Chapter One

"Do you, Jason, take Crystal to be your lawfully wedded wife, till death do you part?"

"I do" Jason replied.

"And do you, Crystal, take Jason to be your lawfully wedded husband till death do you part?"

"I do" Crystal replied.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride"

"Oh, hell no we're not doing that!" Jason squealed and dashed off to fling himself on the three-seater couch in the living room.

"We'd better stop watching stupid movies Jason" Crystal laughed as she ran behind him.

"Really. Well yes we do" he lay down and she fell atop him and lay, facing the ceiling.

They lay in silence for a while.

"You've been losing weight these past few weeks" he continued.

"Really?!" Crystal asked, sitting up immediately and a new light shining bright in those brown eyes.

"Why are you so happy?!" Jason looked surprised.

"Yea, you remember the job I told you about last week?"

"Yes. The magazine covers something something"

"Stop joking" she rolled her eyes and he could see that the light had dimmed a little bit.

"Okay. I'm sorry. What about the job?"

He saw the light leap back into her eyes immediately. It was like magic. He was lost in them, he could barely hear what she was saying.

He got lost in them. He was so absent-minded, not a word of what she was saying did he hear.

"And... I was called yesterday!" She shook her shoulders to express her excitement.

Normally, Jason would jump up and they'd dance and dance around the house, and he'd lift her like a baby, still dancing. But this time, there was no response from him, no reaction.

"Jason... Jason, hello?" She waved her right hand in front of his face and then flicked his forehead.

"Ouch!" He yelped.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked looking concerned.

"I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought, that's all" he sighed.

"Jason... Did you even hear what I said? Is there any problem?" She cupped his face in her palm and forced him to look at her even though he tried to look away.

"Crystal, I am so sorry. Look, I don't want my problems to bother you. So... You got the job?" He asked, attempting to bring back that light again, to look at it once more and be lost in it.

"Not really. I'll be going for an interview in two days. I got a call yesterday" she replied and smiled. But instead of the light in her eyes, there was worry.

"Wow! That's good news babe. We should celebrate" he winked.

"You look tired. Have some rest" she pulled him back when he tried to get up and drag her with him.

"No, I'm fine. Honestly" he smiled.

"I don't think so. Is there something you're hiding from me?"

"What? No. Crystal... You're right. I'm just tired. Work and stuff, you know..."

"Okay" she smiled too and the excitement was back.

"Get your shoes, let's head out" he winked at her.

She ran to her bedroom to grab her boots and they headed out to their favorite restaurant, hand in hand, like newly found love.

The street lights shone brightly that night.

"Is it me or are these lights brighter than they used to be?" Jason asked as they went past the old lady who sold vegetables.

"It's you, dude. How are things with you and Ashley by the way?" She asked.

He sighed and shook his head.

"She still insists I move or you move"

"What's wrong if two best friends live in an apartment?" She asked innocently.

"It's a bit weird" he squeezed his face as she punched his shoulder.

"No, it's not. You both have sex very loudly and I've never complained. We've never had sex, never kissed. I'm not attracted to you and you're not attracted to me. What is wrong with her?!"

"I don't know... She just... She's a lady Crystal"

"And so?"

"Maybe she feels insecure"

"Maybe she doesn't love you"

"She does... I guess I'll feel the same way if I were in her shoes"

"So what now? You're moving? Or maybe I should?" She asked, looking scared.

"What?! Hell no! I'm breaking up with her"

"Huh?!"

"Yes. Crystal, I'm done living my life to please everyone. Look where it got me! What do I have to show for twenty-five years on earth?!" He asked pointing at himself.

"Come on. Don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, you don't live you please others. You make them happy" she replied and held his arm.

"If only you knew" he mumbled.

"Hey walk faster. Its Friday. The steak will be..."

"Say no more, my lady. It's your night" he laughed.

"Hey Jason, say, can we eat something different today?"

"Nooooo! Steaks or nothing" he grinned mischievously.

"You just said it's my night" she blinked innocently, the feeling of triumph bubbling in her heart.

She won.

"Fine. If we eat something else, no riding piggyback" he looked at her triumphantly as well, enjoying the confused look plastered on her face.

"Okay, whatever. I'm too old for a piggyback anyway. God, we do really weird things, you and I" she said casually and walked into the noisy and crowded restaurant.

He stood at the door for a moment, surprised. A few seconds later, he caught up with her... Long legs, few strides.

They walked to their favorite corner, the far end of the restaurant where people barely sat.

But they loved it there. It gave them the best view of all corners of the restaurant. Long story short, that was the best position to see stuff to gossip about.

A habit will always be lurking in a corner, waiting for you to make a slight mistake.

Immediately they were seated, a table, about ten steps from theirs, ordered for aak. The aroma made Crystal's mouth water.

"Jason?" She tapped his shoulders and pointed at the table with the steak.

"Oh I am, so having that" he growled.

"Me too. I've changed my mind. You don't have to give me a piggyback ride home. I'll order the steak. You can laugh in my face if you want to"

She swallowed and they placed their order. The steak!

And when it came...

After the hearty meal, they sat back and began the usual thing they always did whenever they visited the restaurant. Gossip.

"Hey take a look at the lady over there" Crystal whispered and pinched Jason's knee when he looked elsewhere.

"What's up with her?" He asked, rubbing the painful spot.

"She's crying"

"Really? Maybe she was stood up"

"Or maybe her boyfriend broke up with her"

"Or maybe she lost her purse"

"No dumbass. Her purse is hanging on her shoulder" Crystal replied and was about to flick his forehead again. But he grabbed her hand.

"Easy tiger, you're becoming more violent"

"You wanna bet?" She wrested her hand free of his grasp and smiled.

"Bet on what?" He let go of her hand and began to drum on the table.

"On that girl over there. Before we leave this place, she's gonna find a guy to hook up with, like one night stand" Crystal wiggled her brows.

"Oh, that sounds wild. I love it" Jason wiggled his too.

"Okay. What do I get if I win" she asked and rubbed her palms.

"I'll get you those boots you've always wanted" he replied.

"Yes!" She squealed in delight and a few heads turned to glance at them, wondering what could make one so happy.

"And what do I get if I win?" Jason asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Uhmmm, why don't you tell me what you want?"

"You'll kiss me if I win" he replied, his heart beating fast in his chest, it felt like it was popping out.

He wasn't smiling and she wasn't either.

"I was joking" he finally said and she burst into a weird laughter

"You got me there Mr" she placed her hand on her chest.

"Would it be so weird if I kissed you?" He asked casually.

"I don't know. Do you want to kiss me, Jason?"

He laughed till tears came out of the corners of his eyes and the table shook a little.

"What's so funny?"

"The lady is gone and we don't even know if she left alone or if she hooked up with a dude"

"Oh come on! I just lost a pair of nice boots!"

"Who said you were going to win?"

"I'm not happy" she sulked pretentiously.

"Fine. I'll buy you the boots. Damn you!"

She stuck her tongue out at him, childishly, which made him smile.

He thought she looked beautiful under the dim lights.

"Let's talk about your job interview. What do you think you'll be doing?"

"I don't know. I don't want to go into modeling anyway. I just love my interior decorations. I was thinking maybe getting a job there could help me with that, you know. I can switch. Besides, I'm broke" she grinned.

"Yes you are" he replied and ordered a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Wine for what?" She asked curiously.

"To celebrate your success in advance" he smiled.