Just as the incessant ringing of the phone finally halted, the only sounds filling the air were the crackling of the stove and the thudding of mine and his heartbeats., In such close proximity, our breaths intertwined, and I could clearly see the flicker of flames in Ernest's eyes..., I had this intense premonition that something was bound to happen., Knock, knock!, The sound of knocking broke the silence, followed by the voice of Olivia from downstairs,

"Ernest, the water pressure in my place is really low. Could you take a look for me?

", Ernest, who was pressed up against me, visibly tensed up, and I seized the moment to quickly escape to the couch and plop down., After a moment, Ernest emerged from the kitchen and went to open the door,

"Olivia, let's see what's going on with your water.

",

"Thanks,

" Olivia peeked inside, naturally noticing me, and politely greeted,

"Felicia, do you mind if I borrow Ernest for a sec?

" Oh, the way she put it., But I played along,

"Olivia, quick borrow, quick return, no extensions.

",

"Ha-ha, sure, sure,

" Olivia replied, and Ernest followed her out., I sighed and then sipped on my juice before heading back to my room., When Ernest came to call me, it was already half an hour later., Time is a wonderful thing; the awkwardness from before had completely vanished. Searching for something to say, I asked,

"What was up with Olivia's water?

",

"The faucet was jammed up with limescale. Putting in a new one solved the problem.

", I remembered the demolition news,

"You know this place is getting torn down, right?

",

"Yeah.

", Thinking he mentioned he was moving back,

"Makes sense, you're just renting, after all.

",

"What about you?

" Ernest asked,

"Where will you go?

",

"I haven't decided yet,

" I replied, choosing not to mention my plans to buy a house., Ernest looked at me, his gaze deepening, but he didn't press further., His cooking was delicious, making me realize that if Ernest were to ever leave my life, nothing would taste the same again., After dinner, Ernest and I headed to the amusement park.,

"Deborah didn't come?

" I asked, noticing it was just him and me., Ernest replied,

"Don't need her.

", I chuckled,

"Mr. Collins, you do have a way of burning bridges.

", Ernest didn't bite, leading me further inside. I noticed all the lights were on,

"Looks like there's no issue with the lights, but we should check the overall effect later.

"

"Yeah, didn't you have the best view from the Ferris wheel? Let's head there later.

",

"Ernest, I didn't expect you to actually pull it off,

" I mused.,

"I keep my promises,

" Ernest said nonchalantly, but I sensed an underlying message., This wasn't the first time, and I knew he was saying it for me to hear., I tilted my head at him,

"Ernest, you're pretty good at this.

",

"Good at what?

" His expression was indifferent., Just as I was about to respond, a familiar figure appeared in my line of sight., I froze, staring at the figure under the bright lights like I was seeing a ghost.,

"What's wrong?

" Ernest followed my gaze., And then, he saw Conrad not far from us., Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.