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Now what?

The question echoed in her head as she held on to his hand. She had reacted on impulse. She felt bad, so she thought she could make it right. It had been her feeling during that period and she acted it out, but later; she wasn't so sure if this was a good idea.

"Are you thirsty?" She queried, and only after the words left her mouth did she wonder why she asked that.

He raised his brows but was quick to relax them. Yes, he'd felt a little upset that she wasn't giving him a chance. She'd judged him way too quick and concluded the best was to stay away from each other. He didn't think that way. In fact, he believed the opposite. He normally didn't reach out to women adamantly, but something about Gene enticed him.

Her trivial reactions made him smile and sometimes, it felt like she was quite innocent at heart with her thoughts. In fact, she was different, and he wasn't keen on staying away from her as she'd wished.

Take it back. Her head ordered, but Gene wasn't sure that would be the right thing to do. Regardless, she was going to give in to her sense of reasoning.

"Yes." He replied with colour back on his face. "May I come in?" He asked, and Gene barely opened her mouth for a reply when he walked past her.

"Thank you." He added just as he walked in. She turned, a little dumbfounded, as she watched him make his way towards the living room.

Well, she couldn't take back what she had said so... Gene drew in a deep breath as she turned away from him.

I can do this. She encouraged herself as she shut the door.

Elliot stood at the entrance and watched her pour some water from the jug into a glass cup. She set the jug on the counter before walking back to him. She stretched her hand to him and he collected the cup with a warm smile.

"Thank you." He appreciated. She nodded before returning to where she was. He gulped down some and felt his stomach growl. The water had somehow awoken his hunger, and he wasn't interested in filling it up with water.

"Can I be shameless and ask for an additional favour?" He inquired, and she lifted her eyes to him.

He laid a hand on his belly. She couldn't help looking down at it. "I need something to eat. The last time I had good food was at your parents' place." He narrated, ending with a wider smile.

Gene had no words. She'd brought this upon herself. She sighed.

Carefully, she took out the pack from the freezer and set it on the counter. She pulled the lid off and they both stared at the content.

"I'm confused. What soup are we looking at?" He asked as he drifted his eyes up to her.

"Vegetable. My mum made it." She explained, and he gently nodded in understanding. "So, it's this or noodles. I'm not up for making anything else that requires extra hard work." She explained without looking up at him, but he kept his eyes on her as he lightly nodded. A smile slipped through.

She lifted her eyes to him, and he was quick to let the smile fade away. "I hope you can turn garri." She pointed out, and he couldn't help raising his eyebrows at her for a second.

He chuckled a bit as he believed she was joking, but her face kept straight. "Oh, you're serious." He added, on realization she hadn't been kidding.

"Sure, sure. I think so. I mean, it has been a few years since I did that. but sure, I can try." He stated, somewhat encouraging himself as well. He watched her turn away without uttering a word and picked up the kettle that had been laying on the gas cooker. She turned on the tap, but the water wasn't flowing. It didn't seem like a bother to her as she moved next to a tall bucket, and picked up the small bowl that laid on the bucket's lid.

She took the lid off and fetched a bowl of water from the bucket, then poured it into the kettle before returning the lid to its place, and she was back at the gas cooker. Gene turned it on and set the kettle on fire then scooped another bowl of water and poured it into a wider bowl. Next she dunked the pack she'd brought out from the freezer into the water for it to unfreeze.

She turned to him and met his eyes. He displayed a brief smile, but she was quick to look away and began her steps towards the door. He followed out of the kitchen and watched her pick up the polythene bag she'd left by the small dining table. She lifted it and set it on the table, then began taking out the contents.

He made his way to where she was and took delight in watching her, but she barely spared him a glance.

"You smile a little, don't you?" He pointed out, and she spared him a glance.

"There's not much to smile about." She replied before turning away with a few of the offloaded contents in her arms. She made her way back into the kitchen and set them all on the counter. One after the other, she kept them in their rightful place.

She had to keep the last one, being the cornflakes box into the cupboard above the counter. Gene reached up as she stood on her toes. She needed to unlock the cupboard and felt frustrated at how ridiculously far up they'd built it into the wall. Not everyone was tall enough to get to it without a brief stretch.

She felt a presence behind her as his hand reached for the keys. Gene froze and it would seem her breath seized for the moment. Gradually, she lowered her hand as he unlocked the cupboard. She couldn't think straight. Her heart raced faster than normal and she felt scared to turn back. She didn't want to face him. She watched in silence as he picked up the box of cornflakes and kept it in the cupboard, locking it at the end.

"You should still do it." He stated without moving an inch away from her and it felt like his deep voice resonated through her body. Gene gulped down, unable to avoid what his closeness was doing to her.

"D-Do what?" She questioned.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and she unconsciously held her breath in surprise at his action. She felt him lightly turn her to face him. A hand under her chin. He lifted her face so her eyes met his. He curved up a simple, yet a friendly smile on his face.

"Smile more often." He replied and broadened his smile for a moment. Her eyes steadily dilated at his words, and it would seem he was getting a clearer and deeper view into them for the very first time. He couldn't look away. Slowly, his smile faded. He was gradually being drawn into her eyes; like being hypnotized, and he'd never expected he would get mesmerised by them.

Gene felt lost. It has been a long time since someone held her this way. He had friendly eyes. Black, despite that, they had a spark in them. Why was he being nice to her? Why did he say something nice to her? These were questions that might never get an answer.

Genevieve! A voice in her head screamed, and she startled a bit as she lowered her eyes away from his. She felt free once more. Somehow, his eyes had her trapped and reluctant to look away. Gene was thankful for the voice in her head, her sense of reasoning.

She shrugged her shoulders to get his hands off her and he did just that as he realised himself. She spared him not a glance more as she walked away from where she'd been standing in front of him. Only then did she somehow feel like herself again, in control.