Professor F novel Chapter 80

"Wow! I'm finally meeting him in flesh!" August joked as she heads to the hall going to the elevators. "I'll be heading down now. Just wait for me."

She's finally down the lobby and heading out of the building. She walked across the street where the coffee shop is and immediately saw Gabi waving her hand as she stands up from her chair.

She hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Garett said he's almost here. We'll just wait for him."

"Alright." She then sits on the chair beside Gabi. "You look happy."

"Is it that obvious?" Gabi chuckled.

She giggled. "It's like you're waiting for your prom date."

Gabi grinned. "Actually—" She looked at her as she grabbed her hands. "—I wanted you to meet him. He's not dating anyone. And you're single."

Her mouth dropped as she watched Gabi's apologetic face. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you two to meet and see how it goes from here. Don't worry. I'll be joining dinner. I hope you're not mad for this?"

She sighed and smiled at Gabi. She can't get mad. Gabi is like the sister and best friend she never had. All her friends come and go since childhood because her father was working in different countries as an engineer.

And maybe it's about time to meet new people, too. Her heart remembers Flynn's words that night.

I hope this will be the last time you'll cry because of a jerk like me. I'm sorry.

To her, his words didn't mean how much of a jerk he was for making her cry. A part of her wants to think that he wants to be the last guy in her life and not date any other besides him.

And as stupid as it seems, her heart holds on to that belief.

"I'm not mad, Gabi. I hope your brother won't be mad though." She smiled.

"I think he's already got an idea."

"How?"

"Well, like what I did to you, I've been talking about you when I have a chance to talk to him. I think he's also curious." Gabi's phone started ringing and she stands up from her seat as she grabbed his bag and her hand. "He's here. Come on."

"Oh, okay." She grabbed her purse and stands beside Gabi while waiting for her brother's car.

Gabi waved her hand as a luxurious black sedan stopped in front of them. The back door opened and she finally saw Gabi's big brother stepping out of that expensive car.

He's wearing a tailored black suit paired with his expensive oxfords. His hair was dark brown like Gabi's and his features are too perfect that she wanted to check the latest male magazine to check if he was one of the bachelors they've featured.

Gabi hugged him before briefly introducing them. She took his offered hand for a handshake. "You can ride on the back."

"Nice to see you, Harry." Gabi greeted the driver. "How's the family?"

"Oh, they're doing good, Gabi. How are you?"

"I'm great. By the way, August, this is Harry. He's been with us since I was a kid. Harry this is my roommate, August."

They exchanged polite greetings and she went quiet. She remembered Flynn having a driver named Hugo. She wanted to laugh and didn't realize she was grinning.

"What do you think?" Gabi mouthed after tapping her arm.

She looked so happy. She must be thinking that I already liked her big brother. She looked at the back of Garett's head while he's sitting on the front seat. What's there to hate? He's too perfect. Only he lacks a girlfriend or a wife.

"Later." She mouthed as she looked out of the window. It's true—what people think is the best for you isn't always the same with what you think.

They have a reservation in a very familiar place. And as soon as they went inside, she realized it was the same Italian restaurant Francis took her and Flynn to have lunch five years ago! And she suddenly feel anxious thinking she might see someone familiar there.

The dinner was smooth with Gabi being so talkative and as if it was planned, Gabi excused herself to take a call.

Really? At this time of the night? She doesn't even have a boyfriend.

She continued eating with Garett when he spoke. "I'm sorry if you got dragged into this. My sister—" He wipes his mouth with the table napkin. "—Gabi, and my family don't know my personal life. I'm actually dating someone. I thought keeping it from my family would stop them from meddling but I guess I've reached that age when people are expecting me to settle down. In my case, though, it's a complicated one."

She smiled. I knew it. For someone as perfect as him, it's impossible that he's not dating anyone. "Well, I'm glad we didn't have to pretend in front of Gabi. I'm actually surprised to know that she's trying to play cupid. I don't have intentions on dating someone right now."

The relief on Garett's face was so obvious that she wanted to laugh. He cleared his throat. "Gabi mentioned you were single for almost five years now after you had your first boyfriend?"

She nodded. "That's true. And I don't think I'm someone I want to be yet." She sips from her wine, remembering Flynn's words again. "I'm just going to say this because I want Gabi to stop wasting her time setting you up on dates and try finding her own. I'm not saying you should settle down with the person you're dating. What I'm saying is, at least, tell Gabi that you already met someone."

Garett sighed heavily as he takes a sip on his glass of wine. "It's too complicated."

"Please forgive me if my words would offend you but—" She looked into his eyes. "—are you feeling any comfortable with that complicated situation? Are you okay keeping it from your family? Is your partner—whoever you're dating—comfortable keeping your relationship from your family or the people around you?"

"You know, it's exhausting. Keeping things from people. It may work at first because you'd find ways to make it work but eventually, it's going to be so tiresome you just give it up." She takes a deep breath. "Perhaps take this time to weigh things. Is your family more important than her? If so, maybe, it's better that you've never dated her at all. Saves you the worries for lying to people."

Garett looked shocked to hear her words, he was looking straight into her eyes with horror. And then he takes a deep breath, looking down. "He's a guy.”