I glanced at the bedroom door waiting for it to open. Various dishes were lined up on the counter after I had finished cooking them.
It was afternoon by then, nearly dipping into the late 3 o'clock. I moved to line the plates of dishes onto the dining table when the bedroom door finally clicked open.
My eyes curved as my lips tugged to a smile, Len has finally graced me with his presence.
"Ah, you finally woke up. How are you?"
Doyle glanced my way before he lowered his gaze to the table. He didn't say anything for a moment and looked like he was deep in thought.
"I-I'm fine... Good afternoon..." Len suddenly said before he walked towards the bathroom to freshen himself up.
"I'll be done soon. Come join me when you're ready." I called after him as my lips tugged to a grin. I heard a murmur of confirmation from him and turned to hum to myself.
"Good food is the way to a man's heart." I recited to myself with a gleeful hum as I folded the apron I was wearing and tucked it into a drawer of my kitchen counter.
I then grabbed some cutleries as I began to set the table. I heard a squeak from the sink and smiled to myself.
Len seems pretty confident and knows his way around here... It's like... we're newlyweds...
I stopped myself from going too far down my daydream and stared at the dishes lining the dining table. I grinned as I straightened the dinner plate.
I roughly know his favourite dishes so he would probably enjoy these. Cooking is merely one of my many tactics to get him to fall for me.
I glanced towards the bathroom as Len had taken quite a considerable amount of time and walked towards it.
"Are you done?" I asked as I leaned against the open door. I watched as Len flinched before he turned to face me.
Len's face was still dripping with water so I grabbed a nearby face towel and started dabbing Len's face dry.
"Don't wait too long. You may catch a cold. Come, let's have lunch. Well... brunch for you... lunch for me." I said as I laughed lightly and held onto Len's smooth hand, leading him to the dining table.
I led Len to the dining table which contained the array of food that I had prepared while waiting for him to wake up. I watched as Len stared at the dishes curiously before he glanced up to stare at my face.
"W-was it too much?" I asked as I scratched my cheek with a sheepish laugh.
"Eh? Oh... um... T-there's only two of us... But I was more curious... did you make it yourself?" Len asked as he worded his sentence in a seemingly respectful manner.
"Well... yes. It's been years since I last cooked for someone... so I don't know if I did it right. Hehe... " I said, not thinking too much of my line.
The last time I cooked for someone was back in school during home economics and I set half the class on fire by accident. I have improved tremendously since then... but I'm not going to tell him that.
"O-oh..." Len replied as he glanced at the dishes in silence.
He then stopped being bashful and quickly chose some dishes before eating it. I observed Len for a moment as I found myself smiling at his habit. He stuffed his cheeks like a hamster as he chewed slowly.
"It's delicious! You're an excellent cook, Doyle!" Len said as he beamed at me. I felt as if an arrow was shot through my heart.
I grinned at his statement before taking a sip of my coffee to calm myself down. I then picked some dishes before placing them on Len's plate, smiling at him as I wanted to continue watching his antics.
"I know these are your favourite." I smiled before retracting my hand and picking some dishes for myself.
Len merely glanced at the dishes I placed on his dish before he furrowed his brows. It seemed like he wanted to talk about that.
"D-Doyle, I.... I have to tell you something..." Len said as he placed the spoon back onto the table.
"... How about after lunch?" I replied as I held in my breath. I wanted to enjoy a lovely day alone with him. I suppose even lunch was filled with such tension...
"... ... Okay..." Len replied before going silent.
We then ate in silence for the rest of that meal. I glanced at Len and he looked as if he had swallowed a bug. Maybe he regretted his words, but what was to come... would still occur. It was the way things were.
***
"You wanted to talk?" I asked as I steeled myself. I tried to avert my gaze by making myself busy, washing the dishes, but the thumping in my heart made me focus more on the silence on Len's part.
"... ... M-maybe when you're done with the dishes... Ah... I'll help you dry them." Len said as he walked to my side.
I flinched hopefully not so visibly before putting on my usual professional smile. I handed him a dry cloth and continued to wash up the dishes and cutleries.
There was an awkward tension and silence in the air. I didn't want to acknowledge it, so I decided to talk about work. Real smart move on my part... not.
Len merely nodded his head and laugh occasionally as I complained about the boss and some of his annoying quirks. I didn't want to mention Rayson in any of my sentence, so it seemed that my small chat turned into a complain about the boss.
I frowned to myself when I finally finished washing the dishes and noticed that the mood grew tense again. My heart clenched as I felt my throat constrict. Ah... it is time isn't it...
"...D-Doyle..." Len said as he wiped the last dinner plate absent-mindedly.
"Yes?" I replied trying to seem casual but my voice had cracked a little. It was so obvious where he was going with the conversation, I might as well have gone to war without wearing a bulletproof vest.
"A-about your... ... confession..."
Ah... I was right... I knew he would bring it up but... why so soon? Why... is he so focused on Rayson? Do I... not even compare to Rayson?
"W-what about it?" I replied as I noticed myself stutter. It was so obvious I'm sure even he heard it.
"I'm sorry but... I don't think I can accept your feelings..." Len said as he spat out his sentence. His hands shook and I noticed his eyes squeeze shut.
I had expected a rejection, but it still hurt so much. I wanted to smile and reassure him that it was fine to reject me but I found it hard to speak.
I merely stood in silence as I stared at him. My vision blurred and I willed myself to turn away from him.
"W-well... I... It's fine. I... I will uh... ... ... We can uh..." I tried saying some words but the tears slipped out from my eyes.
Shit... I'm... crying? Fuck! I haven't cried for a long time but... just because of a rejection...?
A crash could be heard as I quickly swiveled and found the plate Len had held fell onto the floor, smashing into several mini pieces. Almost instinctively, I grabbed his hands, turning them around to check if he had injured himself.
Seeing his hands were fine, I immediately lifted him up, bridal style and carried him to the couch where I placed him down and lifted his foot to check for injuries. Seeing it was fine as well, I sighed in relief.
I didn't realise until after I had swept him to the couch and checked his body but... Len had also been crying. My eyes widened as I stretched my hand out to his face wanting to swipe the tears away but stopped.
I shouldn't touch him.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I glanced up at him with a conflicted smile.
Len blinked his eyes and two loose strand of tear slipped down his cheeks. I peered into his round grey eyes as I held back the urge to touch him.
"Why... won't you touch me?" Len muttered low enough that I could have missed it if I had not paid attention.
I knitted my brows as I smiled conflictedly, glancing at Len as I leaned my chin against my knees.
"That... wouldn't be fair now would it?" I said before I ruffled through my hair.
Len's eyes widened and he didn't say a thing after that. I sighed and headed back to the kitchen as I grabbed a broom and dustpan from my broom closet.
Guess I'll clean this up for now... The only mess I could possibly clean up...