Bittersweet Expectations (Hate at First Flight #0.5)

35. Chamomile Tea

My racing heartbeat pounded hard against my chest as I felt my body freeze as a wave of worry and anxiety coursed through every vein of my body.

"Mary..." I could hear Mr X ask, his voice almost sounded drowned out and in a distance.

I couldn't even bring myself to stammer out a reply because I really didn't know what I was going to say.

I, myself didn't know how I felt about the situation.

After all, I had wanted to know the face being the person I was talking to. Only yesterday, I had searched the party to deduce who he was.

However, knowing who he was and putting a face to the name was vastly different to meeting him face to face.

I felt the blood in my face drain at the possibility of meeting him in person.

What would he think of me? Would I look like he expects me to look? Would he be disappointed? Happy? How would he feel?

I couldn't stop the myriads of questions that flooded my mind the longer I kept quiet.

I felt someone touch my hand cautiously.

I turned to see Susan's face painted with worry and confusion as she watched me cautiously. Her brows raised in the universally known expression of, What's going on? She cast a quick nod at the phone and I knew she was asking whether Mr X was the problem.

I tried to put on a brave face and smiled at her comfortingly before shaking my head, hoping that that was enough to keep her from snatching the phone from me and asking him what was wrong.

She nodded, her brows still creased with suspicion before she turned back to her station, just as her hotline went off.

"Mary. Mary," Mr X's voice registered. "Are you still there? Hello?"

I swallowed hard as I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"I'm here," I managed to say, hoping that my voice was level and normal as it could be.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." No, I'm not.

"You sure?"

"Yes." No.

"You don't sound fine."

I chuckled lightly, trying to wave off his suspicions. "No, I'm okay."

"What happened?"

"I..." I tried to think of a good excuse. "I just have... really bad cramps."

Cramps...? Really?

I felt like face-palming myself hard as the lie slipped out of my lips easily before I could have a moment to stop it.

"Oh."

I couldn't help myself, I burst out laughing. He joined me too as we both laughed.

"Was that a mundane male reaction that you were expecting?" he asked.

I laughed again. "Just the typical, I'd say."

He laughed again. "I don't really know how to deal with this... situation, sorry. I don't have any sisters or female cousins to guide me, but... hold on," I heard the sound of quick typing on a keyboard followed, before, he added, "It seems like ibuprofen and Tylenol should help. Oh, and Chamomile tea, do you have any?"

I couldn't help but smile as I realized that he had searched up how to deal with period cramps. "I have coffee."

"How about ginger tea?"