VROOM! VROOM!
Eric was driving the car, and Rudy was sitting beside him in the passenger's seat. While Rebecca was sitting in the rear seat.
Rebecca thought Eleanor would be in the car, but she wasn't. Upon asking Eric, he said that Eleanor was busy at her eting and she will join them directly at the restaurant.
On the way, Rudy had a thought: 'If I rember correctly, Jessica works nearby. Should we pick her up too? Eric is hosting the dinner, so it would be rude to invite soone without his permission— although I know he wouldn't mind it.'
Rudy took out his phone and texted Jessica before asking Eric.
[Hey, what are you doing?] Rudy texted.
The ssage was delivered instantly, but Jessica didn't see it for the next 5 minutes. When Rudy saw her typing, his heart raced for so reason.
'Why am I feeling as if I am asking my crush out? What the hell is wrong with my heart?' Rudy wondered.
[SLR, I was in the shower. What's up?] She replied and began typing again.
[Missing already?]
Rudy chose to ignore her question as he himself didn't know the answer to that.
[Eric, his mother, mom, and are going out to eat. You live nearby. Wanna join us?]
Jessica typed for a minute and replied, [I already ate. Thanks for rembering .]
"..." Rudy was feeling conflicted. He didn't know how to respond to that.
'Is she sulking?' he asked himself.
[So what? You can still join us. You don't have to force yourself to eat.] He sent.
And added: [I need you.]
[Your company*]
Jessica started typing but then stopped after Rudy sent the correction right after.
[You being there is what's important. Get ready in 10 minutes. I will co to pick you up.]
[I have to wake up early tomorrow for the job. It's my last week so I have to finish what's due.] Jessica responded.
[Co on. It would barely take an hour or two. Besides, it's not even 9 PM yet. And I know you don't sleep that early. So stop making excuses.]
[Jeez! Okay. Fine!]
[Great. Let know when you are ready. I will co to pick you up!]
Rudy didn't know where Jessica lived, but he couldn't ask her for the location. What if the pre Rudy already knew it?
Rudy glanced at Eric and then at Rebecca from the rearview mirror. When the car stopped at the signal, he said, "Jessica will be joining us."
Rebecca peeked from the side and asked, "Jess? Did you invite her?"
"Yes. She turned down at first since she had already eaten, but I invited her anyway."
"Shouldn't you have asked Eric first?"
"It's fine, aunty. In fact, mom might bring Aunt Yelena with her." Eric shifted the gear as he said, "She would appreciate Jessica's company."
'Aunt Yelena?' Rudy raised his brow. 'Who is that? A friend of Jessica and Eleanor?'
About half an hour later, they reached the location. Eric asked Rudy and Rebecca to wait for him while he parked the car. But Rudy told him that he has to pick up Jessica, so Eric gave him the keys and got out of the car.
Rudy looked at Rebecca, who was staring at him with eager eyes. He wanted to ask her if she wanted to co with him, and upon looking at her, the answer was obvious.
"Great. I will go check up the construction site in the anti."
The site was a few ters opposite from the restaurant and Eric could easily cover the walking distance within five minutes. While Rudy and Rebecca went to pick Jessica.
Rebecca glanced at Rudy a few tis as she watched him drive.
"To be honest, I didn't know you could drive," she said calmly. "When did you learn?"
'I don't know if Rudy of this world already knew how to drive. But in my tiline, I learned to drive when I was in university.'
"I can drive," Rudy shrugged. "Driving isn't hard if you know the basics. And yes, Eric taught to drive."
"You know… if you are comfortable with the idea, we can buy a car too…" she muttered.
Jessica already had a car, but she bought it secondhand at a very cheap price. No, money wasn't an issue. She bought it second hand because the only use of the car was to travel from Hel to the city. She rarely drove in the city.
"Well, I don't know. I don't think we go out that often, so we would need a car. And if… sotis, we need one, I can always ask Eric for the keys."
There was a silence for a few seconds before Rebecca opened her mouth and said, "You shouldn't rely on others so much."
"Others?" Rudy shot a quick glance at Rebecca. "Mom, he is my best friend."
"I know. But we still shouldn't make ourselves dependent on them. It's no different than taking advantage of their kindness, you know?"
"I wouldn't mind if Eric does the sa to , but okay. I respect your opinion."
After driving for about five minutes, Jessica called Rudy to let him know that she was waiting at the entrance of the apartnt building.
Rudy handed his phone to Rebecca and told her to tell Jessica to co to the gate, or send her live location so he can pick her up on the way.
It was Rudy's idea to get to know where she lived and it worked flawlessly.
A few minutes later, they picked Jessica and made their way back to the restaurant. Jessica wanted to sit beside Rudy, but Rebecca refused to get up, so she sat in the rear seat.
When Rudy looked at her from the rearview mirror, he found her pouting.
"You can sit when we return to drop you off," he said, hoping to calm her down.
By the ti the car reached the restaurant, Eleanor and Yelena had already arrived and they were standing at the entrance, talking with each other.
Of course, they could have gone inside and waited for them there, but they chose not to.
Eric helped Rudy to park the car, and they finally t each other.
The second Rudy laid his eyes on Eleanor, his head began to ache and a mory flashed before his eyes, a mory that he had almost forgotten.
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