Getting a Life Ch. 07

*I'm not dead folks *grin*...sorry for the EXTREMELY late update. No excuses, I'm just lazy AF...anyway someone finally gets down here *wink*...hope it's worth it* Lanna

Tai flipped his wrist to look at the watch attached to it, okay, so maybe his excitement had gotten the best of him and he was here twenty minutes to the agreed time. But still...

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps, and a follow up question of, "Is this seat taken?"

He raised his head up to see his much awaited company giving him a warm smile which he returned. He was glad he wasn't being stood up, for a second there he had thought that could possibly be his fate.

He rose to his feet, "Thanks so much for coming, I know it was a bit short notice." He began as they shared a handshake.

"No worries, I'm always available to share a drink with a nice guy" Chuks replied as he took a seat opposite of Tai, "So, you wanted to talk about Selly?"

Tai nodded, he had figured Chuks was the best person to talk to concerning Selly's relationship with her fiance, he knew he couldn't bring up the discussion with her, but he had to understand certain things if he ever hoped to make any headway with her. The guy was obviously awesome- his brother was great so that gave him something of an idea, but he needed more and who better to help than his brother?

Tai nodded, "Yes, I did. Want a drink?"

"Sure, I'll have whatever you're having."

Tai raised his hand to get the attention of one of the 2 waitresses who had been staring at his table since he got in. He hadn't given a thought to why they were both standing there when they could've attended to other patrons, but once he saw them both rushing towards the table, he got an idea why. They were so lucky they didn't work for Mina, they wouldn't have lasted a day with her.

Eventually, the taller brunette managed to speedwalk faster than her colleague and reach their table first. She had on a rather large grin when she came over, "Hi, are you ready to order now?" Her eyes drifted from Tai to Chuks like she couldn't make up her mind on which of them she should drool over.

"Yes, we are..." Tai quickly made his order- a drink he wasn't familiar with but thought would taste good, he looked over to Chuks for any objections, but he had none so he ordered same for him. The waitress on the other hand didn't seem so interested in leaving their table just yet, she felt it necessary to ask if they needed anything else, then rattle off on some dishes she thought would go nicely with their drinks. Tai thought she was butting in on the little time he had to have a meaningful discussion with Chuks and made an effort to send her off.

"Thank you for your concern, we'll just have the drinks." He interrupted

"Are you sure? I mean..."

I'm sure whatever else you guys serve here must be tasty, but I'd like you to get us the drinks first if you don't mind."

The finality in his voice gave her pause, she smiled uncomfortably and nodded, "Okay, they'll be right up." She walked away rather reluctantly and Tai gave a sigh of relief at her absence.

"I think she likes the sound of her voice." Chuks finally commented. The entire period the waitress had been blabbering, he had been quiet, choosing to observe her instead like she was some sort of scientific object. The look of awe on his face had almost made Tai crack a smile if he hadn't been so annoyed at her endless chatter.

Tai shook his head and mumbled an "I wish." He had encountered women like her one too many times to just brush it off as a voice obsession. He would think Chuks would also be used to such antics, but it seemed he really was as clueless as Selly had said he was- he wished he could be so.

"So, you really like Selly huh?" Chuks asked brightly.

Tai smiled, "Yes, I do. She's amazing." Tai blurted out before he even realized what he was saying, he didn't attempt to withdraw the statement once it was said finding he meant it.

Chuks nodded in agreement, "She definitely is. You don't even know the half of it. She's at a bad time now, I appreciate your patience with her." He said sincerely.

"It's nothing. I enjoy being with her, I can tell she really loved your brother." He regretted saying that once he saw a flash of what seemes like sadness in Chuks' eyes, "I'm sorry about your brother." He added.

Chuks shook his head, "Nothing to be sorry about. He was a good person, they say God takes the good people early, gives me hope that I'll be here for a pretty long time." He cracked a smile at his joke and Tai smiled even wider grateful for Chuks' jovial nature.

"You're a good person Chuks."

Chuks frowned, "Don't say that, God is everywhere, he hears you say that and I could be gone sooner than I want. Let's make this discussion about how much of a complete jerk I am, can we?"

Tai couldn't help his laughter, he was definitely going to enjoy this little meeting. He didn't know many people who could make a joke out of the death of a loved one or even death at all. It almost seemed like he hadn't mentioned his dead brother minutes ago

He shrugged, "If you say so."

Their drinks arrived minutes later with the waitress once again making a nuisance of herself by standing there a little longer than necessary, Tai once again had to ask her to excuse them before she left, he gave an exasperated sigh like he was just glad to see the back of her.

"So, what are your intentions towards Selly?" Chuks asked, sounding every bit like a protective older brother.

Tai thought briefly on the question, not wanting to answer too quicklly lest he gave an unsatisfactory reply. Chuks was more of a brother to Selly than a friend, he could tell he cared deeply for her by his actions, it made him wonder if he had ever thought of her in a romantic way but never acted on his thoughts simply because she was with his brother. But seeing hos aloof he was, he didn't think that likely, whatever he felt for Selly was purely brotherly.

"I don't have a precise answer to that just yet, I won't bullshit you about getting a ring and getting on my knees, for now, I just want to see where things go with us. I like her, a lot and I'm seriously interested in a relationship with her if she's ready for that. It's all up to her though."

Chuks nodded and took a sip from his drink, "Really? So you don't want to tumble in the sheets?"

Tai smiled, "Come on men, she's hot. What man wouldn't want to tumble in the sheets with her?" He laughed. Chuks only raised a brow at him but failed to join in his laughter prefering to remain straight-faced. Tai stopped laughing, just a little bothered that he might have goofed with that.

Chuks suddenly broke into a grin, "ha! I got you there didn't I?" He laughed causing Tai to smile again, "You should've seen the look on your face man, classic." He chuckled and Tai laughed. Yes, he really was going to love this guy.

*****

Selly surveyed her surroundings, almost cringing at the sight before her. She couldn't remember the last time her bedroom looked like this- like Macy's and Target barfed in it. A horrific avalanche of clothes lay spread out...everywhere.

This wasn't what she had envisaged when Linda offered to assist her in finding something to wear for her job interview. She had thought it would be easy. She had lots of corporate wears in her wardrobe...or so she thought. Until she tried them on and realised all of her clothes were oversized. Just like Chuka had said, she had lost weight and couldn't fit into her clothes.

Linda immediately suggested they go shopping and she acquiesced to that, once again, thinking they would only get a few clothes. She had thought wrong, she wondered why she was so surprised Linda chose to splurge on clothes. Of course, classic Linda.

Now her room was a mess- and she still hadn't found the perfect outfit for the interview. She stood arms akimbo, staring at Linda with exhaustion as the blonde cocked her head to the side in thought, apparently trying to decide if her latest outfit was proper.

"Please tell me it's the one Lin, if I have to change one more outfit you'll be calling an ambulance." She groaned

Linda looked her over and then a bright smile popped on her face as she gave a thumbs up, "Purrrfect. Those executives will have no choice but to give you the job once they see you in this outfit."

Selene let out a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes, "I doubt I'll be meeting any 'executives', I applied for the post of a secretary..nothing fancy enough to require any executives"

"You can never tell, you don't even know whose secretary you could end up being."

Selene paused, seeing some sense in Linda's comment, she dismissed it almost immediately, "Let me get through the interview first before I worry about that." She pulled off the 4-inch pumps on her feet and proceeded to massage some blood flow back into it. It had been so long since she wore those things, it was going to be quite the task getting used to them again.

"So, how are you and Tai?" Linda asked with a small smile.

Selene shrugged, "We're good. He's extremely nice, too nice for me."

Linda's brows furrowed, "how do you mean? Don't you like him?"

She sighed as her shoulders slumped, "It's not that Lin, it's just..." She released another sigh and re-positioned herself so she was facing Linda, "...he tries so hard to engage me, but I feel like I shut him out most of the time. I don't mean to, it just happens. And I know...I know he could be spending his time with better, more beautiful, more deserving ladies, I mean, he's young, good-looking, decent, interesting and really talented, he can get any female he wants and he's wasting his time with me. It's like I'm obstructing the life he could live."

By the time she was through, Linda was staring at her like she had lost her mind, "Please tell me what part of your brain all of that nonsense came from so I can shut it down before the virus spreads. What nonsense are you talking about wasting his time?...."

"Lin..."

"Shhh, let me finish. You are not the first woman to go through the loss of a fiance Selene, many women have lost husbands and survived. The power to re-build your life lies solely with you and you may not have noticed, but you've started re-building yours. I mean, you finally left this house, you applied for a job, you went on a DATE, you're opening up again. No one expects you to go back to the old Selene, that chapter of your life is gone and the old you is gone with it. The fact that you didn't jump off some tall building when Chuka died is enough reason to make you worth any man's attention. I'm happy you're regaining yourself and Tai is lucky to be the man who could help you find yourself again. You just need to stop talking nonsense and give yourself another chance at love."

Selene smiled at Lin and nodded, she definitely gave one mean motivational speech. She sniffed and wiped a fallen tear from her cheek, "Thanks Lin."

"You're always welcome." Linda returned her smile.

Selene took Linda's hand with a sigh seeing an opening to broach a subject that had been on her mind for almost a week, "So, is this a good time to tell me about you and Chuks?'

Linda turned a beet red at the question and looked away shyly while Selly gave her a mischievous smile, "Come on, spit it out already, do you and my bro have a 'thing'?" Selena egged on, it was nice to have the tables turned and not be the one faced with awkward questions.

"I guess you could call it that." Linda shrugged, a smile tugging against her lips as she remembered Chuks and all the wonderful things he had done to her 3 days ago. Her lips returned to a thin line when she remembered his behaviour since then, it disturbed her greatly that he was yet to mention anything concerning the events of that day, if she didn't know any better and she wasn't re-living the feelings he created within her in countless fantasies she would think it never happened.

She couldn't understand him or what he wanted even, she couldn't tell if she had offended him because he suspiciously remained friendly with her, there was no sign of animosity or hostility on his part whenever they had a conversation, he wasn't trying to avoid her at all cost and there were no uncomfortable silences between them so he wasn't embarrassed or regretful about what happened between them...at least that was what his outward appearance relayed. Times like this she hated that he was so difficult to read. She would feel so much better if she could just find out what was going on in his head because it seemed she was the only one who was greatly affected by what had happened between them.

Selene noticed Linda's face falter, "What's wrong Lin? Trouble in paradise before the ship has even sailed?"

Linda shook her head, "No, it's just that..." She paused, considering how wise it was to tell Selene all that had been going on between them, but when she thought further about it, Selene was the best person to help her solve the puzzle that was Chuks

She sat straight up, "He told me he's in love with me 3 days ago, then we did some...sexual stuff, he didn't sleep with me or anything and I didn't give him any form of pleasure, it was all him. It felt so good Selly, I've never orgasmed like that my whole life, I slept off almost immediately. I thought we were good, but since then, he hasn't mentioned it at all, it's like it...we never happened and I don't know if I should be worried or if that's just Chuks being Chuks." She spoke in one breath. Once she was through, she stared at Selly, her eyes filled with hope that someone would provide an answer to her dilemma.

Selly's eyes were widened, apparently, when she had asked for some information on Chuks and Linda, she hadn't expected any of that, "Wow." She spoke, her mind still trying to take in everything that had been thrown at her, "wow."Linda bathed her with a look of anxiousness like her next words had the power to save a life, "wow"

"Say something else Selly, please."

Selly cleared her throat wishing she could clear her thoughts in that manner. She had never been one to give relationship advice much less when it involved the two closest people to her in the world after her mother. True, it was somewhat difficult to read Chuks, she didn't want to give Linda too much hope lest she end up heart-broken, but from the look of desperation in her eyes, she doubted there was an easy way to break down not-so-encouraging news to her.

She seriously had to watch what she said to avoid hurting one or both of Chuks and Linda.

Once her mind was clear to some extent, she began to speak, "Well, you guys have been busy in my absence." She sighed.

Linda covered her face with both hands and sighed, "Selly..." She groaned.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Listen, you know I can't speak for Chuks, it could be his usual aloof nature, or it could be something else. I mean, if he said he loves you, then why would he be...normal with you after that?"

Linda sulked, apparently she hadn't gotten what she wanted to hear, "I don't know Selly, if I did I wouldn't be asking you this. I...do you think I've screwed it up?" Her eyes portrayed a desperation that drew at Selly's heart. Damn she had it bad.

She took her hand, "No, no. Of course you didn't. I'm sure he knows you love him, right?"

She nodded, "Yes, I mean, I practically begged him to make love to me, but he wouldn't. I even cooked for him 3 days ago. I COOKED Selly, what else does he need?"

Selly gave her an odd look once that of shock left her face. She knew Linda absolutely hated cooking, she could assist well and good, but she would never be caught near a stove. There was something else in her words that caught her attention though, something Linda may have innocently by-passed but was of the utmost importance to Chuks.

"Did you tell him you love him?"

"Of course I...."

Linda's momentary pause caused Selly to quirk a brow, she watched her nibble on her lower lip in thought, "Well? Did you?" When she got no answer, she picked up the closest thing to her- a teddy bear- and threw it at Linda, "You bubblehead! You didn't tell him did you?"

Linda shrugged, finally realising her error, "I...it wasn't intentional. I forgot."

"Really? Before or after the orgasm?"

A cheeky grin appeared on Linda's face as her cheeks turned rosy, "That shit knocked me out girl, I'll be forgiven if my thoughts were a little jumbled up after it."

"You dirty slut!" Selly tackled her and they both rolled around on the bed laughing, "And you came into my house trying to make my big bro look like the bad guy with your 'woe-unto-me' story."

"He IS the bad guy. I almost went into a coma after what he did to me." Linda laughed.

"I bet." Selly snickered with a grin. She was just glad she had helped Linda out, it felt good seing a grin on her friend's face. She really did hope things went well between Chuks and Linda, it would crush her to see any of her best friends hurt in the end. She knew neither would make her choose between them if things went south, but still, she couldn't help but hope they never got to that point. They both deserved the best and she thought they were pretty awesome together. They complemented each other quite well, Linda's sassiness to Chuk's aloofness, Linda's fashion consciousness to Chuk's lack of interest, Linda's apathy to cooking and Chuks' love for it. They couldn't be more perfect for each other.

*****

"So? How was it?" Dylan asked with a smile as Tai walked into their shared office, his smile faltered seeing his friend sulking...still, he waited for a reply.

Tai had just gone into their boss' office and they both figured the purpose was to let him know if his new anime would be sent into the market. He had submitted it a week ago, the boss liked it but he still had to run it by the board members. From the look on Tai's face though, it didn't seem like they liked it as much.

A long sigh escpaed his lips, "Well, he presented it to them, they looked at it and..."

"And?"

A large grin suddenly popped on Tai's face, "..and they loved it! They're sending it into the market."

"That's great!" Dylan said as he hugged Tai, "You little devil, you came in here like they had fired you."

Tai laughed, "Oh, Mr. Hammond had me thinking that initially."

"We should totally celebrate. After work, we're going to Mona's bar, drinks on me."

Tai snickered, "Yeah, like you can afford it."

"Why do you think we're going to Mona's?" Dylan asked.

Both men laughed at the inside joke. Mona was Dylan's on again- off again girlfriend- they were currently on. She worked as a bartender at her older brother's bar and was always willing to pay for Dylan's drinks when he came by- when they were on of course. Tai had always wondered why she let Dylan have such control over her, having been surrounded by women who had to have their way and weren't easily subdued, he found women like Mona odd.

"I swear men, one of these days, that girl will see the light and dump your sorry behind. User."

"Well, until then. I'll keep enjoying those free drinks and whatever else she's offering." He winked at Tai suggestively.

Tai shook his head, "You have no shame dude, none at all."

"So says the man who always shares those free drinks with me."

Tai grinned, "Good point." He never could pass up on a free drink. He would go out with Dylan today and then tomorrow, he'd surprise Selly with a nice treat of dinner and dancing- none of which would take place a mile from his sister's restaurant

*****

"Really Lin? A bar?" Selly asked her once they got to the door of the 'fun' place Linda was taking her to celebrate her new job. She hadn't been to a bar in ages. Alcohol and her system were never in agreement, knowing her not-so-impressive history with alcohol, she thought Lin would have come up with something else