The Day I Kissed An Older Man

With her hope dashed, Sophia laughed ruefully. “Don’t get me wrong, Jeremy. I don’t hold out any expectation for us to be
together now that our marriage has been revoked. But can you please help me out with one last thing before you leave?”
Having been set up by her before, Jeremy’s eyes rang with caution. “What is it?”
Sophia rested her chin on her hand and said in a troubled tone, “There’s this guy who has been chasing me all these years.
Since I’ve given up on you, I’m...actually considering accepting him.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Go for it.”
Sophia blinked innocently at him. “Jeremy, if you really did think of me as your friend before, can you help me check him out?
He’ll be coming to pick me up later, so can you see if he’s serious about me? I’m asking you ’cause you’re a guy, and a guy
knows a guy best.”
Her request was not unreasonable, so Jeremy looked at his watch to see if there was still time. ‘If Sophia has a boyfriend, Adam
won’t do anything to Corinne anymore,’ thought Jeremy. Thus, he nodded and said, “Sure.”
...
Meanwhile, back in the Riveras’ living room.
Corinne received a photo of a flight ticket from Jeremy. The take-off time was eleven o’clock in the morning.
Her heart started beating excitedly when she saw the photo. ‘Does this mean he has taken care of the problem? If he’s flying
back today, he’ll be back here by tomorrow morning!’
She gripped her phone tightly and felt relief washed over her. However, it did not last long as she would only stop worrying about
him after she saw him with her own eyes.
Someone suddenly patted her head.
“You look happy. Care to share why?” asked Lucas as he walked
Corinne snapped back to the present and asked sternly, “Ahem! What makes you think I’m happy?”
Lucas reached out to pinch her nose. “Well, aren’t you? The look of anticipation is written all over your face. You must be thinking
of Jeremy again, aren’t you?”

Corinne turned bright red. Instead of answering him, she asked, “Mister at work? Or are you on strike?”
Lucas liked how Corinne would talk to him without reservation as though they were friends then. It was so unlike the distant
awkwardness that they started with. This gave Lucas motivation to try harder to get her to drop the word ‘Mister’ in front of his
name when addressing him.
“Work’s not that busy today, so I can pop in later. What do you want to have for dinner tonight? I’ll bring it home for you,” said
Lucas.
Corinne shook her head. “There’s nothing in particular I’m craving for, so I’ll have whatever you bring back. By the way, can you
please get some cheese sticks for Joey on your way back? I’ll text you the shop’s address later. It must be from that shop since
all the cheese there is handmade and has no preservatives.”
Lucas frowned for a second. His heart really went out for Corinne.
‘Despite her tough exterior, she’s a softie at heart. Even though Joey isn’t her child, she still treats him as her own,’ thought
Lucas. He was impressed by how compassionate she could be.
Not many would be able to be so nice to the adopted child of someone, namely Anya, who had hurt them so much previously.
Lucas’ gaze softened. He then smiled and nodded. “Okay. Remember to text me the address later, and I’ll bring it back for you
tonight.”