The Way to a Man's Heart

Chapter 23

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Tee's POV

I was in the middle of such a beautiful dream when my alarm rang.

Shit I had forgotten to disable my alarm before I went to sleep last night. I only get two days off in a week and this was my first day to be able to sleep late and my alarm had to go off, and just when I was in the middle of a dream that I didn't want to wake up from.

In that dream Tae was in my bed and he was holding me gently and placing his lips on my forehead. Then he was moving them to the space between my eyebrows and then lowering them to the bridge of my nose and lower still ... bbbrrrnnnggg ... fuck!

I got out of bed knowing that my sleep rhythm was ruined and that trying to go back to sleep was out of the question.

After my morning rituals and my shower I put on fresh comfortable house clothes and made my way to my kitchen to see what I could put together for a decent breakfast.

I plugged the electric kettle into the outlet at the end of my kitchen counter then I brought out a mug from one of my kitchen cabinets.

I then took out the box containing my hibiscus teabags. Oh no, I was down to my last one. I would have to go to the supermarket to buy another box and for as long as I'm there I might as well buy other food stuff.

I was scooping a forkful of scrambled eggs from my plate when my phone sounded an incoming text notification.

If the rain check for a meal still stands I'm up for lunch at the same restaurant that we went to last night.

With a fast beating heart I texted Tae back.

Of course! You want me to pick you up?

My place is a bit out of the way. How about I pick you up.

Sure! Here's my address.

I texted him my address.

Pick you up at eleven thirty?

Yessiree!

I forgot all about buying groceries. I stayed home rummaging through my closet and drawers, looking for clothes that would make me look my best.

After I had chosen which clothes to wear for my lunch date with Tae, I tried not to feel too excited and nervous by trying to watch TV but I kept getting up from the couch and going alternately to the kitchen and then to my bedroom and then back to the living room. I was like a cricket prancing about, unable to stay in one place for a millisecond.

Finally when it was eleven, I changed out of my house clothes and into the clothes that I had chosen to wear for my lunch date with Tae. I checked myself in my full length mirror over and over to make sure that my hair was just as I wanted it to look and that nothing in my appearance was out of place.

PING !

My phone sounded an incoming text notification. Of course I knew who the text was from.

I'm outside your house.

I rushed out of my front door, making sure to lock it after me.

Tae was standing beside his car, his arms folded across his chest.

He smiled when he saw me stepping out of my front door. His smile did all sorts of things inside my chest. I smiled shyly back at him.

"We could have just met in our individual cars at the restaurant but why not carpool, right?" he said before starting his car after I had settled into his passenger seat beside him.

"Right," I replied. "Just one small way of helping to save our planet."

We made small talk along the way to the restaurant, making comments about the music playing in his car every now and then, or commenting on how some drivers can be so reckless and whatever other topic we could think of.

Finally Tae was turning into the entrance to the parking lot of the Wild Caught and Grilled restaurant.

I almost bumped my head against the windshield when he suddenly stepped hard on the brakes.

"What the hell, Tae!" I couldn't help raising my voice at him.

And then I saw why.

Just up ahead, Pavel was driving slowly out of the parking lot. Dome was sitting in the passenger seat of Pavel's SUV.  Of course I had not forgotten Tae's revelation last night that Dome was his ex-boyfriend. I knew right there and then that Tae was not yet over Dome.