Imperfect Desires

Later, Darren dropped her at the door and was about to turn when she said, "You can come inside. I'll make some dinner for us. Besides, Nora is not home and if you didn't come, I won't bother making a meal for myself."

Darren knew she meant what she said and after careful consideration, he entered her apartment. Xiu went off to change into some casual clothes before she came back and entered the kitchen. Darren sat at the dining table looking at her.

"Where's Nora?" asked Darren as an ice-breaker.

"Oh, her parents are back from their business trip. So... she went to drop off Jackie." 

"Do you want me to help you with anything?" Darren got up from the chair.

"Stop! Don't move!" Darren stopped in his steps as she added, "I mean, the best help you can do is staying right where you are. If you came any closer, I'll be distracted and that won't be helping me in any way."

"Oh-Okay!" he said uncertainly and sat back down. He picked up the food magazine on the table and flipped through the pages. "Who reads this?"

"I do," replied Xiu and went on, "Nora only likes fitness magazines. And I can only read food magazines." 

"Hmm..." Darren hummed in reply before asking, "So, what's your favorite place in the world?"

Xiu stopped cutting the vegetable as she said, "Can I say my bed?"

"No," replied Darren making her scowl in disappointment.

"Fine, if not my bed then... I guess my favorite place would be... Anywhere I can call home." Her nonchalant expression and her deep words really were contradictory. "Do you have a favorite quote?" This time, she asked him.

"Actually, I have two favorite quotes," replied Darren and continued, "The first one is by Robert Brault, 'What we find in a soulmate is not something wild to tame but something wild to run with.'"

Xiu bobbed her head up and down slowly as she said, "And the second one?"

"The second one is by Edgar Allan Poe, 'We loved with a love that was more than love.' This one seems really complicated at first but in reality, this is the simplest quote I've learned in my life." Taking a brief pause, he asked, "What about your favorite quote?"

Xiu placed the pan on the stove and said, "My favorite quote is by Linus Torvalds... It goes something like, 'I love making friends... it's people I can't stand.'"

Darren was surprised to hear that and said, "No wonder, you push people away with your words."

"What can I do? I just can't stand them," Xiu shrugged her shoulders innocently. "I think people should come with a 30-second teaser. So that it makes it easy for me to decide whether I want to waste my time and effort on them or not."

Darren had no response for her. "Alright, so what's the weirdest thing you have ever done?" 

Xiu looked at his face and bit her bottom lip before replying, "I spent 48 hours in a cemetery staring at a tombstone."

"Whose tombstone?" Darren's response was nothing like what she had anticipated. He didn't seem freaked out at all. Why would he? He spent much longer staring at Chen Xiu's tombstone. He had no right to judge her for something he had done himself.

"Bai Xiu's mother," said Xiu absentmindedly before coughing and adding, "I mean my mother's tombstone." Darren nodded his head in understanding.

Xiu plated the food and served it before sitting beside him. She picked up stripped potatoes with chopsticks and passed it to Darren saying, "Try all of this. It's edible."

Darren took a bite and said, "Edible? It's pretty good in my opinion."

"I was trying to be modest," said Xiu.

"Don't bother. It doesn't suit you," replied Darren.

"I'll keep that in mind," was Xiu's reply as she also dug in.

After their dinner, Darren didn't let her wash the dishes. He wore the gloves and insisted on doing it himself. Xiu couldn't refuse at all so she stayed beside him to give him company.

Recalling something, Darren asked, "Are you free tomorrow evening?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday and I was supposed to be free but Nora is taking me somewhere. She said it's a surprise. So, I'm not even sure where she's taking me. But why are you asking?" 

Darren cleared his throat before saying, "It's Dylan's friend's wedding and I'm invited. I just asked to know whether you'd like to go."

"I'll pass, I hate weddings," Xiu said straightforwardly.

"Why? Do you not believe in love?" he asked.

"I do believe in love. I'm just not a fan of weddings," said Xiu matter-of-factly.

"Then Sweets, would you like to define what love really is?" 

Xiu played with her fingers as she said, "Love is a strange feeling. In love, we always want to cry on the shoulder of the person who made us cry in the first place. But then again, it wouldn't be love if we could describe it with logic or reason."

Darren took off the gloves and walked towards her. He placed one hand on the sink while the other hand tilted Xiu's face a little bit upwards. He was close. Like really close to her. As in, he was invading her personal space but Xiu wasn't the one complaining. At all!

He held in her gaze for a little longer as he said, "Sweets, you're right. We can't possibly define love with logic or reason. But we can still define it." A wrinkle of confusion appeared between her brows and he went on, "Love can be defined as reckless and fearless."

With that, he dove in for a kill and stole a kiss from her. Not one of possessiveness or sweetness like she had felt before. This was like seduction. A slow seduction that made his lips seems inviting to her. Xiu kissed him back with all her passion. She wanted to lose herself in that moment and she did. She let that moment melt and seep within her very pores.

The sweet anticipation of her eager lips was rudely broken when he broke the kiss and put some distance between them. She was breathless and dazed. A bit out of her sorts or perhaps, completely out of sorts. Her usually light honey brown eyes had darkened up. 

Darren pressed his lips at the spot between her brows and said, "Goodnight, Sweets!" Even when he left her apartment, Xiu was standing against the same cabinet, he had pressed her.

 She fanned her face and whispered, "Why is summer getting hotter?" She patted her cheeks to wake herself up and went towards her room to send him a goodnight message. After sending the message, she closed her eyes with a satisfied smile plastered on her lips.