Jeru was waiting for Thea inside his car at her office's parking lot, and he was contemplating about Thea's go-ahead signals. He was in a dilemma. So far, she had already given him two signals. One was when she said she did not mind to perform all of a wife's duties, and the other one was when she gave him the good-night kiss when his father visited them.
'Just how many signals do you want, dude?' his inner self nagged. Jeru grew up to be a calculative and cautious man. He avoided to make a move, as much as possible, if he were not sure it would end up successfully. Or maybe he just feared rejection now because of his experience with Lisa.
'But Lisa and Thea are so different…' his inner self pointed out.
Indeed, they were different. Lisa had drawn a glaring line from the beginning that she only had romantic feelings for Jungkook and only saw him as a friend. She had made it very clear in both words and actions, so he had never felt like he was getting a mixed signal from her.
Whereas, with Thea, he could feel that she was giving him subtle hints for a more intimate relationship.
Yet, for some unknown reasons, he was still doubtful. It was as though he wanted more affirmation before he dare make a blatant move. As absurd it might sound, he was actually waiting for at least five signals, before he would feel assured enough to proceed.
He got startled when Thea opened the car door and went inside. "Let's go. Sorry to keep you waiting…" Thea said with an apologetic smile. She had to stay a bit longer at work because she had to review some potential candidates to replace Gavin as her anchoring partner for the primetime news.
It was already quite late, so Jeru suggested that they had their dinner outside. Jeru didn't want Thea to still cook at home when she was already looking so tired.
"What do you want to eat? Are you craving for a particular food? I heard women usually have something they crave for when they're pregnant," Jeru asked. Lately, he had been reading a lot of books and articles about pregnancy during his free time, so he would understand the changes Thea would undergo during the pregnancy stages.
Thea pursed her lips as she was searching for a nice restaurant on her phone and replied, "I'm not sure. I've been craving to eat different kinds of food. I mean, there's nothing in particular that I want to eat, but I just want to eat more every now and then."
Jeru laughed and explained, "Yeah, it's because you are not only eating for yourself now. You're eating for two."
Thea laughed as well. She looked at Jeru and casually replied, "Yeah, you're right, hon." She then quickly shifted her gaze back onto the screen of her phone, acting as though she was preoccupied with something else.
Jeru took a glance at her sideways, and mused, 'That's another signal, and you should count it!' She just called him 'Hon,' and it made his heart sing, so he murmured silently, 'I like it, hon.'
That made it three, so two more to go… What would happen when it reached five? Jeru promised to break that last remaining hesitation in his mind and would just follow whatever his heart would tell him to do.
Meanwhile, Thea felt droplets of sweat beading on her forehead as she was playing with her mobile phone. Her heart was racing as she was waiting for Jeru's response to another one of her bold moves. Gavin was the one who had been encouraging her to be daring, so if it didn't go well, she would have someone to blame. Thea chuckled at her own thoughts, 'Poor Gavin.'
She noticed a lot of changes lately, not only to her body but also in her attitude. She now felt more confident, optimistic, and cheerful. Maybe it also came from the fact that Leon was dead, but she was feeling serene and blissful.
