Movie Date

She swiftly pulled on her seat belt without waiting for him to help. "What are we watching?""Ghost in the Window."

"A horror movie? I'll be scared, Yu Bing." He smiled at her reply. Just what he wanted. He continued, "I thought you loved horror movies."

"I'll still be scared."

"I'll be by your side to hug. No worries."

"Ah," she said, and smiled to herself.

Sure enough, twenty minutes into the movie, she was clinging on to him and burying her face in his chest, and he felt a sense of security and an emotional bond with her. Most importantly, he perceived it as a reason for him to hold her tight throughout the two hours of movie.

She was also cold, and he let her wear his jacket. Her body felt warm and cozy against his, and the moment had been so addictive, that he hoped time would never have to pass at all.

It was only five in the afternoon when they walked out of the cinema, and if not for the date, he would probably be still in the office working like a mule.

"Are you hungry, Myra?" he asked.

"I'm still feeling a little cold," she replied. She was still wearing his jacket.

"Do you want to go for warm drinks? I know a place where the drinks would be to your liking." He knew she liked a good latte, since they had been hanging out a lot back in Bali.

"Sure." She hopped into the car, and fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a posh looking café with a few people. The place had to be expensive, but for the two of them, the amount invested was nothing for them.

At the Exotic Princess, they bonded over banana coconut milk latte and some hilarious stories he told her about a client who was extremely particular about his requirements, and she shared with him how Mr. Wang had almost fell over during a lecture when he had tripped over an exposed cable in the theatre. Though they both adored Mr. Wang and his lectures, his comical, bespectacled face often brought laughter to his students and it was hilarious to think of how he was on the verge of losing his footing during a lecture. The students were trying very hard not to break out in laughter, and a few ended up crying in their attempts to nullify their laughter. In the end, Mr. Wang was touched by how the students had cried for him.

As they were talking, Yu Bing's phone rang, and he was surprised that his father had called him. His father lost no time in grilling him about why he had, for the first time ever, left the office early.

Mr. Yu was hilarious, and upon hearing Myra's laughter in the background, asked him who he was with. Yu Bing switched the call to video call, and his father seemed particularly pleased that he was finally doing something right, for once. In his father's mind, nobody was suited more to being his daughter-in-law than Myra, since the fathers were on good terms.

"In that case, would you like to come to our home for dinner?" Mr. Yu asked Myra.

"I'll be pleased to, Uncle Yu."

Yu Bing teased her after he had ended the call that she had seemed an eager daughter-in-law, and she was stunned by his words. At 21 years old, she hadn't thought much on the question of marriage, which was totally profound to her. Though marrying him was her dream for many years, she knew many women did not live up to their dreams or expectations when their time came for them to be married. In the twenty-first century, women married late, and many didn't even marry at all.

Dinner commenced at seven. Auntie Yao, the Yus' housekeeper and elderly servant, had prepared a spread of dishes as if they were celebrating Mid Autumn Festival. Since Myra had classes the next day, she had wanted to leave early to prepare for university the next day, but due to courtesy, she stayed for an hour and a half to chat with the elder Mr. Yu, who seemed entertained by her bubbly self that Yu Bing smiled to himself that his father liked this prospective daughter-in-law of his choice. His father was a choosy man, he thought, and when he had invited Lu Lu and their classmates to dinner in the past, his father had hinted to him that she was not a suitable candidate for the position. His father's opinions mattered to him a lot, and being the filial son, he was glad that at least his act with Myra was able to bring about some merit.

The weather app suddenly reported an incoming storm in his area that none of them had expected, and Yu Bing realized that in his flurry to get home for dinner, he had not heeded the dark clouds overhead. Rainy weather had been prevalent for the past few days, but since they had just returned from a trip a number of days ago, they had failed to notice the poor weather lately. In a matter of minutes, the rain had evolved into a downpour, and it was not feasible to drive in such a condition. An hour had gone by, and the news announced that the roads had been flooded and it was unsafe for him to send her home.

"What do I do then? I've a class early in the morning, and I'm an early sleeper," she explained. "My dad will be worried as well."

"Hmmm," he said. "Why not you call and tell him you're over at a friend's, so he isn't worried?"

"Okay, I'll do that."

As soon as she had got off the phone with her father, she asked him if he had any plans for them to kill time. He had some board games in his room, so he asked if she wanted to take a break in his room. Shyly she entered. She was elated to be the first woman to enter his room, and even Lu Lu had not had the chance since she had visited with a group of friends and wasn't alone.

She wasn't tired yet, and it was just nine at night, but she was curious about his bedroom since she knew he had a good taste in interior design and architecture. Recalling she liked to drink and had a high alcohol tolerance, he also pinched a bottle of red wine from his father's collection, for them to indulge in while playing.

"Am I really the first woman to enter your room?" she poked at him.

"You aren't a woman yet," he said to her jokingly, and she gave him a playful smack. "I want you to take your words back," she said with a sour look on her face.

"Make me, then," he laughed at her. She grabbed hold of his shirt and pushed him on his bed, feeling the potency of the alcohol. She felt more audacious than usual, and caved into her desire to kiss him on his bed.

He felt numbed, and she was goading him by sitting provocatively on his bed and leaning on him as she filled his mouth with passionate kisses. He sensed his own arousal, and pulled back.

"Don't stop, Yu Bing," she pleaded.

"You know where this may lead to, Myra," he warned her.

She answered unyieldingly, "I don't care! You asked me to make you take your words back. I'm a woman, not a little girl."

"Are you sure? There's no turning back in this," he told her. "Do you understand what's about to happen?"

"We're both single people," she stated defiantly. "We don't have anything to lose."

With the final glass, he decided he was not going to hold back anymore. The first two times had been out of the heat of the moment, but this time, he was serious in his feelings for her. He wanted to be responsible. Perhaps she didn't like him in that way yet, other than a childhood love, but he was looking forward to having her in his life. He didn't want her on the rebound or just to remedy his pain from being rejected by Lu Lu, but he had wanted her to fill up the lonely space in his heart. She was no longer that 11-year old child he had took around on a bicycle, but currently a third year university student.

She downed another glass, and he was tempted by how seductive she looked, seeing her skin reddening under the dim light of his room. They drank a bit more, and the more intoxicated he got, the more he couldn't be bothered anymore to consider the consequences of what was going to happen between them. He knew what he wanted, and got up from the bed and clicked on the door of his room to lock it.

She knew what was just about to happen, and she nervously bit down on her lower lip. He decided to pop the question. "It's still pouring. Will you stay?" he asked. She nodded, and he lay her down on the bed and kissed her slowly, while helping her with her clothes to make her comfortable. While they were engaged in their kiss, he breathed in her scent and indulged in the comfort of the softness of her body against his, feeling her body gradually warming up to his teasing. Her heart beat faster as the kisses intensified, and they lost each other to the ardence of their lovemaking. The deafening sounds of the thunder outside the window drowned out their moans, and they finally succumbed to weariness.

He questioned himself on his feelings, and realised how in all his years that he had admired Lu Lu, he had never craved a woman like how he had longed for Myra, and he hoped that whatever he had for her was true and genuine romantic feelings.He reflected on her words earlier, "We're both single people. We have nothing to lose."

What if he could change things between them, and give them a difference in status? Would she be willing to be his?