Chapter 10

X. Beautiful

WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT now is worth a hundred times more than what I had with Rosie. I wouldn't have it any other way... I'm all for you, Cheryl. Just for you... she can want me for all I care, but I want you to be selfish with me... don't let me go. It's simple as that.

"You're lucky that this is only a mild sprain," Piers said as he was bandaging my left wrist which I sprained while I was boxing earlier. I wanted to blame him because I was very distracted with the thought of his words a few days ago that my punches became sloppy that resulted in a mild sprain. I pouted but then slightly winced when I felt the throbbing pain again.

"But it still hurt a lot." I muttered like a child being scolded while I looked at him focused on my hand. I swallowed as I can already feel the blood rushing up to my cheeks at the warm contact of his hands on mine. Damn, his hands are so big and callous... it would feel safe and comfortable holding them. I hope he doesn't notice me trembling.

"It should heal up to three to five days at most, just don't stress it up too much." He looked at me which made me immediately look away.

"Oh, I won't." I said, feeling awkward and embarrassed all of a sudden.

"By the way," He said, "The BSAA's anniversary is coming up in two months."

I nodded, "Really?"

"Yeah. And they'd like to see you there as well."

"I'm invited?" I asked, eyes widening in surprise.

Piers slowly nodded, then pursed his lips in a thin line at my bewildered expression. "Don't worry, I told them that you're not comfortable with the crowd, so they don't mind if you don't want to come."

I quickly shook my head, "I'll come," I said, if you want me to. "That's the least that I can do to get back at them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I wanted to ask him for a favor. I wanted to ask him to watch over me but that would ruin the fun of being in a party, right? That was his chance to unwind and get to socialize and interact with his colleagues. I didn't have the right to reject the BSAA's invitation as they were the ones who saved my life, so it's only natural that I take part in their celebration of saving the world for years and counting. A few days later, I received an e-mail from Jill.

Hi Cheryl,

It's Jill! I hope you still remember me. I got your e-mail address from Piers. How are you? How's life in there? You know, I was really happy for you when you found someone to finally go home to, and that being someone we know really helped. But at the same time, I was worried because you were never really comfortable with people, and I can completely understand where you're coming from. So I was really shocked and glad that you agreed to come to the event. If it's okay with you, I can help you out with picking out dresses, makeup or doing your hair (not that I'm such an expert with those kind of things), or just talk about other girly things! Feel free to drop me a reply whenever you feel like it!

Jill

PS: Sorry if I haven't checked up on you until now. The BSAA has been loading me with a lot paperwork since I had been gone for a long time. :'(

I suddenly remembered the times when Jill and I were still together in the labs, whenever she'd stop by at my ward after our tests just to confide and comfort me. I just couldn't appreciate her presence before because I was just a nineteen-year-old teenager who saw the cruel side of the world without even discovering the good side of it. I didn't see the point of my purpose being alive in the first place, so I couldn't relate to her optimism towards life... even when it's full of bioterrorism and violence.

My lips curled into a faint smile at the memory, and she's still very thoughtful of still remembering to check up on me after a year. My fingers froze on the keyboard and thought of a decent reply to her.

In the following month, Jill asked me out if we could see each other and also as a payment for my gratitude to her, I decided to bake a batch of gingerbread cookies for her.

"I smell something delicious," I heard Piers' voice from the living room and I could feel him coming. Piper also came trailing behind him. I just smiled then looked at the oven to where the cookies were currently in. "What are you baking today?" He asked.

"Gingerbread cookies," I replied, wiping the sweat forming on my forehead because of the heat coming from the oven. "I'm going to give these to someone tomorrow." I smiled, but then his smile slightly faltered at my words.

"You're going on a date?" He asked, now frowning. Well... I didn't say that it was a date but...

I nodded, "Yeah, kind of like that." I bit my bottom lip, and it made his frown deepen if it was still possible.

"With who?" He demanded, and I tilted my head to the side in confusion because his mood quickly shifted to irritation.

"Entspann dich, Piers!" I said with a light chuckle, and his irritated face now had a mixture of confusion because of my foreign tongue. Damn, I just can't stop my mouth sometimes. Realization hit me. He can be a little too overprotective when it came to other people and it was the first time that I'd get to give someone else a gift aside from him and his family. "Relax, I mean. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just going to give these to Jill."

His mouth went ajar for a moment then it morphed into an even expression. "Jill? Why are you giving Jill some cookies?"

"Well, it's a thank you gift for taking care of me when we were still in the labs."

"Oh..." Piers' face slightly reddened, then he looked away clearing his throat, as if regaining his composure. I tilted my head to the side with a smile, then my attention shifted to the oven when I heard the sound of the kitchen timer.

I pulled out the tray of cookies that were shaped like a human. I just had to cool them down then touch them down with a few details using royal icing.

"Can I have some?" Piers asked in the background.

"No," I said, "they're for Jill."

"Just one won't hurt, right?"

He was just behind me and I couldn't help but smile. Piers, why are you so adorable when you want to be! He went quiet and just watched me put the icing on the gingerbread cookies. I sighed, as I couldn't resist him any longer. I went to pick up one cookie and turned around and offered it to him, to which he smiled again.

"Here."

But instead of taking the cookie from my hands, he just stared at it for a few seconds before he leaned down and took a bite out of it, his lips touched my fingers and it left me dumbfounded.

"Wow, it's delicious as expected."

I just stared at him, still bewildered. He looked at me as if he hadn't realized the impact of his previous action. He snacked on a few more cookies, giving Piper a taste as well. He stopped when I finally lightly slapped his hand. He chuckled as he carried Piper in his arms and left me in the kitchen.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Valentine," Piers greeted.

"Hey, Piers," Jill waved with a smile.

"Call or text me when you're done, okay?" Piers reminded me, he drove me to where Jill and I were supposed to meet, which was a nearby café that recently opened.

I still couldn't look at him, not after what happened yesterday. "Okay."

"You know, you can join us, Piers." Jill interjected to which Piers politely declined.

"Oh no, I'd like for you guys to spend some quality time together. You didn't see each other for a while after all."

Jill nodded, "Okay." She just said, and she seemed to notice his frequent stares at me as if he was reluctant about something. "Don't worry though, I'll take care of Cheryl for you." She winked.

"Jill!" I complained, feeling my cheeks heat up at the statement. But Piers only smiled at that before bidding goodbye. With that, he had gone back to his car and drove away.

Jill had that mischievous look in her eyes, and I could tell that she wanted to tell me something but decided to wait for it as we entered the café. We sat on a table then after a few moments, a waiter came and took our orders, Jill ordered a caramel macchiato while I got myself an Oreo milk tea. Right after the waiter took note of our orders, he stood there for a few seconds longer, his stare still lingering at Jill before he turned on his heels and walked away.

I couldn't blame the men who were swooned by her good looks. At thirty-five, she still looked radiant and youthful. She looked even better than the last time I saw her, her skin was still pale though you can tell that it was now well taken care of, her brown hair looked so smooth and there was no trace of being a blonde before. And it made me reflect on myself.

"By the way," I cleared my throat, "I brought some gingerbread cookies for you."

"Really? That's so thoughtful of you. I think this would be perfect with our drinks."

"I thought so, too."

"Thank you, Cheryl."

"Thanks, too. I know you're really busy with work but you still managed to fit me through your schedule."

"No problem, I really wanted to see how you're holding up, too."

"I'm okay... Piers' family have been very kind to me."

"Yeah, I can see that." She grinned, showing off her pearly whites. "What have you been doing for the past year?"

I thought for a moment, "Hmm... I'm currently studying martial arts, practiced shooting and then... I box, too."

Jill nodded, and then the same waiter earlier arrived along with our drinks, and I pulled out the cookies from my bag. The waiter left in a hurry, and there I noticed that something was scribbled on the napkin. It was a phone number and a name: Stephen.

"I think he likes you." I commented as I took a sip of my milk tea.

Jill snorted in amusement. "I bet he does that to all of the girls." She ignored the number then proceeded to take a sip of her own drink.

"Why? Are you already seeing someone, Jill?"

"Mm... no, not yet. In our line of work, there's barely any time for that."

"What about Chris?"

"What about him?"

"I think you two are really close. Are you not interested in him?"

Jill laughed, then took a gingerbread cookie from the circular can. "We're partners, Cheryl." She just said with a smile. That didn't really answer my question but I never bothered to press on the issue. I just took a sip of my Oreo milk tea again, it just tasted so good. "Besides, I should be the one asking you. I think Piers is really into you." The sudden statement made me choke on my drink, making me cover my mouth with the napkin that Stephen wrote on. Jill let out a grin upon seeing my reaction, "And I think you're into him, too."

"Jill," I whined, "We're just friends."

"Oh, really? That's how my parents started, too." I just pouted at her, to which she chuckled on. "But jokes aside, I think it's impossible that you don't have any feelings for someone like Piers. I mean, he's a total complete package. He's kind, handsome, talented, smart, handsome... a little too serious at times but once you get past his stiff attitude, he's really a nice guy."

"You already said handsome." I snorted.

"Did I?" Jill let out a cheeky smile.

"Chris is like that, too, well, except for the attitude. He's a gentle guy despite his size." I said which made the both of us chuckle, "And it's not impossible for Chris not to like you. You're really beautiful unlike me—"

"Hey, don't say that. You're beautiful!" Jill cut me off, "I don't ever want you to tell yourself that. You're beautiful, Cheryl. And you deserve someone who'd always make you feel that way."

Jill and I went to a boutique to buy our dresses for the BSAA event that was coming closer. She picked a powder blue tube dress that hugged all of her curves at the right places, it was as if that dress was exclusively made for her. I could already imagine her light makeup and brown hair softly curled at the tips which made her look very stunning. While I, on the other hand, didn't really have a good sense of fashion so she helped me out and picked out a creamy beige silk dress for me and even suggested the perfect makeup and hairstyle for it. I really liked the dress and so we bought it. We talked for a little bit longer before I texted Piers to come pick me up.

When the event came, I followed the makeup and hair tutorial that Jill sent me via e-mail that fitted for the event. After almost three hours of hard work, I finally looked at myself in the mirror. I swallowed when I couldn't even recognize myself, did Jill imagine this outcome? I let out a sigh and decided to finally come out of the room and there I saw Piers sitting on the living room couch beside Piper, his right hand caressing him behind the ears while his left hand busy scrolling through his phone as he waited for me.

When he noticed my presence, he craned his neck to the side and his eyes widened in surprise, lips parted in awe. He quickly straightened his posture and stood up, coming over to me without even tearing his gaze, I don't think he ever blinked while he did so. This was also the first time I'd seen Piers in a tuxedo, and God, he really is the most gorgeous human being I had ever seen in my entire life.

"Um..." I let out an awkward laugh which triggered Piers to smile, too. I rubbed on my nape, smiling as his gaze was focused on me. "I look weird, don't I?"

He shook his head, his smile still intact. Then he held my hand, staring down at it. He played with my fingers, making me blush. Then his gaze shifted straight into my eyes, and there it was my turn to not stop staring at him as his smile was the kind of boyish smiles that makes you want to melt like an ice cream on a summer.

"You're beautiful." He said.