*I'm not dead folks *grin*...sorry for the EXTREMELY late update. No excuses, I'm just lazy AF...anyway someone finally gets down here *wink*...hope it's worth it* Lanna
Tai flipped his wrist to look at the watch attached to it, okay, so maybe his excitement had gotten the best of him and he was here twenty minutes to the agreed time. But still...
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps, and a follow up question of, "Is this seat taken?"
He raised his head up to see his much awaited company giving him a warm smile which he returned. He was glad he wasn't being stood up, for a second there he had thought that could possibly be his fate.
He rose to his feet, "Thanks so much for coming, I know it was a bit short notice." He began as they shared a handshake.
"No worries, I'm always available to share a drink with a nice guy" Chuks replied as he took a seat opposite of Tai, "So, you wanted to talk about Selly?"
Tai nodded, he had figured Chuks was the best person to talk to concerning Selly's relationship with her fiance, he knew he couldn't bring up the discussion with her, but he had to understand certain things if he ever hoped to make any headway with her. The guy was obviously awesome- his brother was great so that gave him something of an idea, but he needed more and who better to help than his brother?
Tai nodded, "Yes, I did. Want a drink?"
"Sure, I'll have whatever you're having."
Tai raised his hand to get the attention of one of the 2 waitresses who had been staring at his table since he got in. He hadn't given a thought to why they were both standing there when they could've attended to other patrons, but once he saw them both rushing towards the table, he got an idea why. They were so lucky they didn't work for Mina, they wouldn't have lasted a day with her.
Eventually, the taller brunette managed to speedwalk faster than her colleague and reach their table first. She had on a rather large grin when she came over, "Hi, are you ready to order now?" Her eyes drifted from Tai to Chuks like she couldn't make up her mind on which of them she should drool over.
"Yes, we are..." Tai quickly made his order- a drink he wasn't familiar with but thought would taste good, he looked over to Chuks for any objections, but he had none so he ordered same for him. The waitress on the other hand didn't seem so interested in leaving their table just yet, she felt it necessary to ask if they needed anything else, then rattle off on some dishes she thought would go nicely with their drinks. Tai thought she was butting in on the little time he had to have a meaningful discussion with Chuks and made an effort to send her off.
"Thank you for your concern, we'll just have the drinks." He interrupted
"Are you sure? I mean..."
I'm sure whatever else you guys serve here must be tasty, but I'd like you to get us the drinks first if you don't mind."
The finality in his voice gave her pause, she smiled uncomfortably and nodded, "Okay, they'll be right up." She walked away rather reluctantly and Tai gave a sigh of relief at her absence.
"I think she likes the sound of her voice." Chuks finally commented. The entire period the waitress had been blabbering, he had been quiet, choosing to observe her instead like she was some sort of scientific object. The look of awe on his face had almost made Tai crack a smile if he hadn't been so annoyed at her endless chatter.
Tai shook his head and mumbled an "I wish." He had encountered women like her one too many times to just brush it off as a voice obsession. He would think Chuks would also be used to such antics, but it seemed he really was as clueless as Selly had said he was- he wished he could be so.
"So, you really like Selly huh?" Chuks asked brightly.
Tai smiled, "Yes, I do. She's amazing." Tai blurted out before he even realized what he was saying, he didn't attempt to withdraw the statement once it was said finding he meant it.
Chuks nodded in agreement, "She definitely is. You don't even know the half of it. She's at a bad time now, I appreciate your patience with her." He said sincerely.
"It's nothing. I enjoy being with her, I can tell she really loved your brother." He regretted saying that once he saw a flash of what seemes like sadness in Chuks' eyes, "I'm sorry about your brother." He added.
Chuks shook his head, "Nothing to be sorry about. He was a good person, they say God takes the good people early, gives me hope that I'll be here for a pretty long time." He cracked a smile at his joke and Tai smiled even wider grateful for Chuks' jovial nature.
"You're a good person Chuks."
Chuks frowned, "Don't say that, God is everywhere, he hears you say that and I could be gone sooner than I want. Let's make this discussion about how much of a complete jerk I am, can we?"
Tai couldn't help his laughter, he was definitely going to enjoy this little meeting. He didn't know many people who could make a joke out of the death of a loved one or even death at all. It almost seemed like he hadn't mentioned his dead brother minutes ago
He shrugged, "If you say so."
Their drinks arrived minutes later with the waitress once again making a nuisance of herself by standing there a little longer than necessary, Tai once again had to ask her to excuse them before she left, he gave an exasperated sigh like he was just glad to see the back of her.
"So, what are your intentions towards Selly?" Chuks asked, sounding every bit like a protective older brother.
Tai thought briefly on the question, not wanting to answer too quicklly lest he gave an unsatisfactory reply. Chuks was more of a brother to Selly than a friend, he could tell he cared deeply for her by his actions, it made him wonder if he had ever thought of her in a romantic way but never acted on his thoughts simply because she was with his brother. But seeing hos aloof he was, he didn't think that likely, whatever he felt for Selly was purely brotherly.
"I don't have a precise answer to that just yet, I won't bullshit you about getting a ring and getting on my knees, for now, I just want to see where things go with us. I like her, a lot and I'm seriously interested in a relationship with her if she's ready for that. It's all up to her though."
Chuks nodded and took a sip from his drink, "Really? So you don't want to tumble in the sheets?"
Tai smiled, "Come on men, she's hot. What man wouldn't want to tumble in the sheets with her?" He laughed. Chuks only raised a brow at him but failed to join in his laughter prefering to remain straight-faced. Tai stopped laughing, just a little bothered that he might have goofed with that.
Chuks suddenly broke into a grin, "ha! I got you there didn't I?" He laughed causing Tai to smile again, "You should've seen the look on your face man, classic." He chuckled and Tai laughed. Yes, he really was going to love this guy.
*****
Selly surveyed her surroundings, almost cringing at the sight before her. She couldn't remember the last time her bedroom looked like this- like Macy's and Target barfed in it. A horrific avalanche of clothes lay spread out...everywhere.
This wasn't what she had envisaged when Linda offered to assist her in finding something to wear for her job interview. She had thought it would be easy. She had lots of corporate wears in her wardrobe...or so she thought. Until she tried them on and realised all of her clothes were oversized. Just like Chuka had said, she had lost weight and couldn't fit into her clothes.
Linda immediately suggested they go shopping and she acquiesced to that, once again, thinking they would only get a few clothes. She had thought wrong, she wondered why she was so surprised Linda chose to splurge on clothes. Of course, classic Linda.
Now her room was a mess- and she still hadn't found the perfect outfit for the interview. She stood arms akimbo, staring at Linda with exhaustion as the blonde cocked her head to the side in thought, apparently trying to decide if her latest outfit was proper.
"Please tell me it's the one Lin, if I have to change one more outfit you'll be calling an ambulance." She groaned
Linda looked her over and then a bright smile popped on her face as she gave a thumbs up, "Purrrfect. Those executives will have no choice but to give you the job once they see you in this outfit."
Selene let out a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes, "I doubt I'll be meeting any 'executives', I applied for the post of a secretary..nothing fancy enough to require any executives"
"You can never tell, you don't even know whose secretary you could end up being."
Selene paused, seeing some sense in Linda's comment, she dismissed it almost immediately, "Let me get through the interview first before I worry about that." She pulled off the 4-inch pumps on her feet and proceeded to massage some blood flow back into it. It had been so long since she wore those things, it was going to be quite the task getting used to them again.
"So, how are you and Tai?" Linda asked with a small smile.
Selene shrugged, "We're good. He's extremely nice, too nice for me."
Linda's brows furrowed, "how do you mean? Don't you like him?"
She sighed as her shoulders slumped, "It's not that Lin, it's just..." She released another sigh and re-positioned herself so she was facing Linda, "...he tries so hard to engage me, but I feel like I shut him out most of the time. I don't mean to, it just happens. And I know...I know he could be spending his time with better, more beautiful, more deserving ladies, I mean, he's young, good-looking, decent, interesting and really talented, he can get any female he wants and he's wasting his time with me. It's like I'm obstructing the life he could live."
By the time she was through, Linda was staring at her like she had lost her mind, "Please tell me what part of your brain all of that nonsense came from so I can shut it down before the virus spreads. What nonsense are you talking about wasting his time?...."
