when I want to.

Me: but just in case, do call me in 20 minutes. my safe word will be noodles

Bea M: i got you. good luck.

She cleared the chat, exhaled loudly and slipped the phone in her purse. Then she grabbed the take-out she brought with and got out of the car. She rang the doorbell and waited a few seconds before the door was pulled open and a lady in a bikini opened the door.

River looked at her from head to toe. She was gorgeous. Definitely Cuban. And definitely a model. She stood there, an expectant look on her face as she stared back at River.

"Uh, hello?" she spoke in a thick accent. "Can I help you?"

River's throat felt dry. A particular feeling gnawed on her insides. "I'm here for Daniel."

The lady tsk'ed and smirked, eyeing River up and down slowly. "Dress code is bikini."

She looked over the model's shoulder and saw two more girls in bikinis come in through the backdoor, followed by a couple guys as well as Daniel who had a champagne bottle in one hand and a babe in the other.

Then their eyes locked and she gave him a tight-lipped, unimpressed smile.