Xander woke up without Yera on the bed. A beautiful smile curved his lips despite the headache he was having.
Last night he was drunk, but he clearly recalled what happened. Unlike Yera, Xander could still maintain a clear thought when he was inebriated. Although it was true that last night, he was unable to control himself and his urge to grab ahold of Yera as soon as a whiff of her scent entered his nose.
He had been longing to kiss those lips. It had become unmanageable lately, that he had to resort to stealing a quick peck on Yera's lips every night when she was already deep asleep. Just like a thief.
But last night, he was able to kiss her fervently and unrestrained... And the best part was, she responded to it. Now that he had had a taste of her sweet lips, he longed to devour them even more. He knew he was making progress. But he also knew he still had to be patient.
He looked at the clock. It was still too early for Yera to have left for work, so he grabbed his mobile phone from the bedside table and dialed her number.
He heard her phone ringing inside the room. He stood up and saw that it was on the couch. He had not ended the call yet, so he saw the caller ID that was displayed on the screen.
His eyebrows furrowed upon seeing the name that was saved under his number. 'The Clown.'
"What!?" He protested. He was 'The Clown,' yet she was 'My Darling'? How unfair!
Xander shoulders sank, and his smile gone.
"Do I look like a clown to her?" He whined.
Then a corner of his lips curled upward as an idea crossed his mind. "Would she get angry if I change my name on her phone?" He pondered out loud.
His hand reached to grab Yera's mobile phone, but it stopped midway. He hesitated for one good minute. Should he do it, or should he not? He picked up the phone anyway, but...
"Ah, crap!" Xander hissed as he pulled out his hair in frustration. He didn't dare.
Right in time, when his hair was in total mess and Yera's mobile phone in his hand, the door opened.
"What are you doing with my phone?" Yera asked with a creased forehead. She was holding a tray of hangover meal that she personally cooked and prepared for Xander.
She knew he would wake up with a headache, and she felt guilty because it was her fault that he got drunk. She knew he did that to save her from humiliating herself in front of her colleagues.
Xander turned red with embarrassment from being caught in the act. He defended himself. "I woke up and saw you were not here. I thought you had already left for work, but then I looked at the clock, and it was still early. So I tried to call your phone, but then I heard it ringing here. I came over to take it, but then I saw the name you saved me as. Why am I 'The Clown'? Do I look like a clown to you? I was planning to rename it to 'Darling' because that's how I saved you on my phone. But I hesitated because I thought you would get angry. I was still contemplating when you came in…"
Yera almost burst out in laughter but tried hard to control it. She asked indifferently, "Did I ask you to narrate everything that happened since you woke up until I came in?"
She chuckled inwardly, seeing how funny Xander's conflicted look right now. He was trying to think of the right words to say. But she secretly admired Xander's honesty and spontaneity.
She put the tray on the table and said, "Here, eat and drink this. It will freshen you up… Hurry up and get ready. Father will be down soon."
Xander moved listlessly toward the table, which made Yera a bit worried. She touched his forehead and said, "Your temperature is normal."
"Yeah, it is… I'm not sick, just sad… Why am I a clown?" Xander asked sulkily as he stared directly at Yera.
Yera was rendered speechless by how childish Xander was currently behaving. 'Is he twelve or what?' She thought as she looked at his sullen expression.
Yera sighed and said, "What's wrong with being a clown? It's because you always smile…"
Xander changed his expression into a serious one while he still stared at her. Her heart nearly skipped a beat.
"Would you rather I look at you like this from now on?" He said in his iciest tone.
Yera flinched and burst out laughing…
Xander's face quickly softened upon seeing her lovely smile and hearing her laugh. His whole world stopped at that moment. His eyes could only see Yera's beautiful face and her bright eyes.
"Alright… You can call me anything you want as long as I get to see those eyes brightened like that more often. They're beautiful. And loveable," Xander murmured.
Yera's cheeks reddened. She abruptly stopped and turned into her usual cold self again. "The soup will get cold. Get ready and go down soon."
Then she quickly went out of the room. A devilish smirk formed on Xander's face. "At least, I made her smile, laugh, and blush, even if just for a second." He cheered, followed by a whistle.
Then he realized he still had Yera's phone in his hand.
"I don't think she'd be mad..." He murmured, as he promptly changed his name on her phone to 'My Darling.' Then he sent a message for her to read later.
[I took the liberty to change my name on your phone. If I find out that you change it back to 'The Clown,' I will kiss you like last night again.]
Then he let out a slight chuckle before he chugged down the hangover soup in one go and got himself ready for work.