208 A Guilty Date

I would have felt much better about it if he had said it in some other way and without that suggestive wink that he gave me.

“Thank you so much and thank you for your hard work today,” I replied politely.

I was sure that the director was just teasing me because I doubt that he could act so casual and relaxed if he truly suspected that Ace and I were really dating.

“Let’s head back. It’s already getting late. Good work, everyone...” Ace said.

Before anyone could delay our departure, I followed Ace to where he had parked his car nearby. Now that we were alone, I felt extremely awkward.

“Thanks...” I thanked him when he opened the car door for me.

I got into the car after offering him a smile that I believed didn’t look natural despite my efforts. My heart beat fast inside my chest and it wasn’t because I was excited. My chest felt tight, and it felt like all the guilt that was bottled up inside me was threatening to spill out for Ace to see.

Ace got into the car and started driving. I had no idea where we were headed, and I didn’t quite care. Ace began talking about something random that just didn’t quite enter my head. My mind was too busy processing and dissecting what had just happened.

“Ace...” I called his name suddenly.

.....

“What is it?” he replied while sounding a little surprise that I had suddenly spoken.

“Umm...about that trip that you mentioned for this weekend. Where should we go?” I asked.

“We can go wherever you want. Do you have a place in mind?” Ace asked casually while keeping his eyes on the road.

I had no idea why I brought that up just now. What I was supposed to do was apologize to him but if I did then he would know that I had been doubting him all this time. The best that I could do was make it up to him some other way.

“Is there somewhere that you want to go or something that you want to do?” I asked in a small but hopeful voice.

“Not really. Somewhere we can just relax and be together would be enough,” Ace replied.

“Umm...can you leave it to me to organize the trip for us?” I asked before I tried to smile at him.

Ace turned to look at me as if my words were quite unexpected. It didn’t take long for him to smile and then nod his head in approval at me.

“Sure. I’ll leave it in your capable hands, then...” Ace replied.

“Thank you...and umm...thank you for coming all this way to pick me up...” I thanked him for both things at once.

“That’s not a problem. I figured we could still do dinner even if it is getting sort of late. I did some research and there’s supposed to be a good farm-to-table restaurant somewhere around here. The rating online looks good and we’re far away enough that no one should disturb us here. I have no idea if the food is any good, though...” Ace said before he laughed softly.

Great. While I was letting Kyle mess with my head and getting all worried about nothing. Ace was planning a dinner date for us and driving here to see me. I felt so stupid that it hurt.

“Just getting to have dinner with you is great enough. I don’t even care where we go or what we eat, honestly...” I confessed softly.

“You sound so sweet today. Did something good happen at work?” Ace asked cheerfully.

He seemed to be the one that was in a good mood. I wasn’t being all sweet with him because I was in a good mood at all. I was just guilty for all that I had thought and done that I wanted to make it up to him in whatever way that I can and starting by talking sweetly to him seemed like an obvious first step.

It wasn’t a long ride to where the restaurant was. Since the restaurant was surrounded by a farm and endless rows of vegetables, it wasn’t hard for me to believe their claim of being a farm-to-table restaurant. Ace offered me his hand and I quickly took it as if my hesitation would make me miss this precious opportunity to hold his hand. Ace must have thought that my reaction was funny because he ended up laughing at me.

“Welcome...” a middle-aged woman greeted us.

I could tell from the vibe that she presented that she was probably the owner of this restaurant and its adjoining farm. The place was quite spacious and had a very charming cottage and a homey vibe. The woman smiled cheerfully at us before leading us to a table for two. We were not the only ones there and it seemed like the business had become a favorite for locals in the area.

“What do you want? Some salad and maybe some homemade pasta?” Ace asked as he eyed the menu.

While he had his eyes on the menu in front of him, I had my eyes on him the whole time. Looking at Ace was much more interesting than looking at the various photos of food on the menu. At that moment, I couldn’t care less what we ate because I was just too busy feeling thankful that Ace was here with me.

“Rina?” Ace called my name questioningly when I failed to reply to his question from earlier.

“Anything is fine. I’m not that hungry...” I replied.

“You should eat even if you’re not hungry. You were out filming with the team all day today. That must have been tiring,” Ace said knowingly before he waved to the woman from earlier to place our orders.

Ace ordered a lot of food while I watched as his lips moved while he spoke to the restaurant owner. When Ace was done, he turned to face me just to find me staring at him with a dumb look on my face.

“Yea...it was a little tiring,” I murmured before tearing my eyes away from his face.

–To be continued...