The Emancipation of a Fuckboy - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Dominic
I just asked Valentine motherfuckin' Grande out. I just did that. I don't even know how'd I mustered enough courage to ask him out as easy as that. Perhaps it's my growing desire to win him back that helped me utter those words. I know it wasn't smooth as I wanted it to be, but at least I've finally said it, and the only thing that matters now is that he said yes. This is about to go down. I'm going to embark on this hopeful journey of winning him back, and God knows I won't be holding back.
"Should I set up some rules?" I asked myself the moment we walked back to our backyard. Valentine went straight to find his old friends while I spaced out for a moment. I should definitely set up some rules. If I want to win him back in no time, then there should be no room for mistakes.
I wanted to talk to Yhannie about this and make sure she knows what I'm doing so I don't fuck up our friendship again. I noticed that Valentine was quite busy having his reunion with Jack and Aldrin, and I thought that's the perfect cue. I quietly walked and pulled Yhannie aside.
"Hey, can I have a moment with you?" I whispered to her, and without even waiting for her to agree to my request, I instantly grabbed her wrist and pulled her away. We sneaked out of the place as though we are some horny teenagers trying to sneak out from a party just to have some sexual fun. Ugh, thinking about it makes me cringe.
"Okay, girl. What is it?" Yhannie asked as soon as we both arrived at my room.
"I haven't told you about this yet but," I paused for a moment. I'm expecting Yhannie to gag with this news that I'm about to flash to her, but I just continued to it without giving her a warning. "I'm planning on winning Valentine back." I blurt feeling like a soldier who just dropped the bomb.
"Are you freakin' kidding me?" She shot at me wide-eyed. It was the kind of reaction I was expecting from her.
"I'm serious. I do really want him back." I said, trying to lower my voice. No one's going to hear us from here except that my sister Collene might be here in hiding somewhere, so I thought I'd better keep my voice down.
"No shit. I mean, okay. I'll be here to support you but like how?" Yhannie ushered herself and sat towards the edge of my bed. She crossed her legs and then looked at me with a piercing aura. "Just because he surprised you today, that doesn't mean he's all that willing to take you back."
"But I've seen it in his eyes. He still has some feelings for me and I still have some feelings for him too," It might sound cliché, to say the least, but earlier while we were dancing with the final act of the song, I saw some sparks in his eyes. They were electrifying.
"Hmm, I don't know about what you saw in his eyes but I just want to know how would you win him back."
"This is also why I wanted to talk to you,"
"Alright, I'm listening."
"I just asked him out," I spat.
"What the..."
"When?"
"Just a while ago,"
"So that's why you both went missing huh," Yhannie beamed at me, and a hint of her tone is telling me she's thinking about something else. "I almost thought you two had a quickie. Me and my dirty mind."
"Nothing happened. We just had some cigarette and we talked about the surprise and..."
"And then you asked him out?" Yhannie cut me off and finished my own sentence for me.
"Exactly,"
"And he said yes?"
"Yep," I nodded.
"Then I guess he really still have some feelings for you," Yhannie giggled.
"That's what I'm trying to say,"
"Ahuh,"
"Before we go on a date later, I just want to set up some rules." I moved from leaning on my door towards my closet and opened them. "I'm hoping you can help me with that."
If there's anyone who can help me set up some rules, then that's Yhannie. She witnessed almost everything that happened between Valentine and me.
"Oh, no. Not me. I'm not good at rules. I'm never good at rules, you know that." She was shaking her head.
"Okay, I'll set up the rules myself, it's all for me anyway." I voiced out. "Just tell me what are the things that I did wrong back in high school and be honest with me."
"But you had a lot of bad decisions in high school."
"I mean between me and Valentine." I cleared out.
"You and Valentine? Hmm?" She spaced out for a moment probably to have a quick trip down her memory lane. "I don't know if I can still remember those but," She spoke eventually and I was utterly disappointed.
"Yhannie, please!" I begged her.
"I'm serious, Nick. I know it's only been five years but to me it felt like a century. But I think you just need to be honest with him. Tell him if you are feeling uncomfortable about some things. Tell him if you feel like you aren't ready to talk about something. You don't have to overthink, just let things flow naturally." Yhannie went on. She has a point with that. I'm an over-thinker, and I always want to do things right the first time. This isn't something I'm doing for the first time, but this is the first time that I'm not following a list. This is the first time that I'm not trying to hurt someone.
"Okay. Rule number 1, be honest with him." I said, and in my head, I started to create a notepad where I can jot down these rules.
"And rule number 2, don't hurt him again." Yhannie spat, and I immediately felt a certain feeling of support from her. "Just don't hurt him again." She repeated it, and I just went into utter silence.
Of course, I don't want to hurt Valentine again. I care for him so much that I'd be willing to take a bullet for him. This time I'm going to do things right.
Yhannie walked back to the party when I decided to have a shower. By the time I was looking for something to wear, I saw Valentine's shirt that I had managed to keep for years. This is the shirt that reminded me of my happy memories with Valentine. But this is also the shirt that reminded me of how much I've hurt Valentine. This is the same shirt that reminded of how much an awful person I was to him. I thought I left this in Singapore? But I guess I brought it with me back home. I grabbed the shirt and deliberately hid it under a pile of some other shirts so that I won't keep on seeing it. Despite that, I've developed some sentimental feelings with this simple black shirt that I don't want to throw away.
I slipped on some jeans and wore a simple orange shirt and a black bomber jacket before eventually heading to grab some pomade. It took ten minutes for me to style my hair, and when I was done, I staggered downstairs. Zach and Ivan came to me and told me they had to go home, and I thanked them for coming. They're still both single as far as I can recall, but perhaps they've got some jobs unlike me. We had an unexpected reunion together, and I might have to thank Valentine for making that happen as well. Most of the visitors that I don't even know we're gone, but there are still a few people left still enjoying some treats.
I noticed Ivana was busy fixing some dishes on the table, which is my mom's job, not hers, and that's when my eyes found my mom sitting on the couch. She was currently clutching Ivana's baby as he slept tightly in her arms. She's been holding the baby ever since we started eating. I smiled and shook my head at the sudden thought that came rushing into my head. I just realized that my mom's really getting old and I bet she's dreaming of having a grandkid. That might actually take five, no, most probably ten years. She has to wait that long.
An hour went by, and I found myself about to get inside Valentine's car. This is the very same car that we used to hang out back in high school. The smell of the car was still the same as before. I guess he hasn't changed his cologne. As I was getting in, all the memories that we had here floated just like pixie dust that enveloped me with their magic. The happy ones. The sad ones. And of course, the horny ones. This car was once our lodging when we just want to kiss, cuddle and have some private fun together. To be honest, it was kind of hard blowing Valentine's horn in this cramped space, but it was oddly hot at the very same time. The amount of discomfort that we used to endure just to have some fun couldn't make for the amount of pleasure that we shared.
"This feels extremely familiar," I uttered as I began to wiggle to find my comfort.
"Indeed." Valentine replied, and I thought I just whispered that to myself.
"Hahaha," I faked a laugh.
"Hey, did you tell your mom that we are going somewhere?" Valentine asked.
"No, why?"
"Nothing. I was just concerned about the mess that we left,"
"Oh, you don't really have worry about that. Me and Collene will have to clean them up tomorrow." I smiled at him, but deep inside me, I'm like fuck. That's a lot of mess to clean up. There are fake blood stains on the kitchen floor. There's a hundred of confetti at the backyard. And don't even get me started with the dishes. What the actual fuck!
"Tomorrow?" Valentine looked at me with his eyebrows cinched.
"..." What does he even mean by that?
"Haha, nah just kidding."
"What?"
"No, it's nothing," Valentine just chuckled and obviously decided to keep his thought to himself. I don't want to force him to tell me, though. "So where was that drive-in cinema again?" He asked as he started the engine.
"Oh yeah that's in Rideau Street," I replied.
"East?"
"Yes, east."
We arrived at the drive-in cinema earlier than we thought and we even secured the perfect parking spot. I was just worried that we might be late to the movie since we had to dropped by Gabriel's to pick up some pizza. The pizza was taking so long, even if it's just a pick-up order, I guess it's because a lot of people are lazy this Friday night that they relied on ordering outside. The film hasn't even started yet when Valentine started eating a slice of pizza which forced me to grab a piece as well.
"What's the title of the film again?" Valentine asked while his mouth is full.
"Holding the Man," I replied with my mouth full as well.
"Have you seen this film?"
"Only the trailer," I quickly swallowed what I was chewing before eventually opening my mouth to speak. "It's based on a memoir,"
"You're into memoirs huh?" Valentine asked.
"Not really but basing on the trailer, this film is beautiful." I said. The trailer gave me so much of a classic romance vibe that I really wanted to watch this film.
"What's it about?"
"It's about..."
"It's starting shhhh." I was just about to explain it, but Valentine shushed me.
We watched the film in silence, and as the film rolled, I started to feel vulnerable. Timothy and John, the characters from the film, fell in love during their high school days and it just jogged my memory to the point that I had to look away and hide my emotions for a bit. I truly fell in love with Dominic back in high school. It's just that the thing I wasn't supposed to do happened.
As we go further into the film, Valentine advertently held my hand, and I leaned my head onto his shoulder to reciprocate that gesture. I felt exceedingly comfortable with my head lying on Valentine's shoulder. For me, it felt security.
I sort of felt his heart beating for a moment, and it's entirely in sync with mine. This was the moment when Tim and John were both at the beach.
"Can I kiss you?" Tim asked John, looking straight into his eyes.
"Give it a go," John replied, and they both kissed.
When I tried to move to pick up a can of beer, I heard Valentine's voice.
"Can I kiss you?" He asked and looked at me straight in the eye.
"Wha..." I paused for a moment thinking how sudden this is for two people watching a romantic film and then I subsequently realized that he was trying to 'Tim' me. "Give it a go" I finally replied.