|| Arabella ||

"What are you jealous of?" Theo asked after I blurted out the truth behind my worries.

I kept my head down on the table as I mumbled quietly, "Of you being with other girls."

"I'm not with any other girl," he said calmly.

"I-I know." Tears stung my eyes as my emotions started coming out all at once. "But I just get jealous when I see you with other girls. I-I can't help but want to keep you away from them. I feel like they-they are going to take y-you away from me and that you will leave me. I mean, that would make more sense because they are so much prettier than me, and you deserve to have that."

I continued, "At the same time, I also know that you won't do that. In the end, that just makes me an insecure, jealous, controlling girlfriend who wants all the girls out of your life. I'm horrible."

There was a long silence after my outburst until Theo raised my head and made me meet his eyes.

As he started to speak, just his soft voice was enough to start filling up my wounds, "Ara, none of that is true. I think... you're afraid to lose me, that's all."

My eyes widened in realization.

"This fear of yours, it probably started after your mom's death. Your dad passed away when you were young, then your mom did too, and then your aunt abandoned you. If I went through that, maybe I would have abandonment issues too."

I was shocked to hear his explanation. As if he knew me better than I knew myself.

"That's why I promise you that I'll never leave you unless God has something else planned, which I really hope not. I want to be with you and take care of you for a long, long time."

I hugged him tightly, burying my face in his chest while he locked his arms around me securely. "Me too."

I know it was selfish and pathetic to want to have at least one person to hold onto, but that's just how I was. I hated being alone. If I ever were to lose Theo, I don't think I would know what to do.

But please nothing should ever happen to Theo. God always snatched my most precious people from me, please not him. Never.

While stroking my hair, Theo said, "And I'm sorry if I did anything to make you feel jealous of any other girl. I'll try my best to make you feel secure, so secure that you won't have to worry about me leaving you. But you also have to promise to let me know if you start to feel insecure, then I'll remind you of how much I love you."

"I promise—" My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, I thought my ears were deceiving me. I raised my head to meet his wide eyes as he also realized what he just blurted out. "You love me?"

His eyes softened as he gazed into mine, whispering softly, "Yes, I love you." He stroked his thumb over my cheek, brushing away the tears. "I love you very much."

I couldn't believe it, but as his eyes didn't break eye contact once, it started to feel more real. "I, uh..." I got tongue-tied as my mind traveled a mile per second.

Assuming that I wasn't ready for his confession, he started to backpedal in a ramble, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything to that. I didn't mean to say that either. It just came out of nowhere. I just—"

Confused about what to do, I ended up crashing my lips on his hard, making him recline back at the sudden force. Before I knew it, I was on top of him on the carpet with one of my hands under his sweatshirt, kissing him passionately.

This kiss was different from our other ones. It was filled with desire, want, lust, and so much love. It made a warm pool in the pit of my stomach. God, I wanted him so bad.

But I didn't know if he wanted me like that, and I didn't want to create any pressure on him.

Once I parted, I rested my forehead against his and whispered while breathing heavily, "I love you too."

"Ara," he whispered my name, his rapid breaths ghosting over my lips. His eyes were dark while his hands moved from my waist to my hips, sending shivers down my spine. "I want you."

I smiled and didn't waste a breath to reply, "I want you too."

My reply seemed to have broken his trance as he quickly asked, "But are you sure?" I raised an eyebrow in question. "I mean, we are both young, and the teenage phase is very sensitive. We get too emotional sometimes. Horny and dumb is more accurate, to be honest. So, are you sure that you want this with me? I wouldn't want you to regret it in the future—"

I cut him short by slanting my mouth on his and whispered, "Yes, I'm sure. I've never wanted anyone more than you, Theo. And I know that I'll never regret this or anything with you. Because I love you so damn much."

"I love you more."

I frowned. "I love you the most."

"Are we really getting into that?" he joked, and I laughed lightly.

"I guess we'll just have to find that out in bed," I teased.

"Then why waste any more time?"

———

I woke up from my sleep in the most comfortable position ever—in Theo's arms. That's how I had been getting up for the last few days, and I loved it.

However, today was a little different. I was wearing his sweatshirt and he was shirtless. Remembering about last night's events made a blush rise to my cheeks.

I felt him stir in his sleep as I watched his eyes flutter open. "Good morning," I wished.

"Morning," he replied groggily, smiling as he enclosed me tighter in his arms. "How was your sleep?"

"How can I not sleep well when you're with me?" I grinned.

"That's right," he said and pressed a languid kiss to my forehead. We just stayed like that for a few minutes until he asked, "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"Not really." It was just a little sore in between my legs, but I had read it was normal. Plus, I think the pain was inflicted a lot less for my first time since Theo was so calm and gentle the whole time. It didn't even feel like his first time. Overall, it was the best thing I had ever experienced.

"Do you want me to make breakfast?"

I raised my head from his chest and kissed his chin, mumbling, "That would be great. Thank you."

"Okay, let me just take a quick jog while you shower, then I'll start on the breakfast."

"Mm-hmm." I closed my eyes and started to lull back to sleep.

"Ara?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Get up."

"No."

Theo sighed and tried to untangle himself from me, but my sleep-induced mind refused to let him go.

"Let's stay like this for a little while," I mumbled.

"Wyatt is going to starve to death if none of us makes breakfast," he reasoned.

"He stayed at a friend's place last night," I replied.

"Phew. Here I was worried that Wyatt might have heard us last night."

"Well, he would have to tolerate it for a few months."

"Poor thing."

"Let's sleep a little longer."

"As you wish, my lady."

I giggled and cuddled with him for what felt like half an hour until I let him go for his jog while I took a bath. Instead of wearing my regular clothes, I decided to wear one of Theo's white hoodies with my khaki shorts.

Then I went to the kitchen to find Theo pouring honey on the waffles on the plates. I grinned and jumped on him from the back once he was done with the honey, catching him by surprise.

"Hey," he said while chuckling.

I kissed his cheek and said, "Smells good."

"Not as good as yours."

"Of course, mine are the best. But I was talking about you right now."

Laughing at my words as I nuzzled my nose into his neck, he took both of our plates to the dining table with me on his back. He dropped me on my chair and took his own seat.

With a child's pout, I looked at the distance between him and me, and suddenly, the one-meter distance felt too long, so I got up and sat on his lap.

"Feed me," I said and opened my mouth wide.

He chuckled and fed me a bite of the waffle. I savored the taste and complimented, "It's really good."

"Thank you, head chef."

"You're welcome. But I still say that you should consider being my sous chef when I've my own restaurant," I added.

"No, thank you, my lady. I'm earning just fine as a slave."

I giggled and took the fork and knife to feed him some. "But who knows?" With the fork still in between his teeth, I leaned close to his ear and whispered seductively, "You might earn more as a sous-chef."

I heard his breath hitch while his grip on my waist tightened a little. "Do you not want us to finish breakfast and just storm to the bedroom?"

I bit his earlobe and murmured, "You understand me so well."

"Then—"

Just then my cell phone rang up. Theo and I both groaned at the same time, glaring at the stupid thing. Cutting the call, I was about to go back to my business, but it started ringing again.

"You should pick it up," Theo said.

Gritting my teeth, I pressed the phone to my ear, and the shrill voice of my friend Camila came bursting out, "Ara, are you free? Can you come to my house right now?"

I tried to hide the annoyance from my voice as I replied, "Why?"

"You know, it's my sister's wedding in a few days, and we are about to do some last-minute shopping before the bachelorette party at night."

"Ah, right, the bachelorette party." Theo motioned me to open my mouth to feed me. My irritation melted away as I took the bite.

"I invited all our friends. First, we will go shopping, watch a movie at the theatre, get our makeup done in a parlor, then have a blast at the bachelorette party!"

"Sounds fun. You should go," Theo said in a quiet voice as he heard everything from Camila's loud voice.

"Okay, I'll come."

"Don't forget to bring a party dress for yourself," she reminded and hung up.

I sighed and curled up in Theo's arm, pouting. "I wanted to spend the day with you."

"Hey, you should totally go. It's not like you get to attend a bachelorette party every weekend."

"What about you?"

"I'll hang out with my friends from the mathletes club. The Olympiad is in three days. We can do some practice."

"Hey, you can call them here. Since I won't be home, they won't know about my stay here if you keep my room door closed."

"That's a good idea."

I grinned and looked around the apartment to check if it was tidy. Seeing that it was satisfying, I turned back to Theo. "Let's finish the breakfast quickly. Then help me choose a dress."

"Okay."

Soon, we finished eating. Though I said I would do the dishes, Theo insisted on doing them after I left. I gave him a few options after checking my wardrobe, then he picked out a knee-length dark pink dress.

"You would look drop-dead gorgeous in it," he said, and I blushed. "Send me a picture after you get ready."

I nodded while picking out a pair of heels to match. Once I got them in two paper bags, I was ready to head out.

"You're going to leave wearing that?" Theo asked when I was about to open the front door.

I looked down at my outfit and asked, "Yeah, why? You don't want me wearing your hoodie outside?"

"No, it's not that. It's too cold to be wearing that." My mouth formed an 'o' in response. "Wait a minute." He rushed back inside and brought a denim jacket of his. He made me wear that and said, "Now, you will be comfy. You can even wear it over your dress."

I grinned widely and stood on my tiptoes to press a sweet kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," he responded and opened the door for me. "Oh, I didn't ask. Do you want me to drop you?"

I waved my head off in denial. "Camie sent a text saying that she will come pick me near the cafe of the next block."

"Okay. Take care. Have fun."

As I walked out of the door, little did I know that I would wish that I had never left the apartment that day.

★★★