Chapter 9 - We Had A Deal

"Thank you." Gaville's face was very serious while talking to Shenise inside his car.

Gaville drove her from the hospital and is now infront of the lady's house.

Shenise brushed off the serious atmosphere with a smile. "Welcome. Goodnight, Gav."

She's about to get out when Gaville spoke again. "Why do you do that?"

Shenise furrowed her eyebrows. "Do what?"

"Help people unconditionally. Why do you do that?" Gaville continued, still staring in front of the car. "There's no reason for you to help Dad. There's no reason for you to spend your time with him. We're not exactly friends and I wasn't exactly very nice to you either, specially at the beginning. You don't need to do this. If I was in your place, I won't."

Shenise sat properly again in the front passenger seat. "People help other people because they needed help. Is there any other reason aside from that?" She said like it was a very obvious thing.

Gaville laughed in a sarcastic way. "That's just so naïve and stupid." Even his tone was sardonic.

Shenise's jaw dropped. "You mean I'm stupid?"

Gaville shrugged. "Sometimes."

Shenise is about to attack Gaville with a derisive remark but the man spoke again. "But thanks to your stupid kindness, my father is doing very well." The man looked at her and smiled simply. "Thank you, Shen." He said sincerely.

Shenise's mouth was agape, then she just shook her head and giggled. Only Gaville has the ability to change her emotions drastically.

Since she met him, she was always surprised by Gaville. One minute, he was infuriating her, then saying things that stirred her emotions on the next. Gaville could make her feel repulsed, sometimes sad, then smiling.. even giggling like now.

Even the use of nicknames between them had been a wonder to her. Who and when did it start, she can't remember. But she is comfortable about it. And so is Gaville.

"Is this your way of expressing gratitude? You really have a funny way of doing things sometimes." Shenise just shook her head. "Okay, 'Night."

She went out of the man's car and entered their house- all the while shaking her head and smiling.

*****

"Hey Dude, how is your problem with your fiancée?"

Gaville looked at the interrogating Tyus, one of his close friends since high school.

"Why are you interested?" He questioned back as he drank his beer. They were sitting in their usual spot inside their favorite bar- him, Tyus and Lyron.

"Nothing. Just these last days, you're busy being with your fiancée. So is there any progress?" The waiter brought their orders and placed it on the table. Accidentally, the waiter's hand brushed an open bottle of beer and it spilled on the table.

"Hey! What the fuck!" Tyus said. They managed to stand up immediately and did not get wet by the drink.

"Sir, I'm sorry. It was an accident." The waiter quickly moved to clean the poured out drink.

"Hell! Is it that hard to serve drinks-"

"Tyus." Gaville stopped his friend.

"What?" Tyus snapped at him.

"I'm really sorry, Sir." The waiter apologized nervously while frantically cleaning the mess on the table.

"Yeah, you should be sorry-"

"It's okay. Could you just please change the beer that was spilled?" Gaville interjected to what Tyus was about to say.

"Yes, Sir. I'm really sorry again." The waiter quickly moved to walk away.

"Don't worry about it. Thank you too." Gaville answered. "What?" He innocently asked when he noticed the unusual look his two friends are throwing his way.

To his further confusion, Tyus and Lyron laughed.

"Man, what have you eaten?" Lyron asked. "Between the three of us, you have the worst temper. Normally, you would have blown off with what happened. You might even have called the manager." The two were still grinning like idiots.

"That's an exaggeration." He denied.

"Nope. You've always been the perfectionist. You don't accept other's mistakes. So what happened to you?"

Gaville stared at his bottle of beer. They're right. But somehow, these last days, it's becoming easier for him to understand other people's small mistakes and to not make a big deal out of it.

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm maturing."

"Yeah, right." His two friends laughed again.

Gaville did not mind them as his eyes went towards the entrance of the bar and he was surprised to see Shenise enter there.

He instantly smiled. He also automatically stood up to walk towards the woman, but he also stopped abruptly when he saw that Shenise was with someone. His smile disappeared. It was the same guy that's been with her when he first saw her in this same bar before.

Scowling, he went near his fiancée in big steps and ignored his two friends that were calling his name- surprised by his sudden departure from their table.

"Shen, I never thought I'd see you here." Shenise's eyes widen upon seeing him, sign of panic. Then, Shenise quickly looked to the guy she is with. Gaville's scowl deepened.

"Shen, Ry, let's head upstairs... Oh, who's this hunk here?"

Gaville's eyes shot to the lady who just arrived. She was taller than Shenise, but it's unnoticeable if you won't look closely.

"Hi there, I'm Elein, single and available. You are..?" The lady eagerly reached her hand to him. A wicked thought entered his mind. He threw a glare to the guy who's with Shenise before smiling at the blunt lady.

"Hi, I'm Gaville Eclaire." He introduced himself without second thoughts. “And I am Shenise's fiancé."

He saw how Shenise's two companions froze while Shenise paled.

"Ah, guys.. excuse us for a while." Shenise said, quickly grabbing his hand and pulled him away from Elein and Ryleigh.

*****

"We had a deal. So what are you doing?" Shenise whisper-yelled, annoyance and irritation evident in her voice as she pulled Gaville away from her two friends.

"I'm not doing anything." Gaville said feigning innocence.

"I thought we're not supposed to sabotage each other, and you telling them that I'm your fiancée qualifies as sabotaging my chances with Ryleigh!" Shenise placed her hands on her hips and Gaville scowled at her while trying not to stare at Shenise's curves.

"What do you like about him anyway? He's not even that good-looking." He said along with his trademark dry tone. That's not true. The 'Ryleigh' guy was very good-looking. And him and Shenise look so perfect together that it makes Gaville feel so.. so...argh!

Gaville ignored Shenise's glare and continued. "He looked like a wimp. Besides, I was under the impression that you're not exactly fond of the bourgeoisie lifestyle, but what's this? Why have I seen you here twice now?" And with him, the voice in his head irritatingly added.

Shenise inhaled a lungful of air, obviously controlling herself from snapping at Gaville.

"I'm here because El has a free pass. And since it's her birthday, I want to celebrate it with her. The last time I was here, it's because... Wait!" Shenise glared at him when she realized what he's doing. "Why should I explain myself to you?" Shenise said indignantly. "Stop annoying me." The woman irritatingly turned her back to him and left.

Gaville frustratingly stared at Shenise's retreating form. He took a deep breath and quickly ran after Shenise, grabbing her arm and turning her gently to face him again.

"Are you mad?" Frustration was in Gaville's voice.

"Oh no. I 'm not mad. In fact, I'm very happy!" Shenise said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, sure. You always do- what did you say?" Shenise's face was surprised. "Did I hear you right? You said 'sorry'?" Shock was still on Shenise's expression, like Gaville just did the most unbelievable thing ever, making Gaville feel even more irritated. Then unexpectedly, Shenise grinned at him and she was breathtaking.

"Well, since you apologized, I guess it's okay now. Apology accepted. See yah." And before he could even open his mouth to answer, Shenise already walked away.

He just stared at Shenise like a complete idiot, then he shook his head. How could Shenise be so mature and yet so childlike?

He directed his gaze at Shenise again. And just like before, he felt a tug inside him. He doesn't know where does the urge to touch Shenise came from. It wasn't even sexual. He just want to reach out to her and hold her hand, or wound his arms around her waist, or shoulder. And he don't understand himself, too.

Gaville let out a sigh and went back to his friends' table, but his eyes immediately glued themselves to the table where Shenise's at. The irritation inside him welled up again as he watch Shenise's sweet smile directed to Ryleigh. He felt his insides tighten. Shenise never smiled like that to him- and he is the fiancé.

"Gaville, if looks could kill, that raven-haired guy would've been bleeding and dead on the floor already."

He sharply looked at a smirking Tyus.

"Hey, cool, Man. Don't get mad at us." Tyus said stifling a laugh.

"I am not mad." He said, then he downed his beer and slammed it on the table, creating a loud 'thud' and shaking the table itself, fingers denting the empty can of beer.

Tyus and Lyron looked at each other knowingly.