"There you go, Mister! Go on… Give it to your girlfriend!" The little girl handed the beautiful bouquet to Gael.


    "Thank you, Little Princess. I sure will." He received it with a smile.


    "That would be 70 dors!" She extended her hand out.


    He bent down to the little girl''s level and gave her a hundred dor bill, then he whispered, "Here. And buy yourself and your mum some breakfast. Okay?"


    Once she received the money, he smiled at her and got to his feet. Then he turned to Ang and handed her the bouquet. "For you."


    Ang suppressed a smile to show on her face. She thought this was silly. Why was she taking his games so lightly?


    "I believe she said to give it to your ''girlfriend''," Ang responded, ncing at the little girl who was still standing by Gael.


    A small smile danced on his lips as he inched the bouquet closer to Ang. "I believe she said to give it to you."


    She looked at the little girl again, who was now waving her hands towards her, gesturing to receive the flowers. The little girl looked at her like she was a dummy—Ang thought that although the little one didn''t say it, she might have thought something like: "Don''t be stupid and just take it. It''s just flowers!"


    Indeed. It was just flowers. ''This isn''t a date, Ang,'' she told herself.


    And so she did. Ang received the flowers with both hands, the paper bag''s handle dangling around her wrist. She appreciated the bouquet. Two shades of pink roses: soft blush and dusty rose, which looked to be about twenty of them, some baby''s breath, and sprigs of gold leaves. They were all cradled and wrapped in a white and soft pink paper. It was beautiful. And looking at it painted a smile on her face.


    She couldn''t tell if she told Gael back then that pink roses were her favorites. She didn''t care much about flowers, really. But she preferred these colors. Maybe she told him, she forgot—and he remembered. Or perhaps it was purely coincidental. However, she didn''t ask him. Instead, she uttered, "Thank you."


    Sometimes, things didn''t need to be soplicated. Sometimes one just needs to ept when they''re appreciated. And this time, Ang chose to receive his kindness.


    ''What''s one bouquet of flowers?'' she thought.


    "Shall we?" Gael probed.


    They walked towards his parked car across the road. She couldn''t help but remind him, "Just so you know, we''re not on a date."


    "I know," he responded. "We''re just two people going to share breakfast."


    "So you didn''t have to buy me flowers."


    "I can buy you flowers even if we''re not on a date." He opened the backseat of the car and helped her set her stuff in it. "But we''re at least friends, aren''t we?"


    Ang watched him close the door to the backseat and faced her again, a charming smile stered on his face. She scoffed at his confidence. As soon as she allowed him to talk to her again, his old self came back.


    Once they got settled inside the car and Gael had pulled it from the curb and joined the traffic, she casually asked, "So… friend… Where are you taking me?"


    He stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the word ''friend'' that she used. He liked the sound of ''girlfriend'' better like the little girl from the flower shop said earlier. It seemed as though he had shot himself in the foot.


    Stopping at a traffic light, he nced at her. "I''m not sure if you''ve been there, but it''s a pretty popr ce right outside of Fort Avenue."


    Ang gasped, "Aloha?!"


    He smiled. "So you actually know the ce…"


    "Are you kidding? They have the best loco moco and smoothie!" She got excited all of a sudden. "It''s been so long since thest time I''ve been there."


    Feeling more confident now, Gael''s smile widened as he stepped on the gas and headed towards the restaurant twenty minutes away. "I guess I picked the best ce today."


    …


    Aloha Restaurant


    The ce''s interior design screamed Hawaii, and the temperature inside was nice andfy, a contrast to the cold weather outside.


    The two were seated at a booth, and their food had just arrived. Ang ordered loco moco and strawberry smoothie—in which Gael also wanted to try, so he ordered the same.


    Saliva pooled in his mouth as he studied the dish in front of him. The food was steaming hot. On top of a bed of rice was a beef patty bathing in mushroom and onion gravy, then topped with two over-easy eggs. It looked like a hearty meal. He was actually eager to try it.


    Lifting his fork and knife, he was just about to dig in when a hand suddenly mmed on the table, causing the utensils, sses, and tes to tter. Gael snapped his head forward and saw Ang''s right hand nted on the wooden table while her left covered her mouth, and her eyes were slightly misty. Was she about to cry?


    "What''s wrong?" he worried.


    "I forgot how good this is." She pointed at her dish as she swallowed what she just ate. "I mean, I know this is so good… but I forgot how really good it is."


    Sniffing, she chuckled at herself. She must have looked like a weirdo in front of him just now. But Ang didn''t care. Tasting the dish pulled her back to the first time she ever tried it, and it made her want to cry of happiness. It was that good.


    Gael stared at her for a bit before chuckling. He got worried there for a second. Seeing her reaction made him want to taste it too.


    He poked the yolk with his knife, and the runny yellow goodness trickled down the mountain of meat, gravy, and rice. He gulped as he scooped it with his fork and delivered it to his mouth.


    Gael unexpectedly closed his eyes as the vor hit his tongue. It was meaty, saucy, simple—yet so f?ckin'' delicious!


    He now understood why Ang mmed her hand like that—except he didn''t want to do that. Eating the food made him feel like he wanted to hug a stranger for no damn reason.


    "How is it? Do you like it?" she asked.


    He realized that she was actually watching him just now. Good thing he didn''t tear up.


    "It''s not bad…" he replied after swallowing thefort food.


    Ang smiled at his brief answer. It was apparent that he liked it, yet he was ying it cool.


    The two enjoyed their food and smoothie, keeping their conversation light until they finished.


    Gael felt proud seeing that she finished the whole thing. The portion size of their meal was big, but she ate them all like a champ. ''Good job, Angel.''


    He was stuffed too. He patted his abdomen as he leaned against the backrest and asked her, "So why did the breakfast suck?"


    Ang didn''t have it in her to brush off his question. She didn''t know if it was because she was too full, or just satiated, or maybe just feltfortable talking to him again that she proceeded to tell him about Jason''s presence during the breakfast earlier with her family and how he invited her to go with him to The Hamptons.


    Gael didn''t like that at all. She didn''t tell him much about that Jason guy, but it was enough for him to know that she didn''t like the man.


    "Do you want to go to The Hamptons?" he wondered.


    "I''ve been there once. I''m actually nning to visit in a month or two. I thought a different scenery would give me inspiration for a new book."


    "Well, I could take you there."


    "To The Hamptons?" Ang arched a brow.


    "If you''d like to…" Gael shrugged. "We have an estate in Long Ind. Actually… I can take you anywhere in New York."