LOVING EZEKIEL

CHAPTER FOUR

Curiosity, curiosity, curiosity…

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The evening night is being lit up by the bright lights from different establishments that served both the locals and the tourists the best effort they can, so the currently serene sea in front of them won’t be ridiculed as part of the guests’ dissatisfaction. Along with the rowdy crowd, Drake and Georgia parted ways after exiting the clinic—he went to the left direction, while she went to the right.

First kick. Second kick. Third kick.

As Georgia walked towards the Walter’s Steakhouse that is just a few buildings away from her clinic, she is staring hard at the ground, kicking a stray pebble, as she slowly made her way towards the restaurant. Her thoughts are filled with questions that prevented her from having a calm walk on her way to the promised place where she can retrieve her precious parrot.

Why do I have to bump with a man who is so curious and talkative for someone I’ve just met? Why do I have to encounter a surfer who is a VIP and is now taking care of Finn? Why do I have to be in the center of the hotel rumors when I should be the one who is knowing about nearly all the rumors here in Gruffind?! What caused things to mess my whole day today?

Before she could even formulate a sentence that can calm her nerves from all the baffling questions she has in mind, she found herself stopping in front of the restaurant—the steakhouse that she sees as a nest of people who uses dinners as an excuse to talk about secrets, deals, rumors, and most of all…to show off their money.

People who are wealthy enough to afford to dine here really irks me. All they do is talk s**t about everyone aside from themselves while they cut their steak as elegantly as they can. To think that I will eat here, “What a joke.” Composing herself to maintain the image she built for herself, she heaved a deep breath, stopped herself from showing her disgust, and put on the calmest expression that she can.

As she focused on her only goal, she walked towards the door and placed her hand on its metallic handle. You can do this, Georgia. Entering the den of riches, she looked around the first floor of the steakhouse in hopes of quickly spotting the man she is supposed to meet.

“Good evening, ma’am! Welcome to Walter’s Steakhouse. Table for how many?” before she could even familiarize herself with the guests, the female guard who waited for her to close the door because she failed to open the doors for the guest, asked with a polite smile—feeling slightly nervous that she messed up because she did not tend to the entering guests.

Turning to look at the staff who talked to her, the first thing she noticed was her uncomfortable, anxious gaze. What kind of female guard stands so nervously in front of a civilian? “I am here to meet with a man named Ezekiel.” Using the knowledge that fine dining restaurants like this often prioritize people who reserves a table beforehand to her advantage, she chose to bet that the guard must’ve been familiar to the name of her parrot’s savior.

“S-sir Ezekiel?” her eyes widened in surprise, which in turn confused Georgia. He must be so rich if even this resto’s guard is cowering in fear over his name. “Y-you’re that guest who made him wait for an hour?” she asked, almost like a whisper after leaning in, afraid that someone might hear her.

Before she could even response, the guard quickly pointed at the stairs behind Georgia. “S-sir Ezekiel Hendrix is in the second floor. He reserved the entire floor.” She said, her words were nearly mixing with each other due to her obvious discomfort. “Why do you have to come later than him?” not being able to control her mouth, she questioned her.

“What do you-”

“Sir Hendrix nearly reserved the entire steakhouse if he didn’t change his mind. He’s already here since 6 in the evening, and because we got curious on who he is, we searched about him online and what we learned scared all of us to make a mistake in front of him!” the guard whisper-yelled. “So please go up and meet him now, miss!”

That was just a few set of sentences, but they were enough to make Georgia feel like a cold, icy, bucket of water was spilled all over her. Did I just crossed paths with a filthy rich man? “Oh...” Instead of dwindling on her own thoughts further, she ran towards the staircase, ignoring the curious gazes of the guests who were disturbed by her loud footsteps that overpowered the soft, instrumental that’s playing on the background.

Georgia don’t have any connections with any person from the high society, but every fiber of her being despises the people who plays around with money. In addition, the locals in the Gruffind City is enough to make her see them more in a negative light—people with money looks down on those who don’t. If even the locals feel such superiority complex, what’s more are there for people who came from much higher caliber.

Reaching the last step, she is then greeted by another door after walking through a luxurious carpet. But unlike the entrance door, the handles are gold, and the doors aren’t made of glass, but with wood that is aesthetically carved. Suppressing her emotions once again, she held the cold, golden handles and opened it, revealing a much chilly atmosphere.

Is the AC here much chiller than the ones in the first floor? Slowly taking a step at the same time that she pushed the door, her eyes were fixated on the man who’s back is in front of her. Wearing a knitted, white long sleeves, it contrasted his blonde locks that causes him to appear like a prince waiting for his gentle princess to come join him in his meal.

“Damn! Damn!”

There, beside the said man is a small, and tall circular table where a cage lies, and beside it is an equally tall stool where a coat is placed. There, her pet, Finn, is flapping his wings as he repeated a certain word—damn.

“Will you stop cussing? What will your owner think if she finds out you learned how to say damn and f*ck?” the man hissed as he turned to the parrot. His side profile is worth the sight, and for Georgia who have keen eyes for beauty, she found herself immersed on the features of the man whose bright orbs are glaring at Finn.

“Damn! F*ck! Damn! F*ck!”

As the parrot repeated was he said, the man hissed and ruffled his hair before flicking the cage. That scenario made Georgia laugh, and because he didn’t realize that she’s already on her way in, and she realized that it was rude of her to not tell him she’s already there, he turned and looked at her with confused, furrowed, brows, and she, on the other hand, looked at him with wide, surprised eyes as she covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“You’re here.” he stood up and stared at her orbs draped with honey, gently reflecting the light from the warm lights illuminating the entire floor. Remembering the first scene she saw after coming up, Ezekiel glanced at the parrot who is now calmly fixing his feathers before looking back at his owner.

“Ah, your parrot is…a little mischievous.” As he lowered his mesmerizing gray orbs, Georgia snapped out of her thoughts and let out a small chuckle, closing the door behind her before placing her hands that are clasped together in front of her hips.

Hearing that small, yet sweet tune of genuine amusement, Ezekiel lifted his gaze and looked at the woman whose orbs were glinting with entertainment. “I know Finn is a handful, but I guess, you’re like him too.” She smiled.

It wasn’t the first time that he saw people smiling or laughing with him, but for Ezekiel, this is the first time that he felt refreshed after hearing a laughter that don’t sound forced nor on purpose. People like her exists? That question wasn’t an exaggeration, but merely an expression of his disbelief. So even a small laugh can sound nice.

Noticing that he fell in silence, she stopped indulging in the temporary fun of seeing a man like him to be flustered due to a parrot repeating his curse words. Ah! I haven’t introduced myself formally yet! Clearing her throat, she put on a polite smile.

“My introduction might be late. But hello, Ezekiel. My name is Georgia, Georgia Allison Rose. Thank you for finding Finn for me.” Sincerely, she expressed her gratitude and placed her hatred against rich people at the back of her mind.

Even her name sounds nice. Totally captivated by how she gave her first impression, Ezekiel walked towards her and just stopped a few meters in front of her. There, he found himself returning the favor. “Nice to meet you, Georgia. My name is Ezekiel. Ezekiel Finn Hendrix.” He smiled, and when she saw how her smile dropped, he laughed.

“F-finn? You’re a Finn too?” she asked, pointing her finger at him with her wide eyes that spell how surprised and embarrassed she is upon knowing that her parrot and her parrot’s savior shares a name. Seeing how the man in front of her just laughed and stared at her with teasing gaze, she was taken aback.

The guard said they were afraid to make a mess in front of him. But why is he laughing like a normal person? Confused as of why her heart skips a beat due to the carefree expression of the man in front of her, she found herself questioning the statements she heard on her way to their meeting place. Is he pretending to like my presence or something?

“You make it sound like it’s a sin to have similar names.” Snapped out of her thoughts due to his manly voice cutting off her imaginative staring, she felt the heat quickly rising up to her cheeks, causing her to avert her gaze, cover her face by raising her right hand, clench her left fist that she hid behind her, and let out a small, yet obviously forced, awkward laugh.

“I-I’m not that s-strict with it.” Upon hearing that, Ezekiel couldn’t help but want to laugh further—especially when he saw how her eyes widened and her lips parted before she avoided his gaze, how her hand trembled as it covered her face, and how her face is showing signs of pure embarrassment. Cute.

How intriguing. Deciding to let his positive impression of her to reign over, he took a step closer and offered his hand, confusing Georgia who looked down at his hand that is patiently waiting for her to take. “Your Finn might hate it if you’ll just stand up and talk with the other Finn, Georgia.” He grinned.

Her brows furrowed as she processed what she just heard. Once she realized that she’s being mocked, she glared and said the first thing that came to her mind. “What the f-” before she could even cuss at the man in front of her, she quickly closed her mouth, took his hand, and took the lead of walking towards the center table where she first saw him.

Interesting. Finding her actions amusing, Ezekiel couldn’t hide his interest with the woman he just met for the second time at all. She fainted at my board, left a reply at my note, talked so casually at me, and now, she’s leading me to the table where I should be the one guiding her? Chuckling upon the enumeration of her notable traits, a wide grin escaped his lips when she turned around and glared at him before continuing their walk.

Reaching the table, Georgia let go of his hand and was about to go to her pet parrot when suddenly, her hand was held back, causing her to look back at him with confusion and shock painted in her ever-expressive pair of eyes. “Do you know that your eyes look like zircon?” instead of telling his reason for stopping her, compliments escaped his lips.

“Wha- wha- I mean,” clearing her throat, she tried to pry her hand away from him. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of it. But people usually say my eyes look like it’s blessed with honey or a pool of honey that shines in the sun or something.” She said, continuing her speech as she kept on taking her hand away from him.

Noticing that his gray orbs, almost close to white, stare at her with expressions she can’t read, she heaved a deep breath and posed a question after stopping her futile resistance. “Your eyes look extraordinary. Are you going to pierce me with it?”

As they stared into each other’s windows of the soul, a certain Finn decided to break through the moment a few seconds later.

“What the! What the!”