A Movie Date

Ryo looked at her as she focused her attention on the movie she watched. Her face was an open book. One moment her lips would stretch to a smile, the next moment her forehead creased. She’d burst out laughing one moment, then cry the next. Any actor who would see the way she watches a movie will feel delighted.

But not right now. Not for Ryo. The more looked at her, the more irritated he became. “How could she enjoy such garbage? What’s so good about that second-rate actor? He cannot even say his lines right,” he mocked Yuki in his head. He killed Yuki with his mental criticisms.

Ellie seemed to see something from her peripheral vision, so she paused the video. Her eyes rounded, and she clutched her chest in surprise when she turned in his direction. “You scared me. I thought you were a ghost,” she said, catching her breath. After she recovered, she smiled at him. “Can’t sleep?” She cocked her head in his direction, waiting for his answer. He nodded. “Wanna watch a movie with me?” Ellie invited him and patted the empty chair beside her.

“Is that a joke?” He wanted to ask her. It tempted him to roll his eyes at her invitation, or to say something harsh to her, but he did not. She was being a delightful host to him, and he’d be a total jerk if he showed her attitude. Suppressing his irritation, he sat in the chair she showed.

She gave him one earpiece of the earphones she was using. He gritted his teeth and placed the offered earpiece to his left ear. “Don’t make me find out that you’re an actress set up by the show producers,” he thought to himself. His eyes shifted from her to the screen that played the movie.

She was so close to him, and he could smell the scent of her body wash. Although he used the same body wash earlier, it smelled different to her. The floral smell tickled his nose.

Her eyes glued to the screen while he observed her. Her profile looked beautiful. She had slightly arched brows, and a nose which not so high, it looked cute. He swallowed when his eyes lingered on her plump pink lips. They looked soft. Part of him wanted to sink his teeth into them.

Her chuckles distracted him. They sounded cute. Ryo continued to watch her. From time to time she would gasp, exclaim, or sigh. She was such an animated viewer he cannot help but find her entertaining. Definitely more entertaining than the movie she asked him to watch.

After a while, the movie ended. She again looked at him with a smile. “Did you like it?”

“Did I like it? Are you f*cking kidding me?” He wanted to scream at her, instead he said “En.”

“Do you like Yuki Yamada?” He cannot help but blurt out the question. Soon as he said that, he waited in suspense for her answer.

“Who?” She scrunched up her face, looking very confused. Her reaction also confused him. “The actor from the movie.”

“Oh, is that his his name?” her eyes round as orbs, as if she discovered the elixir of life. He nodded at her question.

“Not really.” She wrinkled her nose and looked at him. “I loved the manga that they based this movie on. That’s why I watched it.” He wanted to jump with joy from the answer she gave, and his face did not hide his mirth.

“I know. I’m such a geek,” she whispered. Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” he was so taken aback by her embarrassed reaction that he felt a little bad for rejoicing.

She gave him a cute chuckle. “No need to apologize. You know what, I loved that manga so much that I named my shop after it.”

After a while, she clicked a folder from her desktop, then moved her chair closer to him to show him pictures of her shop.

It was a small shop, but it looked like the shop in the movie. The outside walls of the shop were white with a large window that showed the tables inside. There were huge flower pots outside, spilling with flowers of different colors.

“Looks the same, right?” she asked, her face beaming with pride.

“Yeah,” Ryo answered, nodding his head. “What cakes do you sell?” He recalled she was here to study baking.

“A lot but my strawberry shortcake and chocolate cake are to die for.” She clutched on her chest and gave him a wink.

“Really?”

“Yup! I’d bake one for you but I don’t have ingredients stocked right now.”

“Too bad.” He regretted he cannot sample her cakes.

“Well, if you find yourself in Baguio City, then you can have one, on the house!” Ellie pointed her thumb on her chest and once again flashed her brilliant smile. The tiny dimples on the corner of her lips deepened. “Hey, enough about me. What about you, what do you do?” she complained.

“I’m an actor” He scratched his head and gave her a cute schoolboy look. Ellie scanned his face. She tilted her head from left to right, studying his features. The doubt written on her face was hard to miss.

“Like an actor, actor, movie actor?” she inquired, squinting her eyes. Her tone sounded so incredulous he felt insulted.

“Yeah” he touched his thumb on his nose and looked at her smugly.

“Oh.” With eyes opened wide, she nodded her head, but she looked at him, still unconvinced.

Though their conversation felt fun, he somehow got a feeling that she does not seem impressed by him.

“How is it possible for a woman like her to resist his charm?” he wondered in his head. He’s so used to women swooning over him. A single wink from him would send them screaming their heads out.

But this woman does not seem impressed by his looks. She’s the first woman who did not throw herself. She did not even bother giving him a flirty look when he’s putting on an effort to look cute. Her reaction made him feel downcast. He had forgotten that he had prosthetics on.