"She wants to organize a big party for her birthday tomorrow since she won't have time next week, and she invited us."

I stare without saying anything after I noticed y/n look at us. This is very difficult to know what I should do in this situation. I do not know how y/n feels about past relationships yet, I do not know how she would feel about meeting my ex-wife, but I would not want to go there without her either, so I need some time to think about this. "Well, you're going, right?"

"Well, it's her birthday, so I kinda want to," he answers like I thought he would, so I take a look at y/n, but she only focuses on the dough. "You're not coming with me? Y/n can come with us, we'll go together. I'm pretty sure mom will be alright with it."

"That's up to her to decide," I look at her. "Would you want to come with us?"

"I don't know," she does not seem for it at all. "I don't know those people...and I'm not invited, so not really."

"You're not invited because she doesn't know about the situation. If she knew how close we are, she would have invited you," I do not let her misunderstand it. "I was going to tell her that you'd come with us, but I waited so that I could talk about it with you."

"I'm going to be honest, if y/n doesn't come, I won't go," I lean back on the kitchen bar, and y/n turns around to talk to me. "Why? I'll stay here with Choco, it's fine."

"No, I don't want to go there without you," I do not change my mind no matter what she says, and she does not say anything about it anymore. "Well, I can't tell her that I'm not going...I know how much it means to her."

"I know, don't worry. I'm not telling you not to go. I'll buy her a gift on the way back home, and you'll give it to her for me," I check what time it is on my phone. "I will."

"Anyway, what are you cooking exactly right now?" I move on from this topic and step towards y/n to stand behind her, and she stirs into the dough she seems to have saved. "Waffles because I told her it's your favorite in the morning."

I smile and move forth to touch her hip and kiss her cheekbone. "Thank you, sweetheart. Tell me once it's ready, okay?" I step away to leave, but she grabs my wrist. "Why? Where are you going?"

"In the backyard," I do not tell her I am going to smoke since she will not let me go. "We need your help, so stay with us, please," she guesses what I was going to do, so I try again. "Right now, like in five minutes, it's not alright?"

"No, it's not alright," she pulls on my arm and brings me back close to her, and I submit to her. "What do you need me for?"

"Show me how to do a waffle. I never used that appliance," she pretends to not know how to pour the dough in it and close it. "Sure, this is so difficult, not even Joonha can do it," I do as she wants and hear him chuckle. "I'm too dumb, sorry dad."

"Yeah. You're not too dumb to play your video games and some stupid stuff with Choco though," I plug the appliance in and turn it on so that it can heat up. "Well...my brain works for good reasons only."

"Sure," I let him carry on but see y/n stick her finger in the dough to taste it. "It's not good for your stomach," Joonha speaks before I could, and she licks it no matter what. "Listening to you is not good for my ears either."

He smiles at her small attack, and I do so. "You're mean," he pouts at her to play with her feelings. "I'm gonna tell my baby boy about it," he walks away as if he needed a pretext to leave us both alone, and I get right next to her.

I watch her wait for the light of the waffle maker to turn green, and I cross my arms but think about the topic that we were talking about. "Are you uncomfortable about the thought of seeing my ex-wife?" I do not beat around the bush, and she turns her head towards me. "I don't know..."

"You do," I smile at the lie she gave me. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me how you feel about it. I mean, I haven't been very clear about our relationship because of what happened lately, but now that we are living together, sleeping together every night, I want to know how you feel about this. Like, would you be ready to date? Or are you maybe nervous about some stuff?" I finally talk about what has been bugging me a lot these days. I do not it when things are not clarified, so I need to have her point of view. "I'm not nervous at all. I feel so good with you, I love being around you, listening to you, I love everything about you...so yes, personally, I'm ready, but I haven't said anything either because of what happened. I thought it wasn't the right time or that I was going too fast."

"It's good to hear what you think, I was thinking the same way," I put my hands down on the counter behind me. "Because I'm ready too, and I'd love to finally be able to...kiss you more, touch you more, tell you some things that I can only tell if we're a couple, and just know that you're my partner."

"So, are you...asking me...?" she finds it difficult to say the words, so I tell them for her. "Yes, I'm asking you if you want to be my girlfriend."

In the blink of an eye, some bright joy appears upon her face, and she nods. "I want to. I really want to."

"Good. I'm happy," I smile but feel weird. I only did this once in my life, so I feel pretty self-conscious but good at the same time. "It's just that we've been sleeping together every night, and I won't ever want to sleep without you from now on, so it just didn't make sense to me to be sleeping with you but not being more than friends when we both know we have feelings for each other. On top of that, we're always kissing or touching each other, it's just sometimes difficult to hold back."

"I thought the same, but I just wanted to let you decide when you thought would be the right time since Joonha told me that you didn't really want to date again because you were focusing on your career, and all that," she takes a look at the waffle maker at the clicking sound it made. "Well, feelings cannot be controlled, and love just happens."

"True," she opens the appliance and grabs a ladle, and after the excuse she let out to make me stay, I pretend to not remember it and watch her pour the dough into the machine without asking for my help. I knew she just wanted me to not go out and smoke.

"Didn't you ask me to stay to help you?" I expose her now that she closed it, and an adorable smile forms on her face. "I tried to do it on my own, but something could go wrong, so stay with me," she gets her way with cuteness, and I chuckle but still let her fool me.

•••

6:50 pm.

After finally picking the clothes I like the most for tonight, I put them on and start with my black trousers, my white shirt that I stick in my pants, then the belt. Once I am dressed up, I grab my cologne and spray my skin with it, and I go out of my bedroom.

I take a peek at the TV since Joonha is watching it with Choco on his lap, and he turns around. "Ready for the date?" he does not stop questioning me about it, and I smile but nod. "I am.

"You haven't forgotten about anything?" he checks what I am wearing. "I haven't. I've used a facemask, face cream, lip balm, and all the things that I need," I move closer to him to stand behind the sofa, waiting for y/n to come back. "Wow. You're not kidding."

"I just want to make it a special day," I put my hands in my pockets and watch the show, feeling impatient about seeing y/n. "By the way, what have you answered to your mom?"

"I told her I'd be there, but I'm not sure about you because of y/n and what she'll do, so she told me she'd talk about it with you," he tells me, and I look down at my phone. "We did talk about it, and she said she wouldn't mind it at all if I take y/n with me, but y/n doesn't seem to be comfortable about seeing her, so I'm not sure. I'll see tomorrow in the morning."

"Well, I understand her. You're only starting to be all lovey-dovey with each other, she's in love with you, and she seems to be the jealous type, so she must not want to see you being so close to the woman you were with for almost twenty years," he states what I have been thinking about since it was mentioned. "Hm. I haven't got the opportunity to talk about it with her, and she's young, she's never had a serious relationship yet, so once she'll be used to it, she'll understand that we're just on good terms and that there's nothing weird going on between us."

"I'm the jealous type, so I'd have a hard time seeing my girl around her ex, but that's probably because my past relationships didn't end well, so I'd always believe she's cheating behind my back," he expresses his feelings that might be similar to y/n's one, but the concerned one opens a door. I dart my eyes in that direction right away, and once she comes within sight, I look her up and down to have a better glance at her black short loose dress, and we make eye contact. "I'm sorry for taking so long," she comes near me. "No, you didn't. I only left my room a few minutes ago, don't worry."

"Good," she smiles with relief and looks down at Joonha. "You're pretty," he compliments her when I wanted to be alone to do it, and she thanks him in a shy manner. "Are you ready to go?" I ask her, the eagerness driving me insane. "I am. I was waiting for you."

"We can go then," I put my phone back in my pocket and head towards the front door. "Don't hesitate to text me if you need anything, Joonha. Okay?" I tell him while putting my shoes on. "Okay!"

"See you later, I love you," I open the door to get out with y/n, and he looks at me to say the same words, and he waves at the gorgeous woman next to me, making her do the same before stepping out first. I follow her to lock the door, and I lead us to the car I did not drive back into the garage earlier.

I unlock the doors so that she can go in, and we both do it. I put my seat belt on and make sure she does the same, then once she is ready, I turn the ignition on and leave to head towards the place I picked for this date.

5 minutes later...

The silence remaining in the car since we left home, I take a glance at her to have a better look at her features and clothes. "Are you still down for it? You're very quiet," I mention, fearing that she might have changed her mind at the last second, but she quickly sets her eyes on me. "I am, I'm just...a bit nervous."

"No, why are you? You didn't seem nervous on the first date, even though you were the one who invited me," I smile at how precious she is, and she shrugs, not knowing how to respond. "I'm always nervous when you're around. It's probably why."

"And is there something I could do to make you less nervous?" I keep my eyes on the road as much as I have to but still take some brief peeks at her. "I don't know," she avoids eye contact when she usually can stand some long seconds of it with me. "Would staying far away help?" I tease her, knowing that is not what she wants, and she instantly shows her disapproval. "Not at all. The more you'll be close to me, the better it will be."

"Physically or affectionately?" I ask for clarification, and she toys with her fingers between her thighs. "Both, but physically would help a lot," the end of her sentence loses in volume, and I chuckle. "Hm. Good to know."

•••

7:40 pm.

"Here we are," I get the car keys out as she is unbuckling her seat belt, and I do it as well to free myself but lay my eyes on her. "I hope you're not disappointed with this place," I lick my lips out of worry, but she remains very focused on the landscape. "I'm not at all. I'm so happy you brought me here. It's actually a first time."

"I know, Joonha told me. That's why I wanted to come here. I booked a table for us at the restaurant just over there," I point my finger at the round, wooden building which is right above the water and from which we will have an amazing view of the ocean. "That's so beautiful," she finally locks eyes with me, and we both express the same emotion full of delight and pleasure. "I'm relieved then," I open the door to get out of the car, and she leaves it too, so I walk up to her and cannot help sliding my hand over her back to reach out for her waist and cup it. "You look so beautiful in this dress. It fits you a lot."

"Thank you," she shyly replies, but comes closer, and we head towards the wooden bridge that leads to the restaurant. "Is it helping you?" I rub my thumb over her ribs, and she looks up at me but never seems to relax. "It does, but it's a sensitive spot."

"That's even better then," I speak with confidence and put my other hand in my pocket, but her soft chortle brings a smile to my face. I love to get her flustered, her reaction always makes me want to go further.

"The restaurant is a bit too cliché for a date, so I hope you're not, like, disappointed in it or that you expected something more special, but I wanted to make sure you'd eat well, then we'll do something else after dinner, is that alright?" I cannot hide my worry, not knowing what she likes and dislikes. "It's alright, you don't have to do anything special at all. As long as I get to spend some time alone with you, I'm happy."

The smile on my face grows even bigger after such words, and I slide my hand up to the side of her throat to hold it, lean in, and press a kiss on her warm cheekbone. "You're so sweet."

•••

9:20 pm.

"Did you eat well?" I wipe my mouth with a tissue after finishing the meal, and she nods, living her reddish, slightly swollen lips. "I did, but I don't know why, I feel tired all of a sudden. Just like old people after a big meal."

I chuckle but feel offended. "Old people? I take this personally because that often happens to me. I guess I'm old."

"What? No, you're still young. Look, it happens to me too, yet I'm young, so don't think you're an old man," she drinks the rest of her drink after making up as much as she could, and I smile. "Hm. If you say so, then I trust you."

"I'm glad you do, I don't want you to think I'd call you old like that," she puts her glass down but drops her attention on my chest for a brief second now that a few buttons are opened and exposing more of my neck and chest tattoos she seems very captivated by. "Well, it was indirect, but it's fine. I know you're a good girl, you wouldn't say something so rude."

"I wouldn't," she shows some pleasure without willing to, always seeming greatly affected by praise and nicknames like the one I let out. "Would you be mad if I did tho?"

I tongue my teeth and uncontrollably scoff. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious," she manages to not tell me the real reason for her to ask me that, and I lift one hand up to comb my hair back. "Well, I wouldn't be mad, but I'd do something about it."

"And what would you do?" she plays with me, not breaking eye contact anymore. I lean on the table and stare right through her sparkling soul. "Depends on my mood."

"Well, let's imagine you're in a bad mood," she does not give up on trying to get the words out of my mouth, but I grab my glass to drink some more wine and think about an answer, feeling the urge to test her patience. "Ugh, I don't know," I bring the empty glass down to lock eyes with her again. "I cannot talk about it here."

The smile upon her face brightens, and she looks out of the large windows to set her eyes on the ocean. Once again, I made her shy.

"Why are you suddenly not curious anymore?" I touch the rim of my glass while waiting for her to turn her head, and she finally does it. "I am, but you won't tell me, so I keep quiet."

I laugh in a discreet manner and move back on my chair to take my wallet out. "Well, we can talk outside now that we're done with dinner," I pay the bill and swallow the rest of my drink, and she stands up. I do the same to leave the table but notice that she is waiting for me to lead the way, so I walk forward and stretch my hand out to tell her to hold it, and she intertwines our fingers.