Irani's eyes widened as she shook her head at her mother.

“Huh? Nothing, Ma. There's nothing going on between me and Red," she insisted.

“Fine. I would no longer ask," her mother said, but despite that, the smile on her face didn't waver.

Irani looked at her reflection once more before she left her room. She saw Red in the living room. He was seated on the couch.

Red immediately stood up when he noticed her presence.

“Irani.” he greeted her. A wide smile on his face formed as their eyes met.

Red looked at her. Irani wasn't so sure if it was really admiration she'd seen on his face.

She didn't understand why her heart skipped a beat. She then also looked at him. He was wearing a white polo shirt, dark jeans, a pair of sneakers, and a black ball cap. Fine. He was handsome.

But she would never admit that in front of him.

“You two take care.” her mother said as she appeared in the living room. “Red, take care of my daughter.”

Red looked at her before he turned to her mother. “Don't worry, Auntie. I will. Irani is safe with me."

Irani didn't understand again why she felt like something warm touched her heart with Red's answer.

Damn. Something’s not really right with me.

“Why did you fetch me?" She hissed at Red after entering his car. “I was clear to you that we should just meet outside. Now, my mother would think that something was going on between us."

"I was just being respectful to your parents, shortcake," Red said, glancing at her before starting the engine.
“Where are we going?” she asked him instead.

He turned to her and winked. “Secret. Are you excited?”

“Me, excited?” she rolled her eyes at him. “In your dreams, Red!”

He just grinned at her before handing her his phone that was connected to the car's speaker.

"You can play the song you like," he offered.

"Fine," she said, searching for a Taylor Swift Playlist on his Spotify.

An hour later, her lips parted when they stopped at a familiar theme park in the city.

“Don’t tell me, this is where you'd bring me, Red?" she asked, turning to him.

“I’ve never been to this theme park, shortcake.”

Her brows furrowed at him. “Really? You've never been here?" she asked, surprised.

“I'm not lying, shortcake. I never got the chance to visit her before."

“Wow, the view is so beautiful.”

Irani exclaimed with a wide smile on her face as they watched the fireworks display.

She was hugging the huge teddy bear that they won in the basketball game earlier.

“Yeah.”

Irani turned to Red beside her. She found him staring at her. He was looking at her the way she was looking at the fireworks. Like she was the most beautiful in his eyes.

“Iani…”

Suddenly, her heartbeat started to double… “Hmm?”

“I like you…”

For a second, she felt like her heart skipped a beat.

I like you…

Did she really hear it right? Or maybe she was just hallucinating?

“I like you. And I want to have more dates with you.”

“Red…”

His eyes were nothing but serious. There was no hint of amusement on his handsome face. “I like you even before I realize my feelings for you. At first, I thought I only found you cute… But as days passed by, I realized what I felt for you was different from just simple admiration. I don’t know if it’s love, but all I'm sure is I always want to see you, that I want you to always notice me.

And at that moment, she couldn't understand why she couldn't hear anything except Red's voice. She couldn't see anything except his face.

Her heart was beating erratically. That was the first time that she couldn’t catch her own heartbeat.

"S-stop that, Red," was all that she could manage to say. How could she believe it when all he does is tease and annoy her every time they see each other?

“Do you really believe I'm just joking here, Irani?" Red said in a serious tone.

"How could I believe when all you do is pester and annoy me?"

Red bit his lower lip. “Because I don’t know how to act in front of you without looking like a fool," he said, looking her straight in the eyes.

Every word that came out of his mouth was striking her heart. Her heart…wanted to believe him. “How could I believe you? You never even once had a serious girlfriend."

“I never get serious with any girl because my eyes are already set on you. You're the only girl I wanted to get serious with.” His hand slowly reached for her. “Date me, Irani…”

I’M waiting for you in the parking ;)

Irani smiled after reading Red's text message. Until now, she still couldn't believe that Red was now courting her.

"Fine… I'll let you court me, but I have a condition," Irani said the other night when Red confessed to her.
Irani looked him straight in the eyes. “I want you to court me in secret. No one should know about this… I wanted to make sure first that you're really serious with me."

She wanted to make sure first that his feelings for her are true. She wanted to make sure first that Red was really serious with her.

Irani immediately saw Red when she got into the parking lot. He was leaning on his car. He was wearing a navy-blue polo shirt and dark jeans.

She was already aware that he was handsome. But why does she feel like he is even more gorgeous now?

"Hello, shortcake," Red greeted her with a wide smile on his face.

“Hi…” she greeted him back with a small smile.

What the heck, Irani? Since when did you feel shy in front of Red?

After getting inside his car, Red handed him a bouquet of pink roses that he got from the backseat. “Here… this is for you.”