Me After Meeting You

Amber had her driver’s license for a long time, but she rarely drove and considering how fancy Frank’s car was, it was only normal that she was on tenterhooks the entire drive. Even so, she couldn’t ignore the serious glances that Ian was shooting at her from the passenger’s seat.

He sat there on his side with his hand resting on the armrest between them and his eyes staring at her with rapt attention. After finishing his inspection, he detachedly stated, “You look very ordinary. Why do they all call you beautiful?”

Having been at the spa just earlier, he had heard all of Amber’s classmates conversations. This earnest commentary was just a continuation of those conversations. “Especially given that you only have one dimple. How disgusting.”

Amber tried her hardest to pretend he was just air.

He even seemed confused as to why Amber was ignoring him. “Why aren’t you speaking today?”

Honestly, Amber was even more mystified by his attitude. After thinking about her teacher’s request, she drove even more slowly and asked, “Why are you speaking so much today?”

During their first meeting, he had barely spoken at all.

Ian remained quiet. Just as Amber was about to reflect on whether she had phrased her question too directly, he suddenly spoke up again.

“I want to woo you.” He looked at her directly as he asked, “May I?”

Amber couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing his words. “Don’t tease me. I really can’t drive all that well.”

“Why are you laughing? Am I not being serious enough?”

No, Amber thought. Who would care if a calculator were serious? Ian’s tone didn’t contain any of the bashfulness of a youthful man yearning for love. Rather than being nervous, he sounded more like an office worker merely trying to accomplish a task.

She decided to have a good chat with him, from the stance that he was one of her patients. “Mr. Axton, have you ever been in a relationship before?”

“Is this related to my chasing you?”

Amber smiled. “If you’ve ever been in a relationship, then you should know that your actions are different from those of someone who’s truly smitten and wholeheartedly trying to woo someone else.”

“Oh.” His tone was as apathetic as ever. “Then what should my actions be like?”

“What should it be like?” There was a red light ahead and Amber decelerated the car slowly, her white fingers slowly rapping on the steering wheel in thought. “To truly woo someone earnestly involves treating a lover with a reserved, modest, and even somewhat shy attitude. It definitely does not involve sudden passion or premature affection.”

“Says who?”

“The great pioneer of the proletariat, Karl Marx.”

“Marx really said something like that?” Ian clearly didn’t believe her words. “On the other hand, the great French novelist Balzac stated that love is the indulgence of rationality. A positive, grave enjoyment.”

After hearing Ian’s words, Amber started smiling. He was a more interesting man than she had previously given credit for at the very least, he had been thinking about love or he wouldn’t have remembered this quote of Balzac’s.

Or, perhaps, these words only served to support his detached emotions.

An indulgence of rationality, a grave enjoyment … his attention was solely focused on the words “rationality” and “grave,” wasn’t it?

She stopped debating with him. After the red light turned green, she started driving again. Ian received a call, probably the one that was rushing him. She heard him say, “I’m almost there. Turn right.”

The words “turn right” was directed at Amber. He had said it promptly and Amber was able to follow his directions. Not far ahead, she saw a big metal gate.

After they finally arrived, Ian hung up. “Drive inside.”

Amber glanced at him and he also turned his head to look at her. She somewhat awkwardly asked, “Can you walk inside by yourself?”

She remembered that there used to be a mountain here, but the mountain had clearly been levelled and replaced with bungalows some time ago. This now unfamiliar place, walled up behind a big metal gate, looked like a dark castle in the deep night and it was a castle that Amber didn’t want to enter.

Ian seemed to see through her pretense. “Are you scared?”

He seemed a bit amazed and tried to reassure her, though his tone wasn’t very reassuring. “We’ve already slept together, so what else could you be scared of?”

“….” Amber quite.

***

Amber ended up driving Ian inside, for no other reason than his ultimatum. “It’s quite a long walk from here. Either you get out of the car and I’ll drive myself in, or you can do so.”

Amber’s only reasonable choice was to drive him in.

Of course, Ian hadn’t lied to her. The front entrance was indeed quite a long distance away from the front door. The path was tortuous, so much so that when Ian finally said, “Okay, this is the place.” Amber was almost about to faint from dizziness.

At almost the exact same time that they arrived, the main entrance of the mansion opened and a young man of about thirty years old walked out. He had a light woolen shirt on, which, coupled with his pleasing appearance, gave him a refined air. He walked briskly and arrived at the door of the car almost as soon as Amber stopped it.

Amber had met him once before. He was the person who had given her the glass of alcohol that had led to her overdrinking.

He was a friend of Ian’s, whose name seemed to be Ansell.

Ian rolled down the window and Ansell tilted downwards to look inside the car. He also recognized Amber and greeted her first.

“Hi, doctor!” And then he grumbled to Ian. “Why did you only get here now? Simon couldn’t wait any longer and already left. How are we going to deal with a missing player?”

Ian turned around and asked Amber. “Do you know how to play mah jongg?”

“No.”

“Then get off.”

Fine, she’d say ‘Yes.’ Was that good enough? But it was too late already. When Ian got out of the car, he had also taken the keys with him. If she didn’t want to walk all the way back to the hotel, she would have to go inside and play a few games with them.