INICIAR SESIÓNMy parents were watching TV when I walked in, but Mom immediately got up and came to me.
“What’s wrong, son?” she asked, leading me into the living room.
“I left,” I said briefly. I had calmed down a little in the car.
“Why?” Dad asked, turning off the TV.
“Because she won’t marry me even if I propose,” I said, quickly recounting our conversation.
“And you thought leaving was the best option?&
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
The next morning, as usual, I woke up earlier than she did. I made an omelet, careful not to over-salt it—so I added nothing at all.“Good morning, birthday girl,” I said when she woke up and I arrived with a tray of omelet.“Good morning, Messyhair,” she smiled. “Did you make this?” She accepted the omelet.“Yes,” I said proudly. “This time, it’s definitely not salty.”“Thank you,” she said, eating without another word.“So? How is it?” I asked.“Much better than last time,” she said, giving me a soft kiss. “What’s the plan for today?”“I’m taking you somewhere you’ll love,” I replied.“What should I wear?”“Your favorite outfit,” I teased.After breakfast, she dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I drove her to a small stadium just outside the ci
I spent the following week with Uncle Steve, seeing Jenny only at dinner each evening. On Friday, I asked the old man for a few hours off and headed to the hospital to pick up my girlfriend.“Hi,” I greeted the pretty brunette receptionist in her green-and-white coat. “Is Jane Shepherd in?”“Hey,” she smiled. “Yes, she’ll be done with Dr. Tim’s appointment soon. Is it urgent? Should I let her know?”“No need, I’ll wait,” I said. “Do you know them well?”“Who? Dr. Tim or your sister?” she asked.“My sister” I said, won’t spoil the mystery.“Dr. Tim always keeps her busy, but we chat during lunch. She talks about you sometimes, Daniel,” she said, touching my arm lightly.“I assume you’ve heard about our younger brother too,” I continued.“Of course,” she laughed. “
Daryl had a theory about the cars, but after a few rounds, his experience changed his ranking. He couldn’t decide between two of them, so he took them for extra laps.By the time he finalized his ranking, our rental time was up.Paul returned the keys, we handed back our gear, thanked the instructor, and said goodbye.“Did you like it?” I asked Daryl as we stood by Paul’s car in the parking lot.“Yeah, thank you,” he smiled, shaking hands with everyone. We weren’t the hugging type.Paul drove us to a nearby restaurant where we had reserved a table for dinner.The restaurant was in a neighboring town—elegant but not overly flashy. White walls and light brown tables filled the space, and reservations were confirmed at the counter near the entrance.We were hungry, so we ordered quickly—some got shrimp, others steak.As planned, we split the bill evenly, excluding Daryl.
After eating, we stopped by Amber’s shop and locked ourselves in our room.“Messyhair, your birthday is the day after tomorrow,” she said, snuggling into me as we rested. “But we won’t see each other that day.”“I know—it’s fine.”“There’ll be a package waiting in your room. I hope you like it.”“If it’s from you, I definitely will,” I said, stroking her shoulder.“When we’re back, I’ll call you no matter what,” she said after a few gentle kisses.“You’re leaving?” I asked, my lips still pressed against hers.“Yeah, we won’t be staying in town,” she murmured, melting into me between kisses.“Babe,” I said, pulling her tightly against me, “I love you—don’t forget that.”“I definitely won’t,” she teased.I did
She stepped out from the crowd, picked a blue balloon, and aimed for the bottom of the canvas. Her throw lacked force—she barely hit the target. But she got applause too.“What kind of paint is in these?” Jenny asked. “If I missed, how much of a mess would I have made?”“It’s a mix—not too thick, not too watery. If it gets on your skin, it’ll fade over time,” the guy explained. “If it started raining now, your artwork would probably disappear since it hasn’t dried yet.”The conversation didn’t hold much interest for the crowd, and they slowly wandered off.“I see, thanks,” my girlfriend said. “Could I get a pink and a black one?”“Of course,” the guy smiled.Jenny adjusted her grip on the two balloons, preparing to throw again. She turned toward me, but before I could react, the pink liquid splattered across my chest, dripp
“May I?” I asked. He gave Jenny a slight bow and moved aside. I took her hands, and we began to dance.“I want to talk to you,” I said, but the last word came out as a groan when she stepped on my foot.“Sorry,” she smiled. “I’m not a great dancer.”“Yes, you are,” I said—and she stepped on my foot
“So we’ll hit fifty guests,” I grinned. Brian and Mayoko caught the reference.“But yours doesn’t count,” Mayoko teased.“I disagree,” I said, taking my seat.The ceremony began. Dr. Cox appeared in a suit and took his place. Mickey walked in wearing an adorable little suit, followed by Jenny and D
“Last year, after you called her and yelled loud enough for half the house to hear,” Paul began, “she said if you were going to be such a jerk and accuse her like that, she’d give you a reason. That’s when she started dating. But after three different dates, she said you weren’t worth it, she wasn’
Brian quickly turned on the console and picked a racing game. In this one, we could block each other, and he also added computer opponents so it wouldn’t just be the two of us on the track. We chose the same car to keep things fair.“You can start,” Brian said, handing us the controllers.The race







