2 1.9 Butterflies in Her Stomach

There was no grace time for the passengers to safely board the lifeboats. Not even the women, not even the children. One moment, the ship was cruising on still waters and the next second, our fates were bound to the raging tempest of the merciless waves.

Ashton was finally taking her therapists advice. She decided to put the tragedy into writing. She felt it's already time for her to do so, especially now that she remembered how family felt to her. Writing the book was another way for Ashton to treasure those feelings and preserve it.

Your mind is clearer when you're in a good mood. And when your in a good mood, you can do things efficiently.

That's what Ashton declared to herself when she finally got around to fix her computer after she thought of writing the book. It didn't take her long till she figure out the problem and troubleshoot it herself. She was very pleased with herself at a job well done.

The more she wrote, the more vivid her memory came rolling back to her. It didn't hurt as much as it had before. She had made her peace with it.

Ashton spent the whole weekend writing a few chapters.

__________________________________________

It was already Sunday evening when Ashton actually heard a foreign sound other than her fingers tapping on the keyboard. She realized, there was a knock on the door.

She got up to answer it.

When she opened the door, she saw the person was about to leave.

"Connor?" she uttered. Surprised by his presence. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello, Ashton," he was surprised too. "I thought you weren't in. I, uhm, I was thinking if you..."

She was astonished. How long has he been knocking? Was she so immersed in her writing that she didn't hear the knocks?

"I was thinking if you would like to have dinner with me," that finally got out of his chest. "Tonight? Would that be alright?"

She pursed her lips before she smiled to say, "Yes, I'd like that."

"Great," he lets out a breath of relief.

"Why don't you come in for a sec," she invited him in. "I'll just gussy up in a jiffy."

"Sure," he followed her in.

Ashton shuts her computer down, brushed down the crumple on her skirt, tuck away loose strands of her hair from her face and got her things before she walked towards Connor.

It was comforting to see Connor stretching his arms in her abode; a sign that he was at ease. It worried her earlier about what would he think of her small and incomplete home. Now it seemed like an unnecessary thought. Why worry of such little things?

As they got into the cab, Connor mentioned the bistro to the driver and they took off. Ashton find herself fidgeting in her seat, she got nervous that Connor was sitting only a few inches next to her.

She doesn't know why she's acting this way, she can only hope that Connor didn't take notice how far out her expressions were.

__________________________________________

"You can't be serious," she laughed, almost choking on her cake.

"Of course I'm serious," he added. "I seriously wasn't drunk or dreaming, the mummy did come to life."

They were talking about one of his expedition to Al Simhara where he snucked out at night to enter the tombs. It was one of Connor's scariest experience but Ashton was laughing because he was joking about how the mummy was literally covered by toilet papers and was actually coming at him, asking for help to tear them off.

"You should really check them out yourself, if you don't believe me," he sarcastically suggested at first. "A 5-day trip down there should cover the whole experience but even more so, 3-days are worth it too."

"How long was your expedition that time?" she asked as she looked at him.

"I can't remember," he notioned, trying to flash back. "Probably two to three weeks. Tops."

"I didn't know you travel with people," she said as she recalled back on what he said during their date a few nights ago. He usually sets off to a trip on his own. "What was the occasion?"

"I did go off on my own," he stated. "But then I bumped into relic researchers and they needed a local guide to get them started. So I thought, these people are my ticket to the deepest tombs, and I practically joined them."

"You cheater!" she exclaimed and they both laughed hard.

The night went on pretty well for the both of them. Getting to know each other over the course of two dinners was quite an experience. Not that they had anything more common to each other than the love for books, but that their amazing differences were the things that made them enjoyed each others company.

__________________________________________

Connor got a call from his mechanic after dinner. Apparently, his truck had been fixed and he could pick it up anytime. So Connor decided he'd get it tonight and that this time he could send Ashton home himself.

It was a sky blue 4WD Vorn.

Connor had opened the door for her when he took the truck out. And for once, Ashton didn't fidget in her seat as she did before, or at least, since they weren't too close to each other. She still don't know why she's uneasy when they were in the backseat of the cab.

She didn't have that feeling when they sat together during dinner. Sometimes she baffles herself with questions she can't answer.

"You're tired?" Connor's deep voice startled her thoughts.

"Not really," she answered, hoping he didn't see her mentally freaking out over her own worries.

As they reached her house, Connor got the truck's door for her. Ashton managed a whispered thanks and walked out. She fiddled with her keys as she was close to her door.

"Ashton?" Connor called her as she was just about to reach her door.

"Yes?" she turned around. Even though the night was moonless and it was dark, she could see the gleam in his eyes looking back at her. It made her a little nervous, it was as if he could see her in her entirety.

"I'll be leaving town tomorrow," he said. He's been meaning to tell her about it during their dinner. It's actually the reason why he wanted to see her today. But he just didn't know how to tell her about it without being too obvious. Anyway, he finally told her.

"To the Champs... for a week maybe," he continued.

"A week," she softly echoed him.

There was a moment of silence between them. Just them, gazing one another. Uncertain of what should be said next.

"I'll..." he hesitantly broke the silence. "I'll see you when I get back?"

"Sure," she smiled and before she turned around towards her door, they bid good night.