Dinner With Andrea

Ludwina landed at Changi Airport at exactly 7 pm. As she passed the custom, she saw Andrea waiting for her at the exit, waving at her. The two of them hugged and kissed each other on the cheek. The man carried Ludwina's suitcase towards the parking lot. The girl followed in confusion.

"Aren't we taking a taxi?" asked Ludwina in wonder.

"No, I was given a car by the office, so I thought I could just use it to pick you up."

"Oh..." Ludwina was amazed. She didn't mind taking public transportation in Singapore because public transportation facilities and taxis or Grab in Singapore were already very good, but if they had their own vehicles, they'd have more freedom and won't have to wait for a taxi.

Andrea drove his car to Clarke Quay and led Ludwina to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the river. They had dinner while chatting about how they had been lately.

In her heart, Ludwina was very happy that Andrea's attitude toward her hadn't changed. He also didn't discuss the embarrassing incident on the plane when Ludwina confessed her feelings to him.

"Congratulations. I was so amazed when I heard that you got promoted so quickly. You must be really good at what you do. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you," said Andrea. "Actually, I wanted to cook dinner and invite you to eat at my apartment, but because there isn't much time, I didn't have time to shop for groceries. That's why I brought you here."

"Really?" Ludwina remembered that Andrea could cook and had promised to invite her to enjoy his cooking. "Even though it's better to eat at home, I am happy you take me to dinner here. I also brought you prosecco from Duty-Free to celebrate. This restaurant isn't one that allows BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle)... ahahaha."

"So how about we go to my place and continue chatting there while drinking prosecco? I can make a light supper and dessert," Andrea offered. "I miss talking to you."

Ludwina shrugged, "Sounds good!"

Andrea paid for their meal and took Ludwina's hand as they walked into the parking lot. Ludwina remembered that time when they walked hand in hand in Europe so as not to be separated in the sea of ​​tourists. She didn't think Andrea would do the same in Singapore.

Did this mean that... they're dating now? Or what?

Her mind was filled with a million questions, but Ludwina didn't want to discuss them because she was afraid that Andrea would talk about her confession on the plane. Ugh...

It was so embarrassing!

They arrived at an apartment complex on Beach Road. The car was parked in the basement and Andrea led Ludwina up the elevator to the 17th floor. His apartment was at the end of the hall.

"I've never been to your place before," commented Ludwina. She just realized that this was the first time she came to Andrea's apartment.

"Welcome!" Andrea entered the passkey and opened the door.

Ludwina entered and looked at the interior of the apartment attentively. The place was simple with gray and white accents. There was a large and comfortable sofa in cream color on a dark gray carpet. On the guest table was a large vase filled with flowers, making this minimalist room look contrasting with a feminine aura.

Ludwina also saw various pots filled with plants lined up neatly under the large window at the end of the room. She remembered Andrea saying he liked plants. "Hope you like my home."

"I like it," said Ludwina. She immediately walked around the apartment and explored it. She never thought about the place Andrea was living in. "When you first came here, was the apartment empty, or was it fully furnished?"

"Furnished. I don't have time to fill it with furniture, but there were a lot of unnecessary items. So, I asked the owner to take them out. There are two rooms here, but only one is ensuite with a bathroom. The other one is empty because I've never received guests, so I don't see the need to put furniture in it."

"Oh..."

Ludwina handed over the prosecco from her bag then sat on the comfortable sofa and nodded. "I love the space. Moreover, this vase with flowers makes the atmosphere contrast with its minimalist decor."

"Oh, usually, there are no flowers here. I bought them because I knew you wanted to come. So, the room would look pretty." Andrea smiled simply.

He went to the refrigerator, put the prosecco in to cool it off, took a bottle of red wine and two glasses from the cabinet, and brought it to the living room. "While waiting for your prosecco to chill, let's have some red wine first..."

Andrea poured each a glass of red wine for them and Ludwina accepted her share with a happy heart.

"Cheers for your promotion at the office. You're amazing! I'm so proud of you." Ludwina led them to a toast and clinked her glass to Andrea's.

"Thank you! I'm glad you're here and can share this joy with me," replied Andrea. "Also cheers because we managed to travel together without any problems."

"Yes, cheers to that." Ludwina drank again, "I've never had a traveling friend who's as easygoing and fun as you are. Previously, I only traveled occasionally with Kevin before he became so busy like now. Johann is too slow. My other friends are not as fun as travel mates. Some are either too loud, too stingy, too lazy, or too annoying..."

Andrea laughed at her statement, "Uhm... thank you, I guess?"

"When can you take leave again?" asked Ludwina then. Her glass was already empty. Andrea understandingly poured more red wine into the girl's glass. Ludwina chirped happily. "We can plan our next vacation... ahahaha..."

"I can also do that next month," said Andrea as he took a sip of his wine. "But only for a week at most, because the company has a lot of projects that need to be taken care of before the end of the year."

"Hmm... if it's only for a week, we can just go to one country, so we won't need to rush to see many things." Ludwina lightly swirled her glass and thought, "We can go to New York. New York in autumn is gorgeous..."

"Sounds good," said Andrea, "which means I have to apply for a visa quickly."

Now it was Ludwina's turn to pour the red wine into Andrea's empty glass. She knew that Andrea's tolerance limit was only two glasses, and he didn't drink alcohol at all earlier in the restaurant because he was driving.

It was his second glass now, and Ludwina intended to make Andrea drink the third and fourth glasses without the young man noticing. She wanted to see tipsy and talkative Andrea. That was why Ludwina finished her drink very quickly. She remembered that Andrea was so adorable when he was tipsy...

"I haven't seen the photos you took in Europe. I want to see them..." she said to him. "I already sent all my photos to your dropbox yesterday."

"Oh, that's right. Hold on..." Andrea went to his room and took his laptop. He opened his laptop and showed Ludwina a folder called AMSTERDAM - PARIS - ITALY. "All the photos I took with my phone and camera are all here."

Andrea turned on the music and Ludwina browsed through the photos on the laptop happily. They chatted while discussing what was happening when each photo was taken and laughed at the funny things they experienced.

The atmosphere was very cozy and warm. Ludwina was already at her fourth glass, but Andrea still hadn't finished his second glass. The girl saw that the red wine was running out, so she pointed to the bottle.

"The red wine is out. The prosecco should be cold by now," she then said in a coyish tone. "I want prosecco..."

Andrea nodded. He finished the wine in his glass and put away their glasses and bottles of red wine. He returned with the bottle of prosecco from Ludwina and two new glasses.

Andrea calmly poured a full glass for Ludwina and half a glass for himself.

"Why are you drinking so little?" asked Ludwina. She mentally scolded Andrea for having such a good self-control. The man remembered his low alcohol tolerance limit.

"Because I don't want to get tipsy and then drunk," said Andrea. "My limit is only two glasses. I don't want to do things that I'll regret in the morning..."

"But you're really cute when you're tipsy...." grumbled Ludwina. "I like seeing you get tipsy and suddenly turn into a chatterbox..."

"So, you're saying, I'm not cute when I'm not tipsy?" Andrea asked, half-protesting.

Ludwina laughed, shaking her head, "That's called fishing for compliments. That's low for someone like you."

"I wasn't the one who started it, you know..." said Andrea with a shrug. He sipped his prosecco a little, "I'll still drink to keep you company, but only a little..."

"Thank you."