"Him?" Luca exclaimed, the judgement clear in his tone. He furrowed his eyebrows as clear displeasure showed on his face.
Alex looked a little offended at Luca's cold demeanor. "Hey, I'm not doing anything wrong. Just here to give the camera and get some phá»," he shrugged.
I shot Luca a warning glance. "We need his camera," I explained.
"Yeah, whatever. Just get it done," he said abruptly, turning his head away.
I frowned a little at him. Jeez, what was up with him and Alex. I didn't have time to stand by and question it though. I smiled apologetically at Alex.
"Alex, follow me," I said and I led him to a free table.
He sat down and I handed him a menu. "Sorry about Luca. I don't know what's gotten into him."
He shrugged, giving me a friendly smile in return. "Nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about it."
"Oh yeah, I didn't forget by the way," he said, opening his backpack to take out a stylish looking Nikon camera. It had a big, clear lens and multiple tiny buttons.
He held it out to me proudly and I gingerly took it, staring at it in awe.
"Wow... thank you Alex. We're retaking photos for our menu so that's why I needed a camera."
"I see. This camera will definitely take quality photos. I can promise you that," he chuckled.
I studied the delicate camera in my hands, turning it over to look at all the little features it had. The confusion must have shown on my face because Alex stood up and gently took the camera from me.
"Want me to teach you how to use it?"
"Yes please that would be helpful," I smiled in relief. With our heads bent together in close proximity, he showed me how to turn it on, which settings to use, and how to take pictures.
Feeling suddenly aware of someone's gaze on me or rather us, I looked up for a brief second just to make direct eye contact with Luca's hard stare.
He looked pissed for whatever dumb reason. I was honestly too fed up with his childish antics to get over there and ask him about it. I scoffed a little, deciding to ignore him as I went back to listening to Alex.
"...And that's basically the gist of it. You need me to clear up anything else?" Alex asked.
I smiled appreciatively at him. "No, you explained it perfectly. Thank you."
"You better give me a discount for this," Alex joked, his eyes lighting up in amusement.
I laughed, "Yes, of course," as I took his order. Walking to the kitchen, I could practically feel Luca's moodiness radiating off him even though his back was turned to me.
I sighed, "Here's Alex's order." I slapped the note onto the counter and he still didn't turn around. Whatever. Let him be moody. We finally had our camera and I expected him to be at least a little ecstatic.
Without waiting for his response, I turned away to study some menus we had sitting at the front counter. Most, if not all of them were extremely outdated as evident by the yellowing tinge of the photos.
Looks like we had a lot of work cut out for us. My thoughtful trance was then interrupted by the clangs of pots and pans from the kitchen. Luca appeared from behind the kitchen counter, sliding a phá» bowl to me in which I presumed to be Alex's order.
He still refused to meet my eyes as he grudgingly said, "Here."
"Thanks," I said. My gaze stayed on him for a couple more seconds even after he turned away, wondering if I did something wrong. Even though I said I didn't care, I felt a small tinge of hurt.
Could he not even stand looking at me? I shook those thoughts away as I focused on delivering Alex's bowl of phá» to his table.
I set down the steaming bowl of noodles as the delicious aroma filled the air. I would never tire of smelling phá». I considered it one of my comfort smells.
"Thanks Allison. Good luck with your restaurant," Alex smiled gratefully.
My lips quirked up in return. "Thank you."
âââ¦ââ âââ¦ââ
Not long after that, Alex had to leave quick for something so he took the rest of his phá» for to-go. I excitedly brought the camera over to Luca whom I didn't have the chance to show before.
"Psst! Luca! Meet me in the break room," I said hurriedly to him over the counter. Not waiting for his response, I quickly entered the quiet break room. It provided good peace away from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant.
I heard footsteps approaching as the door opened. Luca. I greeted him with a small smile, holding up the camera triumphantly.
"Isn't it such a cool camera? Should we start taking photos now?"
"Why did you ask him?" Luca suddenly asked with an emphasis on him, completely ignoring my questions.
I faltered a bit. "Who? Alex?"
He blinked, looking annoyed that I didn't seem to understand him. "Yeah, I could have brought a camera you know."
Suddenly I was angry. I had enough with his hot and cold behavior. "I don't get you Luca. What is up with you today? We have a camera. Why does it matter who gave it?" I snapped.
He stepped closer to me, looking equally as angry. "Nothing's wrong-," he started, but I cut him off.
"If nothing's wrong, then why did you keep giving us glares?!" my voice raising a bit.
He broke his eye contact with me, running a hand through his dark hair frustratingly. "It's just weird how you keep smiling at him. He's obviously a no good distraction and..." he faltered a little in his words with his eyes glued to the floor.
"Whatever. It's nothing," he said curtly, offering no further explanation.
Wait. He noticed Alex and I's interaction? But why did he care so much? Unless...
My anger started to fade away as I came to a realization. Was he actually... jealous? I stared at him incredulously. I never hoped that he felt the same way because it always seemed like he hated me.
I stepped closer to him. We were so close that I could feel the warmth radiating off him and the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. My breath quickened out of nervousness as I uttered the question I was too afraid to ask.
"Luca... are you jealous?" I couldn't hide the smile in my voice as my lips curved up in response to the absurdity of the whole situation.
His head snapped up as he defensively said, "What? No way!"
Except when he looked up, that was when I realized how close our faces really were. I felt my heart stammer in my chest when I made eye contact with his dark brown eyes. Maybe I imagined it, but his chest seemed to rise and fall more rapidly.
The room was deathly silent except for the small sounds of our breathing.
My eyes lowered to his lips and before I had the chance to even question my boldness, I raised a hand to his cheek and kissed him, pressing my lips against his.
My hand was gentle against his face, feeling tentative. His lips were soft. Softer than I ever imagined. He froze up against my lips and I pulled away as quickly as I kissed him.
Oh shit. What did I do?! He stared at me in shock and I swallowed, feeling embarrassed I came on to him like that.
"Shit. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-," I mumbled, stepping back and feeling my face flame up in embarrassment, but before I could finish my sentence, Luca grabbed me by the waist, drawing me towards him and kissing me.
I stiffened at the sudden contact, my heart practically leaping into my throat. Holy moly!! Luca Chen was kissing me! Luca Chen was kissing me?! He smelled like spices and mint. Probably from making phá» all day. His hands tightened on my waist and I tentatively kissed him back, my hands reaching up slowly to wind through his soft hair.
He stepped even closer to me, our gentle kiss deepening even further and setting my heart ablaze. Our breaths mingled together in a kiss that may or may not have turned into multiple kisses at this point.
"Liên!"
Luca and I immediately stepped back from each other, our breathing haggard as I stared straight into my mother's horrified eyes.
Well, shit.