twenty-five

Kao

"What do you want to eat?"

I heard Pete asked while I was still trying to grasp the situation at the moment.

"How about Chinese? Or Italian? Or Japanese? There's this place with a really good hotpot would you like to try?"

I looked at him when I realized that he had no plan of shutting up.

"You're asking me because you really want me to decide or was that just rhetorical?"

Pete blinked at me before went back and concentrated on the road in silence and I almost heaved a sigh.

Him being that silent was somehow a relief.

"You're mad again?"

But he spoke after a while and I couldn't find any words to answer him.

Until I did.

"I'm not. Why would I be? And why would I dare? You're my boss after all!"

I saw Pete rolled his eyes before he made a turn and glanced at me.

"Okay. What did I do again?"

I shrugged.

He really shouldn't be asking me that.

"Who knows?"

I mean, I could list down all the reasons why I find him annoying but I was sure it would not make him any less of it.

"Come on, Kao! Could you at least just tell me so I'd know?"

He turned towards me when we stopped for the red light.

"Or was it all the shopping!?! Are you tired? Do you want to take a rest for a while before we head back? Right, we could just check in at some hotel and order room service so you can rest while we wait."

I gaped at Pete and stared at him incredulously when I heard what he had to say.

Is this guy even serious!?!

Can he hear himself!?!

I get that he's stinking rich and all and by the way I'm seeing it as it's what he was clearly making me see, money was never an issue.

And I got that.

But still.

What was he really trying to prove now!?!

"You brought me with you to shop. Now we're done. Can we go back now!?!"

I said when I could not think of anything more to say to him.

"We'll have lunch and then we'll go and visit one more place after and then we go back home."

He said as he got ready for the green light.

"Let's make use of your outfit for today."

He said as he smirked and could not help but narrow my eyes at him.

He's making fun of me right!?!

The nerve!

I already told him earlier that I would change but he didn't let me.

And now he's making fun of me!

Tsk!

He's really lucky he's my boss or I would really not mind kicking him between his pants.

"So, what do you want to eat?"

He asked again.

"I'm not hungry."

I replied and I was not even lying.

As embarrassing as it was, I thought I've helped myself too much with the take outs he bought earlier that I eat it in the car all throughout the ride and I almost finished all of it with Pete only nitpicking the French fries.

"That doesn't necessarily mean you can't eat."

I looked at the guy.

Is this what a rich guy logic!?!

Well, I mean yes, he's got a point.

But for someone like me who struggled for food over the past years, being frugal with food is something I really have practiced well over time.

"I don't want to eat. Let's just leave it at that."

I told him and he nodded.

"Well, I do. So guess, we're eating after all."

I puffed an air out.

See?

It doesn't even matter what I say now.

He would just do what he wanted to do and that's that.

"You really should not have asked me in the first place."

I told him as I looked outside the moving car trying to calm myself when I accidentally got a glimpse of the stuff at the back of the car from the reflection on the window to my side.

All those were for me.

According to Pete.

As my uniform he said.

And that it's free.

And I reminded myself that.

Telling myself it's okay and that it's just right for Pete to do that for me but another part of myself was not really okay with it.

"Pete."

The guy glanced at me from the road before he hummed his reply.

"The. Stuff. At the back. You said those are for me, right?"

He nodded without looking at me.

"And that it's free, right? That it's inclusive of my benefits?"

Pete furrowed his brows at me before nodding.

"Yeah?"

I nodded and bit on my lower lip.

"Really?"

Pete looked at me before he shook his head.

"What's gotten into you again!?! Why ask so many questions!?!"

I cleared my throat before I answered him.

"I'm just wondering, wouldn't you deduct it from my salary?"

Call me whatever but I did thought about that and I didn't like the idea.

"Kao, what part of it's free didn't you understand?"

I stared at the guy.

"But those were like really, expensive clothes."

Forgive me for having trust issues.

"Your point is?"

I heaved a sigh and looked at the guy.

"I'm not paying it from my salary when you realized later on that you really didn't want to give it for free. I need my money for other things and not just for clothes. Besides, who buy so many clothes? And I'm not even gonna go out with you on business dealings outside so what's the point?"

I've been thinking about it from the moment Pete told me he'd buy me clothes but the idea was not as pressing for when he was already picking off clothes-expensive ones from the rack and said that it was all for me.

"The point is you need decent clothes."

He turned towards me and made a face for him to see.

"My clothes are decent."

Or at least three sets of the ones I dragged with me.

"Yeah, well, you need, proper clothes for each occasions and we both know your little luggage can't help you with that."

I wanted to contend but he raised a hand at him.

"-and, why are we even talking about clothes now when there are so many other things we can talk about!?!"

Pete regarded me while I stayed quite.

It was not just what it was right?

"Isn't it the part where you go, 'like what?' "

What does he want now!?!

"You know back then, there would be times I'd wish for you to just shut up. But now, how I wish for you to just talk to me."

I turned towards him.

"Can we not-?"

He raised his eyebrows at me.

"What?"

He coaxed me.

"We haven't really talked about us-."

I shook my head and turned towards him.

"Pete, there's. Can we just not talk about it please?"

We've got this far without that complication, why brought it up now?

"There's no use of talking about the past."

I told him matter of factly.

Because really, there's none.

"Okay. Alright. For now."

He said and I could just sigh in relief.

Really, we're okay so far.

And I'm trying really hard to be as causal as I can towards him.

I thought we should keep it that way.

And the way to do that is by keeping the boat where it belongs and look forward ahead.

"We're here."

Pete announced a she pulled over an open parking.

I looked at him getting ready to get off the car and I did the same.

Guess it would really be impossible for the past to not come up from time to time specially when I agreed to be working with people from and in it but at least I could try to not think about it too much and maybe just let it quiet down on it's own.

That's what I thought when I was finally out the car and was a bit surprised with what I saw.

I thought Pete would bring me to an expensive place to eat as I hoped he would not.

Thank god he didn't or I wouldn't know anything to do if we did go there and I'll just end up starving myself.

But looking around the place and checking at the surroundings now, I thought I'd rather starve to death than eat out with Pete at the place.

So much for leaving the past behind.

We were actually at it at the moment.

The eatery.

The one that holds so many memories.