Me After Meeting You

“You ….”

Ian looked at him curiously.

Billy finally stopped coughing and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“You walked away so suddenly. Could it be that ….” He clambered onto the back of the seat, paying special attention to a part of Ian’s body, and then was speechless for a period of time. “F*ck, do you have to be so exaggerated?”

Billy could understand his physical reaction when someone was wearing something sexy or making overly flirtatious moves, but Amber had been dressed very conservatively. Her clothes were both plain and thick, and her actions were plain and modest. What on Earth was Ian reacting to?

“You’re not built like other people, are you?” Billy couldn’t help but roast him a little.

Ian ignored his jab, looking through the car window with dull eyes.

He was indeed different from others. If he wanted something and didn’t get it, he would easily become irritable. As a result, he had never repressed himself, and this was the first time that he had done so.

It was a very unfamiliar sensation, so unfamiliar that he almost didn’t know what to do.

Sensing his unusual loss for what to do, Billy chuckled, motioned with his jaw towards Ian’s bulge, and then asked, “Do you need me to find someone for you?”

Ian turned his head around and looked him in the eye, giving Billy a warning glance to stop saying any more nonsense. But after they had gotten back on the road for a while, Billy couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “So, Ian … did you really break up with Dr. Camille?”

The headlights of a car gleamed from afar, flickering in Ian’s gaze. The light was so white it was blinding, making him think of Amber’s fingers again. They were so white and slender, like a flame burning in the depths of his heart.

He calmly corrected Billy. “Not a breakup, but the end of our relationship.”

“How is that any different?” Billy didn’t understand Ian’s words at all. “Given that you’re acting like this, how can you be willing to let her be together with that man?” That’s right-he was certain that Amber and Calvin had gotten together. Even though he did eat her food, it was only because Ian didn’t mind; if Ian had minded, then he would have immediately vomited all of it back out even after eating it all.

That’s right, Billy was this shameless of a man!

Upon hearing this, Ian smiled coolly. ‘There was no such thing as an inseparable relationship.’

***

As Billy and Ian were discussing Amber, Amber was also thinking about them.

The expression that Ian had made when he left made her feel a certain sense of unease, so she had tried calling him, but it went unanswered. So she had sent a text message, but that too was unread. Despite being a good psychiatrist, Amber didn’t know why Ian had suddenly up and left like that.

As she pondered the situation more, but still failed to understand why, Amber eventually gave up, turning around to clear the table. By the time she was done, it was almost time for her meeting at the hospital. Calvin was still not awake, so she left him a note and left her apartment.

By the time the meeting was over, it was nearly ten, and a few unread text messages had built up in her phone. Most of them were from her parents, who probably hadn’t yet gotten over what they had seen earlier. Her mother had warned her that she had to make a clean break with that dolt from before, that their family wouldn’t allow such a man as their son in law.

Meanwhile, her father gently tried to persuade her, saying that she’d always been obedient and that he hoped she would think this matter through carefully without making her parents worry.

Essentially, their meaning was: be dignified, have some self respect, and, most importantly, choose your boyfriend carefully!

Every time Amber heard her mom say that Ian was a dolt, she wanted to laugh. She believed that, if he had a choice, Ian definitely wouldn’t have met her parents without dressing properly. However, it was also true that he’d rather dress improperly than be dirty.

And now that they’d already seen his entire body, then … they wouldn’t bother her about it in the future, right?

But even if she explained all this to her mother, she wouldn’t have listened. So, Amber decided not to say anything at all, only replying sincerely, “Alright, I know.”

But her parents seemed to be worried that they hadn’t pressured her enough, so they even called Ruby, and she had a whole bunch of missed calls on her phone from him.

Amber called him back and he immediately asked, “Just how did you provoke Mom last night? Why did she insist that I call you and persuade you right away? While growing up, wasn’t I the only one treated like this? When did you steal that away from me?”

Ruby teased her ruthlessly.

“It’s a misunderstanding. Nothing happened.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then you and that, that Ian Axton … are you two broken up now?”

He actually knew Ian’s name, which surprised Amber immensely. “You know him?”

“Eh … he said it himself last time.” Ruby then said fiercely, “Don’t change the topic. I still have to teach you the importance of choosing a proper boyfriend.”

But then he chuckled, and said in a relaxed tone, “But if you really did marry him, it wouldn’t be that bad either. You’d be a rich young lady from a wealthy family, and then I’d get to use your connections.”

Their conversation had devolved into meaningless drivel, and, with Amber just having received another call, she hung up.

When the call was over, Amber saw another message on her phone. Surprisingly, it was from Ian. She thought that he was going to explain to her why he had left hurriedly, but when she opened it, it turned out to merely be, “I want to hear you tell me a story.”

This wasn’t a difficult request, but what surprised her was his tone, very calm and without the sudden coldness that had accompanied his departure in the afternoon.

Of course, he wasn’t dispirited or sad either; this request felt like he purely wanted to listen to a story from her.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.