Chapter 7 The Invitation

• Ady's POV
• "Good morning!"
• As I walked inside the main building, I was taken aback when a voice came up next to me. When I turned around and saw Damon, my eyes widened in shock. He beamed at me, seemingly pleased by my reaction. Instantly, I gave him a quick tap on the arm.
• "You're annoying!" I growled to Damon.
• Damon just chuckled. I noticed that almost all the students passing by were looking at us. Bee-like humming can be heard as they talk about us being together. I blew out air.
• "Do not mind them," Damon told me.
• "You think it's easy to do, as you say?" I asked while turning the T-square I was holding into a face shield.
• Damon chuckled, then he grabbed my hand. Again, like his voice, I felt his warm skin, and it caused a strong shiver through my entire body. It was like he had a fever. He's hot from the looks and his skin.
• "You don't need to do that," Damon said as he released his grip on my hand.
• "Uhm, I-I'm not used to people looking at me," I said. But he took my T-square and didn't give it back.
• "Let them look at you. You have nothing to lose, right?"
• I glanced at Damon, then looked away from him again. "Because you don't understand. They're looking at me because we're together."
• "Didn't you want to..." I caught Damon's eye, and he said as he looked at me. "Don't you want me to be close to you?"
• I again looked at Damon. I hurt his feelings when I said that, but I didn't mean to. I just told the truth.
• "It's not like that." I suddenly felt guilty.
• "Just say if you don't feel comfortable being with me, I'll stay away from you."
• I turned to Damon to speak, but suddenly, I saw Elsa. I immediately took my T-square, which surprised Damon.
• "Ady..." Elsa greeted me with a smile. She glanced at Damon. "Hi, Damon, good morning!"
• Damon smiled slightly. "Good day to you too, Elsa. I'm glad to see you."
• Elsa glanced at me. "Girl, did you hear that? He's happy to see me!" Elsa whispered to me.
• "Jeez, it hurts!" I couldn't stop that word from coming out of my mouth. Elsa's squeeze on my arm.
• "Are you alright, Ady?" Damon asked.
• "I'm fine," I said. "Let's go?"
• I hurriedly walked and didn't wait for Damon. Instead, I pulled Elsa to protest what she did.
• Our professor in one class surprised us by telling us we were going on a two-day trip to a place in Corregidor that they could use in our designs and drafts. The head of the school let them.
• "So, we have to do this, and we're only going to be there for one day. We'll be leaving this place at 3 a.m." The professor said that he was more enthusiastic than the students.
• "Excuse me, prof..." I put up my hand, and everyone turned to look at me.
• "Yes? Do you have questions? "the professor asked.
• "Oh, I want to know if the meeting place is at the school. Because our house is far from here." I ask.
• My classmates agreed they also take public transportation to school like me.
• "Our meeting place is, of course, here at school. If you're coming from a long way away, you might be able to sleep with friends who are just boarding nearby..."
• I inhaled deeply. I don't have a friend who lives in a dorm. Elsa, like me, goes to school by car. Grandma will worry about me if I don't go home, and I will worry about her if I don't. I took another deep breath until the teacher said goodbye, and the next class bell rang.
• Elsa came right up to me where I was sitting. "Hey, Ady, what do you have in mind? I want to take you to my friend's boarding house, but her landlady is mean."
• I frowned when I learned she was staying in with someone else. After all, I only had to worry about myself.
• "Ah, I'll just travel..."
• "Sorry, Ady..."
• "It's fine, don't worry."
• I thought about that the whole time we were in class, until the end of the half day. I waited in line to get food at the school cafeteria.
• "You can stay at my house if you want to."
• I turned sideways. I didn't notice when Damon stood next to me. He was holding a tray and had one big burger, fries, and one bottle of water.
• "W-what?" I asked him.
• "My house is close by. If you want to, you can stay there." Damon said to me again.
• "Thanks for the offer, but I cannot take it," I told Damon. We all walked together past the counter and back to Elsa's table.
• "If you want, I'll leave the house."
• "What? No!" I exclaimed and was also shocked by what he said. "That's not necessary."
• We sat on the opposite side of the table from each other. "You can go with Elsa if you want."
• Elsa was shocked as she looked at Damon. "Me? Where? Why?" Elsa glanced at me.
• "I told Ady that you could stay at my house," said Damon.
• When Elsa looked at me and then at Damon, her eyes grew. "Are you serious?"
• "Instead of staying in a boarding house, Ady is taking the bus." Damon gave me a quick look. "Well, if Ady agrees."
• "Can I just do it if Ady doesn't agree?" asked Elsa.
• I gave Elsa's arm a light elbow. "Hey, that's not cool!" I whispered.
• "No, it was he who made the offer." Elsa convinced me.
• "Well, you've got at least half a day to think about it. First, let's eat, "said Damon.
• Elsa gave Damon's food tray a quick look. She notices his food as if he were not hungry.
• "Are you on a diet?" asked Elsa.
• Damon gave the girl a quick look. "No."
• Elsa said, "Huh, why are you only going to eat that?"
• "Because I'm still full." Damon just said.
• We both looked at Elsa, and then she cracked a joke. "Your wife is lucky because you know how to save money."
• I elbowed Elsa again; then, I looked at her to warn her. What I did just made her giggle.
• I called grandma to tell her what we'll be doing tomorrow. And I informed her about Elsa and Damon as well. I was surprised when she agreed out of the blue.
• "Are you sure, grandma? Is it safe for you to stay home alone?" I asked her from the other line.
• "Sure, you don't have to worry about me because I'm no longer young."
• "I know, granny. That's why I'm more worried about you now that you're no longer a child."
• "Don't worry, Ady. It will only last for one night. Also, Jasper's family is here, and I'm sure they won't let me leave."
• "Are you sure, granny?"
• "Just take care, okay?"
• "Yes, grandma, I will," I said.
• Our classes and the whole day were over. Granny seems to be okay. All I need to talk to is Jasper to tell him that we won't be going home together later and that I will leave grandma with him.
• "Have you decided?"
• I turned toward Damon, and he was staring at me. "Oh, I told grandma, and she agreed," I said.
• "That's good," Elsa said as she approached Damon and me.
• When Damon put the key on the table in front of me, Elsa and I both looked at him.
• "That's the key to the room. Room in the Diamond Building, Room 2015."
• When we heard what Damon said, Elsa and I both had wide eyes. That building is close to the university, but only wealthy students can afford to live there. Damon gave a brief smile and got up.
• "Feel at home..." Damon said, and he turned his back on us.
• We watched Damon leave the room. "I still need to talk to someone," I said.
• "Someone? Who?" With a frown, Elsa asked me.
• ---
• "Jeez, Ady, your friend is so yummy!" Elsa told me in a whisper.
• I called Jasper right away to tell him what had happened. He went to the front of the university and waited for us there. I was also surprised by Jasper's simple cream pants, a magenta polo shirt, and a magenta t-shirt on the inside. His clothes look good on him.
• Suddenly, he put a handkerchief in my mouth and chuckled. What he did make me frown. "You're drooling."
• What Jasper said made Elsa laugh, and I pushed his hand away.
• "Haist, stop being silly. I won't go home with you tonight."
• Jasper made frown. "Why? Do you have a date?"
• Jasper's face seemed to get darker. "I have no date, okay?" I said.
• Jasper's smile came back to his face. "That's good. You scared me a little bit."
• "Hi, my name is Elsa, and Ady and I are good friends," Elsa said her name, which I had forgotten to do.
• "Hi, Elsa." Jasper put his hand out. "By the way, Ady's boyfriend, Jasper."
• I frowned. "Boyfriend, my foot."
• Jasper laughed. "Well, I said it with two syllables, boyfriend. You're the only one who thought it differently."
• "Haist," I said, frowning. "We are going to Corregidor for an event at school tomorrow. We must leave at 3 a.m., so our professor suggested we sleep nearby at a friend's house and..."
• "A handsome friend invited us to stay at his condo tonight," Elsa said quickly, stopping me in the middle of what I was saying.
• "Handsome?" Jasper looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
• "He's our classmate, okay?"
• "You're going to sleep in some guy's apartment?" Jasper asked me.
• "He won't stay there because he already gave us the key. He just wanted to be nice by letting us use his unit." Elsa explained.
• "Could you keep an eye on Grandma for a while? Just for tonight."
• "So you'll have to pay me..."
• "Sure, take care of grandma for me. I'll get back to you tomorrow after our activity."
• His smile got bigger. "Okay. Deal."
• I smiled. "But first, I'll take you to the condo that your handsome classmate lent you. It's good that I know where you'll stay tonight if your grandmother asks or something else happens." Jasper said.
• Elsa asked, "Jeez, are you just friends?"
• "Yes," "For now!"
• I turned to Jasper when he said that, but he smiled and looked at Elsa. "Let's go. I'll take you there."
• We started to walk, and all I could do was frown.
• The building's aesthetics awed us upon entry. As a group, we seem out of place there. We were surprised to discover that Damon had informed the front desk about our impending arrival. When Damon told them there were only two ladies, the employees stopped allowing Jasper in. The idea didn't sit well with Jasper, but he came around.
• "Call me if anything goes wrong, okay?" Jasper told me.
• I said, "Jeez, Jasper stop being overreactor."
• "I'm going home."
• "Okay, be careful."
• "Of course," he replied with a smile. "Ady, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Elsa!"
• Elsa and I merely smiled and waved at Jasper. Upon Jasper's exit, the hotel staff ushered us to the nearest elevator, which took us directly to our level. After a while, we finally made it. I handed the key to the lady, who unlocked the door herself. Afterward, she returned the key to me, and she left.
• Elsa and I entered the room and were taken aback by its stunning decor and spaciousness.
• "Holy crap, this is paradise!" Elsa exclaimed with amazement.
• I turned around as we entered the room. The main entry, the bathroom door, and the balcony door are the three doors in total. You can see the living area, little kitchen, and bedroom as you come in. Extra books on the coffee table in the living room are also noteworthy.
• The place was so warm as I stood there, and I gasped.
• "What a heaven!"