"TELL me, are you a chef?" I asked Adam while sipping my glass of wine.
After eating each other, he cooked us dinner. I watched him cook earlier. He was good around the kitchen.
In fact, his steak and mashed potato was restaurant quality.
After we ate dinner, he invited me to spend the night outside. On the beach.
We were sitting on the beach right now while drinking wine. It was silent here. The only I could hear was the waves of the sea and some crickets.
I looked up to the sky. It was a full moon tonight. The moon was so big. I could see the reflection of it on the water.
So, aside from the light from the cottage, we were surrounded by the moonlight.
He sipped on his glass and cocked his head to me. His lips rose in amusement. "I thought no personal questions?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just curious. You're good."
I hugged my knees while still holding the glass on my left hand. I was wearing his shirt and a pair of shorts I bought earlier. I didn't have any bra underneath my shirt.
He smirked beside me. "Just good? I thought I heard you say I'm a God." Then he chuckled.
"What?" My cheeks flushed when I realized what he was talking about. Damn. "I'm talking about your cooking skills. Not your… skills in the bedroom."
He grinned. "After everything we did last night, you're still blushing?"
I pursed my lips. I didn't know how he could still tell I'm blushing despite the lack of light.
"Shut up." I rolled my eyes and grabbed the bottle of wine in front of us. I poured some on my empty glass.
"No. I'm not a chef." He said. "I just like spending time in the kitchen."
I wanted to ask what he was doing in life but I stopped myself. Like I said earlier, no personal questions. We should maintain being strangers to each other. This was no strings attached weekend getaway.
"What about you?"
I cocked my head to his side. "What about me?"
"I'm curious. Are you that busy all your life that you didn't even learn how to cook?"
"Yeah," I answered with a small smile. After I finished high school, I dedicated my whole college life to studying. Filling up Christian's shoes was a huge responsibility for me.
When I was in the States, it was Marcus who often cooks for the both of us. We shared an apartment together. But most of the time, I survived my college days eating takeouts.
"You also didn't get time to date?"
"Yeah."
"So… all your life, you just buried yourself in studies and work?" He took the bottle of wine and poured some on his glass.
"No." I shook my head. "My cousin said I was fun before."
"The one who told you you're like Queen Elsa?"
I slightly chuckled. "Yeah. That one." I sipped on my wine. "I was different when I was in high school. I felt… free. I had plans in life. I wanted to study art abroad."
I bit my lower lip. This was the first time I said this to someone. I looked at Adam. I felt safe sharing my thoughts with him. I guessed it was because of the fact that we'd still see each other after this.
"But then everything changed when Chris disappointed my parents," I continued.
"Chris?"
"My older brother. I was a middle child."
"So, you have middle child syndrome."
"What?" My brow furrowed as I looked at him.
"Middle child syndrome," he repeated. "You're a sucker for validation. Most middle children are like that."
I arched my brow. "Wait, where did you learn that?"
"College? In psychology class." He grinned at me. "But I think it's true in your case. Look at you. You didn't pursue your dreams because you don't want your parents to be disappointed in you. Instead, you studied business and tried to fill up the shoes of your older brother."
My lips slightly parted. "How did you know that? Did you… know me?" Oh. God. Did he know my family?
"No." He shook his head while playing with the wine glass in his hand. "Last night was the first time I saw you. I didn't know anything about you. It's just easy to read you, Claire."
My eyes slanted a bit. "If you're not a chef… then are you a psychologist or something?"
He chuckled. "No. Stop guessing, Claire."
"Fine," I said, pursing my lips. I brought the wine glass to my lips and sipped from it. Then I sighed as I looked at the calm sea in front of us.
"You know… I did what would make my family happy but in return I lost my happiness."
"Well, I admire what you did. That's selfless. Not all people can do that. Especially me." He let out a humorless chuckle. "I couldn't imagine sacrificing my happiness for anything."
I smiled bitterly. "But now I'm lonely. And dying." I let out a humorless laugh.
He shrugged. "Then do something about it. You still have time left." He turned to me, his face serious. "What's your plan after this?"
"Oh." I slightly tugged a small smile. "I still don't have a concrete plan. But one thing's for sure, I'll start doing things that would make me happy."
His lips curved. "You already started, Claire."
I smiled at him. "Yeah. You're right." I instinctively touched my collar bone where my tattoo was. "Then I guess, I'll just continue pursuing my happiness."
"Damn, yes. That's right." He brought his wine glass near me. "Cheers to that."
I smiled at him as we clink our glasses.
"Thank you for making me realize things, Adam," I told him after finishing the wine on my glass. I looked at the wine bottle beside us. It was almost empty.
"Thank you for bringing me here. Thank you for pushing me to get a tattoo." I pursed my lips as I stared at his eyes. "Thank you for the wonderful sex."
"You're welcome, Claire. But just so you know, we're still not done for today. The night's young, baby."
He put down the wine glass and bridged the distance between us. I felt his big hand on my back. Then again, he claimed my lips.