▫️Three

Ginelle's pov

Wednesdays were the best.

This was my best day of the week because I was free for the most of it and I wasn't required at work. Normally, I would have lunch with Leila and Louis at a restaurant nearby then do some shopping later. However, today I had other plans.

I had passed by the store earlier this morning to check on the progress for me to give a report to Lora. She still was busy with Dalton and I couldn't wait for Friday when I'd be seeing both of them.

It was still gloomy with their absence but then Jordan had turned up at work today. I was so excited to see him and we chatted endlessly about our short holiday adventures.

Jordan had finally trimmed down his afro. He had been so obsessed with his hair that I was so shocked to see that he'd cut it down. The now short hair still made him attractive but he'd been whining all morning at how ridiculous he felt.

Leave it to my friends who were always concerned with their appearance. I'd show up looking as if I had been run over and still have no care. It never really mattered but this afternoon I had put on some effort.

My usually messy dark hair was now curled as it ran down my back in adorable waves. I was wearing a white dress paired with some flats and a brown jacket just in case it got chilly. I twirled in front of the glass-mirror then with a satisfied grin, I walked into the familiar shop.

An ice cream shop

I visited the place almost thrice a week or even more depending on my unstable mood swings. When I felt sad or got angry over something, the ice-cream usually helped a lot. The sweets I ate also took down my anxiety though it was quite alarming how much sugar I could take in.

That aside, my eyes quickly swept over everyone in here and I relaxed slightly when I didn't spot him. I was a few minutes early so I had a seat by the window and I took in deep breaths.

Grey

He would be arriving soon and the excitement in me couldn't be contained. I was even surprised that he had agreed to meet up for my ice cream offer. I curled into my seat when I remembered how embarrassing it felt after blurting out the words.

How could such a large man eat ice-cream? He didn't even look like the type to yet I don't know why I'd suggested in the first place but then with him agreeing it came as another shock to me. He was even familiar with the name of this store.

I was starting to think he had bailed out on me when he didn't show up ten minutes later that I began to pick on my nails, a habit I had when I got anxious. Was he really not up to the idea or was he busy?

My overthinking always got the better part of me. Perhaps he was in a mission and couldn't make it. That was understandable but I couldn't take it. I was the type of person who always gave their all in something. He had to come.

"Ginelle," a low husky voice called quietly and the movement of my hands halted. I snapped my head to the right the fastest possible and I felt my stomach flip at his sight. He had come. Grey was here.

He was in yet another black shirt, this time a short sleeved one that framed his built rather well and black pants that matched his shirt. His jet black hair was out of order that I noticed the tired features on his face.

"Grey, have a seat." I motioned to the chair in front of me as I attempted a smile. My eyes followed his every move till he comfortably looked back at me. The chairs didn't seem to accommodate him well since he seemed to occupy the whole space.

"I'm sorry," he folded his hands above the table and leaned over so that I could hear him better over the loud chatter in the store. His grey eyes uneasily flicked up into mine and I wondered why he was apologizing.

"I'm late," he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and he looked so bothered about it. His eyes anxiously ran over my face, an apologetic look on his.

"Were you at work?" I asked because he didn't look as relaxed as when I'd last seen him at the store. I could see that his left leg kept bouncing over the floor even though he tried to tone it down.

"Yes," he leaned back into the chair resting one of his hands on his knee. Did that mean he'd rushed over from work to meet me? Was he even done?

"You didn't have to come if you were busy," I tried to assure him, removing a fallen strand of hair out of my face. His eyes flowed my actions and the intensity of them had me reddening.

"I wanted to," he replied and I couldn't hold back a smile. He wanted to meet up. At least I felt relieved that it wasn't forced and he genuinely wanted to be here.

"Let's order then!" I enthusiastically stood up and made a beeline to the front hoping that Grey was following. There were so many flavors on display and I had tried almost all of them.

I was feeling like taking chocolate so I turned to Grey to get his flavour, "Which one do you like?" I craned up to look at his face since he was closely behind me that I almost crushed into him. His face was leaned over, almost to the level of my hair.

"Strawberry," my eyes widened at his choice but I quickly ordered and paid when our turn came but not before I noticed the pink tinge on his neck as he shuffled behind me.

"Here," I handed him his flavour as we headed back for our previous seats only to notice that they were taken. I did a quick sweep over the place and noticed two empty seats further away.

Grey inclined his neck to that direction and I walked by his side. I was too eager to have a taste that I quickly took a lick of my ice cream when no one was looking.

Our chairs were opposite each other and I was just about to take one side when I felt a slight tug on my jacket sleeve. It was barely there that I thought I'd been imagining it but when I looked at Grey, he pointed at the chair in the opposite side.

"The sun," the rays streaking through the glass planes were intently focused on that seat.I appreciated his gesture as we swapped seats.

We were quiet as we devoured our ice creams but I could occasionally feel Grey's eyes on me. His side profile shone wonderfully in the sun highlighting his tanned look even more. I envied him for his looks.

I was tempted to ask him of a taste of his flavour, something I did oftenly when I was with Leila or Dalton but I don't think Grey would appreciate me licking down his ice-cream.

"Do you need to get back to work?" I asked after I was done with mine. Grey had already finished his and he'd been watching me. His eyes barely left my face and I wondered if I had any cream on it.

"No, I just finished." He folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back to avoid the sun and I gaped at how amazing he appeared. If I were him, with that face, I would become a model.

"I'm also free today. I usually don't work on Wednesday so I always meet with my friends but they're all busy today and I didn't want to bother them further so I came out and had ice-cream instead." I spoke at a go and my face flushed at my rambling.

"Friends?" Grey asked, the corners of his mouth twitching up. He didn't seem bothered about my chatter and I could guess he was enjoying this with how calm he appeared.

"You want us to be friends?" I asked back. He tended to use short phrases when talking. I hadn't heard him talk more than five words in one sentence so I needed to be sure of what he meant.

"Mmm," his reply came out as a deep hum and it felt as if his chest was vibrating. I wasn't used to such deep voice having only two male friends and even with them, their voices weren't as heavy as his. It was captivating, just as he was.

His reply surprised me further. He wanted us to be friends. There was no indifference in his features. I thought he'd shown up today only because I owed him. If it were another circumstance, I'm sure I wouldn't be here talking with such a handsome man.

My looks were pretty average so I was sure about that. Compared to Grey who looked like a model, I felt like an unknown fan who didn't stand a chance beside him. He was too pretty to walk beside me let alone be my friend.

My lack of response had crushed down the hopeful glint in his eyes and feeling bad about it, I blurted out, "Okay, we'll be friends." I stretched out my hand for him to shake and his eyes filled with life and radiance.

He took my small hand over his large one in a brief handshake, the merry look back on his face as he stared down at our interlocked hands. Was he really that glad to be my friend? I was so ordinary compared to him who captured all the attention.

"So," he scratched the back of his neck after I'd retracted my hand, "we shall be meeting?" He slowly said the words as he shifted into his chair and barely met my eyes. His shoulders were rigid and he sounded unsure of himself.

"Huh," I gawked at him unsure of whether I'd heard him correctly. I needed to get my ears checked up because no way it was, what I'd heard.

"You said you meet with your friends," that was the longest I had heard him speak and I couldn't help but notice how flustered he was getting. It was clear that Grey wasn't used to talking much and I was clearly the opposite of him.

"If you're free then we can meet," I said to him and I noticed him relax further into his chair. Leila would freak out if she found out that I'd made a friend without her help. A male one for that matter.

Grey eagerly nodded at my words and it was really surprising how quickly his facial expressions changed. He appeared easy to please and I could feel that we would get along just fine.

"You're in the military right?" I asked so as to be sure of what his job was all about. I'd seen him that day we had first met when he'd been on duty but I wanted to hear it from him. I didn't know what his work fully entailed.

"Yes, I'm a captain." He stated briefly and I couldn't be more surprised. I'm sure that was a big position there and with him being young, he must have been the best.

"Should I call you Captain Grey," I laughed at my own statement but noticed his lips tug up. He seemed so relaxed even with my slight joking.

"Do you go to fight? Like in war?Are there lady captains? Do you know how to use a gun? Is it safe?" I fired all this questions at him and he answered the best he could.

Apparently he knew how to fight and I'm sure his muscles were a proof. He also handled guns well especially when he'd gone to so many battles. Unfortunately, there were no female captains yet.

Our conversation stretched on with me asking about how life in the military was and how different it was from ours. Grey answered as much as possible when he could keep with my rambling.

The evening stretched and it was time to leave. The sun had gone down and I had to take the bus before it left. Work would still be waiting for me tomorrow so I rose up to part with Grey irregardless of how lovely the talk was getting.

"My bus arrives in twenty minutes," I announced it to him when we stepped out of the warm shop that was now almost deserted. We had stayed there for quite sometime.

The moon had risen and the numerous stars in the clear sky shone over us as we walked towards the bus-stop. Grey had offered to wait for the bus with me and I was beyond glad.

We stood side by side amongst the small gathered crowd waiting for the bus. Even with the my jacket on, I still shivered in the breeze that blew. It was a good thing though that it wouldn't be raining tonight.

Grey shuffled closer to me that his side touched my trembling one. It was a shock that even without a sweater on, he was still warm. Unless he was sick, but he looked okay.

I peeked up at him when he moved closer. He must have noticed my shaking because with his eyes on mine, he extended his arm to me. I stared up at him, my heart beating faster and I hesitantly nestled into his side, looping my arms over his.

It was warm that I snuggled even closer and a slight tremor ran down his chest when I curled into his warmth. He rested his other hand over mine and I looked up at him and smiled in gratitude at his care.

He looked down at me for almost a minute without saying anything but I didn't dwell much on his unresponsiveness. I got cosier into his left side something I'd done on our first encounter too. I couldn't restrain myself especially when he was this warm.

"I'll see you soon?" Grey asked when the bus approached and I began to detach myself from him. He looked a little hesitant to let me go. I nodded at his question just as the bus arrived.

"Ginelle," he appeared as if he wanted to say more but he shook his head and swallowed, "Take care." I waved him off as I took the bus and found any empty seat by the window.

The bus began to leave soon afterwards and I waved Grey off till I couldn't seen him any longer. For the rest of the ride, I thought of our afternoon together and how great it felt.

Grey. He was a wonderful person and I couldn't wait to meet him again. Even if that meant waiting for a whole week for this day to come again. I just hoped that he felt so too and we'd share our experiences together.

It was just a wish and sighed closing my eyes briefly. If only my wishes were that easy. After all wasn't that just wishful thinking?

✪ ✪ ✪

Just the beginning of their beautiful adventure. Share your thoughts, suggestions and concerns. I hope you enjoy.

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