| Fan Fiction |
by kglove
“What’s up?” Kim asked.
Gerald took a few moments to answer, catching his breath. “I was wondering if you want to have lunch with me.”
Kim wasn’t prepared for his question. “What?”
“I said do you want to have lunch with me?” Gerald said.
“Lunch?”
“Yes, lunch. You know, the meal that you have at the middle of the day.” He glanced at his watch. “Right around this time.” Gerald joked.
“Right.” Kim laughed.
“So?”
“Uh, I don’t know.” Kim showed reluctance.
“I'm totally harmless, I promise. And you can totally bail anytime if you get bored with me.”
Kim hesitated. He was looking at her expectantly, smiling. Kim finally said, “Okay.”
“Great!” Gerald exclaimed. “Oh, wait. I'm sorry I didn’t ask, but do you have plans with anyone? A boyfriend maybe?”
Kim shook her head. “No boyfriend.”
Gerald’s grin couldn’t get any bigger. “Perfect. So, shall we?” they started walking towards the parking lot.
“Where exactly are we going? I have to go back for my next class at 2 pm.”
“Don’t worry; we’re not going too far. There’s a restaurant nearby and I made reservations so we don’t have to wait in line.”
“Reservations, huh? What am I, a replacement lunch date?”
Gerald was taken aback but recovered in time. “No, definitely not. I really want to take you out for lunch.”
“So are you telling me that you made reservations at a restaurant without even asking me first?” Gerald nodded.
“What if I said no?”
“Well, I just have to cancel the reservation and ask you out again tomorrow and the days after that until you say yes.”
“Huh, is that right?”
“I am that persistent if I put my head to something. Here, let me.” Gerald opened the passenger door of his car for Kim.
He then ran towards the driver side and got in. He threw a quick glance at Kim before turning the ignition. “Are you comfortable? Do you want me to turn up the aircon?”
“No, I'm fine.” Kim smiled.
“Let’s go. I promise you’ll never regret going out to lunch with me.”
Couple of months passed, Gerald and Kim continued seeing each other in class and in between classes. They spent a lot of time together even outside of school, talking about family, friends, and even previous relationships. Kim learned that Gerald has had three girlfriends, all of whom broke up with him. Gerald had to endure a lot of teasing from Kim about it. Although quite hesitant at first, Kim told Gerald about her previous boyfriend who cheated on her. She heard him mutter a number of swear words when she was telling him how she found out that her boyfriend was cheating. He attempted to ask a few more questions about her ex, but Kim dismissed him, said she doesn’t want to talk about him anymore. He had no choice but to respect Kim’s request.
***
“Hi.” Kim sat beside Gerald at one of the benches near the parking lot. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Our professor went into overtime. He’s going to be out of the country for a week so he gave us advance lessons.”
Gerald kissed her on the cheeks. “That’s okay. I was in the gym playing basketball. I got here not more that 5 minutes ago.”
Kim sniffed Gerald and laughed. “That explains the stinky smell.”
“Hey! I do not stink! I took a shower before I went here.” Gerald started to tickle Kim around her armpits.
“Gerald! Stop!” she was laughing non-stop. “Okay, okay, you do not stink. Stop it!”
Gerald let go of Kim. “Are you sure?”
Kim nodded. “As a matter of fact, you smell really good.”
“So do you.” Gerald stood up and offered her hand to Kim who took it and they started walking towards Gerald’s car.
Once they got out of parking, Kim noticed that Gerald was driving towards a different direction.
“Gerald, where are we going?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? We’re having dinner with my mom.”
“What? Today? You didn’t tell me!” Kim panicked.
“Kim, relax. We’re just having dinner with her at our house. It will just be my mom, you and me. And maybe my younger brother Ken will be there if he’s home early.”
“Why?” Gerald looked at her, confused. “I mean, why do we have to have dinner with your mom? What’s the occasion?”
“Nothing. I just want the two most important women in my life to meet each other.”
Kim’s anxiety lessened a bit when he heard Gerald say those words. They have been going out for a few months now. They have talked about a lot of things except the status of their relationship. All she knows is that she likes Gerald, and she can feel that he likes her too. Does this mean we are official? How am I supposed to act around her? Kim’s thoughts were running through her head at warp speed.
“Kim? Kim, are you okay?” Gerald stopped the car and looked at Kim’s face, looking worried. “What’s going on?”
“Ge, you are taking me to your house to meet your mom. I'm nervous, very nervous.”
Gerald saw panic in Kim’s eyes. “I'm sorry; I understand that you’re upset. I should’ve talked to you about this first. Let me call my mom and tell her we can do this next time.” He reached for his phone in his pocket when Kim held out a hand to stop him.
“I'm not upset, okay? I'm just…” Kim searched for the right word to best describe her state of mind at the moment. “Worried.”
“Wo - what are you worried about?”
“Your mom.”
“What about her?”
“Well, what if… what if she doesn’t like me?”
“I'm sure she will.”
“What if she asks me something I don’t have an answer to?”
“Like what?”
“I dunno. Questions about stuff.”
“I'm pretty sure my mom’s not gonna ask you questions about trigonometry. Or anything that has to do with math. She hates that.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what is it?”
Kim sighed in frustration. “What do I tell her if she asks me… who I am?”
“Tell her you’re Kim Chiu.”
“Ge, this is no time to joke.”
“Alright, alright. I'm just trying to lighten up the mood. You’re so uptight. Okay, tell me, what are you really concerned about?”
“Gerald, these past few months I've enjoyed your company. I really do. At first I thought you’re just one of the guys with pretty faces whose only care in the world is how to score with women. But you’ve proven that you’re more than that. You’re smart, funny, sensitive, and caring. Someone like you is a rarity nowadays. I'm sure your mother is well aware of that. And now that you’re taking me to meet her, I'm freaking out because what if she thinks I'm not good enough for you?”
“Look, my mom doesn’t think that. I have told her all about you and she’s excited to meet you.” Gerald assured Kim.
“You told her about me?”
“Yes. I told her you are the girl that I would ask to be my girlfriend.”
Kim was astounded at Gerald’s pronouncement. Gerald took her shaking hand and kissed it. “This is the same hand that I held the first time I met you. Even then, I knew you are someone special, Kim. Now, I am holding your hand again with the assurance that I have never been so sure of anything in my life than now.” Gerald held Kim’s face with his other hand to make sure that she is looking at him.
“Kimberly Sue Chiu, I want you to be my girlfriend. I love you.”
Kim was rendered speechless once more. She was looking into his eyes and he gazed at her lovingly. “Gerald…”
“I'm not pressuring you if you’re not ready. I just want to let you know how I…”
“I love you too.” Kim blurted out.
Gerald was looking at Kim as if asking for a confirmation. When she nodded in response, he was elated. He kissed her hand and let it linger for a couple of seconds before he pulled Kim into a hug. “I love you. I always will.” He whispered into her ears before he let her go. He cupped Kim’s face, wiping away the tears that fell from her eyes. As he neared his face into Kim’s, he closed his eyes as their lips touched for a kiss.