Ah! Finally, I know his full name. A friend? So, everything was just my assumption. He doesn't have feelings for me.
Charlotte raised her eyebrows and sneaked a peek at her granddaughter, who had a sad expression. “Really? You’re being nice to my granddaughter.” Staring at him in a fierce expression, she interrogated him in a foul temper. “Are you just playing with my Talia? Someone like you should have many girls surrounding you already. Tell me! Do you even have a girlfriend? If you only have bad intentions, then you should stop approaching her.”
Talia gasped at the news. She couldn’t look at her grandma and JD, so she stared through the window. However, Jayden stared at Talia and then went back to her grandma. She feigned ignorance to the awkward situation.
“I admit that I have an ex-girlfriend in high school, but I don’t have one right now,” Jayden refused to back down. “I’m pursuing your granddaughter with a good intention, so I hope you don’t stand in my way.”
Charlotte swirled from JD to Talia, measuring the uncomfortable expression on the young man’s face and the embarrassed look in her granddaughter. “Is that so? Have you guys fucked yet?”
Talia coughed into her drink as she reached for the napkin while her grandma thumped her back. However, Jayden startled at the personal question and raised his brows at Talia.
“You’re really blunt!” Jayden whispered a few seconds later. “I think we’re still in the early stage of getting to know each other. That’s way too fast for us. We should take our time.”
Talia calmed herself, stared at her grandma, and whispered in a low tone. “Come on! Stop teasing me! I’m not sure about our status yet, so please stop embarrassing me.”
“I’m just helping you out,” Charlotte replied with a straight face. “No wonder you have been acting strange like you’re in cloud nine in the past few days. I assume your new change must be due to knowing this gentleman.”
Talia just blushed and refused to answer her grandma. Glancing at JD, she inquired at last. “Should we get going now? I hope I still make it in time to take my permit test.”
Jayden nodded as he looked at his watch. “I guess we should get going. The time is already 3:10 PM. We need to be there 5 minutes early. Feel free to take the leftover food.”
Talia packed the rest of the foods while her grandma ushered them to his car. Seeing the sparkled hue of his new silver car, Talia’s jaw dropped. She never expected him to be this rich. Even though he’s not a millionaire, the style of his car already indicated that he’s from a wealthy household. Talia and her grandma went to sit at the back while JD got onto the driver’s seat.
Would he still be interested in me if he knew that I was from a poor family?
8
Jayden drove all of them to the testing center. They arrive three minutes to spare. The area was already a bit empty as a few people left for home. Talia went to the counter to speak to an employee to give her access to the computer to take her test while Charlotte and JD waited in the lounge. She went to sit on a chair at the end as she scanned through the test.
Recalling the fierce expression of her stepmother, she hesitated to finish her test as the clock loomed closer to the time. She wanted to finish the test soon, so she quickly answered each question. In the end, she completed the test within ten minutes to spare. She was about to press the complete button before she paused her action.
How come the test was this easy? Will I even pass the score? Should I double check on my work progress first?
She turned to the lounge to see JD kept staring at her. The moment he gave her a thumbs up, Talia changed her mind and decided to redo her test with the best of her ability. Recalling how she reviewed the booklet for the past five days; she went through every single question from the beginning to the end. In the middle of her progress, she realized that she had made some mistakes along the way.
Jayden used all his spare time to bring her here. She shouldn’t be afraid of her stepmother and intentionally failed the test. He would be disappointed if she didn’t do her best on this permit lesson. Reviewing every question for the third time, she closed her eyes and submitted her answers just one minute before the closing time.
Opening her eyes, she stared at the remark on the computer screen. A smile spread across her face at the expecting news! She passed the test! Closing the computer and dashing from her seat, Talia didn’t rush to the counter but ran toward Jayden. She threw herself in his arms.
“I passed!” Talia screamed with excitement. “I finally got my permit! I hope you remember that you said you would teach me for my road test!”
JD laughed at her hysterical reaction and returned her hug. “Good job! I know you can pass on your first try.” Jayden patted her head. “I’ll find time to take you out for a drive.”
They were so into their hugging that they didn’t notice the stare from Charlotte. The moment the grandma coughed to alert them of her surroundings, they removed their arms and stood a few feet apart.
Charlotte muttered to her granddaughter. “Talia, the place is about to close down. The employee is waiting for you, so go over there to finish your task.” Turning to Jayden, Charlotte stammered in defeat. “I don’t mind mingling with you two love birds. But please spare this old granny's eyes. I couldn’t bear to watch all this sweet affection in front of me.”
Neither Jayden nor Talia replied a single word to Charlotte’s statement. Then, Talia just went to get her picture taken. As she finished at 4:10 PM, Jayden drove them home. Along the way, Talia kept staring at the yellow paper in her hand. She finally made some improvement now. The moment she began to learn how to drive, she could go get a job now. She didn’t have to rely on her family now.
“Talia… I’m about to have my finals in two weeks. I’ll have to come back to take you practice driving a few days after Christmas.” JD reminded her from the front without looking back. “By the way, where is your house? Should I stop in the front or in the back door?”
She nodded. “Okay! I’ll wait for you then. Anyway, you can stop a block away. You don’t need to go to the front entrance.” Fearing for her stepmother’s reaction, she didn’t want to risk the situation. “We can just walk home.”
“Don’t bother! Your mother will be upset if I didn’t drop you both home,” JD refused her answer as he swirled the car to the front of the house. “I’ll park here instead.”
Charlotte snorted at the suggestion, but Jayden turned oblivious to the action. Talia and her grandma hopped out of the car as they shoved the rest of the beverages toward JD. However, Jayden preferred they take the uneaten foods or else he would throw the rest to the trash. So, Talia had no choice but to bring the food home instead.
“Thanks for your time,” Talia smiled at him. “I really had a fun time today.”
JD looked around the front yard. “Should I come inside? I want to explain to your parents about your disappearance in the past hours, so that they wouldn’t be worried about your situation.”
“My mother and father love my younger sister more than me,” Talia muttered out her sadness without a second thought. “They wouldn’t care at all if I suffered in a bad situation.”