Chapter 26: Keep my mind and heart open

It was still early when Gemma knocked on my bedroom door the next morning. I barely opened my eyes, quickly blinking my eyelids as she suddenly barged inside my room, holding a bouquet of red roses with a huge grin that almost reached her ears. "Scarlet, look... Someone sent you flowers."

"Is there a card?" I asked while stretching every inch of my body. I could still feel my stiff muscles from the way I was tossing and turning on my bed last night while sleep evaded me.

"Yes, actually there is." Based on the way she was giggling and bouncing up and down, I could easily guess where the flowers came from, so I grabbed the card on the side and read the written message on the piece of note.

Scarlet,

Have dinner with me tonight.

I'm cooking something special for my girl.

Pick you up at 6 pm.

Daniel

Well, he was fast. I would give him credit for that. "I assumed you had seen the card," I said to Gemma, who was waiting excitedly. I eyed her carefully, letting her know that I was on to her.

"Sorry!" Making a heart sign as a symbol of a peace offering. "I just got carried away."

Putting the flowers down on the bed, I placed the card on the bedside table. "It's ok." I did not mind. It only meant that our relationship had transcended to another level where it was acceptable to overstep each boundary. If we reversed our situation, I would have done the same thing.

"So... Scarlet... Are you going to tell me something?" She propped her head on my pillow, laid in my bed, and reread the card as if she had nothing else better to do.

My phone beeped, alerting me of a new message. Peeking at it, the sender was no one else but Daniel. I chose to let Gemma wait for a while, payback for waking me up this early.

Sender: Daniel

I hope I made you smile. I'll see you later. XO

He assumed that I already consented to the dinner. Well, typical of men. Anyway, I already decided to give this relationship a chance, so whatever happened last night should not affect my decision.

Sender: Scarlet

Looking forward to our dinner.

By the way, the flowers are lovely.

Thanks.

That was so sweet of him, I mused. Then, turning my attention to my friend after texting Daniel back. Determined to irritate her more, I pretended to be busy with my phone. After a few minutes, she had enough of waiting, so she grabbed my phone and glared at me. "Stop with the suspense," Gemma snapped.

"Daniel and I are officially dating." Telling her slowly, after having my fun. I had better get it over and done with, or she might explode any minute. Besides, I could not stand keeping it from her. Well, she approved of my decision, seeing how happy her face turned out to be.

"That's great! Finally, you came to your senses." She started asking for details, which I carefully told her bit and pieces of last night, of course, avoiding telling her about the other incident. Satisfied, she finally left my room, to my relief.

I was busy talking on my phone with my mom when Gemma barged in again at my room that afternoon. Taking the other side of the bed, she sat down and hugged my pillow while she waited for me.

I finally told Mom about my relationship with Daniel. She was tremendously happy with the development in my love life. Well, at least this time, I was finally opening up to her about personal matters, basically, relationship and man in the same conversation.

"Mom, I'll call you again tomorrow. Gemma needed something," I said as I turned the speaker on and placed it near the face of Gemma.

"Hello, Mom Olive," Gemma shouted over the mouthpiece. They were getting closer too. Gemma having no family left, she self-proclaim herself as the long lost daughter of my mom.

"Hello to you too dear," Mom told Gemma, who in turn, also considered Gemma the same way.

"Ok, got to go, Mom. Love you," I shouted back before ending the call.

I dropped my phone on the bed and turned to Gemma. "What's going on?" Seriously, something was up with her since this would be the second time today she entered my room. We already discussed Daniel in detail, so she must have something else in mind.

She twirled the edge of the pillow in her fingers. She was a bit on edge, which was unusual. "I like to ask you for a weekend getaway next week. James and I are sorts of celebrating something special, and we would like to share it with you."

Wondering. "What's the special occasion?" It was not their birthdays or anniversary. I already had marked those dates on my calendar. The way she hesitated meant that this was no ordinary event and knowing how Gemma never liked secrets.

"It's a surprise. Please say yes." She begged as she shook me as if I was a rug doll. The excitement in her eyes told me that her surprise must be extraordinary, which she must be dying to share with me. Nonetheless, she wanted to keep it a secret until next week.

As I said before, it was quite hard to say no to my dear friend. "Ok. What is this? You know you can tell me." Trying to wrestle some hint, even making puffy eyes on her. She never divulged the reason for it, but I could tell it was she was looking forward to, and I could not wait to find out.

I reminded her that I would be out tonight, and she was, in turn, excited for me too. However, why did it felt, as if this was not something I was looking forward to, but then again, Gemma and my mom were right? I should keep my mind and heart open for this relationship to work.

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