Carl was often quiet, when he spoke he went straight to the point, so this side of him was quite surprising. They had not began dating yet he was acting this shameless, what would happen when they begin dating or even get married? Where did he even learn to flirt from? She obviously did not teach him and he was not like that originally.Kim placed her hands in his and their fingers interlaced. She looked out the window pretending she did not just do that, he glanced at her before turning to face the road while smiling. It means she was accepting him, right? She was not even angry about how he acted earlier. "Progress," he muttered.
"What did you say?" Turning, she asked.
"I pray we"re always like this." He said, kissing her hand. "If you"re not satisfied with anything, remember to speak up, don"t hide from me again." He voiced his concern. He was particularly afraid she would run away again without saying anything. Even though he was scared, he made up his mind to pursue her openly. It did not matter if she refused to accept him now, eventually she would if she does not chase him away, right?
Besides, even if she did not love him now, that does not mean her feelings will not grow, from her reactions, he could tell she liked him too. "Mhm," she nodded. She won"t try to run away again. Even if she plans on running away, didn"t he say he was hers? How could she run away without her belongings? "So if you feel it"s too much pressure, you have to tell me too." He added. What if he came off too strongly and she wanted things to be slow?
"Just remember you"re in charge, you get to decide how far you want us to go but you should know that I"m serious about you, you"re more than a girlfriend to me."
Her palms began to sweat, she wanted to pull away but he held her hands back, "Don"t pull away without giving me a reason too or I might a.s.sume you don"t want me at all."
"My hands are sweaty." She whispered meekly. He turned up the air conditioner and pulled their hands closer to it, "Now you don"t need to feel uncomfortable." He said, smiling at her.
"Look at me, I"ve been driving without asking you," he face palmed. "Where do you want to eat?" He raised the question. He promised her she was in charge, her opinion was what mattered.
"Any place with good food, let"s go grocery shopping later." She suggested. She was at peace with Carl, with the way things were. She did not want someone to try to push their thoughts, opinions and beliefs on her, she wanted someone who considered her opinion first. After living with an obsessive foster mother who tried to force her opinion on her from her food to her dressing. She became defensive whenever someone tried to do things their way without asking her for permission.
Things that would easily he settled by communicating your feelings would result to her getting angry because when she lived with her foster mother, even when she objected to most things, her opinion did not matter. The obsessive woman treated her like a doll. She wanted her to replace her dead child so she had no breathing s.p.a.ce, she always interfered in her life and was always by her side. She felt she was going crazy at that time.
Her grip tightened, Carl turned to look at her. Her brows were furrowed as she recalled unpleasant memories. He quickly parked by the road side, "Did I do something wrong?" He straightway asked.
"It has nothing to do with you." She sighed while shaking her head. "Then why are you gloomy all of a sudden?" He questioned but he was met with silence.
"Is it about your past?" He questioned. She nodded. Letting go of her hand, he pulled her closer, embracing her. "It"s okay, the past should be left in the past, don"t you think so?" He gently asked while stroking her hair. "I"m here now." His hoa.r.s.e voice was very low but it consoled her. "As for the past, I"m a good listener if you want to vent. Keeping it inside for long is not particularly good. But if you don"t want to talk about it, then forget about it."
Kim was thankful she met Carl. He made her feel at home. After moving from home to home back to the orphanage a few times, she never fit in, she never considered those places her home but now, things were different, Carl made her feel safe, confident and beautiful. "Where were you all my life?" She questioned bitterly. If they had met sooner, she would have been happy, right? She would not have been made to go through all that.
"I"m here now." He said in reply. Could he have said he was in the CCT? At home doing nothing.. he felt he had wronged her even though he did nothing. "Cry, if you feel bad. I"ll lend you my shoulder." She chuckled, hitting his back but it was obvious she was holding back her tears. Her stomach growled, she moved away quickly, looking out the window like it wasn"t her. He chuckled quietly to himself seeing her reaction. Without a word, he turned on the engine, driving away.