Imperfect Desires

141 Born Expensive

Nora had to agree with Darren's statement. Both Xiu and Dylan seemed like two kids that he had to babysit. But the worst part was that babysitters were at least paid for dealing with rebellious kids. But poor Darren was being squished between his girlfriend and his best friend for free.

"I thought girls were dramatic," Nora remarked as she saw how Dylan was still brooding over Xiu's words. Xiu had used dumpling in a such a way to insult him that even Dylan's face looked like dumpling to her now.

"Clearly, you haven't seen a guy losing in video games," replied Darren matter-of-factly. Seeing how Xiu was focused on the dance floor, Darren tapped her shoulder and said, "How about a dance, m' lady?"

Xiu looked at his hand which he offered to her and with an inconspicuous smile, she placed her hand in his as she answered, "I'd love to." If Dylan thought he'd be able to spoil her mood, then he was wrong. Xiu's mood swings were no joke. Especially when Darren was the one who knew how to make her smile.

Her celestial eyes shined as her delicate hand was held in his rough ones. He placed his one hand on her waist and whisked her onto the dancefloor. Xiu felt giddy and warm when his hand on her waist pulled her close. The lights were twinkling with every step that she spun in delicate circles, her hair bounced with each move and her agile feet glided around the floor.

The slow music was like a spell that had bound them together with an invisible thread. There was no doubt that the music was enchanting and it had captured Xiu's soul but what made her smile brightly again was the fact that she couldn't even turn her eyes away from Darren. She was a professional when it came to dancing but he seemed quite skilled as well.

For the first time, it wasn't the music that was guiding her feet to move. She wasn't twirling on the rhythm instead, it was his eyes that had held her captive. Xiu rested her head on his chest and let him sway her body 'round and 'round again. "Damn it!" she cursed under her breath out of the blue.

"What's wrong?" asked Darren.

"It's all your fault," said Xiu in an accusing manner and when he raised his brow inquisitively, she elaborated, "I'm talking about your eyes. They are confusing me now. I mean, it's certain that my new favorite color is grey. There is no doubt in that."

Darren pursed his lips before saying, "Are you flirting with me again?"

"Jeepers! Is it that obvious?" Xiu exclaimed in surprise and he nodded. "So what? I have the right to flirt, don't I?" Darren gave an affirmative nod in response and Xiu waited for a minute longer before saying, "But the confusing thing about your eyes is the sadness in them." Darren's brows quirked up in surprise. "I always see you smiling but why does it feel like there is sadness hidden beneath that smile?"

Darren contemplated her words, trying to come up with a reply but couldn't do so. She had seen through him already. "Maybe, you're just overthinking," he replied trying to divert through this topic.

Xiu's lips curled up slightly as she thought, 'I have seen the same look in my own eyes for years. There is no way I'm wrong about this. That look of loss is no joke. But the question is, what did you lose? Or who?'

But since she could feel that he didn't want to talk about it, she decided not to push it. Instead, she said, "Perhaps, his eyes weren't dazzling enough to hide his broken smiles."

"Or perhaps, he wasn't strong enough to confront his broken smiles," added Darren making Xiu stare at him for longer then it was necessary.

Yet again, Xiu had to agree that broken people had the brightest smiles. But only because broken people had faked that smile so many times that sometimes, they were even able to fool themselves.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Darren asked seeing her zoning out on him.

"Huh?" Xiu focused her eyes on him and as his words registered in her slow-moving brain, she answered, "How can I be free? I was born expensive."

Darren had the urge to knock her head open to see what really was inside. How could she always have something completely unnecessary to say? Seeing how Darren was staring at her, Xiu smiled sheepishly and dragged him off the dancefloor while saying, "Your question doesn't even make sense. I mean, you know it's Sunday tomorrow. My only goal is to be as useless as 'G' in lasagna."

"Hmm... That means you're gonna sleep the day off again," said Darren knowingly before adding, "I was thinking about spending the day with you but it's okay."

Xiu abruptly stopped and turned around to look at him. "What do you mean? Are we going on a date?" Darren made an affirmative sound. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere you'd like," replied Darren without missing a beat. "I might not be available next week. I have to travel back to our headquarters in Norway and it might take me a whole week to come back. So, that's why I wanted to spend this Sunday with you."

Xiu thought about it before asking, "When will you come back?"

"I haven't even gone yet and you're already worried about when I'd be back?" Darren was pleased to see her reaction.

Xiu felt awkward as she said, "I wasn't acting like a clingy girlfriend or anything. I just asked out of curiosity. That's all."

Darren rubbed her head saying, "Aiyo, you really get flustered easily." Looking into her eyes, he added, "Don't worry, I'll be back within a week or so."

Xiu felt a bit upset but she didn't let it show on her face as they came back to their table. "Can we leave now? I can't bear to stay any longer at this wedding." Xiu grumbled to Nora while tugging at her hair.

Nora smoothened her hair down and glared at her best friend before looking around. "What's really bothering you, Baby Xiu? Is it the wedding itself or is it those girls who are eyeing your boyfriend?"

Xiu didn't have to follow Nora's gaze to know what she meant. Girls had always been sensitive to these things and she wasn't an exception either. She had long felt the eyes of those girls following her boyfriend. How could she be okay with that? As she had told Dylan, she indeed was a possessive bitch. But she didn't want to show her possessiveness so easily.

That's why she lowered her voice to reply to Nora, "Both. So, if you don't want me to poke someone's eyes out, let's leave."

Nora smiled mysteriously before nodding, "I didn't see this version of yours before. A jealous girlfriend is my favorite kind."

"I swear to Chanel, Nora, don't try me," Xiu warned her while narrowing her eyes at her.Please go to