6 : Happiness is a State of Mind

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Groggy and too relaxed, Théo got up when he felt a light tap on the leg. It was his girlfriend,  interrupting his siesta. He stifled a yawn, grabbed his cargo shorts, and zipped his fly.  

Veronica, smiling faintly, thanked and walked the young uniformed masseuses out of their two-bed hotel room.

Théo simply watched as she walked back to the other bed, barefoot and with her thighs partly covered by her denim shorts. Her pale dainty hands gathered her long brown hair. His girlfriend grinned when she caught him ogling her.

Even sleepy and with his energy way below normal level, he couldn't help getting winded up by the mere sight of her.  Her sporty bra showed off her beautiful shoulders. Her long-lashed eyes focused on her phone. She kept texting, prolonging the silence in the room.

The fact that she chose a single room pleased him, alright. But it was because she didn't want to double the bill. That it was a two-bed room dismayed him, too. But that shouldn't matter now.  He always respected that she was the conservative type, and at the moment, Théo just wanted to make the most of this quick vacation with her. 

In a few days, work would be keeping them away from each other again. For how long? He didn't even want to think about it yet.

"Nap it off. Then we'll have dinner," said his girlfriend, her voice tired and rather hoarse.  Maybe she also felt like taking a nap to recharge.

"Dinner date?" He grinned when their gazes lingered on each other, but she didn't quite say yes and just smiled back. Théo fished his phone from his pocket to check for messages. He read one from his agent:

Leo Accardi IMG

New message

"Hey T. Got a call from a newly prototyped fashion mag. LA-based, they asked if u would do the cover and a spread. Half day photo shoot. Tentative sched on the 20th-23rd."

Today 05:24PM

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Not bad at all. He had always preferred doing photo shoots more than the runway shows. Théo composed a reply and agreed to the scheduled date, which was next week.

A small smile stayed on his face. It might even be a great idea to take Veronica with him. Perhaps her schedule would permit her to fly to L.A. and stay with him there for a few days?

"Is that her?"

He turned and saw his girlfriend sitting on the bed, facing him now with her legs crossed. The high-waisted shorts just swanked her curves. His brows rumpled while he put his phone away. "Her?" he repeated.

"She's in the city, right? For casting calls?"

"It's from the agency." Théo smirked. So she already might've heard about Aly wanting to get back with him. Not that he had mentioned anything, or that he and Veronica were now comfortable discussing  such matters.

They just had common friends, who, most of the time were too nosy for their own good.

"You need to fly out this week?"

He stared at his companion, confused if she was grinning because he was going to be away again and good thing they got to spend a lot of time together, or just because he was going to be away again. "They want me to do a shoot in L.A."

"Oh? Another ad? When?"

"Magazine. Next Thursday."

"Cover? Ooh...exciting."

"Let's go." He raised his brows and tried not to look or sound as hopeful as he actually was for her to say yes.  "Won't take two days. Will Mick be in L.A. next week?"  Yeah. He could finally meet her brother. Then her parents, if he got lucky...  Big if, though.

"Baby steps, Théo boy. Don't rush her," his best friends would promptly remind him if they were here.

"Not sure. Mick's workin' on something with a producer." Lifting a finger, Veronica opened her mouth again but paused. Then her expression became apologetic. "The promoters called. We have this thing on Wednesday. The second show would start at seven the day after. Sorry."

He nodded weakly and faked a smile. "S'okay."

"Next time," she promised.

"Always a bummer," he replied with a scrunched nose.

The corner of her pinkish lips tilted upward. "You could take her instead," she then suggested.  "I mean, if she wants to come and she's not that busy..." she said when he kept his mouth shut.

He gave her a dubious look. What's she up to? Théo frowned at the idea forming in his hazy head. Maybe she was just in the mood for jokes?

"I'm serious, though." Via chuckled when their stares lasted longer than necessary. "Ask her if you want to."

More silence filled the hotel room when he didn't respond and refused to acknowledge her idea. Théo feigned another grin, perplexed that she suggested he take his ex to L.A. with him instead. 

Did she want to ask him something? Finally in the mood to talk about his ex?

"Call her."

"I want you to come with me," he replied some uncomfortable seconds later, too quietly she might've misheard some words.

"Now you're just making me feel bad."   Veronica tsk-ed and stood up.  The next second, she was already in his bed. She leaned over him to give him a quick smooch.

He firmly held her face, responding with an ardent kiss.  They hadn't shared a kiss since the other night — which he understood. Their painfully awkward conversation regarding his untimely proposal that night definitely made her uncomfortable. He couldn't stay mad or blame her for saying no, though. 

Théo pulled her closer, pleased that she let him kiss her again while their chests touched.  Her thighs stayed on either side of him.

"You smell like honey," she commented when she pulled away. She looked him in the eye with a faint smile on her bare face.

He pinched her pale chin. "It's the lotion the masseuse used," he mumbled. "Why a two-bed room?"

"What?" She curbed a laugh and deviated her gaze when his stare intensified.

To keep her on top of him, he held her nape still, glad that he was the only one being too serious at the moment. He tried another kiss, and he did it gently this time. He was lucky enough that she made the first move today.

A short groan got stuck in her throat when he playfully bit her lip. "That hurt!"

"We can't sleep in the same bed?"  he murmured, still kissing her, liking how of the ends of her hair lightly scratched his cheeks, neck, and shoulders.  Then she pulled away and sat by his side.

"Close your eyes. You're exhausted." She snickered. Her quite raspy voice just pleased his ears.

To date, it was the prettiest but also the sexiest voice he'd ever heard. "Cuddle time?" he teased.

"Nap time." Veronica scrunched her nose. She stayed beside him and placed her head on his shoulder, her arm now resting on his bare chest. "I set the alarm at eight."

"Come with me to L.A."

"Gee." She promptly sat back up, making the bed move a little. Her lopsided grin showed the dimples below her lips. She also wrinkled her cute eyebrows — he always thought they were cute. "You're really pushing."

"Sorry."

"You think I was just messing with you?" She bit down on her lip while they ogled each other.

He sighed and kept his trap shut. Why wouldn't she stop thinking about his ex already?

"Let's not make it a big deal. You still wanna hang out with her; I know," she said a-matter-of-factly. "I get it. Okay? We talked about this."

Théo glanced over her bare thigh that snuggled against his side. A chunk of trepidation was forming in his throat. How she casually regarded the proposition wasn't helping him stay calm. He hated mind games;  Aly used to do that to him a lot.

"I don't mope about it or anything." His girlfriend held back a smile.

While  his back rested against the wall, Théo crossed his arms and  studied her expression.  He stared into her calm and endearing eyes. Not the most stunning pair he'd seen in his life, but he always loved looking at them.

Even her face—he would never get tired of it, with or without a touch of makeup on. What he mused over next was that morning he'd first laid eyes on her that fateful day in the bustling streets of Paris.

Before that night at the club, he happened to walked past her and Jamie outside a small shop one afternoon. Jamie then formally introduced Veronica to him. Théo remembered how he almost dropped the cigarette snug in his mouth, and how he almost tripped along the sidewalk when he saw his future girlfriend smile.

"Wasn't thinking when I chose the room. You know I don't like balconies," she then muttered, snapping him out of his memory.  Via chuckled at his stiff expression. "We're on the twentieth floor, man, and this is cheaper." She made a face. "You're putting a lot of thought into it."

He said nothing. But he appreciated her effort to stay in a lighter mood, regardless of the silly idea she'd just pointed out. Why the heck would he want to spend time with his ex?

Her soft hand rested on his forearm while  he looked her in the eye, his mind now mulling over his last relationship.

It had been two years now since he broke it off with Aly, also a working model.  Aly seemed the perfect match for him then. Fun to be with, ambitious...not to mention she had a face that would stop a clock. They'd been friends for years now and didn't have a dramatic falling out even after a few breakups.

All the same, he didn't want to be that emotionally attached to her anymore. There was still a fair amount of love in him for the girl. But it wasn't the same as before;  it had changed into something closer to fondness.

That day he met Veronica, he was convinced that he no longer wanted to be in a relationship with Aly.

It was all too sudden. He didn't hope for it. Neither did he think something this serious would come out of that innocuously fun night at the club. But the chance of getting to know Veronica bugged him all week since then, much to his confusion. 

To his logic then, it was akin to a precarious risk, but one too tempting not to take. Cheesy. But...not even three years later and he already bought her an engagement ring.

"What?" Veronica smirked at his momentary silence, clueless about his reverie.

She was just trying to stay at ease; he knew. Maybe their second carnie date was just that fun and exhilarating to her. An embrace from her stopped him from pondering more.

Théo smiled back, refusing the urge to pull her onto him again and continue what they'd started a minute ago. Remaining calm and tame was a challenge, especially since they were in the same bed again.

It didn't help that it was a smaller bed this time, or that she smelled heavenly and looked even more attractive in her strappy bra and curves-hugging denim shorts. He cleared his throat and put a shirt on. He faced her afterwards, then carefully stated his request. "Can we not talk about her anymore?"

Her eyes narrowed when she laughed at what he said. Then she pinned her gaze on his hand clasping hers on the white covers. "Something wrong?"

"I don't wanna screw this up again."

"Okay." She grinned, maybe because of how gently he enunciated her nickname. More ogling later, she gave him another kiss. "Sorry I brought it up."

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Théo guessed it was his joke, and he thought she was just satisfied with the food and the relaxing ambiance of the restaurant — especially since the place wasn't even half-full — but he still had trouble maintaining his inner calm whenever Veronica smiled at him like how she did now. She seemed to love spending time with him this often.

As they exchanged gluey stares, his heartbeat picked up its pace. Théo swiped another look at his date, at her posh clothes, her straightened hair, and her contagious smile. Then he realized he was almost getting intimidated with the classy air about her.

It was just there. That night they first met when Via wasn't even wearing anything fancy, he'd already been acquainted with the thing about her that made you want to know her more. At first sight, she just had a deep sense of intellect and shrewdness anyone would appreciate.

"You're staring again," she said, tiny dimples showing below her lips. Her eyes squinted a little, which only made it hard for him not to ogle her.

"I can't?" he mumbled with a smirk. He lightly chewed on the inside of his cheek, and he waited for her to reach for his hand across the dining table.

"Sometimes you look like you wanna open me up and probe my internal anatomy." Veronica pinched his hand, a self-conscious smile widening her pinkish lips. "Only wanted to dress up 'cause I looked like a ragged teenager all day." Her nose wrinkled.

"A hot, almost legal teenager, you mean." He finished his champagne.

A hearty laugh was her response to his teasing. "You look adorable in that blazer."  She winked at him. Then her phone went off in her purse. She ignored the muffled but shrill ringing, until the fourth ring. After she grabbed her handbag,  Via took the call upon reading on the screen who it was from. "Yeah?"

He figured it was Kyle soon enough. The certainty made the calm in him subside, but Théo couldn't move or blatantly react at the nuisance. 

"T, I'll just step outside. Reception's bad." Veronica excused herself.

He replied with a quick nod. His gaze followed her as she strode toward the restaurant's small but well-adorned balcony. Red roses decked the taupe walls. For the next ten minutes, she took her time out there while talking on the phone with Kyle.

Left alone at the table as he watched her from afar, Théo found himself stuck in a speculative mood, while his common sense mulled over her spending almost every day with the guy.

From what he'd known, she and Kyle had been practically inseparable since they'd met. It was because of their work—they were the physical and intellectual driving force of the band.

'A nice, decent and smart guy' was his first impression of Kyle when Théo had first met the band two years ago. But  Kyle and Veronica's closeness always bothered him.  And seeing pictures of them on the Internet, having a fun night out on his and Via's second anniversary, certainly didn't help.

The band had gone on tour that week, and he was too busy doing advertising campaigns that an hour-long phone call was the only thing he could settle on. It was around midnight when he came across a picture of Veronica and Kyle in some bar.

In the photo, she was smiling about something Kyle was whispering to her. Théo could still recall the scene. It was possible that he had spent half an hour staring at the photo, before drinking alone the entire night thinking about it.

From then on, there would always be this small sting of annoyance that burgeoned inside him every time he'd see or hear her talking to her bandmate. More than ever when he'd see or hear her laughing at something funny the guy might've said.

The sting felt insignificant but all too familiar now.

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