Chapter 349 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“The pleasure is mine. I hope I can learn a couple of things from you before you leave,” Todd said with a polite smile, and Todd nodded.

“Cut!” Sonia said, interrupting Jade’s story.

“What?”

“Okay, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not exactly interested in your ex or your parents and Benne right now. Can we just focus on the part of the story that involves just you and Harry?” Sonia pleaded, feeling like the story was going to take all day if Jade continued at that rate.

“Just me and Harry?” Jade asked, and Sonia nodded.

“Yes. Your interactions,” Sonia explained.

“After that, we didn’t really interact until much later. Todd was with me for most of the time, and of course, I was in love with him, so I was more focused on Todd than on Harry.”

“Yet you thought Harry was attractive and good-looking?” Sonia asked.

“I was in love with Todd, not blind. You don’t expect me not to recognize a good-looking man simply because I have a man, do you? Have you seen Harry? He is gorgeous and sexy. Especially when he smiles,” Jade said with a grin, and Sonia giggled.

“No, I haven’t seen him. I’m too busy looking at your brother to admire anyone else. But now that you’ve mentioned it, I will try to take a closer look at him when next I see him,” Sonia promised, and this time Jade giggled.

“So, did you ever catch Harry staring at you? Or did you maybe lock gaze with him at some point? Anything to make you feel like he was attracted to you too?” Sonia asked, and Jade shook her head.

“Maybe if I had caught him staring, it would probably have been easier to believe Benne when he said he thinks Harry has always liked me,” Jade said, and Sonia leaned forward excitedly.

“Benne thinks so?”

“Yeah. But Harry has never shown any interest in me,” Jade said with a shrug.

“Maybe he has, but you just didn’t notice. Okay, let’s get back to your first meeting. Just now, you said you didn’t interact with him until much later. What did you both talk about?” Sonia asked, and Jade’s lips curved in a smile as she remembered that night.

Jade walked out of her bedroom angrily after having a misunderstanding with Todd. She was upset that he had come home with her, yet he had been on his phone for most of the time and had refused to step out of the house with her or even leave the bedroom long enough to spend enough time with her family.

She heard Benne’s voice as she walked past his bedroom, and she could tell that he was having a serious conversation with someone. She didn’t hang around long enough to find out if it was a phone conversation or whether he was talking with Harry.

As she walked down the staircase, she heard the sound of laughter coming from the living room, her parents were watching a television show, but she wanted to be alone, so she walked over to the kitchen. She prepared herself a warm cup of chocolate and carried it outside with her to the back porch.

The light was turned off, and she didn’t bother to turn it on since she wanted to be alone. As she approached the swing, she noticed that someone was already seated there.

“Harry?” She called, knowing that he was the only one who was unaccounted for. Benne was inside the house, and so were Todd and her parents.

“If the cup you’re holding is for me, yes,” Harry said as he watched her, and Jade smiled as she went to sit beside him.

“I thought you were inside with Benne. I heard him talking with someone…”

“He was here with me until he decided to go inside,” Harry explained.

“I didn’t know you were out here. Else I would have come with a cup of chocolate for you. You know what? You can have mine. Take it as payment for saving me,” Jade said, extending the cup to him.

“Payment? Don’t I deserve something better? Definitely you worth more than a cup of warm chocolate, aren’t you?” Harry asked as he eyed the cup of chocolate she was offering.

Jade giggled at Harry’s words, “Fortunately, my worth is in no way attached to this cup of chocolate. You didn’t ask for any payment. I offered this out of my free will, so you can’t demand more,” she said, and Harry nodded as he took the cup of chocolate from her.

“If you say so. Perhaps we can share the cup then? I’d hate to deprive you of your chocolate,” He offered, and Jade pursed her lips for a second before standing up.

“You can have that. I will just make myself another cup,” Jade said as she stood up, and then she looked at Harry in surprise when he stood up too, “You’re going inside already?”

“Since I took your chocolate, and I’m making you make another for yourself, it’s only fair that I keep you company while you prepare another cup for yourself,” Harry said, and Jade grinned at him.

“You’re such a perfect gentleman,” she said as she led the way back to the kitchen.

“I try my best,” Harry said, and she smiled.

“I’m sure you do.”

Harry stood by the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen door as he watched her move around, trying to fix hers.

Although she was just four years younger than he was, he couldn’t help looking at her like she was a kid. Maybe that was because she had been just fifteen years old and in high school when he had first heard of her and saw her picture. And although he had been looking forward to meeting Benne’s family, especially his kid sister whom he always spoke fondly about, somehow he had been expecting to see that little girl, not this beautiful grown-up young lady.

“Didn’t you say you are here to keep me company? Don’t just stand there, then. Go on and say something,” Jade said, breaking into his thoughts.

“Benne said you owned a dog. Why haven’t I seen the dog around,” Harry asked for lack of a better topic to discuss.

She turned to him in surprise, “When did he tell you that?”

“I can’t remember. Why?”

“Her name was Barbie. She died a year ago,” Jade said sadly.

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I had known,” Harry said apologetically.

“I know. I’m just surprised you remembered something like that since I’m very sure Benne must have mentioned it a long time ago,” Jade said, and he shrugged.

“I was cursed with a very good memory,” Harry said with a small smile.

“I’d like to have such a curse. It would definitely help me ace all my courses,” Jade said with a grin.

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