An Odd Relationship

After having a drink with Terrence, Elara was surprised to find out that he had more surprises for her. He had politely asked if she still wanted to continue their hangout and Elara couldn't be more than glad to accept! Not only were they having fun, but she also didn't need to use her own money? Hell yeah!

After being taken to an ice cream shop and walking out with two different flavored buckets of ice cream, Elara knew it was time to restart her exercise routine. Because of how busy she had been for the week she didn't exercise for quite a while and had completely forgotten about it until today. What better way to remind yourself to exercise than when being threatened with gaining fat due to consumption of junk food?

"Do you like action movies? I got tickets to this movie," Terrence asked while waving two tickets before Elara who readily agreed. Who was he kidding?! Even if it was a Thomas and Friends movie, she'd gladly go with him! No need to be so stingy after splurging with his money!

***

"Huh?! A whole two hours is gone! That movie took a lot of time!" Elara exclaimed in shock as they walked out of the theater.

"Yeah but did you like it?" Terrence asked expectantly.

"Of course. Not only the movie but the drinks and ice cream. It's almost like we've known each other for a long time," Elara said with a chuckle. There was no better way of distressing after a stressful week than to have fun with others!

Terrence smiled secretly; of course, he knew what she liked; he did his research, after all.

"Is there one more place you'd like to go before I drop you home? It's already getting late," Terrence said.

"Yes! I'd like to go to a toy store. My teddy bear is getting worn out from the constant embrace, so I'd like to purchase a new one… with my money this time, though," Elara said.

She had planned to purchase on Saturday since all she wanted to do for the rest of the week was leisure at home but since she was already out, why not do it at once? And then, on Saturday, she'd have no reason to leave her sweet home.

Terrence was a bit surprised, he hadn't expected Elara to be the plushie type. It seems some things can't be found out without getting closer to the person in question, "Alright, let's go then."

***

Soon, they arrived at a huge toy store. It was large and filled to the brim with toys of various types each in their varying section. It was like the paradise of every toy-loving individual.

Even Elara was surprised; how come, throughout her plushie purchase years, she had never come across this place? Things were different for big bosses, weren't they? They knew so many places!

Looking behind her, she was astonished to find the clerk welcoming and talking to Terrence like he had known for a long time. Could it be he also bought plushies…? It was most likely he bought them for others.

"Did you see anyone you liked?" Terrence asked, snapping her out of her daze.

"Sorry, I'll go look for one now!" Elara exclaimed in a panic before dashing off.

Terrence: You didn't need to panic so much though (￣▽￣;).

After waiting for a few minutes, Terrence was surprised by how quick Elara was in picking out the one she wanted. Wasn't it typical for one to hesitate between various choices before finally picking one? Or was his presence pressuring her?

"You know you can take your time to pick the one you want, I can wait," he said considerably.

Elara smiled; it was either Terrence was very good at acting, or he had a heart of gold; either way, wasn't he just very nice?

"You don't have to worry, I am quite decisive and know what I want," Elara said cheerfully while hugging two giant teddies she had picked out.

One was a light creamy green with patches of white while the other was peach with patches of white. It seemed she had a thing for creamy green-coloured items.

"Alright, then shall we go then?"

After haggling with Terrence and finally being let to pay for the two teddies they went on to buy a bunch of yummy pastries simply because Terrence couldn't fathom having her home without a gift.

He was reluctant to let Elara go home without something tangible but ended up bending to her will and buying her delicious treats instead.

At the end of the day, Elara's hand was stuffed with the two plushies she had bought and Terrence a bunch of pastries and probably everyone in town who knew her was convinced she was hanging out with her boyfriend, not that Elara cared.

"So how's your progress on our discussion si—Terrence," Elara said with an awkward laugh, she had almost slipped up.

Terrence glanced at her with probing eyes, causing her to giggle apologetically, which made him unknowingly smile. Elara had this energy to her that revigorated others, and this was one of the main reasons he picked her.

"Can't I choose you?" Terrence responded casually. He glanced at Elara and wasn't surprised to see her unperturbed face, she had probably guessed it.

One thing he found out about Elara was that her character was deceitful. With her cheerfulness, it was easy to mistake her as a naïve individual, but that was far from the truth; Elara was a very sharp individual, and she was anything but naïve.

"Well, I don't mind as long as I get to eat lots of yummy food, but am worried about the rumors," she said with a light frown.

"You don't have to worry about that, I can handle it."

"If you say so. But I am not always free…"

"Yes, I know, Elara," Terrence replied with a chuckle, facing Elara, who had a blank look.

She smiled knowingly, "You know, it's not a nice thing to investigate people, Mr. Terrence… but I did enjoy today's hangout, so maybe I'll overlook it."

Terrence smiled at her, "You're a bold one Miss Elara. Not everyone would be this free with me."

"Well, I assumed that if you couldn't tolerate this level of discourtesy, then this will probably not work out," Elara said with a shrug, cuddling her bears closer.

"You're right… also, it's Terrence," he said with a serious look.

Elara chuckled lightly, "I'll keep that in mind. However, if you don't mind me asking, what is our relationship? Business partners? Acquaintances? Friends?"

'She didn't even consider a romantic prospect.'

This was the main reason he had decided to approach Elara. After investigation, he found out that she was resistant to all romantic and sexual gestures. She had unapologetically yet politely rejected all suitors, both male and female, stating her dislike for all sexual/romantic relationships due to her identity as an aroace.

As an individual also tired of both, Terrence decided she was a perfect match for him. After many failed friendships due to varying reasons including falling again and again into the hands of people who wanted to use him for his influence or couldn't fathom he wasn't interested in any relationship outside friendship, he had learned that maybe he needed to get better friends with the same ideology as his that'd understand and respect to his boundaries.

He had pretty much given up until Elara came out of nowhere igniting his hope that maybe the universe hadn't given up on him. She was emphatic, fun, intelligent, and respectful enough to keep to his boundaries—the perfect match.

Terrence pursed his lips, his eyes wandering off as if in deep thought, and just when Elara was about to accept she might not be getting an answer, he finally replied, "Acquaintances, let's get to know each other better and if we're compatible, we can become friends."

"Alright, sounds perfect," Elara said with an amiable smile. And just like that an odd relationship was formed between the two.

For the rest of the journey, they discussed each other and found out they both had a lot in common. They both liked to cook, they also liked sports and were avid consumers of all kinds of media, including books, anime, manga, manhwa, and manhuas.

"As long as it's interesting, I'll read it," Elara said, "And it helps me as an author, so there's that."

"My favorite hobby is playing chess. What about yours?" Terrence asked curiously.

"Writing. Nothing will ever beat writing for me."

"I should have known…"

Soon, they arrived at their destination, which was Elara's home.

"Here, this is my personal number, we should have an unofficial means of contact, yes?" Terrence asked while handing over his phone to Elara.

'Huh? You'd think he'd use a more expensive phone… he truly is a simple man.'

"Of course, here's mine!" She responded with a smile, before handing him back his phone after inputting her number.

Terrence was about to offer help to carry the pastries and teddy bears when suddenly the peach-coloured teddy bear with white patches was handed to him.

He looked up in surprise to see Elara smiling sweetly, "I wouldn't want to bother you with my stuff; take it as a gift from me, haha~."

She winked at him mischievously, with the 'I know what you're hiding' look before taking her pastries and cheerfully walking back home.

Terrence watched in shock as she walked away before flushing a deep red in embarrassment. That lady truly was as observant as she had once said; with just a few gestures of his, she had managed to find out everything.

Was it his unusual closeness with the clerk? Or was it when he pointed her to the plushies section? Or was it something else? Even more… Was it all of the above?

"Hah... drive me home. Today was fun, but I'd like to take my rest," he said to the driver, who muttered a word of agreement before driving off.

Today, he had formed a strange relationship with an enigmatic woman called Elara Sinclair, hopefully, he wouldn't regret it.