JossBas: Is It Really Meant to Be?

Chapter 20

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

Joss' POV

I took out a container of wet wipes from the glove compartment of my car and cleaned up my face very well, taking care not to leave any signs of my previous emotional breakdown. I did not want Frank to ask any intrusive questions when I get inside my condo unit.

I stepped out of my car and made my way to my condo unit with a heavy heart. Why, I asked myself, why did I have to fall in love with someone whose heart was already for someone else?

I buzzed on my front door, not wanting to bother with using my key to unlock it.

"It took you a while to come to the door," I snapped at Frank.

"I'm sorry, P'Joss, I was in the middle of cooking dinner for you. I could not get to the door right away," he said.

I instantly regretted snapping at him. I was aware that I was just taking out my frustrations on him.

"It's okay," I said, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you."

"No worries," he replied, "dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

"Actually I'm not hungry," I said.

I saw the look of disappointment on his face. I couldn't blame him. He must have made a lot of effort in the preparation of dinner.

"Tell you what," I said, "why don't I have a little taste of what you cooked. I just might get hungry again."

His face lit up immediately. He quickly transferred what he had cooked into a platter.

"Is that garlic shrimp in snap peas and soy sauce?" I asked. It actually looked delicious.

"Yes, it is," he answered with a bright smile, "I took the liberty of looking around your refrigerator for ingredients and came up with this."

After setting the plates and utensils, he motioned for me to sit with him at the table.

Surprisingly, I had initially intended to just take a little taste of it, but ended up having a whole plate of it. 

I should not have eaten too much of the jasmine rice that Frank had cooked to go with the garlic shrimp. I didn't want to gain weight especially in my middle. I would have to spend longer hours at the gym to burn it out.

"Thank you for the dinner, Frank," I said as I stood up from my dining chair, "let me help you clear the table and wash the dishes."

"No, no, no," he protested, "I will take care of everything. You go ahead and rest. You look tired."

I probably did look tired, except it was not physical tiredness but emotional exhaustion that I was suffering from.

"Thank you, Frank," I said, "I will make it up to you tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it," he said as he started gathering the plates.

"Let me at least help you load the dishes in the sink," I offered.

He actually had already placed some of the dishes in the sink and was coming back to the table to gather the rest of it.

On his way back to the table, for some reason he lost his footing and luckily for him I was close by and was able to catch him in my arms.

He quickly straightened up, looking all red in the face.

"I'm sorry," he said, "that was really clumsy of me."

I noticed that there was a quiver in his voice.