Skinship!
Skinship!
He wondered if he could start leveling up a bit, like courting her and expressing to her that he liked her.
"Ahhh…" he frustratingly cried. It was too early to move onto the next step. Besides, Cali just had a bad encounter and trauma with the incident of Kane's confession.
'What if Cali rejects me as well?' Rui horribly mused. He shook his head in an attempt to erase those negative thoughts.
Meanwhile, Cali came out of the locker room after changing back into her casual wear.
"Hi!"
"Oh my heart!" She cried as her heart had almost forgotten to beat because she got too shocked by the man who suddenly appeared beside her.
"You get startled too easily." The man commented with a bright smile .
Cali's eyebrows lifted up as she said, "Excuse me, do I know you?"
The man chuckled and extended his hand to her for a handshake saying, "I'm Edward… The new classmate. The one you bumped into this morning."
Cali's forehead creased and she scoffed, "Oh, you're the one!"
Cali apologetically smiled, and accepted his hand for a handshake.
"I'm Cali, and sorry again about a while ago. I have to leave now."
"See you then tomorrow, Cali…" Edward nodded with a smile, and he stared at her back as she went.
"Cali…" Edward whispered while his lips curved up with a meaningful smile. He liked her, but he would take things slow this time so it would be more amusing.
"You took a bit long…" Rui commented when Cali entered his car.
"Oh yeah, I talked a bit with our new classmate Edward. I bumped into him this morning. Oh, let's go to the mobile store first because my phone fell this morning. I need to get a new one." Cali answered.
Rui's face crumpled because it seemed that Edward was already starting his move. He just dealt with Kane and now there was another bug again.
"Doc…" Cali snapped her fingers before his face and added, "What's wrong? You're spacing out."
Rui smiled and started hitting on the gas while he said, "I just thought of something. Anyway, we will go and buy you a new mobile phone…
Rui and Cali entered the exclusive shop to buy her a new mobile phone.
"So, how is he?" Rui hesitatingly asked while Cali was looking and checking for the new brands and types of new mobile phones.
She turned at Rui and hummed, "Huh?"
She was confused with his questions.
Rui scratched his head and added, "I mean the new classmate you bumped into. How do you find him?"
"Oh, you mean physically?" Cali asked, wondering why her private doctor suddenly asked that question.
Rui timidly nodded.
"He's handsome." Cali answered nonchalantly. Rui noticed that as well. The new student was indeed handsome and he could also be mistaken as a celebrity.
"More handsome than me?" He shamelessly asked in a jest.
Cali squinted her eyes as if thinking closely then she looked at Rui with a scrutinizing look as she whispered, "You two have different vibes. How should I put it… You're like a good catch bachelor while Edward is like a matinee idol?"
Then, it was followed by a loud laugh. He smiled seeing her laugh like that. Then he added, "You would rather choose a good catch bachelor right?"
Cali's face suddenly turned red and quickly changed the topic by asking, "What unit do you think I should buy? I like a metallic pink color…"
Then Rui gave his opinion and Cali finally relaxed her throbbing heart. She would choose someone like Rui, he was her ideal man after all. And as days passed by, she was liking him more and more while knowing him deeper.
She finally picked up a mobile phone and Rui took care of it.
"I should be the first one in your emergency contact. Because you are my number one and only one in my emergency call list." Rui whispered as he installed his number on Cali's phone.
"Let's see how the camera works," Rui commented and without haste pulled Cali near him with his arm on her shoulders so they could do a selfie.
Skinship! He was now starting with that strategy.
Cali would get familiar with his nearness and touch. And he would start giving her subtle hints of how he felt.
He took a lot more photos with her.
"Closer Cali! Our face won't fit on the screen." He mumbled as he brushed his cheek with her cheek.
Cali smiled at the screen and was enjoying every wacky pose that Rui was doing as he took the photos. She couldn't help but feel amused by his facial expressions.
"Send all those photos to me later, okay?" Rui reminded her as he handed Cali her new mobile phone.
Then he added in a jest, "Don't you dare erase that, so just in case you miss me… You can stare at those photos and admire your good catch bachelor."
Cali's face twitched and mumbled, "So shameless!"
Rui laughed as he watched her quickly grab her mobile phone from him and put it inside her bag.
"Come and let's stroll around…" Rui commented and suddenly held Cali's hand, intertwining her fingers together with his.
Cali raised their hands that were clasped together, and lifted her eyebrows and glanced at Rui with a questioning gaze.
"This mall is so huge and it's our first time here. We might get lost… It's better if we hold each other's hands." He murmured knowing how lame was that excuse.
"Seriously?!" Cali beamed. Didn't this man know what he was doing to her body with the proximity? She could feel the electric jolts with just simply holding hands like that.
"Do you mind? I actually feel cold now, so I wanna feel some warmth." Rui explained next.
"Hey, do you think I'm that stupid?" Cali hissed.
Rui scratched his head as he whispered, "Actually I have agoraphobia…"
"What?!" Cali burst.
Rui gave her a puppy look as he explained, "There are certain times like this… where I feel like not being safe in public places where there is a crowd so can you please bear with me if there are times that I will have to hold your hand or get near or close to you more? It's not always like this just whenever I have an agoraphobia attack."
Cali was left with her mouth agape… Disbelief was written all over her face as Rui continued to explain his condition further.