[This chapter is dedicated to Roberta_Perkins. Thank you for supporting our story. Seeing you spending coins in this story makes me so happy and grateful. Thank you!]

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Noah was whistling as he took the elevator to his apartment. He has been humming a cheerful tone ever since he got the text message from Jess that she has good news and wanted to celebrate.

She invited him to her apartment for dinner, which put him in a very good mood the whole day to the point that Antonio and Miss Garcia kept on giving him a worried look at the office.

They couldn't believe that he could hum, smile, and keep his calm even when one of the investors backed down. He was in such a good mood that none could damper it.

Noah looked at his watch and saw that he still had enough time to drop by at his own place, take a shower, and put on some fresh clothes, however, he went directly to Jess' apartment because he doesn't want to waste time doing any of those things.

He wanted to see her and that's what he was going to do.

He loosened up his necktie, ruffled his hair, and took a deep breath. He has a bouquet of Ecuadorian blue roses. He has no idea of Jess's favorite flowers because it seemed like she enjoyed all of the flowers he gave her in the past.

This time he chose blue Ecuadorian roses because of the meaning that he wanted to express to her.

He didn't wait long for Jess to open the door for him. His brow arched a bit for she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn at work. She didn't look like someone who prepared dinner. She looked like someone who was busy and got disturbed.

"Come in. Sorry, I went right into reading when I got home. If you give me a few minutes, I'll take a shower first."

He answered her by hooking his arm into her waist and pulling her to his chest. "Tadaima," he murmured against her lips. "Flowers?" he pulled out his hand from his back holding the bouquet of blue roses.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as her eyes widened seeing the blue roses in his hand. "Thank you! They are lovely."

"Miss Zimmerman, these roses pale in your beauty," he smirked when he saw Jess rolled her eyes. "Why, you don't believe me?

"I know that these roses' beauty won't win with my beauty," she giggled, "What I can't believe was how those words easily rolled off your tongue as though you had enough practice it became as natural as breathing."

He tightened his arm around her small waistline, "Tell me, Miss Zimmerman, do I hear a tone of jealousy in your voice?"

"You heard it wrong. Now, let me go so I can take a shower, and then we can have dinner."

"How about you take a shower and take me with you?" he leaned closer to her face, his lips inches away from hers.

"Nope. I have some news for you, remembered?"

"Yes, I clearly remember your excitement with the photo you sent."

A chuckle escaped her throat because the photo she sent Noah was a stack of folders on top of a coffee table.

"And because of that, I would take a shower alone while you - my dear - would set the table," she said, patting his cheek. She bit her lower lip when her palm grazed Noah's jaw adorned with a five o'clock shadow.

She couldn't help but imagine how those would feel if his mouth would trail an open-mouthed kiss on the valley of her breast, taking the path down below, that would take him to her burning core.

'Stop your carnal thoughts, Jessica Joy!'

"Is that your final answer?" he asked, nudging her nose with his. He asked for he wasn't blind. He could see the crystal clear desires that were dancing in her eyes.

"Final answer," she said without conviction, same with her lame attempt to remove his arm from her waist.

"Jess," he murmured, nuzzling the base of her ears, "have you heard of a quickie?"

"No."

"Liar!" his voice rang with laughter, taking the bouquet he gave her, dropped them on the couch, grabbed Jess's ass, pushed her against the wall leading to her bedroom.

Jess, who gave in, hooked her legs to Noah's hips like a monkey climbing a tree. In the scuffle, pieces of clothes were thrown carelessly on the floor which was actually just Jess's dress and her brassiere. Her panty didn't leave her body, it simply got stuck in the middle of her thighs as Noah entered her.

It was a quickie indeed. A deliriously delicious one. It begs for more but Jess surprisingly was able to actually mean her next 'no'.

That's why Noah begrudgingly set the table while Jess went to take a shower alone.

***

Jess came out of her bedroom, fresh from the shower, hair still damp, and Noah never felt so thirsty in his life.

"Jess, can I have you for dinner?" he smirked but his eyes mirrored the truth of his words.

Jess was lost for words. When she got her bearing back, she chuckled nervously as she eyed the table that Noah set up. She wondered how it would feel to lie down naked in the middle of those dishes.

She laughed awkwardly. "Let's have an actual meal, shall we?" Her voice was trembling with need.

Noah wasn't able to answer her because his phone rang. She went to the fridge to get their dinner while Noah stepped away to answer the phone call.

She took out from the fridge the food that she had requested from the Filipino restaurant where the owner was a friend of her father. She ordered all of her favorite food.

She chose to have food delivered because she had no time to cook and also because she wanted Noah to taste the food she grew up with. She wished she could cook him adobo and know if he would like it just like how Luke liked her adobo with pineapple.

She was transferring the food from the plastic takeaway boxes into dishes to heat in the microwave when she felt Noah's warmth on her back as his arms circled her body.

He rested his chin on top of her head.

"Hey, I have to heat our food so we can eat," she nudged him with her elbow, but he just kept hugging her from behind and didn't say anything. She wondered if his sudden change in mood was because of the phone call.

When he still didn't say anything, she walked towards the microwave with the dish of beef kaldereta in her hands and Noah didn't let her go. He was like a koala that just kept on clinging to her.

She doesn't know if she should laugh or get annoyed. She chose to get worried. "Noah, who was your caller?"

He still didn't answer.

"Noah --"

"Jess, do you believe in karma?"

She scoffed, setting the microwave for fifteen minutes. She stared at Noah's face from the glass door of the microwave. "I'm not sure if I believe in karma. But, I believe that all of our actions have consequences."

"And my greedy decisions just bore their consequences. And now, I don't know if I want to kick my own ass or be greedier."

"What do you mean?" She asked, worried for she saw how dejected he was with whatever consequence his actions beget.

"I only wanted to be with you. Was that so wrong?" he asked, burying his face on her hair, and tightening his embrace.

Jess gasped audibly when Noah's arms got a bit tighter than she likes around her body. "You are making me worry, and I want to understand what you are talking about. Can you explain them to me?"

"I was supposed to be outside of the country for work. It was already scheduled but at the last minute, I changed my mind and let Markus handle it. I just don't want to be away from you for days!"

Listening to him, Jess suddenly has a premonition that Noah won't be happy with her good news. Somehow, it made her sad. She understands what he was talking about. The idea of not wanting to be away from him was also in her mind.

However, it's her career. Her future. She would be sad to be away from Noah, but she would be sadder if she had to choose between her job and Noah.

"No, baby. I won't ask you to do that," he said as though he read her mind.

He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. "I won't. I'm thinking of being greedy -- yes, I'm not going to deny that but I know that it is important to you. This kind of opportunity doesn't come as easy. I just wished I could turn the hand of time, and I wouldn't let Markus fly to Mumbai if I knew beforehand that Dr. Sison would take you there in the new laboratory."

"I will be there for weeks, probably a month," she said in a small voice.