A Fine Gentleman

People often talk about the color of eyes. Xiu was also one of those people and that's why Darren's grey eyes were so intriguing to her. But now that she was looking at his eyes through her dark shades, she realized his eyes were beautiful in any shade. 

From his eyes, she could feel an intensity, his honesty, and a rare gentleness. For the first time, Xiu wanted to agree with her drunk self who called him a gentleman last night. He was indeed a gentleman with his great spirits, the respect in his eyes and his noble ways. He wasn't just handsome because of his features that stood out in the crowd but also because he had a soul that shined from within his skin. 

He was handsome from the depth of his sincere eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. She sighed heavily as she thought, 'I always heard there is plenty of fish in the sea. But my heart got stuck on a salmon who didn't care about my feelings at all. Haiz! McSpicy is even more good looking that crazy jerk of a salmon. Then why was I stuck on him?' She really felt pitiful for herself. Actually, if she was being honest, then even Dylan was better than that 'salmon' who was in her heart. But love must have really blinded her to not see anyone else.

"Why are you looking at me? I can feel the intense gaze even through those shades." Darren's voice startled her a bit as she was jolted awake as if someone caught her admiring him. 

"I was wondering where did you get such delicious soup?" Xiu half-lied as she was indeed curious about the soup.

"I made it myself," replied Darren making Xiu choke on the soup that she had yet to swallow. He rubbed her back and gave her a glass of water. Xiu mumbled her thanks and stared at him weirdly. But she wasn't alone even Nora's expressions were weird. "What's wrong?" he asked seeing them behaving like this.

"You know how to cook and you actually took the initiative to cook for me?" Xiu was in disbelief. A bit more about knowing that he actually worked hard on this soup just for her. She was the only one drunk, so it wasn't like he was making some for himself and saved some for her. He ACTUALLY cooked it for HER!

Darren couldn't understand her internal shock. "I have been living alone since I was fifteen. So, I picked up a couple of skills. It's not that shocking."

"Fifteen? Did you run from home?" Xiu asked intriguingly and Nora hit her head.

"Don't listen to her," Nora sounded guilty and sorry but Darren waved it away nonchalantly.

"I don't mind," he replied and added, "And no Sweets, I didn't run from home."

"Then were you kicked out?" Xiu asked again and this time, Nora pinched her thigh making her yelp. "Stop it, Nora! I'm asking a very reasonable question."

"Yeah, right," Nora grumbled with derision.

"No Sweets, I wasn't kicked out of home as well," Darren replied with a small smile on his lips.

"Then boarding school?" She asked again being nosy for no reason.

"Hmm... I can't say it was a boarding school. More like training school." His vague answer left her feeling all curious and restless. But she didn't want to appear anymore nosy than she already did. This much probing was not good after all.

Xiu silently finished the entire bowl of the soup and felt a lot better than before. The headache wasn't as bad as it was when she woke up. It was quite bearable now. Darren was about to help Nora in cleaning the table when she refused to take his help. That action made her smile.

"Oi, McSpicy! Did you pay for the meal last night?" Xiu's question made him frown but he nodded. "Why did you? I said I'd pay."

"First, you weren't in the condition to pay at all." Xiu retracted her gaze as he pointed out her 'condition' from last night. "And second, my mother would kill me if I let you pay."

"Huh?" Xiu was dumbfounded.

"Before you start on your feminist speech again, my mother is even more of a feminist than you are. But she had told me to never let a lady pay what I owe." Xiu was left silent as he continued, "And the dinner was my responsibility as the new neighbor and for your friendly welcome. That's what I owed you both. How could I go back on my values?"

Xiu patted his shoulder and said, "Did anyone ever tell you?"

"What?"

"Your mother has raised a fine gentleman. And it's rare. Trust me, it's rare!" Xiu dramatically flailed her hands as she spoke to emphasize her point.

"Now that's an exaggeration. You never know what kind of a person I am." His voice sounded bitter for some reason. But Xiu couldn't bring herself to believe his words. "It's already late, I should take my leave now."

Like a good host, Xiu stood up and walked him to the door. She was about to close the door when she heard his voice, "Sweets wait! I have something for you. Just a sec!" He entered his apartment and came back within a couple of minutes with a black gift box in his hand which he extended towards her and said, "This is for you. But you have to give me a promise with this."

Xiu took the box and felt it was a bit heavy. She tried to shake it to know what was inside but to no avail. "What's the promise?" She asked absentmindedly since her attention was solely on the gift box now.

"You will only open this gift the day you'd feel happier than ever." Xiu frowned at his words. What kind of promise was that? "Last night, you drank because you're sad. Now, I want you to only open this when you're truly happy. Promise?"

"But I love opening presents. It's torture for someone like me." Xiu gave him the puppy eyes but he didn't budge at all. "Aish! Fine!" She hooked her pinky with his and even stamped the promise. "But can't you give me a little hint? What's inside?"

With a thoughtful look, Darren replied, "It's something you asked for last night."