Tricking My Cold Lover

Nari was staring at her wall clock, waiting for every minute to pass by. Her eyes narrowed while her mouth frequently twitched with all the watching.     

She was holding her phone, ready to call Luiz for when his birthday would arrive. Luiz was born a month before Nari, and since college, they always made it a point to greet each other first at midnight!     

For a second, she glanced at the small cake, which she wanted to show to Luiz. It had twenty-three small candles around it, and she meant to blow candles for him.      

No one, not even their parents, could beat them at their own agreement during their birthdays.      

"11:55," she muttered, forcing her eyes to remain awake. "11:56. 11:57... 11:59 - 60!"     

She sat up abruptly and made the call, dialing Luiz's number in Italy! It rang repeatedly, but he did not answer.      

A frown appeared on Nari's face. She tried and tried to call again, but still, Luiz did not answer.      

Instead, she recorded a video of her lighting the cake with a kitchen lighter and she sang a happy birthday. She cried at the end, but she easily wiped the tears on her face before she blew all the candles.      

She said, "Ha - Happy Birthday, Luiz. I miss you."     

Only after setting the cake on the bedside table did Nari turned off her lamp and went to sleep.      

11:00 PM Italy. 6:00 AM Korea.      

In the city of Florence, Luiz had just arrived at his small apartment. He had a studio rented, one which the school aided in preparing for him.      

Luiz had just come home from work, tired and sluggish. He managed to secure a job as a kitchen assistant in a four-star hotel. It was thanks to Shiwoo's recommendations that he acquired the position so easily, just three weeks since he arrived.      

 His job would provide him with his daily expenses, including dinner every night. Food was very expensive in the city. A decent meal in Korea was just a fast-food meal in Florence.      

After setting aside his belongings, the first thing he did was check on his wallet. He sighed, seeing only fifty euros left, and he still had twenty days before he would get his first paycheck. He recognized the need to borrow money from his folks in the meantime.      

He grabbed his laptop and checked on the balance of his Korean bank account. He shook his head and made another transfer to his Italian pre-paid card. He muttered, "Can I really survive this?"     

He never imagined it would be so tough to be in a new city, all by himself.     

Only then did he find the time to check his phone. He saw several missed calls from Nari. When he went through his messages, he realized that Nari sent him a video.      

Luiz played the recording and saw how Nari prepared a cake for his birthday. His eyes easily turned watery, happy that she remembered. He said, "I forgot it's my birthday."     

When he saw that Nari cried while closing a birthday song. He stopped the video to weep, resting his forehead against his palm. Luiz suddenly felt his throat drying up.     

He leaned back on his bed and sighed heavily, reminding him of his goal, "Luiz, calm down. Just three or four years. It won't be so long."     

After checking the time, he realized that it was already six in the morning. It wasn't so bad to wake her up.      

Without thinking twice, he called Nari through the internet, using his laptop. It took several rings but eventually; she answered the video call.      

"Luiz?" Nari answered, while her camera was still not yet on.      

"Yes, Nari. It's me. Thanks for your birthday greeting. You were still the first. I bet, my parents are still sleeping," Luiz responded.      

After having her camera available, Nari asked, "Luiz, what time is it there?"     

"It's eleven in the evening," he answered. "I just got back from work."     

"What? But you have school in the morning right?" Nari probed.      

"Yes, at nine in the morning. So I have to get up every day at five or six- when tired and leave by seven," he told. "It's a very good hotel that I am working for and the pay is good."     

"Luiz, what am I going to do now with your cake? You are not here to eat it," she asked, reminding him that he wasn't anywhere near her.      

He just smiled and said, "Just buy me the same cake for when I return Nari, for now, you can eat it with your siblings."     

"Nah, I'll just... I'll bring it over to your place," said Nari. "Happy Birthday again, Luiz."     

"Thank you, Nari. This may very well be, the second best birthday greeting I had ever had from you, Nari," revealed Luiz.      

"The second? When was the first?" Nari asked, frowning, and adjusting her laptop. She was lying on her tummy and only her slender face was directed to the camera.      

"The first was on my nineteenth birthday," declared Luiz. "When you forgot to bring the cake to school, and you ended up ordering burgers and french fries from the school cafeteria for us to share."      

Luiz chuckled as he told the tale.     

Back then, Nari was so adamant to have a small celebration for just the two of them while they were in school. She literally put candles on top of their burgers, urging him to blow it.      

It was with the way Nari persistent and how her eyes glistened as she laughed at their predicament, that Luiz realized how much he was attracted to Nari... more than just a friend.     

No, it wasn't just her beautiful face. That day, Luiz was reminded of how Nari always treated him in a special way.      

Pretending to find the answer, Luiz squinted and said, "Hmmmm... Let's see. Ah, I remember. The happiest birthday greeting you gave me was when you bought burgers and fries to school and let me blow a candle over the burger!"     

Nari laughed, thinking about the burgers and fries. As she snorted, she asked, "Why that? I bought you so many cakes in the past!"     

"It's because - that day - Nari, that day. I realized." Luiz smiled, not sure how he was supposed to tell her. Barely a whisper, he added, "Nari, that day, I realize how much you mean to me."     

Luiz immediately yawned and took a deep breath. He told, "Nari, I better go to sleep."     

Nari did not have the time to react to Luiz's words and seeing her best friend's drowsy eyes, she understood he needed some rest. She forced a smile and said, "Sleep well, Luiz. I miss you."     

"I miss you too, Nari. Take care," said Luiz before finally ending the call.     

***      

Author's Notes:     

My dearest readers. My apologies. I am trying my best to update more, just that lately, aside from my spectacles, which have not yet arrived, my kid had some Christmas school projects and poor mama (your dearest author) did a lot of coloring and cutting yesterday until this morning, right before I needed to submit my kid's projects. Haha!     

Thank you for understanding. One Chapter for today.