"Is this for me?" I asked Jiro, afraid this was one of his tricks.
"Yes," Jiro said without a hint in his voice as to what he means.
I wonder if Jiro can hear the fast beating of my heart? What do these flowers mean?
"Those are tulips," he said, knowing he need not explain, but maybe he didn't know what else to say.
He does this, mumbling things, trying to explain things when he simply is out of words. It is what makes him extremely cute to me.
He was wearing a long turtle neck black shirt made from the finest of cotton, suavely how tucked on his faded jeans. His long hair was tied on a man ponytail that made his broad shoulders more prominent. He was a fine specimen, yes, my best friend is.
"What for?" I asked shyly, accepting the bouquet. He never gave me one before.
"I was passing by a flower shop on my way here, and I saw them. I got them because they suit you," he said like the reason was obvious.
Jiro, don't you know you should not be too kind to me?
"What do you mean?" I asked him, trying to understand the meaning behind those murky golden set of eyes.
"They are pretty, are they not?" He asked like he was afraid that he was wrong on his assessment.
"Pretty suits me?" A blush crept across my cheeks just by asking the question. Why do I keep hoping knowing exactly he did not want anything more?
"Baka, what the hell are you blushing for? Do you like them?" Jiro asked, a blush also colored his cheeks.
Now, do you understand why I can't stop myself from thinking we can be more? He was sweet, handsome, perfect.
"Yes," I said, my voice hardly audible. I'm afraid he can hear the fast thumping of my heart, and yet I can't look away.
Jiro was pretty tall, around 6'3 maybe more. It's hard to look at him without straining my neck, but his eyes make it all worth it. He has the eyes that can make the entire world stop by one millisecond. Yes, he was perfect.
"Okay, I'll have them delivered to your doorstep every day from now on," Jiro said dismissively.
"Let's go," he said, pulling my arm towards him.
I got off-balanced by the suddenness of it all. "Silly baka," he muttered under his breath.
His hot breath fanning my ears, and my hormones can't help but kick in once again.
"Why do you have to be so clumsy all the time," he said, his fingers softly brushing my cheeks.
His eyes lingered a little longer on my bottom lip, Damn, is this how awkward it is supposed to be after we kissed?
"Jiro," I managed to say despite me running out of breath.
He tucked some strands of my hair behind my ear and said, "Stop being a baby all the time. I won't always be here to catch you, you know," he said like the mere thought made him suffer too. Or was it just wishful thinking on my part?
"Let's go," he said, pulling me behind as we stride across the street and towards his car. It was a red Ferrari, fast, beautiful, and out of reach, just like the owner.
He opened the door for me and urged me to get inside. From the outside, people might think we are a sweet couple, my neighbors think too.
I don't mind at all, at least even if I deny it, people do not believe so easily. So you ask, how can I believe that we cannot be.
He secured my seatbelt and started the engine, and all along I was wondering, is this really how best friends ought to act?
Wasn't he being overly caring towards a friend? Or perhaps my novels are starting to take root inside of me, making me wish for something I know has no possibility of ever existing?
"You are always so careless baka," he said as he sped away, his big capable hands were on the steering wheel but he still glanced my way to remind me about how I always forget to put my seatbelt on.
"I guess, I am," I smiled, knowing he will grin and tease me more because of my response.
"If one day you get married, what do you do then? Your husband will be very disappointed. You can't even put your seatbelt on," he said, his baritone voice playful as always.
"You know I'll never get married, right?" I asked him, serious this time. The topic is something I hate, I am a twenty-eight-year-old virgin after all.
"Why? Do you think the nuns will take you in? Surely, you can't be that evil to wreak havoc inside the church?" he flashed his perfect set of teeth, gleaming perfectly like a toothpaste model on a two million billboard.
How can a man have all the luck in the world? He is perfect, something I secretly despise. Perhaps because he is, he can't see me no matter how close I am to him. I can never be his match. Not a loser like me, a fat, ugly, pathetic loser like me.
"I hate you, you know," I pointed out, as he chuckled triumphantly.
"You see, you are not the perfect fit for the nunnery," he insisted, his perfect hands turning the steering wheel like it was made for him.
It's hard being this in love with your best friend, that you can notice every little thing. While he, never notices you at all.
A one-sided kind of love, with someone you are not supposed to love. With someone you know can never love you back.
"Then what do you suggest?" I asked him, sighing in despair.
"Five years," he said, pausing as if he was unsure how to say what was on his mind.
"What about five years?" I asked, not understanding where the conversation is going.
"In five years, you will be thirty-three," he said, his eyes ever on the road.
"Yes, I know. You don't have to emphasize something that obvious," I said, pouting my lips. Why does he enjoy putting me in such misery?
"You'll be a really old lady then, with no hope of ever finding a husband," he chuckled, his hearty laughter filling up the air.
"I know! There is no need to tell that over and over," I said, I would have punched the man if he wasn't driving.
"Then out of that hopeless scenario, would you care to marry your best friend instead?" He asked, his eyes bright like the sun, and his tone ever cheerful. I couldn't say if he was teasing me or he was being serious about it.
"But you said you can't be my fairytale prince," I reminded him, not because I wasn't happy hearing it, but because of how confusing that was for me.
"Precisely why I am giving you five years, go and marry your prince within that five years. If you fail to do so, you have no other option but to marry me," he said, this time even his voice sounded serious too.
A deep baritone voice that reverberated to my heart and soul. So how can I not hope then? Hoped that what he just said is true.
That may be after five years, maybe he can finally see me. That maybe I won't be the invisible girl for him after all. For Jiro Takeshi never lied to me before.
But that was then, that was when I thought he can never lie. That was when I was still full of illusions of me and him, and the perfect fairytale that I thought we could have.
I realized too late, that a future with Jiro Takeshi is something that can never come true.
I realized too late, that a future with him is nothing more but a bewitching illusion.