Chapter 18

"What do you mean 'how'?" Shane whirled to face Jace and shrugged. "Just hand it to her."

Jace crossed his arm, "Easier said than done."

"What so hard about it?" Shane retorted while munching a piece of radish kimchi.

Jace didn't answer–more like he couldn't answer. After his encounter with Lorelei earlier, it did not seem right to give her food randomly. Heck, they're not even friends to give each other food at random. Worst, she might get the wrong idea why he's giving her side dishes unexpectedly. But whatever, again, he doesn't have a choice. His mother, most definitely, would give him an earful if he does not adhere to her instructions.

Jace just sighed. "Alright. I'll hand it to her, but when?"

"YOU decide WHEN," his friend replied. "Ah, right. You don't mind me sleeping here, right?"

On that note, Jace suddenly wondered to ask why Shane crashed on his place, and he's even planning to sleep over at that, "I thought you were staying with your da-" Jace paused mid-sentence, "By any chance… did you have a fight with your dad?"

Shane frequented his place, but he only spends the night whenever he does not feel like going home or when he wasn't allowed to go home. And Jace had to figure which one of the two is the reason this time, it could be the former, or the latter, or maybe…both.

Shane nodded as a reply.

"What's the reason this time?" Jace shot without any hesitation. The situation was nothing new, unfortunately, and they were close enough to ask such.

"He's against the idea of me keeping a dog," his friend said with a rather humorous tone.

Jace's face formed into a frown, clearly annoyed. "Get out," he said and pointed to the door of his studio.

"You're way too harsh!" Shane smacked his arm, "Just kidding. It's something serious but I'd rather not talk about it," he beamed as if what he said was nothing.

Jace knew better than to force him to spill it. It would be probably like rubbing salt on a wound, even behind that grin. He just gave his friend a nod and then smacked his back.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Shane complained.

"You can sleep here but I'll take the bed this time," Jace replied, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Shane chuckled, "Fine, fine! It's all yours!"

—

It was already nine in the evening and Jace was still figuring out when and how should he give the side dishes to Lorelei. Should he give it right now? Or should he wait for tomorrow? But tomorrow wouldn't do. He had affairs to attend early in the morning and he'd probably be home late. After a while, he came to the conclusion that now is the best time to give it. They're both not busy, and it's not that late to deliver it to her studio. The only problem left is which unit is her apartment.

Jace grabbed his phone to type in a message.

Jace: [You at home?]

Lorelei replied in under a minute.

Lorelei: [Yeah. Why?]

Jace: [What's your unit number?]

Lorelei: [301]

Jace didn't bother messaging back. He grabbed some containers and packed her some of the side dishes. And then, he looked for a paper bag to put the containers in, and off he went to Lorelei's studio.

—

"What's wrong with this guy?" Lorelei muttered as she dropped her phone beside her. She had been waiting for a whole five minutes for Jace's reply, but oh well, his late replies were nothing new anyway.

She put on a mask pack on her face as her final step in her skincare routine. "Gosh, I really don't get him," she added. After putting on the mask, she stacked two throw pillows on her couch and lied down. Lorelei took a deep breath and let out a long exhale right after. She was alone yet it was still relaxing. She closed her eyes and tried to meditate.

In the middle of her so-called meditation, someone rang the doorbell of her apartment. Her eyes popped open. She sat right up and glanced at the door. 'Who could it be?' she wondered. Clearly, Amari nor Sam had not told her they'll visit her tonight. Or maybe it was a surprise visit?

She stood up and wore her indoor slippers before proceeding to the door. She twisted the knob, "Hey, you didn't tell me yo-" Lorelei didn't finish her sentence when she saw who it was. It was Jace in his loungewear, carrying a small paper bag.

"Eh?" that was the only thing that came out from Lorelei's mouth.

"Hi," Jace said plainly and even forced a smile. A SMILE. Lorelei knew something must be wrong with him. He never, EVER, smiled at her. She could feel the mask pack wrinkling as her face formed into a grimace.

"What's up?" she replied simply, trying to hide her suspicion.

"Here," Jace handed her the paper bag. "My mom insisted I give you some of those."

His mom? Why the hell would his mom ask him to give her something? She obviously hadn't met the woman. "Your mom?"

"Yes, my mom. The woman I was with earlier," he replied.

"Oh, I see." Wait, did he just say his mom? The woman? Lorelei's eyes grew big upon realizing. "That was your mom?!" she said almost shrieking.

Jace flinched and covered his ears. Goodness, this woman, really. "Wow, must I really repeat myself?" His lips pursed into a thin line, "but yes, she's my mom."

Lorelei had a confused expression plastered on her face, although Jace couldn't see it. "But didn't you call her 'Miss Ivy'?"

"Uh-huh. I do call her that sometimes," Jace sighed. "Do you not have plans on taking this?" he shook the paper bag to drift Lorelei's attention to it. "I've been holding it like this since forever," he said in a fashion similar to Lorelei.

Lorelei, being quick-witted that she is, did not fail to catch that. "Are you mocking me?!" She crossed her arms and raised a brow, although, again, Jace couldn't see it because of the mask pack.

Jace let out a choking sound, probably a suppressed snort of laughter. He could visualize her face right now even behind the mask. "Just take this. And why don't you remove that mask of yours?"

"It's still not time to remove it!" Lorelei roared. 'Did he just come here to do this? Gosh,' she thought. She grabbed the paper bag from Jace's grip, "Tell your mom I said thanks."

"What about me?" Jace crossed his arms and gave his head a slight tilt. He really didn't have to ask Lorelei to thank him, he just did to tease her.

Lorelei rolled her eyes, "Fine. Thanks."

"You're welcome," he smiled. Again. But this time it didn't look it was a forced one.

"Would that be all? 'Cause we've been standing here for minutes now," Lorelei protested.

Jace nodded as a reply, "Bye. I guess I'll see you around."

Ha. See her around he says? Lorelei would rather not. Well, for Jace too, he'd rather not but he guessed it was the most polite thing to say before leaving.

Jace stepped back and took his leave. He strode towards the elevator and eventually, he reached his apartment. He took a deep breath as he was finally relieved that his 'task' was done, and neatly at that. He entered his room and saw Shane already sleeping on his bed.

"What the heck. I made it clear that I'll take the bed," he frowned. He was about to pull Shane out of his bed when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He opened it and saw a message from Lorelei.

Lorelei: [Thank you. I'll enjoy eating these >:( ]

He did not know what to react but he found the corners of his mouth rising a bit. He was typing in his reply when Lorelei sent a message again.

Lorelei: [This isn't a bribe, is it? You still owe me your part for the presentation!!!]

And there, he found himself chuckling.