LOGINWe walked back through the park, and I refused to let go of her hand. It was already dusk, and the streetlights cast a warm glow over the path.
“Why have you been so uncertain lately?” I asked as we walked.
“Because I’m confused,” she admitted quietly. “I hoped you wouldn’t stay at that faraway university—it was a bad idea even without considering me,” she said in her beloved know-it-all tone. “But I have no idea wha
I didn’t move, kept my shoes on, and simply gestured to Daniel with a nod.“Jay,” Dany stepped closer. “Did you come to see Uncle Steve?”“Actually, I came for you,” I said, nodding toward the door.Daniel nodded toward the door, slipping on a pair of slippers before following me outside, curiosity in his eyes.“I talked to Iris yesterday,” I got straight to the point. “What happened between you two?”“So you noticed too,” he sighed.“Who else?”“Dadam, but he keeps quiet,” he said, stepping onto the street and leaning against a tree. “My family had already moved here, but I was still living there. We met by chance, and over time, I completely fell for her. She told me about her past, but I didn’t care. I mean, who doesn’t have one?” he explained. “We had already planned to move in together when she said
The next day, when I got home from Uncle Steve’s, Jenny was already at our place with Amber. She greeted me with a kiss on the cheek before we sat down to eat.“How was your night, Messy?” she asked cheerfully.“Good,” I said. “I went to Brian’s after leaving you. Played some games. Won.”“Messyhair,” she raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”“Sure,” I said quickly. Dad sighed.“Can we talk in the hallway?” she asked calmly.“You can scold him here,” Amber chimed in. Jenny glanced at my parents and sighed.“Messyhair,” she smiled, “do you want to change your answer?”“I was with Iris,” I admitted. “I didn’t want you to get jealous.”Jenny laughed.“She was already in the taxi when I was on my way to the hotel, and Paul called me to tell me you had coff
“You never wanted to be her role model?” Paul asked.“No,” Iris said. “She was too kind and dreamy for that, and she never cared about money. She’s naturally good at reading people, but I taught her how to understand men and a few tricks,” she glanced at me, “and I made her promise not to fall for superficial charm.”“She definitely didn’t,” I laughed. “You basically looked out for her, just like Paul did?”“I tried,” she said cheerfully. “I know she fought with her mom a lot because of me—that she was even forbidden from seeing me, and we had to sneak around to watch movies. I tried to repay her by making sure she never ended up with a life like mine, and that no one took advantage of her.”“How much do you know about us, her friends?” I asked.“From her first letter, I knew I’d be reading a lot about you,&rdquo
“You’re okay with your role at the wedding, right?” Jenny asked once we were in the car.“Of course, thanks for taking me. Who’s my partner for the day?” Iris asked cheerfully as she settled into the back seat.“I’ll introduce you at dinner tonight. Paul, my friend.”“Iris,” I asked from behind the wheel, “why did you come alone?”“My partner is traveling for work this month.”“How long have you been with him?” I emphasized the word “him.”“Jay,” Jenny said firmly.“It’s fine, Jane,” Iris said. “Over a year.”I drove them to Uncle Steve’s place—the family was already waiting.Iris greeted everyone, shook hands, and introduced herself. Dr. Cox observed quietly, Mrs. Julie struggled to hide her dislike, and I could tell Daniel knew her, though he concealed i
The days leading up to the wedding were similar—days at Uncle Steve’s, dinners either at my place or Jenny’s, and weekends spent either alone together or with friends.“When’s Iris arriving?” I asked Jenny while we sat at Tony’s burger place during our weekend date.“Midweek,” she said. “I invited Paul to dinner—want to join us at my parents’ place?”“Sure, I’d be eating there that day anyway.”People in the booths always watched us curiously, but by now, we were used to it.“Babe,” I said as we stepped outside, “would you like to go boating?” I gestured toward the park.“I would,” she said, smiling curiously.Hand in hand, we walked to the lake, where I rented a boat and rowed us out.The lake was circular, filled with water lilies and fish. It was well-maintained, though I couldn’t see the
The next day, we planned to spend the day at the beach. We settled into our usual spot, but this time, we weren’t expecting our friends—supposedly, no one else was coming. We exchanged waves with a few familiar faces but didn’t join anyone.I had already rented an umbrella beforehand—Jenny had taught me to be mindful of these things.Being the weekend, the beach was crowded, though there was still space for us.“Paul will be in Japan for more than a year,” Jenny mentioned later in the day, rubbing sunscreen onto my skin after our swim. She was clearly going to miss her friend.“Babe,” I asked gently, “Did you miss me that much too?”“No, Messyhair,” she said, sitting next to me, “I missed you even more. That’s why I spent all my free time in the gym—I needed to be exhausted enough not to think about you,” she admitted calmly.“You’ve n
For Sunday, I bought the movie tickets, a single flower, and Brian dropped me off at the shopping mall ahead of schedule—the movie theater was on the upper floor. My girlfriend arrived exactly on time, as always, and I just stood there, mesmerized, as she came up the escala
I was impatiently waiting for Saturday. I was alone because all my roommates had gone home for the weekend. Brian and I had planned everything so that everyone would arrive at his place an hour before Jenny, but I was the first to get there. Brian had already invited me over for
“Hey,” Harper found me. She’d clearly had a few drinks herself and had no problem leaning in close.“Got anything stronger?” I asked. “That was pretty weak.”“Didn’t think you were this shy,” she laughed, handing me another glass. “Bottoms up.”I knocked that one back too, but still didn’t feel muc
The teaching finally began.At the dorm, I shared a room with Eddie. Our third roommate was never around—he practically lived at his girlfriend’s place. I could’ve done the same. We only ever saw him during lectures, which made our room feel pretty comfortable.I tried to fit in and find the group







