Chapter 14 Valencia The thing with wanting something is once you get it, you crave for more. Just a taste of it is barely enough. In fact, it's never enough. That was what was happening to me, I guess. Because how the hell would I explain whatever was happening to me? My legs and entire body felt sore, yet blissfully content. But as usual when I got up from sleep at morning, the other side of my bed was cold. lan had once again slipped away at night when I was fast asleep. Just how did he always appear soundlessly and leave without making a noise? I was a light sleeper, so even the slightest noise usually woke me up. Maybe he would leave when I was in a deep sleep. I recalled the events of last night, the way he had opened up about his job a little. He had still been a little elusive on the topic of work and the nature of his responsibilities, but damn, did he sound a little stressed about everything? That added even more guilt to my heart, knowing that he had a demanding job, yet he had managed to find time to do chores for me. And not just chores, but he cooked for me twice and last night, also gave me my first heavenly orgasm. For the first time in life, I didn't feel like going to office. I just wanted to lie in the bed and do nothing. That was funny. I was the girl who would even find extra work to do on weekends because I wouldn't want to be alone with myself. Sometimes, I got homesick when my mind was not filled with work and deadlines. I recalled how mom used to get me nice dresses and matching play sets, or how my brother would stand by the door and keep a watch over me. It had been five years of no contact with them. I wondered if dad felt let down by my actions, by me putting myself above the rest of the pack. They had not even forced me to get married to someone against my wish, they were just hoping someone would click for me and then they would work their way through the political alliances. My brain did a good job of recalling the last ever playdate I went to. The kid with acne on his face and the attitude of a millionaire. I recalled how he had said I was some sort of legend and how rejecting me was akin to helping them to find their true mates. He had not even used any abusive words nor resorted to violence. But something about the way he casually said that thing, as if it was a fact and I was not a living, breathing person with emotions but some cheat code that he had to used to get what he truly wanted…. that had been the last straw. 1/3 Sometimes. I felt ashamed of never telling my parents of how it gnawed at me, of how the playdates traumatized me or how a new dress from mom would always make my heart beat faster, anxiety slowly building up with every rejection. I ran away from that life, from those torturous days of finding some true mate who was going to judge me based on how I smiled or how docile I was. My phone rang at that exact moment, dragging me out of my miserable thoughts. "Hello, earth to Valencia, are you still on the same planet or have you left for the moon?" Sophia's stern voice asked me. Stifling a yawn, I greeted her. "Good morning to you too, Soph." "You are yawning, that means you didn't get enough sleep last night which in turn also means that you were buried in files all night. Again." Sophia said in a dismissive voice, as if she had caught me doing drugs. "Why is working and being efficient a bad thing?" I said, rolling on the other side of the bed. "If you start to forget, it's not your day to parade to the office, but meet your only friend on weekends, then it sure is." "Oh," I managed to say and I could already see her shaking her head and slapping her palm on her forehead. "You didn't realize it was Saturday, did you?" She asked, and I admitted. "Guilty as charged" "That was the reason I gave you a call so early, because I want you to myself the entire day." I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could say anything, she asked,, "And you have to tell me why is a guy from my class I barely remember being in the same college found me on social media and has been asking questions about you." Taht made me jump up on the bed and sit up straight. Was it my brother who had somehow found me? Or was it a friend of my family? "I don't know what you are talking about," I said, and she replied, "I will answer everything in detail, but not on the phone. Meet me at the usual cafe for breakfast. I am dying of hunger." I recalled the soup Ian had made for me yesterday that we both had conveniently forgotten about and gone ahead to do something I had never done in my life before. I should have told Sophia right away. She was the one to suggest that place, and I owed it to her for meeting Ian. But somehow I felt like I should treasure that special memory for a while. I would tell her eventually, I thought. "Hello, are you even listening to me?" She asked, and I nodded, then realized she can't see me through the phone so replied, "Yes, of course. See you at 10." Pushing the sheets away, I hopped into the shower and got ready to meet her. Unlike me, Sophia was a night owl, so even 10 am was too early for her. 2/3 We had met once when we were looking for a room to rent and somehow stayed in touch and then became friends. And she was the only one who stuck with me because the rest of the connections I tried to make slowly faded away because I was too busy and ambitious for them all. While everybody went to party on weekends, I would go to the Bureau. It was a surprise Sophia hadn't given up on me already. And as much as I loved my job, I didn't want to lose the only friend I had in life. So I got into my car after putting on jeans and a light, breezy shirt instead of my usual skirt and blouse outfit of office, and drove towards the cafe. While I was just two blocks away from the cafe, my phone buzzed again. But it was not a call, but rather a text message. The intern flashed on my phone. I had still not changed it to lan And I almost drove into a nearby tree upon seeing his name flash on my screen. I parked my car to the side of the road and opened the text message so fast, as if it would disappear in the next two seconds. My intern: Yesterday was the best night of my life.