"Who did you say she was talking to?" Chuks asked later that day as he and Linda made dinner. They had dropped Selly off earlier in the day and promised to check on her the next day after making sure she was feeling better. Now, Linda was telling Chuks of the stranger she saw with Selly.
"Some guy, I asked her about him, but she avoided my question, like she didn't even hear me." She replied as she popped a slice of carrot into her mouth- she could never resist eating what she cooked while it was being prepared.
"Hmm." Chuks thought to himself, that was weird, Selly usually didn't avoid questions. His thoughts went to the tall Asian man that had followed Selly few minutes after she went to the rest room. He had only spotted him because he was pretty big, it was almost impossible to miss the big Asian dude in the room since there weren't a lot of big Asians to start with. He figured the guy to be around 6ft.1", about 2 inches shorter than his 6ft.3" height, they were around the same size in stature, but the guy was leaner. His thoughts hadn't ventured toward the reason the man followed Selly, he hadn't even thought he was following Selly, but now that Linda mentioned it, maybe he should've paid a little more attention.
"Was he Asian?" He asked as he took out the casserole and placed it on the counter carefully.
"Yes...some big dude that looks kinda like that cartoon guy, what's his name...?" Linda clicked her fingers, her own way of thinking up the name of the character she was referring to.
Chuks chuckled, his thoughts had gone in that direction too when he saw the guy, "..Samurai Jack?"
"Yes! Him."
Chuks shook his head, "It sounds weird to compare a human being to a cartoon character." He went about getting the plates they would use to eat.
Linda shrugged, "He looks like him, that's not my fault..." She sighed and turned toward Chuks, she watched him place the plates on the counter, and then go to the cupboard to get the cups, he was in a pair of khaki shorts and a white singlet, an apron tied around his waist, whenever they were in the house, he loved to walk around in shorts and a singlet, displaying his bulging biceps and the outline of his muscled torso. When they had first started living together 5 months ago, it had been cool, he had agreed to move in with her after she told him she was afraid of living alone, he had been the nicest flatmate anyone could ask for. For a guy, he wasn't messy, in fact, she thought he was cleaner than she was, he cooked too, he liked to try out various recipes from different continents, sometimes the food was nice, other times, there was a consensus never to try that recipe again.
5 months later and Linda found herself thinking more and more about her best friend, she had tried to stop thinking of him in an intimate sense, but it was becoming more and more difficult as the days passed. She wondered if he knew she liked him romantically, he was certainly aloof about it- he was aloof about everything, he didn't even know how hot he was, or how cute the dimple on his left cheek looked when he smiled, or how totally sexy he looked when he walked around the kitchen in an apron, or how downright fuckable he looked whenever he decided to torment her by walking around the house in his towel, showing off his ripped body and toned abs, sometimes she thought he was doing it on purpose, but she knew he wasn't a tease or a flirt- he sucked at flirting particularly. She wondered if he would ever see her as more than a friend, she didn't think she was all that bad looking, hell, a lot of people thought she was pretty and she never had a problem getting free drinks from guys at the club, she wasn't very tall at 5ft.6", but her legs gave off the illusion that she was, she had a nice pair of 30C breasts, she thought them her best assets- well, apart from her eyes. Generally, she was pretty decent in the looks department, and she got attention from lots of guys- just not the one whose attention she wanted.
A longing sigh escaped her lips, pulling his attention, he raised his head up and gave her a weird look, a smile dancing on his lips, "Are you okay?"
She immediately caught herself and turned around quickly to finish the salad she was preparing, "Yes, yeah, um...so, you think I should ask her about that guy again?" She asked to divert the conversation.
His eyes remained on her for sometime, considering her words and at the same time wondering if he should go along with her little diversion or insist on knowing her problem, he settled for the latter, soon enough, she would tell him why she had been acting so weird the past months, maybe she didn't feel comfortable with him around anymore. That thought saddened him a little, he loved spending time with her, she was fun and free-spirited and save for her sometimes very disorganised escapades, he learnt a lot from her.
He shrugged, "She'll tell us when she's ready, no need to begin questioning her, she just got out of the house recently, we don't want to send her back."
She nodded, though her thoughts had left Selly and her mystery man, she swore she had to do something about Chuks, ignoring him wasn't an option anymore, he was always in her face, she just had to confront her feelings, soon she would tell it all, and hope her feelings were reciprocated.
*****
Tai stared intently at the design he was drawing, Mina was looking to expand the restaurant and she needed more designs on the wall, as usual, she ran to him for that and was quick to pull out the "I'm your elder sister" card if he even thought to refuse her. It wasn't that he didn't love creating the designs for her, it was just that she had a thing for being present when he was working and she was a huge distraction, she usually used the opportunity to ask him random questions and butt in on his life.
From the intense look she had been giving him the past ten minutes, he just knew that it was only a matter of time before she started asking questions. He tried to think up the possible questions, but she was pretty unpredictable in that area, so he thought it best he focus on his work, perhaps if he was able to finish on time, he would avoid her questions.
"Well?" She began.
He sighed deeply, well, he never got lucky enough to escape her questions, "Well, what?" He asked, curving his pencil delicately so as not to ruin the perfect flow of the drawing.
"Aren't you going to tell me about her?"
He paused and stood straight up, he turned toward his pint-sized elder sister, it was almost difficult to convince some people that they were related, he had inherited his father's huge stature and she had taken their mother's smaller one, some of his friends used to ask why she wasn't taller, he thought she was perfect this way, when they were younger, he got a kick out of raising things high above her head and asking her to grab it if she could, sure, it had gotten him a few bite marks whenever he took things too far, but it never stopped him from doing it again another time.
"Her who?"
She frowned at him, she was pissed at his attempt to act like he had no idea what she meant, he always acted this way whenever she asked about a new lady in his life, "Her. That black woman you followed to the restroom at the restaurant two days ago. I know you followed her, I saw that look in your eyes when you stood up."
He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest, "What look? What are you talking about Mina?" He sure as hell wasn't about to start spewing his guts out to her, even when she was giving him that death glare she thought intimidated him. He didn't think she'd ever realise that he was almost a foot taller than she was and more than twice her size, hence, her attempt to intimidate or scare him had zero effect.
"That customer that came in two days ago, the one who was choking. I saw you follow her to the restroom, I saw the way you looked at her so don't deny it. Do you know her from somewhere?"
