Jayjay'sPOV
It had been two days since I practically tortured Keifer with my chaotic mood swings. Right now, the house was incredibly quiet. Mama, Papa, Tito Keizer, and Tita Serina had all left for a ten-day trip. Meanwhile, my brothers were off learning the ropes of the business in the village for the month and a half we had talked about earlier. Keiran and Keigan went along with Tito and Tita for now, because after those ten days, they would be staying with Aries and Percy, who were the ones responsible for teaching them the business. As for our friends? Well, as decided, they basically went on a honeymoon before their actual wedding—just kidding! They actually tagged along with my brothers just to enjoy the trip in the village. I can't even call or text them since they don't have internet in our village.
And me and Keifer? We were staying together at the Watson Mansion, simply because we are boring and didn't want to go anywhere else.
It's early in the morning and I had just arrived back at the mansion and was busy grabbing my things. I opened the car trunk and was about to haul my heavy luggage out when another hand suddenly reached out, holding the trunk door open for me, while his other hand smoothly grabbed the handle of my suitcase.
I looked up and saw Keifer standing there. He looked down at me, a warm, soft smile spreading across his face, which I immediately returned.
"Good morning, baby," I said.
"Good morning, darling," he replied smoothly.
We turned and began walking back toward the mansion together. My mind briefly drifted. Why did he call me darling just now? Well, obviously, he called me darling because this guy is completely, utterly in love with me. Honestly, he calls me sweetheart, my queen, baby, babe, darling, sweetie, and so many other things. It's become so normal for us now that we don't even hesitate to use those names in public.
As he walked beside me, carrying my heavy bag, I noticed the veins on the back of his hand and forearm were popping out quite a bit. Wait, did I really pack that much? I'd have to check what's inside once I got up to my room. But my eyes stayed glued to his arm. What would happen if I touched those veins? Are they soft like liquids, or hard like an electric wire?
Before I could stop myself, the thought slipped right out of my mouth. "Can I touch it?"
Keifer stopped and looked down at me, his eyebrows knitting together. "What?"
The moment the question registered in my own ears, I realized how incredibly random and weird it sounded. My face instantly burned up, turning a bright shade of crimson. "Nothing, nothing!" I squeaked out quickly.
He gave a slow nod, looking completely confused but letting it slide anyway. We finally reached my bedroom, and he stepped inside to set my heavy suitcase gently onto the mattress.
"Thanks, baby," I said, flashing him a grateful smile.
"Why are you thanking me, baby? It's my duty," he replied easily, looking entirely serious.
I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing right in his face. "Are you a bodyguard or what? 'Duty,' seriously?"
Keifer sheepishly scratched the back of his head, a small grin breaking through his serious expression. "Okay, okay. Now, why don't you change into something comfortable while I head downstairs?"
I nodded in agreement. "Okay."
He turned to walk out of my room, but just before he stepped past the threshold, he paused, looked back, and gave me a playful wink. I laughed again, playfully pushing him the rest of the way out of the room before shutting the door. Shaking my head with a smile, I grabbed my clothes and headed straight into the washroom to take a much-needed, relaxing shower.
After freshening up, I went downstairs and found Keifer busy in the kitchen. I walked right in and grabbed a crisp apple from the counter.
"What are you making?" I asked him, taking a big bite out of the apple.
"Breakfast," he replied simply.
I looked around the unusually quiet kitchen. "Why aren't the maids here?"
"They're all on leave," he said, not breaking his focus from what he was doing.
"Oh, okay," I murmured, nodding as I chewed.
"Ready for university?" he asked, glancing over at me.
I immediately groaned. "Physically? Yeah. Mentally? Absolutely not."
I walked over to help him set the dishes on the dining table, and he let out a soft laugh at my answer.
"Do you know about the project?" he asked.
I paused, looking at him. "What project?"
"The project Professor Lim was talking about," he explained.
Oh, right. I vaguely remembered Professor Lim blabbering about something or other during the last class, but my brain had completely tuned him out. "I didn't hear his blabbering," I admitted honestly.
Keifer instantly choked on his coffee, coughing slightly as he looked at me in disbelief. Once he recovered, he shook his head. "Today, the partners will be chosen."
"What's the project even about?" I asked, pulling out a chair.
"I don't actually know all the details yet, but it's something about how to handle shares in a company," he said.
I nodded to myself. Okay, that sounds easy enough.
"It counts for 50% of our final grades," he added smoothly.
"Dang it," I muttered under my breath, and a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Are we going to choose our partners ourselves?" I asked, hoping for an easy win.
Keifer shrugged. "I don't know, but I think so, because it's usually been like that."
I nodded, and just like that, we finished our breakfast while chatting about random things. Once we were done, Keifer insisted on washing the dishes himself before heading upstairs to change. Seriously, I'm not naturally spoiled—he is actively trying to spoil me at this point.
When he came back down, we headed out to the car together. After reaching the university campus, we both got out and walked down the familiar hallways toward our classroom. As usual, our very first period was with Professor Lim.
"Good morning, students," Professor Lim announced as he walked in.
"Good morning, sir," the entire class chorused in a completely bored, exhausted tone.
"So, let's choose partners for the project," he said, tapping his podium. "This time, I will be choosing your partners because of orders from the upper administration." He scanned his eyes across the room, looking at his attendance sheet. "Jacob and Carrie, Siya and Simon..."
He went down the list, pairing up the entire room until there were only four of us left: me, Keifer, Liam, and one more girl. The four of us raised our hands lazily.
Professor Lim looked at us and nodded. "Ayla and Keifer. Jay and Liam."
The second the words left his mouth, I snapped my head toward Keifer, who was already staring right back at me. Liam and Ayla... great.
Without thinking, I shot my hand up. "Sir, can I be partners with Keifer?"
"No, Ms. Mariano," Professor Lim replied directly, shutting down my request without a second thought.
I groaned loudly, sinking back into my seat.
"Why?" Keifer asked this time, his voice deadpan.
Professor Lim picked up a typed list from his podium. "Every pair was decided directly by the administration, so I can't change it," he said, carelessly tossing the paper sheet back down.
"Okay, sir," we both said at the same exact time. If looks could kill, we were currently throwing literal daggers straight into his forehead with our staring.
"So, I just came to tell you this. I'll be going now," sir said. We all just nodded as he walked out. Seriously, if Professor Lim doesn't actually want to teach us, what is he even getting paid for? Maybe he gets paid for finishing every single item of food in the university cafeteria.
I slumped back heavily in my chair, exhaling a loud sigh. "Keifer."
Hearing my voice, he immediately reached over and held my hand, squeezing it gently. "It's okay," he reassured me.
I nodded, but then I turned my head to glare at him, pointing a strict, warning finger right at his face. "If you get close to that Ayla girl... I'll kill you."
Keifer just laughed, completely unfazed by my threat. "I won't." He wrapped his hand around my pointing finger, pulling it close to his lips to kiss the tip of it. "But I'll definitely beat Liam up if he tries anything."
A genuine laugh escaped me. Looking around the room, I noticed the rest of the classroom was already in chaos. "Everyone is moving their chairs to sit with their partners," I pointed out, gesturing to the squads shifting around us.
Keifer nodded, looking at the empty space. "So, what should we do?"
"I'll go sit with Liam, and Ayla can come sit here. Liam's seat is only one row ahead of us anyway, while Ayla is all the way in the front," I suggested.
Keifer agreed with a nod. I grabbed my bag and stood up from my usual spot. As Ayla started walking over to our desk, I made my way over to Liam.
"Hi," Liam said politely as I pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Hello," I replied.
"So, I think we should start working on this once all the lecturers are done for the day," he said, getting straight to business.
I nodded in agreement. "Okay, sounds good."
...
Lunch! Lunch! Lunch!
The second the bell rang, I immediately packed my things at lightning speed. I practically ran to the back of the room to Keifer. He was completely ignoring Ayla, paying her absolutely zero attention, but she was just sitting there openly staring at him. Seeing that, I immediately stepped right between their two chairs, completely blocking her view of my fiancé.
"Baby, I'm hungry," I said, putting on a pout.
Keifer looked up, a warm smile breaking across his face. "Okay, come on, let's go." He grabbed my hand tightly, and we walked right out of the classroom together.
We headed down to the crowded cafeteria. I claimed a quiet table and sat down while Keifer went to navigate the lines to bring us some food. A few minutes later, he came back and set the tray down on the table.
"Thank you, Keif," I said, happily pulling my plate toward me.
"What happened? You look like you want to kill someone," he asked, a knowing smirk on his face as he sat down right beside me.
I leaned in closer, keeping my voice low. "I think Ayla has some sort of crush on you. She literally kept staring at you the whole time."
"So... you're jealous?" he teased, his eyes twinkling.
"No," I denied instantly, taking a bite of my food.
"You're jealous," he repeated, leaning in.
"No, I'm not."
"You're jealous," he said again, testing his luck.
I dropped my fork and looked at him. "I'm not jealous, Keifer. I just don't like sharing what's mine."
"So you're not sharing me. She's the one looking at me, I'm not looking back," he said, defending himself smoothly.
"I know that," I muttered, crossing my arms. "But I still just want to poke both of her eyes out with my fingers."
Keifer burst into a full laugh, completely amused by my possessiveness. He reached over, gently nudging my shoulder. "Okay, you can do that later. First, eat."
I gave a small nod, my mood instantly lifting because of him, and happily started eating my lunch.
The final lecture of the day finally ended, and I quickly packed my things into my bag.
"So, where are we going to start working on this? My house?" Liam asked, leaning against the desk.
"No," I said directly, not even hesitating.
"Your house, then?" he asked.
"No, I'm staying with Keifer right now," I explained. "And why can't we just do it in the university library anyway?"
Liam looked at me, completely confused. "Okay... but why exactly are you staying at his place?"
What is up with this guy? Why does he want to know where I live or why I live at Keifer's place? I frowned slightly. "It's none of your business. We'll start tomorrow."
Without giving him a chance to ask anything else, I stood up and walked straight over to Keifer's desk. Ayla was currently standing there, saying something to him, but Keifer's eyes were already fixed on me the moment I approached. I let her finish talking and casually slid into the empty seat right beside him.
"So, where should we start working? Your house?" Ayla asked Keifer, her voice hopeful.
I immediately locked my eyes on him, waiting to see his response. But before I could even open my mouth to intervene, Keifer spoke up smoothly.
"It's a school project, so we'll do it right here at the university," he said flatly. He grabbed his bag, turned to look at me, and his expression instantly softened into a smile. "Home?"
I nodded happily, the slight annoyance from earlier totally vanishing. "Yup."
I grabbed his arm possessively as we walked out of the classroom together. As we made our way down the corridor toward the parking lot, we both opened our mouths at the exact same time:
"She's an idiot."
"He's an idiot."
We both froze, looked at each other for a split second, and then completely burst out laughing. Shaking our heads at how perfectly in sync we were, we walked the rest of the way to the car.
The End 🌸.
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