SHE HUGGED her folded legs and sighed.
Selen stayed awake from night to dawn, watching Sage sleep. She was afraid that he would have a nightmare while she was asleep, and she would not be able to wake him up.
She leaned her head on the backrest of the accent chair where she was sitting and closed her eyes. Sage was about to wake up anyway. She would take a short nap before cooking breakfast.
She did not know how long she had been sleeping. When she woke up, her back was lying on a soft mattress, and there was this refreshing masculine scent that fills her nostrils. She sat up abruptly and found herself on Sage’s bed.
Sage!
Did Sage carry her to his bed? Why was she not aware? Where was he?
Selen jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs. She found Sage in the kitchen, eating his breakfast. Biting her lip, she sauntered towards the table, keeping that four feet distance.
“I’m sorry for not making breakfast. I fell asleep—”
“It’s okay.” He turned to her as he drank his coffee. “I should be the one saying sorry because you stayed awake the whole night, looking after me. Marceline was too exaggerated for ordering you to stay with me.”
She scratched her brow. “Well, I think your manager was just concerned about you.”
“Have a seat and join me for breakfast.” He pointed on the chair across him.
Selen covered her mouth with her hands upon realizing that she just woke up and she hasn’t fixed herself.
Oh, my goodness!
She immediately ran to the bathroom.
“Seriously, Selen?” she told herself as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. “You dare to face Sage with that look? Gross!” She winced and washed her face afterwards.
Sage was reading something on his tablet when she returned to the kitchen.
“Go home and get dressed,” he said without looking at her.
She blinked and stared at Sage after hearing what he said. He snapped his fingers right in front of her face when she did not move.
“Did you hear me?” Sage arched a brow.
“I… ah… yeah. But where are you taking me?”
Is he gonna take me somewhere?
“I’m taking you to the cemetery.”
“Eh?” Her eyes grew wider.
Sage laughed and patted her temple. “I’m going to visit my parents and I’m taking you with me.”
“Oh, yeah. Now I remember.” Selen knocked on her head. This is the consequence of lacking good sleep.
So, it was meeting the parents, dead edition.
She looked at him. Come to think of it. She and Sage were both orphans. The only difference between he got to meet his parents, and he knew where they were exactly buried. Unlike Selen, all she knew was her mother died giving birth to her and was buried in a remote forest, while her father died in a faraway place the same day she was born.
“Why are looking at me like that?” Sage asked when he noticed her staring at him.
“Nothing…”
Selen finished her breakfast.
SELEN WAS surprised to see Sage’s car parked in their front yard when she went out of the house. She did not expect him to pick her up.
She strode towards his car and knocked on the windshield. Sage unlocked his car.
She opened the door to the backseat and got into his car. He looked at her through the rearview mirror with a deep knot on his forehead.
“What’s the matter, Sage?” she asked, puzzled. She even checked the flowers on the other side that she did not even touch.
“Did you know that it’s rude to sit there? You’re making me look like I’m your driver.”
Her lips twitched.
“Jeez, what kind of mindset is that?” Boys and their egos. She wanted to add that, but she just kept it to herself.
Selen got off and transferred to the passenger’s seat of his car for world peace.
“Happy now?” she asked.
Sage smiled lopsidedly and leaned closer to her. God, she was not prepared by that sudden attack. He sent hundreds of butterflies that were now circling her belly.
Is he going to kiss me?
Selen closed her eyes and waited for their lips to touch, which did not happen. Instead, she heard the seatbelt click.
Ah, maybe it’s still too early for a kiss.
Her hand clenched against the pocket of her cardigan where she put the second dose of the love potion. Sage needs to take the doses consecutively for a better result. Lunch and dinner were the only chances left for that day.
“That grandma in the flower shop…” She gave him a side-way glance. “She talks to me as if she knows me for a long time.”
“Ah, that’s my Nana Violy. It must be because I always talk about you.”
Sage started the car’s engine. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” She leaned her head on the windshield.
“What did you tell her?”
“That you’re handsome and you have a smile that could light up this whole town.”
Selen’s heart skipped a beat when she saw him smile.
“Don’t you think it’s a little exaggerated?”
“Well, it’s way better than fantasizing your abs,”
Sage burst into laughter.
“You don’t like my abs?” He caressed his stomach and glanced at her.
“Sorry, but I like you because you’re a versatile actor.”
“I really appreciate that.” He turned to her with a wide smile, showing off his deep-set of dimples. “Congratulations, you’re now promoted as a high-rank fan of mine.” Sage winked at her.
Goodness, gracious!
Did I put a lot of love potion?
HER EYES got wider and wider as the car went up the hill. The cemetery where his parents laid to rest was like an exclusive subdivision for the dead. Selen loves it because the ambiance was serene, and it was close to nature.
“How long before we get there?” She turned to him.
“We’re almost there.”
Sage pulled over near a path walk that leads to a building. They got off his car and headed there with the flowers that he brought from their shop.
The building was a columbarium, and his parents’ ashes were laid in its apartments.
“It’s been a while, Mom, Dad.” He put flowers on each apartment beside the urn jars.
Selen stared at Sage as he stared at his parents’ urns. She knew that feeling of emptiness, longing, and never-ending grief. Losing both parents at an early age was too much to bear.
“Did you know why I strive so hard to be a successful actor?” Sage turned in her direction.
She shook her head in response. No one knows about that because Sage never mentioned the reason why.
“My mother dreamt of becoming an actress, but it didn’t happen because I came to her life too early. I thought I ruined her life, so I promised myself to make it up to her.”
Selen could not believe that Sage was slowly opening up to her.
“I… I thought you value your privacy. Why are you telling this to me now, Sage?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Perhaps I feel comfortable with you.”