Chapter 18.1

This day, Tina and Jeff were strolling about the neighborhood of his new home after supervising the work being done there.

The work was almost done, and in a blink of an eye, four months already passed by. Nothing special happened during these fleeting months. Her dad was still in endless pursuit of Mrs. Lawrence. Since the unpleasant breakfast four months ago, she hadn't heard from Martha. Lina was still all about her mechanic workshop, but she got her heart stolen about a month back.

Her relationship with Jeff was still going steady and safe. The other day, she got to meet with Giselle's side of the family, and they were just as cheery as Jeff's family.

"When do you think everything's going to be in place?" Jeff asked as he turned his head to look at her.

"Give it about 2-4weeks, and you'll be ready to move in," she smiled at him while answering.

"I won't be moving in immediately. It's my home after marriage," he said this time, not looking at her.

Over the past five months that they'd been dating, Jeff had hinted about marriage to her in several ways.

During their one-month anniversary, which she didn't know was a thing because normal people celebrated anniversaries annually, they were cooked up in his room watching several romance movies. These movies had some themes in common: Love at first sight, proposal, then happily ever after. When they prepared for bed, he asked her what she thought about the movies.

During their second month anniversary, he took her to a fancy restaurant that was love themed. The bowls, table clothes, lights, steak, spice containers, almost everything was love-shaped. Up until the end of their meal, there were three proposals that took place. It wasn't until she went to bed that day, she decided to look up the restaurant. Voila! It was a famous site for successful marriage proposals.

Unexpectedly, their third month anniversary was unbelievably quiet. He didn't do anything extraordinary or out of hand. They just spent the evening together after work. It was also the first time Jeff spent a night over at the Lawrence's. Compared to her first time sleeping over at his place, Jeff was a lot more nervous. He said that he felt like everyone was staring at him, especially her father.

Because he didn't bring up anything "proposal" for a while, Tina thought that it was all in her head. Just when she was about to let go, Sia and Mrs. Strider caught the baby fever. They'd send her cute videos and pictures of several babies, then comment that it had been long they had a baby in the family, and they were looking up to Jeff to make one. Whenever Jeff got the messages too, he'd forward them to her.

"Well, let me wish you good luck on your future marriage," she said, nodding towards him.

She always replied this way and brushed off the marriage comment successfully. In reply, he pinched are nose playfully as they walked back towards the car.

"Tina… Tina Lawrence, right?" a voice called out from behind.

Hearing her name being called, she turned around in response. So did Jeff.

"Jerry? Jerry!" she confirmed as she let go off Jeff's hand to go closer to her high school friend.

"You look the same as you did in high school. I know I couldn't recognize you wrongly," Jerry cried out happily as he took Tina's hands and swung them in excitement.

"You haven't changed either. It's so nice to see you again. When did you get back?" she asked with much excitement also.

"Right after college, so it's been a while now."

When Jeff approached the two of them was when Tina realized that she had forgotten about him out of all the sudden excitement.

"Oh! Let me introduce my boyfriend to you. This is Jeff, and Jeff, this is Jeremiah, my high school friend."

After the brief introduction, the friends exchanged numbers before they drove off.

"So, your friend yeah?" Jeff asked, with his eyes still on the road.

"Yeah. We were lab partners for 3 years before he went abroad after graduation," she answered happily.

She didn't have a lot of friends, but Jerry was one of her best friends in high school. They lost contact after his travel, so it was amazing to her how they met today.

"How close were you?" Jeff asked again.

"Very close. We walked home together, studied together, and hung out together. There was a time my mom thought we were dating, and my dad almost banned him from coming to our house. That day was so funny," she chuckled as she remembered that piece of memory. That time, her parents were still very close.

"So, were you dating?" he asked a while later as he pulled to a stop at the red light. He turned to look at her inquisitively.

Finally picking up on his sour words, her eyes lit up.

"Jealous?" she smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Is he your ex?" he asked again, this time in a straightforward manner.

"If I say yes?" she teased.

"Is he? You looked too excited when you saw him," he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Of course, I was excited. I hadn't seen him in so long," she answered truthfully.

"When you meet him next time, I want to be there," he ordered.

"You feel threatened by his presence?"

"If I don't keep my eyes on my girl, what would I do if I lost her?" he answered sincerely.

"Cheesy!"