Bitterly, Sweetly

The Maybes

It was almost 8PM when they finally departed from the restaurant. Chanyeol was on clouds the entire way down the street.

"They love you so much, Namjoo." Chanyeol proudly claimed. "I can tell by the way they look at you."

"Oh...you think?" she blubbered less energetically.

Streetlights had not come on. Sun was still up, but for evening business lights were now aglow in preparation for darkness. Namjoo watched the colors drift past picturing in her head a man and a woman racing down the sidewalk together. Headed somewhere private to spend the rest of the evening soaked in each other.

She wondered what Sehun was doing right now. If he was missing her. Hoping she had not had a good time. Praying she had just had the worst meal of her life. Thinking this brought a wicked grin to her lips.

Her attention swiveled when Chanyeol's big palm blanketed her hand. "Namjoo." His voice was super tender. She could imagine his hand caressing her heart, yearning.

Namjoo swallowed a bit. Able to predict what was coming next.

She waited for him to lay it out.

"Should we go to your place?" Chanyeol questioned.

Namjoo's lips went dry. "Why don't...why don't we go to yours?"

There was a shine in the depth of his pupils. Overjoyed, Chanyeol's mouth split open flashing his teeth. "Ok."

Gripping the steering wheel, he sped down the road. She was starting to sweat once he parked and they rode the elevator up to his three-bedroom studio. Only been here once in the entirety of their relationship. Namjoo had been awed. She'd really landed the lottery she thought that day.

Park Chanyeol, the ideal man, must make good money. In the future she wouldn't have to toil deliriously to help him support their children. She'd live a good life. She had found the perfect man to spend her life with. That was, if they took it easy, held on strong, and made it to the altar. Which she wasn't confident about now.

His studio was so private the elevator landed right on his flat. Meaning no worry about burglary or someone wanting to murder her in the middle of the night. Her life with Chanyeol would be the safest yet.

Slipping out of her shoes at the door, Namjoo followed him down the sleek toasted almond bamboo flooring. It led her around the corner right into the open kitchen. Two stools right under the hanging cream gray counter available at first sight. Beyond the counter was Chanyeol's magnificent kitchen decked with cooking tools and a double-door fridge.

She knew his bedroom was past the wide-spaced living room with a tufted wrap-around couch. To its left the wall-to-ceiling window. He had given her a tour the first time, but under constricting nerves she couldn't recall all the details right now.

Crossing into the kitchen Chanyeol pushed open a swiveling shelf hidden below the counter containing his coffee machine. "Wine?"

If he was nervous, Namjoo was even more unsure. How to tell him she didn't want to have sex with him without feeling like a villainess?

A bottle landed heavily on the countertop. Taking the time to find wine glasses, Namjoo scrambled through possibilities in her head. Standing on the other side of the kitchen Namjoo had an easy escape while Chanyeol remained busy. But...she did not move.

She just...felt really guilty.

"Here." Too late. Chanyeol had finished. She glanced up at Chanyeol who had rounded the space to her. "Don't drink too much."

Naturally grabbing the stem, Namjoo lifted the wine to her lips. Sweetness spread through her mouth instead of the determination she wanted the alcohol to gift her. She almost dropped the glass surprised when Chanyeol drew an intimate arm around her waist, sliding his hand across the low of her belly.