Eleanor and Rudy were sitting on the bed, right next to each other, and looking into each other''s eyes. It seemed as though they were going to jump on each other at any given moment.


    "You shouldn''t have lied to him like that," Rudy uttered.


    "Hmm?"


    "Eric… you told him you will get on the next flight even though you are already home."


    "Was I supposed to tell him that you rescued me from the crashing ne and brought me home?"


    "You could…" Rudy shrugged.


    "Is that so?" Eleanor raised her brow and asked, "Then why didn''t you tell him when he told you about the crash? You could have said, ''Don''t worry, I will save her.'' at that time, right?"


    "I mean… I could have, but I didn''t lie to him like you just did…"


    SIGH!


    "Let''s not have this conversation right now, okay? I truly don''t want to start an argument when we have just met after a long time. Although I am sure, it hasn''t been that long for you."


    She stated.


    "When was thest time we met?"


    "Eighteen years ago," Eleanor replied instantly.


    "No, no. When was thest time you met Rudy? In my past life, we used to meet often whenever I came over to y with Eric. But I haven''t been doing that in this life, at least not as much. I still doe over, but I don''t say long."


    "Oh, you mean that way. Then… I think around… umm… 4 months ago?"


    "Damn… that''s longer than I expected."


    Eleanor got up from the bed and moved to her closet.


    "Where are you going?" Rudy asked.


    "I could really use a bath right now. I feel weird. Too many emotions are fighting inside me, trying to take over my mood."


    "Are you sure you are not trying to run away from answering my questions?" hemented with a knowing look on his face.


    "I don''t think that would work if I were to try that. You can touch me and learn everything you need to know. So why don''t you just do it? It would save me from trouble from answering and also save our time."


    "Come on… Elena. I thought you would be happy to see me, but… it seems like…" Rudy sighed and clicked his tongue. "You are treating me like I am a stranger."


    "I am not. And when I said I want to take a bath, that was an indirect invitation to you too."


    She closed her closet with clothes in her hands.


    "Come on." She pointed her gaze at the bathroom door.


    "Err… I think we should have a talk before… Well, jumping in the bathtub together."


    "Then wait for me to finish taking a bath. Mind you, it could take an hour to three hours. I might as well just fall asleep as I didn''t have much sleepst night because I had to catch a flight."


    After saying that, Eleanor entered the bathroom, leaving the door open.


    ''Ah, that''s the same old Elena I know.''


    Rudy didn''t want to bathe with Eleanor because he knew he wouldn''t be able to control himself after seeing her naked body. He also had some really important questions to which he needed answers, and he couldn''t afford to forget those questions while admiring Eleanor''s mature beauty.


    Regardless, he wouldn''t stop himself and got stripped. He checked the door of Eleanor''s room and noticed it was closed but not locked. So he locked it and went into the bathroom.


    There, he saw Eleanor standing near the bathtub— fully clothed—folding her arms below her bosom and staring at the doorway.


    "..."


    "Who is excited now, huh?" Eleanor teased with a grin.


    "Argh. Stop being so cheeky, or you will regret it soon enough."


    "You are bluffing. You are just flustered because you fell into my trap."


    "I didn''t."


    "Then howe you are standing naked in the bathroom in front of me?"


    "I just took off my clothes because I didn''t want them to get wet in the bathroom."


    "Oh?"


    "And don''t act like you nned all this. You are still wearing your clothes only because you are waiting for the water to fill the bathtub."


    "You are not entirely wrong. There is one more reason, which I am willing to tell you if you hug me."


    "You and your games… seriously…"


    Rudy walked closer to Eleanor and hugged her tightly.


    "You can tell me now."


    "Why don''t you just read my thoughts?"


    "I won''t."


    Eleanor slowly moved her hands and hugged Rudy back.


    "I missed your hugs."


    "But we hugged after I saved you from the ne."


    "That doesn''t count."


    They continued hugging and stayed like that for minutes, even after filling the bathtub, and the water had started overflowing.


    "Umm… Elena?"


    "The tub is overflowing."


    "Then stop it."


    Rudy pressed the switch using telekinesis and stopped the water.


    "I can''t believe I am truly hugging you again. I missed you so so much. Even though Rudy was here, it wasn''t you. You didn''t have memories of the moments we shared in the past."


    "Hmm. I did too. Even though it hasn''t been long since I returned from 1990, I missed you all the time. I wanted to meet you so badly, and I couldn''t wait for your return. Thanks for waiting for me… Elena."


    "Eleanor."


    "Hmm?"


    "Call me Eleanor."


    "I can''t, and I won''t."


    "But that''s my name."


    "Is it? Everyone called you Elena back then."


    "Yes, because that was easy to pronounce."


    "That''s ame reason."


    "It''s not. I was a teacher. And the kids couldn''t pronounce my name, so they called me Elena."


    "What about the adults, then? Your grandparents called you Elena too."


    "That was just their way of giving me a nickname. And as for the adults… they always mispronounced my name, and I didn''t like it. I would rather want them to call me Elena than a wrong name."


    "What''s wrong with mispronouncing the name? It''s not like it would change the meaning."


    "You wouldn''t understand the pain of the people whose names are mispronounced all the time."