Me After Meeting You

Amber couldn’t help but be impressed by how persistent Silvia was in her efforts to snatch him up. However, she too pricked her ears up at her question.

And then she heard Calvin reply, “No.”

Silvia rubbed her palms together as she exclaimed, “Oh, wonderful.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Her antics made the others laugh. “Are you actually that happy to find out that Calvin is single?”

Silvia half seriously replied, “Of course! This is my chance to get together with my male idol, no?”

Her statements made Calvin’s face go, but he was no longer the youth of before, who would blush bright red whenever someone flirted with him. Instead, he smiled politely and said, “Silvia, you really haven’t changed at all. You’re still so amusing.”

Silvia was elated at his praise. She grabbed Amber’s hands from under the table and shook them wildly, her emotions clearly visible.

Because it was someone else’s wedding, everyone’s behavior was more or less restrained. And after dinner, there was another class reunion. For this one, Trysta had booked several rooms in the hotel and they also had access to a spa with a mineral spring and a game room. With these accommodations, everyone would definitely have a good time and relax.

Silvia and the others whooped as they heard the news and then headed back to their rooms. Amber was near the tail end of the crowd, having hung back to help Trysta with a small problem. As she turned the corner, however, she found Calvin waiting for her. Startled, she asked, “Why haven’t you gone up yet?”

“I had a call and then waited for you.”

Amber smiled. “Thanks. Well then, let’s go.

***

The two walked towards the elevators together. While waiting for it to arrive, Calvin asked, “Have you been well all these years?”

“Yes and you?”

“Life’s been a little hard.”

Amber looked at him strangely.

“It’s true during my toughest period, I couldn’t call anyone even if I wanted to.”

Amber’s head drooped as she looked at the ground. She understood that he was trying to explain that long period when he’d fallen out of contact with her. Calvin stopped walking and then suddenly called out to her. “Amber ….”

She stopped. However, at almost the exact same time, another voice called out to her as well.

“Hey!”

Calvin stopped talking and along with Amber turned toward the voice. They saw a young man walking toward them from the shadows.

When the light illuminated his face, Amber couldn’t help but gasp for a moment.

He walked closer, step by step, his gait somehow reminding Amber of a prowling beast that was unhurried and confident in its abilities. He said, “You left something behind at the hotel.”

After saying this, he handed her a wad of money and a pack of condoms.

“You bought the condoms, so you should be the one to take them away.”

As he spoke, his expression remained calm, his tone placid and his actions cold, but it was because of this demeanor of his that Amber almost believed that the condoms and money he was handing her was indeed hers.

And the implication of him handing her condoms made even Amber, a doctor, feel lightheaded from the blood rushing to her head.

But at the very least, she could still throw up a superficially calm mien although she was afraid of looking at Calvin, she didn’t want to indulge Ian in his unusual malice either. She silently took the proffered items. “Is anything else the matter?”

Ian didn’t seem to expect that response from her. His gaze shifted to Calvin for a brief moment before he calmly said, “You forgot to wash my clothes.” Having said that, he turned around and left.

For quite a while after Ian’s departure, the atmosphere between Calvin and Amber was awkward and tense. It was only until they entered the elevators that Calvin forced a smile onto his face and asked, “Was that your boyfriend just now?”

“No.”

Upon hearing her answer, Calvin’s eyes shone and then dimmed again quickly, because Amber had no intention of explaining herself.

If he had asked, Amber certainly would have told him. However, during the time they spent catching up to the larger crowd of people, Calvin did not ask.

***

Amber and Calvin’s late entrance attracted considerable attention. Silvia came up to her from behind, smirking. “What were the two of you doing all the way back there?”

Amber calmly replied, “He said that he had to take a call. As for me, Trysta’s husband drank too much and she wanted to ask me if I had any kidney medicine.”

“You’re familiar with that stuff too?”

“Not really.”

Silvia looked at her and then at Calvin. She suddenly asked, “Amber, do you like Calvin as well?”

Amber was somewhat startled by the abrupt question, as she didn’t quite understand how the topic had suddenly jumped there. However, she still answered truthfully. “Yes, he used to be my idol in the past too.”

Silvia, her face shell shocked, exclaimed, “Oh no! How am I possibly going to defeat you?”

Amber only laughed in response. Silvia deflated for some time, only recovering when Trysta called them over to go to the spa together. “I thought that I was the female lead, but it turns out that I’m just a supporting character! If you think about it carefully, you two are the true ideal couple, male and female protagonists blessed by heaven.”

After saying that, she grasped Amber’s hands and with seemingly painstaking care, said, “I’Il leave Calvin to you. If he chooses you, please treat my male idol with care.”

Amber was speechless. Trysta walked over, only having heard the last snatches of conversation between them. “Treat whom well? What’s the matter, Silvia?”

Silvia sighed. “I’m distraught from loneliness.”

Amber split her sides from laughing.

When the boisterous crowd headed toward the spa, Amber, however, refused to go as she was saddled with her thoughts about the earlier encounters. Additionally, she generally did not enjoy such activities. After a big argument, Trysta finally relented and brought the rest of the crowd there. But before long, she returned.

Amber was astonished. “Why on earth are you back already?”

“Oh, my husband was there and I don’t like those activities either. So, I might as well come back and keep you company.”

Amber laughed. “Should I be scared? The bride left her groom behind just to keep me some company.”

Trysta ignored her comments. “It’d be morenaccurate to say that he left me behind first. His friends spirited him away right after he took some medicine and recovered slightly. There wasn’t much choice, with Ian Axton being such a big figure. Honestly, I’m quite surprised that he even bothered to show up.”

Amber surprised and asked, “Why?”

“Because Ian’s very hard to invite to events. He’s known to be cold and he has never attended any private gatherings in the past.”

“Really?” Amber laughed in a noncommittal manner even as she silently thought to herself, why would someone who didn’t attend any sort of social gatherings in the past suddenly accept Trysta’s wedding invitation? She wanted to ask Trysta how much she knew about Ian, but since it was her wedding, she dropped that idea. Instead, she changed the topic to something more relevant.

“What does it feel like to be married?”

Trysta rolled her eyes. “Just one word, tiring! I’m never doing anything like this again. It’s a torment!”

Amber couldn’t help but laugh. “Were you planning on doing this multiple times?”