n his pasta that I had to stare at him in shock for a while before he looked up at me.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Why so much pepper?” I asked.
1/5
spent a few years in West Africa,” he said “yet was pretty much shot were there. And now I need way more epi dan an average Amerkan
mall 1×1;
“West Africa?” I add surprisingly. “What were you avenger thera
wao work,” he replied. “We were locating on bringing reset to certam pural areas in some towns, white focusing on providing them with dean water, and extabticing schonte in areas which were not fully developed.”
*
“That’s such a penerous and kindhearted thing to ds,” I “Few people even think about stuff like that.”
“You’d be surprised how bad things are over there,” he said “There are some families living on just two dollars a day, or even less than that I came across a family where they had six kids, and the husband was a bus driver who worked in the next town. He only managed to come home co weekends, and even then he sometimes came back empty handed”
There was a pained look in his eyes as he said this, and he turned away from me, staring at the street below as he looked like he was reliving a particularly painful memory.
“I tried to help them,” he said. “I gave him some money to start some sort of business that would keep him closer to his family. Everyone told me not to do it, because providing relief is far better than granting someone the opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty. I didn’t believe in that, but when I gave him the money, he squandered in in less than a month with his friends, drinking in local pubs and buying expensive clothes so people would respect him more. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“What happened then?” I asked.
“He was back at his old job a month later,” he said. “And this time, he found out that his wife was expecting a seventh child.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. “Why would anyone to that to themselves?”
“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped,” he said. “If I had focused on providing the help he needed rather than what he told me he wanted, then maybe he wouldn’t have ended up in that situation.”
“Not necessarily,” I said, causing him to look up at me. “You can’t always assume what someone wants or needs, because you think you know better. There will always be people like that man who do not understand how to help themselves and their loved ones. But that doesn’t mean that there are people out there who wouldn’t be much smarter than him. I think it’s just a matter of knowing who you’re interacting with, and trying to be smarter in gauging whether they would be smart with their finances or not.”
He shrugged nonchalantly, and said, “I guess you’re right.”
We fell into a brief moment of silence, before he looked up at me and said, “How long will you be in Paris for?”
“About three more days,” I replied. “I finished my work today, so I have four more days to just relax and explore.”
“That’s nice,” he said. “We should be leaving around the same time. Have you been to the Louvre yet?”
“Not yet,” I replied. “I have a list of places I want to visit.”
“I’m free tomorrow,” he said. “I could take you around.”
“You know your way around?” I asked.
“I lived in Paris for six months,” he said. “I know all the popular tourist attractions. If you need a tour guide, I’m your guy.”
“Is this you trying to get a second date?” I asked with a slight chuckle.
2/5
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spent a few years In West Africa,” he said. “My taste buds were pretty much shot over there. And now I need way more spice than an average American.”
“West Africa?” I asked surprisingly. “What were you doing over there?”
“NGO work,” he replied. “We were focusing on bringing relief to certain rural areas in some towns, while focusing on providing them with clean water, and establishing schools in areas which were not fully developed.”
“That’s such a generous and kindhearted thing to do,” I said. “Few people even think about stuff like that.”
“You’d be surprised how bad things are over there,” he said, “There are some families living on just two dollars a day, or even less than that. I came across a family where they had six kids, and the husband was a bus driver who worked in the next town. He only managed to come home on weekends, and even then he sometimes came back empty–handed.”
There was a pained look in his eyes as he said this, and he turned away from me, staring at the street below as he looked like he was reliving a particularly painful memory.
“I tried to help them,” he said. “I gave him some money to start some sort of business that would keep him closer to his family. Everyone told me not to do it, because providing relief is far better than granting someone the opportunity to pull themselves out of poverty. I didn’t believe in that, but when I gave him the money, he squandered in in less than a month with his friends, drinking in local pubs and buying expensive clothes so people would respect him more. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“What happened then?” I asked.
“He was back at his old job a month later,” he said. “And this time, he found out that his wife was expecting a seventh child.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. “Why would anyone to that to themselves?”
“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped,” he said. “If I had focused on providing the help he needed rather than what he told me he wanted, then maybe he wouldn’t have ended up in that situation.”
“Not necessarily,” I said, causing him to look up at me. “You can’t always assume what someone wants or needs, because you think you know better. There will always be people like that man who do not understand how to help themselves and their loved ones. But that doesn’t mean that there are people out there who wouldn’t be much smarter than him. I think it’s just a matter of knowing who you’re interacting with, and trying to be smarter in gauging whether they would be smart with their finances or not.”
He shrugged nonchalantly, and said, “I guess you’re right.
We fell into a brief moment of silence, before he looked up at me and said, “How long will you be in Paris for?”
“About three more days,” I replied. “I finished my work today, so I have four more days to just relax and explore.”
“That’s nice,” he said. “We should be leaving around the same time. Have you been to the Louvre yet?”
“Not yet,
“I replied. “I have a list of places I want to visit.”
“I’m free tomorrow,” he said. “I could take you around.”
“You know your way around?” I asked.
“I lived in Paris for six months,” he said. “I know all the popular tourist attractions. If you need a tour guide, I’m your guy.”
“Is this you trying to get a second date?” I asked with a slight chuckle.
2/5
+25 BONUS
Chapter Thirty–Two
“Maybe,” he replied, leaning forward. “Is it working?”
The twinkle in his eyes had returned, and it was easier to look at him when he was staring at me that way. Something about his eyes just pulled me in, and I couldn’t pull away.
“You’re cute,” I said. “But you’re going to have to work for it. Second dates don’t come that easily.”
“Come on,” he said. “Do you want me to get down on my knees and beg?”
“That wouldn’t be so bad,” I said, causing him to tap his finger slowly on the table while he glared at me.
“You’re a mean lady, do you know that?” he asked.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I said with a smirk.
He took my hand in his, and I shivered from the contact as the warmth of his touch spread through my entire body.
“Olivia Carson,” he said smoothly, “even though this first date isn’t over yet, would you do me the honour of going on a second date with me?”
How could I say no to that? It was virtually impossible to not be affected by him. He just had a way of doing things like this that would make my heart flutter. He knew exactly the right buttons to push, especially given the fact that he looked the way he did. Even though we’d only been together for about an hour, I was already seeing the differences between him and Marcus. They seemed like two different people, and I wasn’t feeling so weird about being here with his twin brother anymore.
“Alright,” I said. “You’ve got yourself a second date.”
“And a third?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t push your luck, Reynard,” I said, causing him to laugh loudly once again.
“I haven’t heard that phrase in a while,” he said. “It’s something I always heard back in high school.”
“Something tells me you and your brothers were the bullies in your school,” I said.
“On the contrary, we were pretty much your average geeks he replied. “We used to watch a lot of Star Wars and anime, so we were never taken seriously. But all that pretty much changed when we joined the football team. Suddenly we were the most popular guys in school, and at the risk of sounding egotistical, we were pretty much unstoppable.”
I remembered Marcus mentioning something about him being a jock in high school, but he conveniently left out his brother. From what he told me, it sounded as if he was the best player on the team, and everyone else just helped him to become reach that pedestal.
“So why didn’t you go pro?” I asked. “I mean it sounds like you were really good. So why didn’t you pursue that career?”
“Family obligations,” he replied quietly. “Marcus and I were both trained to grow up and become the heirs of the family business. That path was pretty much set out for us from day one. We had no choice in the matter. At a point, I used to dream about winning the Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. But as I soon found out after graduating high school? It’s hard to break out of a mould that has been put in place for you since the moment you were born.”
“But you’re not working for the company now, are you?” I pressed on, trying so hard to make it sound casual and not like I was interrogating him. “So what changed?”
“I–I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, staring down at his hands. “I’m sorry, but it’s a bit personal.”
3/5
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Chapter Thirty Twe
Something about the way he said it seemed so painful, like even talking about it was a painful memory. The way he talked about it made me want to know what happened even more, but I knew that he wasn’t actually going to talk about it if he didn’t want to. Besides, I’d pushed him more than enough already.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That was so rude of me.”
“It’s alright,” I replied. “I shouldn’t have crossed the line. I’m sorry too.”
He offered me a soft smile, but the tension still remained in the air. We spent the remaining time talking about his time in West Africa, but you could just tell that he wasn’t actually into it. He was mostly answering automatically, telling me about the time he spent in Northern Nigeria, while his eyes kept darting to the side as he looked like he was thinking about something. But I went along with it, deciding that it was better to keep things civil.
By the time we finished eating, he refused to let me pay and insisted on paying himself. He actually looked offended when I told him that that I just wanted to pay, and he took it as a sign that I wasn’t enjoying the date. I had to let him pay, before secretly sliding in twice the tip. We walked out of the restaurant together, and once again he made sure I was walking on the inside of the sidewalk. We didn’t say anything as we walked, instead just enjoying the silence and savouring the weather. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was just over two hours after I left.
“I’m sorry tonight is ending on a sour note,” he said as we stopped outside the entrance. “I really thought I’ve worked through my shit, but I guess I still have some work to do.”
I didn’t say anything. Instead, I stared at his unbuttoned chest, where a little bit of chest hair was slowly peeking out. Marcus always kept himself smooth as a baby. I wondered what other things were different about the two of them, and whether I would get to find out one day.
“Liv?”
“Hm?” I said, looking up at him.
“Do you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Ethan,” I said. “I’m the one who should be apologising.”
For a moment, he looked like he was going to say something. But then he shook his head, and he pulled me into a bear hug. I was so shocked by the suddenness of it, but I melted into his chest seconds afterwards. It had been so long since anyone hugged me, and I had to fight back the tears in my eyes as I slowly wrapped my arms around him. It was so comforting, and I felt like I’d been searching for this exact feeling all my life, and it was finally here.
“I’m an idiot,” he whispered, his chin above my head as I buried my nose in his chest. “You shouldn’t have to deal with someone like me.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” I said. “We’re good.”
“Really?” he asked, pulling back to look at me properly.
“Really,” I replied. “You don’t need to worry.”
He kissed me on my forehead, and I practically melted in his arms. It was such a tender, sweet moment, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling this way. When he finally pulled away, I almost whimpered in longing as he smiled at me.
“Goodnight, Miss Carson,” he said.
“Goodnight, Ethan,” I replied before walking into the hotel
Chapter Thaty Twn
Tonight had been amazing.
And I couldn’t wait to see him again.
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