Chapter 19: Do You Like My Pajamas?

[...]

Ava Kent: [Just a friendly reminder, if you're planning to have some couple time at home with me, my mom could walk in on us, and if she ends up smacking you, don't blame me for not warning you.]

Already seated on the motorcycle, Julius Goodman, with his helmet on, saw the message, raised an eyebrow, and tapped his long slender fingers on the phone screen.

[The bold and fearless you, actually has something you're afraid of?]

Ava Kent: [Oh yeah, I'm worried that your delicate skin can't take my mom's rolling pin. I'm being thoughtful, you know?]

Back then, Ava loved using emojis, looking all cute and adorable.

Now, she still uses them, just that the style has changed a lot, and her words are no longer as demure and reserved as before, it's all flirting, both overtly and subtly, and Julius still falls for it.

When the motorcycle stopped at Ava's house, and Julius raised his hand to knock, the gate was immediately pulled open from inside, and a small hand grabbed his clothes and dragged him in.

Everything happened too fast, leaving Julius completely bewildered.

Once he realized, he almost bumped right into Ava.

He quickly steadied himself and, seeing her still in pajamas, stuttered slightly, "You... are going out like this?"

Ava looked down at her pajamas, not feeling anything wrong at all, and smiled brightly at him, "What's wrong with it?"

"Not quite appropriate."

Ava was wearing a short-sleeve and shorts pajama set with cartoon prints, full of youthful vibes, which perfectly suits her age.

But because it was a square neck, a large area of skin on her chest was exposed.

Her slender neck, exquisite collarbone, and in the moonlight, her porcelain-white skin seemed to glow. The two stood there by the door in such dim lighting with this atmosphere... and this outfit...

For a mature man, it's really testing his self-control.

Julius averted his gaze, coughed lightly, "Go change your clothes first, I'll wait outside."

Ava pouted, "I'm wearing something underneath..."

Thud—

Julius hadn't even stepped out, and he kicked the door threshold; the blush on his face had already spread to his ears.

He said in a low voice, "You still have to change. Going out in pajamas this late isn't a good influence."

Ava wasn't actually planning to go out like that, she was merely teasing him.

Since her mission was accomplished, and to avoid missing returning before Jennifer Von finished work, she changed pretty quickly.

In less than three minutes, she came out of the house.

Hopping onto Julius's motorcycle, she naturally wrapped her arms around his waist, her small face rubbing against his back, "Julius, Julius, does this outfit of mine look good?"

"It looks nice!"

She came up so quickly that he actually didn't get a good look.

"And what about the pajamas I was wearing just now?" Ava lowered her voice, "Do you like them?"

"..."

Can he not answer this question?

Revving the engine powerfully a few times, he pretended not to hear.

Yet Ava persistently asked, "You haven't answered me yet, do you think my pajamas are nice?"

"They're… nice."

"Really?" Ava smirked mischievously, "I thought you'd find them childish…"

"No." Julius was not keen to continue this topic, hastily asking, "Where do you want to go for milk tea?"

"How about the shop we used to go to often?"

"Okay!"

The successfully diverted topic left Julius noticeably relieved, he genuinely didn't know what to say thanks to Ava's teasing.

"Boss, a taro ball milk tea and a lemonade."

The milk tea shop was not far, they reached there on the motorcycle fairly quick.

Julius led Ava to a corner spot to sit down, glanced at the menu on the table, and asked, "Do you want to eat anything else?"

Ava, with her hands on her cheeks, was assessing his flushed handsome face, extremely satisfied with her handiwork.

After nearly three hours of training, she was indeed hungry, so she ordered some barbecue.

Seeing him getting a bit uncomfortable with her staring, Ava toned it down, knowing everything needs a gradual pace, so she asked a relatively normal question, "Yesterday you seemed to be at odds with your senior brother, he didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

"He injured his hand, so he can't carve for a while. Our teacher reassigned the work originally meant for him to me, letting him manage sales until he recovers."

Kane Sears hadn't spoken a word to him all day, clearly still blaming him.

Julius initially felt quite guilty towards him, but after Ava's advice last night, he had found peace of mind.

"That's called reaping what you sow."

Though sales come with commissions, for them, in stable income situations, practice is undoubtedly most important.

Otherwise, Kane wouldn't have gotten so upset about Len Palmer giving Julius a few stones to work on.

Who wants to always be a helper in someone else's shop?

Isn't it all about mastering the craft sooner, so they can work independently after graduating?

Julius thought about his recent work plans and said, "Ava, I might be a bit busy lately, won't be able to spend much time with you."

"It's alright, your work's important."

Ava smiled graciously, appearing to be very understanding.

But in her heart, she was thinking, if he's busy with work, he probably won't have time to catch her at the Rawstone Market, right?

As they chatted, the milk tea and barbecue were served.

Ava sipped her milk tea, but her eyes were fixed on Julius's lemonade, as if trying to see through it with a fiery gaze.

Noticing her stare, Julius handed a skewer of grilled meat to her lips, "What are you spacing out about, eat up."

"I wasn't spacing out." Ava pouted, instead of taking it, she took a bite directly from his hand, cupping her face in bliss, "Food handled by you just tastes better, it's amazing."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Julius chuckled at her tease, stretching his hand further with the skewer, "Take it, my hand's getting tired."

Reluctantly, Ava took it, no choice, since her beloved worked hard, holding a carving knife all day, how could his hand not be tired?

While eating, she reached out across the little table between them, grabbing his slightly rough hand, massaging his joints and wrist, "I heard that you jade carvers often exert a lot of effort with the carving knife, does it cause muscular strain? Does it hurt a lot?"

The girl's soft and delicate hands gently kneaded over his, warming Julius's heart with a smile, "It's alright, I'm used to it."

"Nonsense, who gets used to pain?"

Ava gave him a side-eye and, without further ado, pulled his hand towards her, lightly massaging the muscles on his arm, "Make sure to massage often, to relax a bit, otherwise, your arm could turn into a muscle-bound one."