Chapter 12: Welcome to the U.S

Ace P.O.V

After waking up from my nap, my Uncle told me that we would land in about 2 hours or so I took my suitcase to look for something to wear after looking for a bit I finally chose a dark grey polo with dark blue jeans assorted with a charcoal colored belt I also choose a Brooklyn Nets snapback for the occasion since when in do as the roman also I like basketball, football, and baseball and since I love the sport and not a specific team, in particular, I have a collection of snapback from all teams in those 3 sports at home I converted one of my dressings only for this use I must say I love wearing those caps I also put some perfume, a chain with a lotus pendant on it and of course my AIR JORDAN 1 RETRO HIGH OG – Black & GREY coming out of the room Lena looked at me she then whistled at me saying 

-Are you sure you're not going out to meet a girl with this outfit oh you even put some perfume my my my? she asked while laughing

I laughed it off while trying to pinch her cheeks which she dodged beautifully, my Uncle was looking at us with a smile on his face not sure about what he was thinking maybe he was imagining Lena with their child playing with Lena instead of me ok that's more like what I wished he was thinking (giggles)but I'm sure that the bond we shared all together made him happy and for now that's all that matters after a little bit more squabble with Lena the aircraft commander ask us to sit since we were about to land 

Disembarking was always a chore but with a private jet it was not that bad, Nigel was waiting for us on the side of a new car I had seen on TV the brand new Audi Grandsphere EV 2025 limo its sleek design and light grey color was really a nice fit the fact that there was no car door handle visible for the outside was giving a smooth finish I assumed that it must be tactile wow this car is really nice looking I thought (image here)

We landed in North Carolina and while we went on our first visit to Duke University, the jet again took off and was to wait for us at Teterboro private airport in New York which would be the last stop of this journey we could have taken the jet to go between states but I asked my Uncle to not do this that I wanted to see the more of this country, of course, all this was just an excuse to let Lena and Uncle have more time together I bet Lena knew what I was thinking, on the other hand, my Uncle was as obvious as always and of course in this situation, I was having a blast

Before leaving for our travel I had a discussion with Lena she told me that yes she liked my Uncle but was unsure about what would happen if she were to confess would it change the way I see her would I think that she was taking advantage of the situation to improve her living condition would our dynamic change, of course, all those insecurities were just in her head if anything the only thing that would change is that I would now call her Aunty, of course, I didn't tell her that. I told her that it would make me happy to see 2 people I love finally together and also that I wanted a nephew or a niece which made her blush so hard I think I discovered I new tint of red that day(giggles) after teasing her a bit more I said in a serious tone that she should go for it heck Anthony isn't that young anymore if they wait until I leave the house it would be too late I also said that here in the Maldives polygamy is legal so if she doesn't speed up Mammy would probably pick 2-3 wives for Anthony so that he could have children's she looked at me shock to core I think she didn't know about this, of course, Mammy would never do that but she didn't need to know this I thought.

Climbing into the car I took the time to look at the interior design the car was as luxurious as I thought it would be white colored leather with silver stitches TVs coming down from the roof of the car a little refrigerator in the middle console and enough room for our legs to stretch, being 6 foot tall I like cars that think about this of course if a limo wasn't spacious enough it would be called a limo it would just be a nice high brand looking car Nigel drove all the way to the 5 stars hotel my Uncle had booked it seems that we didn't have a house, villa or mansion here which left me a little unsatisfied cause I really would have like discovering new property ed anyway I didn't dwell on it too much mostly because I was getting hungry

I talked to Uncle and Lena saying I would go eat something and then explore the city with a little walk afterward of course that's what the excuse I used for was of course I also wanted to see what this city as to offer but with the wink I threw toward Lena she knew better than to believe the poor lie I made I didn't really try to make it believable but Uncle didn't raise any objection and he didn't rebute me so I guessed I was convincing enough, after good meals I bade my farewell I left the hotel lobby I ttok my phone out of my pocket and looked for a park nearby the closest one was the Sarah P. Duke Gardens I didn't have any expectation at first but once a put a foot down the gardens I was impressed I didn't think a garden this beautiful could thrive in the heart of a modern city like this but I was glad I was wrong the fountain, bridges, and waterfall all looked stunning of course flowers were not to be outdone as the multitude of colors that's was everywhere could probably make a colorblind person see colors again!

Lena P.O.V

After the talk I had with Ace about his Uncle and the obvious feeling I had for him I felt better I knew what Ace was doing by letting us alone he wished I could take courage in my hands and confess but the more I thought about it the more stressed I was getting sigh I still don't know how he will react and that makes me nervous Ace told me to not think too much about it that he was sure Anthony also had feelings for me and I think he is right but what if, this little sentence was going on over and over in my head for the past hour what if he doesn't like me, what if he laughed at, me what if...

I knew this would lead to nothing so I am going to just do what Martha advised me to do I will give him hints that I liked him and let him confess to me if, after those 2 weeks, he still didn't take the cue then do it myself hmph yes that's a plan I thought with this out of the way I too was starting to get hungry so I came out of my rooms and made my way toward Anthony's room I took a deep breath than knock lightly on the door

-I'm coming, just a second, please!... Oh, it's you Helena do you need something? Is everything alright with your room? asked Anthony

-Yes I need something and No everything is more than fine with my room I was just wondering if you would like to come with me for dinner? Since Ace has left to tour the city I thought it would be sad to just eat alone, so are you up for it dining with me I mean?

-Of course, it would be a pleasure hum just give me 2 minutes to get ready I will be right there do you wish to come in to wait?

-Thank you! I said while blushing a little.

I wasn't accustomed to being in a room alone with a man and on top of that a man I love but still, I made my way inside as soon as I walked through the door I could smell the subtle scent of Anthony's perfume I was deep in it I thought while I light chuckle escaped my control Lucky for me Anthony was already far enough from me that he didn't hear it, I least I hoped so

A couple of minutes later Anthony came out of the restroom looking refreshed I'm pretty sure he shaved himself and put on some more perfume because now all I could smell was him, oh Lena get a grip I told myself. Like a Gentleman, Antohony offered me his arm.

-Shall we go? he asked me with a smile

-Yes! I said while putting my hand on his arm I swear if someone were to see me right now they could probably see steam coming out from the top of my head 

After a pleasant evening with Anthony with no Ace in sight, I was all the more sure about my feelings for him when I was with him I felt like a woman I felt safe and in his eyes, I could sometimes see what looked like desire and appreciation most people would often mistake those kind of gaze for lust but I knew Anthony for long enough to notice the difference and this made me feel ... understood and valued as a woman I'm glad he got those gaze for me but that's also telling me that Martha and Ace were right he does have feelings for me these 2 weeks will be a lot of fun I can't wait to talk about this to Ace because I know that the first thing this little monster will do when coming back is coming to me for some gossip news 

As I had guessed Ace did come to my room before going to sleep he asked how our evening had gone I told him almost everything (I wouldn't tell him how shy I was and how good his Uncle smelled) but I told him everything else after talking a little bit more and asking him about his 'walk' and left with a smile happy that I was finally taking things into my hand well almost humph I need to make him work for it this man he better confess to me first or he will feel it I can tell you

Ace P.O.V

I had a great night I dreamed of a big family all sitting at one table enjoying each other company Mammy was there but she was looking old even more so than now my Uncle and Lena were also there with 2 little toddlers in their arms there were also 3 other faces I could see which was weird since I always had clear dreams, well I woke up feeling happy so I didn't ask myself more question than this after getting up I took my gym clothes and made my way toward the hotel gym since I didn't know the area I dint want to worry my uncle by going running so normal exercise would have to do after 45 minutes of sweating my ass off I took a shower took the phone on the bedside table and called for room service for breakfast 

Lena asked me last night if she could have breakfast alone with my Uncle of course I didn't see any reason I could have to refuse so I told her that I would take breakfast in bed and that I always had wanted to try this of course she didn't know that I did had tried it, in my past life but doing this in my little house then and now in a luxurious 5 stars hotel bed was a completely different experience

After 2 hours, breakfast, and a movie later Lena came knocking on my door telling me that Nigel was waiting to drive us to Duke University 25 minutes later we arrived at Duke University. I must say this was a sight to see like Lena had guessed I already had made my choices. Still, if my choices hadn't been made I think I could have chosen Duke only for this visual feast the building looked like a church, of course, I doubt the interior looked like one but the architecture was sure giving this kind of vibe, I could have made research before coming but I didn't want to spoil myself even if this travel was for me to visit schools only I knew at the time that this was pure bullshit, even then I was still thinking that surprise and discovery is always fun so I could also enjoy all the little things this adventure trip was offering.