“Trust me. You’re better off without it. Especially when you have to clearly remember things you would rather forget, it’s like having to relive unpleasant memories most times,” Harry said, and Jade shook her head.
“It can’t be that bad,” Jade argued as she picked up her cup of chocolate and walked towards him, “My job here is done. We can return to the porch,” she announced.
“That didn’t take as much time as I expected,” Harry observed as he held out the door for her to pass before following her. Harry turned on the light on their way out.
“It doesn’t require more than ten minutes, at least not for me,” Jade said with a shrug.
Once they were comfortably seated on the swing, Jade turned to face him, “Why did you turn on the porch light? I thought you preferred to stay in the dark?” She asked curiously.
“Maybe if I were alone, it would have been cool. Someone might misunderstand if they see us both alone in the dark,” Harry explained, and Jade smiled at his thoughtfulness.
“By someone, do you mean Benne, my boyfriend, or my parents?”
“Someone could be any one of them and every one of them,” Harry said, and she smiled.
“You’re very cool,” Jade said as she took a sip from her mug.
“Thank you.”
“Why haven’t you taken a sip yet? Are you scared I drugged it?” Jade asked with a teasing smile, and Harry chuckled.
“I just prefer it a bit cool,” Harry said, and she nodded.
They both lapsed into silence until Jade decided to speak, “So, how do you like our neighborhood?” She asked curiously.
“I like your home. It’s very… Homely. And your neighborhood looks cool too, but I haven’t really taken a stroll around it to decide whether or not I like the place. Do you have nosy neighbors?” Harry asked, and she giggled.
“I think every neighborhood has those. Every neighborhood has a nosy neighbor. The aloof neighbor, the grumpy neighbor…”
“And the neighbor who thinks too highly of themselves,” Harry added, and they both laughed in agreement.
“I agree with you. Maybe if you are not too busy tomorrow, we could take a stroll together, and I could take you around the neighborhood and show you each of them. Then you can decide whether or not you like the place.” Jade said with a bright smile.
“I will like that as long as you don’t bail on me,” Harry said as he smiled at her.
“I promise not to bail. Tomorrow we will take a stroll after breakfast,” she assured him.
“Alright. I will look forward to it since I doubt Benne has the time for that,” Harry said as he took a sip from the mug, “Hm. Did you add whiskey to the chocolate?” Harry asked when he caught a whiff of whiskey before tasting it.
“Sshh,” Jade said, raising a finger to her lips, “Don’t say it out loud. That’s my secret recipe for a cold night,” she said, and Harry watched her in amusement.
“There is nothing secretive about it. I’ve done this before, but with rum, not whiskey,” Harry said, and Jade turned to spare him a glance.
“Really? I guess genius minds like ours work the same,” she said with a wink, and Harry chuckled.
“I see. So tell me about law school. Is it true that you have to be a genius to study law?” Harry asked, and Jade’s lips twitched in amusement.
“Why aren’t you studying law? Didn’t I just call you a genius?” She asked with a teasing smile as she turned to look at him, and Harry smiled back.
“I suppose everyone in law school mixes their Chocolate drink with whiskey too,” Harry said dryly, and Jade laughed softly.
“Well, to answer your question, I’m sure you need to be a genius to study medicine, and engineering, and business, and every other course that is important to humankind. We are all geniuses in our own capacity,” Jade said, and Harry smiled.
“That’s a good response. I think you’re going to make a very intelligent lawyer. If I’m ever in need of a lawyer in the future, I will ask for you,” Harry said, and Jade giggled.
“I guess I have my first potential client already. Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are beautiful?” She asked as she looked into his eyes, and Harry turned away from her in mild embarrassment since she was staring so intently at him.
“Your eyes are lovely too,” Harry said, and Jade waved it off with a giggle.
“I wasn’t fishing for a compliment,” Jade said as she raised her mug to her lips.
“I didn’t think you were,” Harry assured her as he looked straight ahead. If he didn’t know better, he would probably have thought that she was flirting with him, but Benne had already told him how she was the type to always say the best things about people, so he wasn’t surprised.
Neither of them said a word for some time as each of them nursed their mug. The silence between them was not uncomfortable or awkward in any way.
“What about your boyfriend? Why are you here without him? Is he sleeping already?” Harry asked after some time, wondering why her boyfriend wasn’t already out to find her, considering how he had been acting all day.
“No, he is busy with work. Why?” She lied easily.
“Nothing. I was just curious. He didn’t seem like the type to let you out of his sight,” Harry said, and Jade giggled.
“Todd can be pretty clingy and possessive sometimes, but it’s one of the things I like about him,” Jade said without turning to look at him.
“You both must be crazy about each other,” Harry said thoughtfully.
“Yes, we are. He’s my first love,” she said as she turned to look at him with a wide smile, and Harry nodded without saying a word.
“Wait, what?” Sonia asked, interrupting Jade once again.
“What?” Jade asked in confusion.
“Remind me, please, how old were you then?” Sonia asked, and Jade raised a brow.
“Twenty. Why?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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