After stopping at the office to have a mandatory meeting with his employees, Li Jun decided he was starving, sending away his driver and, with half an hour before his date with Li Na, the blinking light decorating the silver arches of Da Wan BBQ's started beckoning him mercilessly as he drove in front of the restaurant. With the colored boxes in hand and his favorite black car parked safely away, Li Jun took a seat at the entrance of Bada Forest Paradise in Pingtung Country and began people-watching while he ate the steak from one of the colored lunch boxes. He groaned in satisfaction when he took a bite of his well-prepared steak, not realizing how much he'd been hungry while he was having a meeting with his employees. Once he'd ate the large steaks with a can of Mountain Dew, he sat back and tried to relax. It was the first time he'd really sat and relax in an open environment like this since the death of his parents, and, as much as he liked being busy, he also appreciated the need to simply take a moment to enjoy the scenery. Before his parents and his Ex's deaths, he would quite often sit in the Park or sit together with Chu Hua (his Ex-girlfriend) when he was back in Taiwan with a full pack of rice noodles and a bottle of Mango smoothie, they will sit back, and enjoy each other company.
Under the warm Taiwan sun, Li Jun watched the crowds going through the Bada forest paradise. He frowned when some girls smiled and blinked flirtatiously and giggled as they passed him. Their eyes were so blatant on him that Li Jun clearly used to such reactions from most females couldn't help but frown back at them. It immediately made the two girls stammer and stumble away from him. Li Jun snickered into the back of his hand and sat back, his attention turning away and falling on a couple who were kissing not five feet from him, oblivious to the world around them. The guy held the lady's face, lost in a kiss that was gentle and slow. Li Jun smiled as he remembered the kiss he shared the other day with Li Na in her office. Jeez, he almost had in her office. He remembered how pleasurable it was. He'd never kissed that way(full of passion) when he was with Chu Hua—when he'd kissed at all—and he'd certainly never "made love." The way he has been doing with Li Na. Although he and Chu Hua were together as lovers it seems dull compared to the intense feeling he had with Li Na, Li Jun wasn't even sure before then that such intense love he experienced with Li Na which was also like his parents, existed.
Before his parents' death, Li Jun had watched dubiously when his father had kissed and held his mother carefully, softly, as though she was the most precious thing in the world. It was clear that he'd cherished her. It was also clear that her mother though not loving his father at first because it was an arranged marriage, was eventually head over heels with him, later, blinded by love and preoccupied with him as if nobody existed in their vicinity.
Li Jun loved his parents so much but when they began that lovey-dovey expression, he always shuddered and felt like puking. Maybe he was young for behaving that way, but he'd never had any complaints about their happiness. But after experiencing such passion with Li Na, Li Jun knew why his parents cannot be separated one day without looking for each other.
Li Jun thought, feeling like a pervert, he pulled his stare away from the man and woman, who are really going about their public display of affections.
Looking across the busy street, he felt his phone vibrate which was showing that Li Na was calling him, raising his head, he caught a glimpse of Black hair. He craned his neck, looking past the people standing in front of him, his mouth lifting into a smile.
It was his Li Na, wearing . . . shit!!. She was wearing a loose-fitting blue flowery T-shirt that showed her neck and shoulders and knee-length black jeans. She was dressed gracefully, as she always was. She radiated sexiness without even intending it. The weird sensation in his gut that had started when he kissed her in her office the other day, began to slighter its way through his body. The feeling was a weird sensation for him, and he didn't want it to overcome him in the public. He didn't like not being able to control his emotions. He knew he would have kissed Li Na in the crowd if he didn't rein in his emotions. He had to remind himself again that he wasn't going to touch her today. Nothing sexual. Just friendly platonic bonding. Getting to know each other.
Li Jun rubbed his palms down his face. Shit. His thought process was far too deep for a date on a Friday afternoon. He needed to get his head out of his arse and focus on why he was here. Prove to Li Na that their relationship was worth it.
Moving towards her, he glanced down at his watch and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Really. She was late. By nearly ten minutes. Oh, Iris, he thought with a smile and a playful shake of his head as he strolled toward her.
He approached from behind, his gaze gliding over her curves and contours. She was trying to call him on her phone when he stepped close enough to smell her hair. He bent down to her ear. "Why are you late, Professor?" She gasped, turning around abruptly, and her blue shirt and dark hair whipped along with her. Her face was shocked, as she looked at Li Jun with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Gosh! Li Jun," she gasped. "You scared me! Is this a date or horror movie?" Li Jun didn't reply, appreciating her stunning appearance. He simply shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation for her lateness. She dropped her iPhone into her bag, avoiding his gaze. "Hm...I was trying to finish up on something."
"Really?" Li Jun probed. "And here I was, believing I was the most important person in your life." He purred as he teased her, but a part of him wished it was the reality of the situation.
His desire for her was getting out of control. Li Na sighed and placed her hand against her hip. She snapped back, "Unnecessary imaginations can be your downfall."
"Besides, I was not late because I was with someone," she continued. Li Jun's jaw relaxed in an unusual and surprising expression of relief. He says with a laugh through a long breath that made part of her hair swing, saying, "I suppose I can let your lateness slide this time." He moved in closer, his voice lowered in what seems like a warning. "Just make sure that it doesn't happen again."
She took a breath and swallowed. "Oh, So what are you going to do?" Li Jun glanced at her, startled by her question and he was sure that she was ogling his tattoos that were visible beneath his white shirt which was underneath his open jacket.
"Oh, Li Na," he whispered. "You want to know what will happen?" Something bright flickered within her eyes, but it was gone before Li Jun could identify it. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and shrugged.
"Not interested," she replied with an unimpressed scrunch of her nose. "Come on. Let's go." A small laugh escaped Li Jun when she stormed past him into the entranceway of the Bada forest paradise. He had to jog a little to catch up with her, but, once he did, he pushed his free hand into her hands and followed her lead.
"So," Li Na said as they made their way through the gates and across the tarred path, "Where should we start?"
Li Jun glanced up at the blue sky and smiled. It was a beautiful day, unseasonably warm. "I thought we should go to the boating pond. It is beautiful there."
"Great. Let's go" As was always the case on a warm Friday afternoon, the forest paradise was teeming with people and Li Jun found himself and Li Na walking through a long trimmed lawn extended before them before dropping down steeply into the banks of the river. The grass was short and green; patches were beginning to grow, promising new vegetation. A couple of families were already enjoying the day, spreading out picnic blankets or walking their pets, or letting their kids chase each other across the wide-open expanse.