Chapter 270
“I’m sorry, is my smacking annoying you?” I asked, embarrassed as I dropped my fork. I had an urge to enjoy my food but now was not the time.
Marvin watching my every move made me nervous. He was someone who was not afraid of eye contact, not even when I caught him staring. “It’s okay. Just be yourself.”
“So tell me about yourself. What do you do?” Marvin asked. It was a question that I hated the most because I really wasn’t that much different from a loser. “Oh, uh,” I mumbled as I tried to give him an answer. “I live with my dad. I work at a cocktail bar. I like watching movies…that’s about it.”
“Where is your mom?”
Marvin surprised me with his bold question. He asked me about my mom without as much as a single stutter, but I had to admire him for that. I wished I had half the confidence he had. “Not here,” I spoke awkwardly. “She left a long time ago.
Instead of giving me the same sympathetic look I had gotten way too often, Marvin controlled his expression and placed his warm hand on top of mine. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay.”
“And you said you wanted to become a lawyer?”
At this point, it seemed like Marvin was interrogating me, while I should’ve been the one questioning him, but I didn’t mind. I could tell that he had the right intentions, and that was all I had to know. “Yes, I did- but it didn’t work out.”
“Why was that?”
“I’m just not that good at learning.
“I understand, me neither.” Marvin laughed. At least we had one thing in common. “If it weren’t for my dad, I would’ve dropped out of school.” He shrugged.
He looked into my eyes as if he was trying to see through them while I was close to running off. Did I have eye boogers? Lipstick on my teeth? Food on my forehead?
“So, what did you do these past years?” I asked to ease the tension. It only took me a split second to realize that I was talking to a man who had lived his life in prison. “Oh fuck, I mean…” I stammered. “What did you do before…you know.”
“Before?” Marvin frowned with a teasing smile on his lips. I shook my head and lowered my gaze. “Nothing, never mind.”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Marvin chuckled. “My family has their own business. We sell liquor.”
“Really?” I gasped, surprised. I mean, it wasn’t that surprising because the guy on the bridge called him boss, but it was another passion we could share. “Gosh, we have so much in common!” I said. “Except, 1 didn’t go to prison, and I don’t have tattoos on my face.”
Marvin cleared his throat while I could almost punch myself at my choice of words. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s okay, Elena.” Marvin laughed. I had already offended him more than once, but he didn’t seem to mind. He seemed unbothered, which was probably because he must’ve heard it all before.
“I thought you liked my tattoos.”
“I do. I think they make you look sexy!” I blurted. A flush appeared on my cheeks, while Marvin seemed satisfied by the compliment. “Fuck, what am I saying,” I whispered nervously.
Marvin laughed and slightly squeezed my hand. “I don’t mind. I think you’re cute.” He spoke. There was definitely a difference in maturity, which was not unexpected. I was twenty-one years old, and we only had a four-year age gap, which wasn’t that much, but he had gone through a lot and probably had to grow up fast.
“Elena,” Marvin spoke. I did not know what he was going to ask me, but for the first time, I was able to experience a nervous look on his face. “Y-yes?” I answered.
He was just about to open his mouth before we got interrupted by the sound of my loud phone. Why
now?
“You should get that first.”
“U-uh, s-sure.” I stuttered. Marvin was used to ordering around people, and I was unfortunately used to following orders. I let go of Marvin’s hand and grabbed my phone, only to see Victoria’s name.
Why would she even call me, despite knowing I was on a date?
I looked at the message notification and read the first few words of Victoria’s text. ‘Your Marvin is…
“Are you okay?” Marvin asked. I muted my phone and looked up before my hand made its way towards his. “Yes, I’m fine-it’s nothing.”
“So, where were we?”
“I was just about to ask you something.” Marvin smiled. I smiled back and waited for his question as I was already used to getting interrogated.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”
All I could feel was the sound of my beating heart as he looked into my eyes and waited for an answer. I was not the smartest, but I knew what he meant by that.
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