"Keith, are you now okay?" Rhianne asked as she gently rubbed his back while offering him a bottle of water.
But Keith's only response to her is a hum. He is also giving his chest a little massage to soothe the pain he felt earlier in the ice cream shop. He will never forget this day when an ice cream almost ended his life.
"Rhianne." Keith called her name in a low voice.
"Yes?"
"Please stop making me surprised while we are eating."
Keith did not know whether he will be lucky to survive next time or not.
But of course, he is just exaggerating. But being the receiving end of her confession while a spoonful of ice cream is in his mouth will cause his early death. It was really unexpected and she just said those words out of nowhere. Can anyone blame him if he acted like that when the girl he likes suddenly said those ambiguous words?
They are now at the park located behind the mall. The rain has stopped pouring an hour ago. Rhianne found a dry bench so she put their things there and pulled Keith to go and sit beside her.
"Oh, okay. Then I will never surprise you again in the future."
"Hey. That's not what I mean." Keith quickly protested.
"But you said just now that you hate surprises."
"And you know that—Tch. You are just messing up with me again."
Rhianne let out a chuckle which makes her companion let out a sigh.
"But do you mean it?"
"Hmm?"
"When you said that earlier, do you actually mean it?" Keith seriously asked.
"Of course." Rhianne quickly replied. "I will never lie to you when it comes to these things."
"...Wait. I want to make sure that we are on the same page." Keith said before taking a deep breath.
"Hmm?"
Keith cleared his throat first before he moved his body to face Rhianne. Then he holds her hand and moves it closer to his lips. His eyes are still staring at her. Though Rhianne feels a little shy, still did not avoid his gaze and waits for him to say something.
"Rhianne, can you close your eyes for a second?"
"Huh? Oh, okay."
Keith stares at the girl who obediently closed her eyes without asking the reason why. She really trusts him a lot, huh. It never fails to make him feel a warmth in his chest every time Rhianne shows a lot of faith in him. With a chuckle, he pulled a velvet box from his pocket and opened it.
Rhianne can feel something cold wrapping around her wrist. Soon, Rhianne jumped on her seat when she feels Keith's soft lips at the back of her hand. But before she can protest or ask him a question, Keith finally said to open her eyes.
Rhianne is now wearing a charm bracelet around her wrist. There are seven charms on it in total. Six of them are flower charms such as rose, tulip, carnation, primrose, lilac, and peony. The seventh charm is a pink crystal shaped into a flower that sparkles even at night.
"Keith, this is..."
"Well... It is actually my surprise gift for you after we watch the fireworks display that I planned tonight. But as you can see, that did not happen because of the sudden rain earlier." Keith slowly explained. "But I still want to give it to you. Just because my plan failed doesn't mean I cannot give it to you anymore."
"The charms..."
"Those are the flowers in your garden that you cannot touch because of your allergies. Since you cannot touch the real thing, then let's just settle with these charms."
Rhianne is speechless right now. He actually remembered her words. At that time, Rhianne casually said to him that she likes the color of the flowers in their garden. But she can only admire it from afar because of her pollen allergies.
She did not expect that Keith will still remember it. Rhianne gently touched each charm on her bracelet. She already guessed that Keith will give her an accessory based on the clues that Andrew had told her the other day. But this is such a meaningful gift for her.
"Remember our bet earlier?" Keith suddenly asked. "I received my gift. You cannot refuse it, okay?"
Rhianne can only chuckle when she heard that. How can she refuse such a beautiful gift? She looks at him before nodding her head.
"Actually, you are not the only one who has something to give tonight." Rhianne said.
"Yeah? What is it?"
Rhianne pulls a small box from her bag and puts it in Keith's hand.
"Open it."
Keith followed her instruction and sees a wristwatch inside the box.
"As you can see, it is not a branded watch. I actually made its strap." Rhianne said in a shy voice.
The other day, Rhianne accidentally saw a shop that sells do-it-yourself items while strolling at the mall. There are selling a kit where you can make the string strap of your watch. Without hesitation, Rhianne bought three kits of it in case she makes a mistake on her first trial. She also chooses the colors brown and green which is similar to Keith's eye colors.
As expected, her first try is a failure. She made a wrong measurement on its length and the sides of her personalized straps are all crooked. Luckily, Rhianne made a decent wrist strap on her second try before assembling it. To make it more special, Rhianne engraved a few words on the back cover of the watch.
"It is my first time making it. I'm just hoping that you will accept it—"
"Of course, I will accept it! Only a fool will try to reject this gift." Keith quickly said.
Until now, Keith only received gifts that are bought from branded and expensive shops from the others. Rhianne is the only one who gives him personalized gifts. Compared to the expensive gifts he received during his birthdays and special holidays, Keith will always prefer the gifts he received from Rhianne.
He is not just being biased because she is the girl he likes. He likes it because of the effort and time she poured to make those gifts. So far, this wristwatch is now his second favorite gift from Rhianne. The first gift he likes is the scrapbook that she gave to him last year on his birthday. It is full of her handwritten notes and their compiled photos together.
It is not hard to guess why Rhianne chooses the colors brown and green for the strap. This girl always put values and meanings to her crafts. While checking it, Keith cannot stop himself from smiling when he sees the small words engraved on the back cover of his new wristwatch.
'For My Mr. Protagonist'
Alright. Scratch it. This wristwatch is now his first favorite gift that he received from Rhianne.
"Oh? What is this?" Keith asked in a teasing voice. "I am your Mr. Protagonist? Really?"
"...If you don't like it, then give it back to me."
"Nope! This is mine now." Keith said as he raised his hand so Rhianne cannot get the wristwatch from him. "Since you give it to me, I am now the owner of this watch."
"Of course."
"Well then, put it on my wrist."
"...You can just put it on yourself."
"Rhianne, haven't you heard the words 'courtesy demands reciprocity' somewhere? Since I personally put your bracelet on your wrist, you should also do the same to me."
"Fine."
Keith puts the watch on her hand and readily shows his wrist on her. Rhianne let out a helpless sigh before tying the straps on his wrist. Because Keith has a good skin complexion, any colors will suit him. Rhianne also shows a satisfied smile seeing that she did not make a mistake in choosing this color for him.
"Done!" Rhianne said. "What do you think?"
"I love you..."
"Wah—"
"...r gift. Thank you."
Seeing the red blush on Rhianne's face, Keith cannot help but let out a hearty laugh. He keeps on laughing even when Rhianne hits him on his arm. Teasing her like this is always rewarding because Keith always sees her blushing face.
"Okay, okay. I will stop laughing now." Keith said while wiping his eyes. "Let me make it up to you."
"But how—"
Keith suddenly pulls Rhianne closer to him and gently moves her bangs with his fingers. Then he put a soft kiss on her forehead. His smile deepens when he saw her surprised face.
"Thank you for agreeing on going out with me tonight, Rhianne. Although a lot of mishaps happened earlier, it doesn't matter anymore since you are on my side. Thank you."
Although her cheeks are still blushing too hard, Rhianne still gives the sweetest smile that she can give to him.
"I should be the one thanking you, Keith. Thank you for staying with me and for your wonderful gift. Don't worry! This is not the last date that we are going to have."
"Of course." Keith softly replied.
The two of them stare at each other for a while before they giggle like children. But before they can pull away from each other, the two of them heard a familiar voice behind them.
"Gracious! Today is my very first day off for this month and this is what I am going to witness after getting out of the hospital? Ah, my virgin eyes!"
Turning around, Rhianne and Keith saw Calvin standing not too far from them. He is covering his face with a medical book but he is still taking a peek to look at them.