Chapter 21: Chapter 21

MEETING OF RIVALS

"Darling, is there a problem?" Jason was worried.

"You!" Jemimah pointed at him. "I just remembered the day we first met. You tried to entice me with your money. How could you?"

"That's not something I'm proud of." He walked close to her.

She was about to hurry back into her apartment when he held her hand. Pulled her back into his arms and kissed her lips intensely. "Jemmy, I had a crazy mindset, but you transformed me."

Jemimah didn't struggle with him. But she wasn't relaxed anymore. "How far is your friend's address?" she asked.

"It's a twenty minutes’ drive from here," he replied, not knowing what to expect.

She was quiet for a few seconds. "Let's get going before I change my mind."

"Alright, my love." He wanted to open the car door for her but she didn't allow him. Instead, she did it herself. There was an uneasy silence for about ten minutes while Jason was driving.

"I'm sorry," Jemmy said suddenly.

This came as a surprise to Jason. "There's no need to be," he replied.

"Why me?" she asked.

"I am attracted to you on a subconscious level." He looked at her briefly. "I actually show love to everyone. But it's different with you."

"I still don't understand."

"Okay. If it was measured on a scale of one to ten, even those I've liked the most on first sight fell below six. There was always something off."

"Do you select people just by the way they appear the first time you see them?"

"To an extent, I do. But more often than not, they go further down the scale with time." Jason's eyes were now on the road. "Have you ever felt so lonely despite being in the midst of so many people?"

"Do I have to answer that right now?" Jemimah replied.

"Yeah, you have to, unless it's too much to ask."

"Well, I believe we all have our very unique way of perceiving the world and by extension, the universe," she said. "So, no two people can experience exactly the same thing."

"I hope I haven't succeeded in giving you the impression that I am proud and selfish?" Jason asked.

"On the contrary. I agree with you a great deal. I feel left alone often. My circle is not nearly as big as yours but instead of it being more closely knitted, one ends up being trapped in disappointments."

After she made the statement, both of them kept quiet while trying hard not to catch themselves stealing glances at each other. Finally, they arrived at their destination. It was one of the most fanciful places in town.

A table had been reserved for them upstairs close to a transparent glass wall. They could easily see the tree-lined street. After they had taken their seats. Jemimah noticed the way Jason was staring at her with so much admiration.

"What number was I on your scale the first day you saw me?" she asked out of the blue.

"An eight."

"That's interesting! So, what was out of place?"

"Like I said earlier, my subconscious arbitrates everything. Prior to that, nobody went past six."

"Then your ideal woman must still be out there somewhere."

"Not unless she's perfect! Jemimah, you are the nearest there is to perfection."

"You haven't searched the entire world, have you?"

"Right now you are on nine. I think the remaining one is for our individual differences. Ten is impossible to reach."

"Well, I'm really flattered. You are very interesting yourself."

"Thanks, but I prefer something similar to a scale."

"Well, we perceive differently. But I must say that you've been really nice to me so far. Let's just hope there isn't a part where you start doing a lot of crazy things like the day we first met."

The statement brought a broad smile on Jason's face.

"About the match the other day, I've been meaning to apologize to you in person. It isn't in my nature to be violent. Everything just happened so quickly."

"Seriously, you owe me no apology. Your video went viral; you've spoken to your supporters about it. They understand the rush of adrenaline. I do too. So that's enough."

They had not even ordered anything when an usherette walked to their table. She led them to a more exclusive room.

The grandeur of the party was just too much for a child. Matteo literally lived like an emperor. There was a throne in his living room.

The celebrant's mother had a crown on her head. She was a supermodel. It's hard to tell why she wore an expensive bikini and a sash with her name on it. It was the same one she had on when she won a beauty pageant while pregnant with the boy.

One of his teammates was with his woman on a large table. He noticed that three others were also present. They were the big boys of Lordham FC. Soon, their partners joined them.

A quarter of an hour later, a couple walked in and the atmosphere changed immediately. It was none other than Milverton's Roberto Torres alongside his partner, Ariana, the young lady whose arm was fractured as a result of Jason's shot!