Dare To Love You

"Come on, Lea. Let's have a double date for once," Grace whined, repeating her request.

What was her reason for forcing her sister to come along? Their mother forbade her to go out without Lea. Oh, oh ... what the hell, Lea thought irritably.

"Who else should I bring, Grace? You're being ridiculous!"

"Whoever, office friends, hangout friends. Isn't there anyone? Come on, please," Grace whined pleadingly to Lea.

Lea, who, even though she often fought with Grace, couldn't bear to make her sister disappointed. Finally, she relented by obeying her sister to go to the movies even though she had to be alone. Who else would she want to invite?

"Oh, wait, then how about you watch it with Freddie's friends? Who is the same age as you, and single of course, so who knows while getting to know each other, something more going to happen, hehe...," suggested Grace, thinking of another possibility so that her sister would not end up being cheated on.

The siblings, two years apart in age, looked at each other. Coincidentally, Lea was also really upset because she was the only one among her friends and even her sister, who didn't have a boyfriend. This could be a way to find a partner. Lea thought to herself.

Then, without thinking, she answered desperately, "Yes, I'll try it anyway. Does Freddie have a friend like you said earlier?"

Grace's eyes lit up with excitement. She was happy because her plan to introduce Lea to Freddie's friend was working.

She and Freddie often talked about Lea, who was still single. Freddie had a suggestion to introduce a friend of his who was also single. It's just that so far, they haven't had the right opportunity to reveal their plan to Lea.

"Absolutely. We'll bring you one of the highest quality ones!" Grace winked at her sister in the style of a professional matchmaker.

Lea laughed and shook her head at her sister's silly behavior. In her heart, of course, she hoped that this time, what Grace said was high quality was really by her standards. The problem was that Grace had also been introduced to a slack guy who was rather telly and made Lea auto-leave from the guy even before they were alone for about an hour.

That afternoon, Grace busied herself with dressing her sister as beautifully and elegantly as possible. Several times, they mixed and matched dresses that felt suitable for dating events and also by Lea's tastes; finally, they chose a simple cut dress with short sleeves, knee length, and a drawstring accent at the waist in smooth pink color. The dress, which Lea had never worn since she bought it, looked very suitable.

Staring at herself in the mirror, Lea looked quite satisfied with the results of her sister's makeup. Grace made up Lea's face with thin, simple, natural makeup according to Lea's usual character. Lea did not like to wear makeup. She usually always only wears light powder and lipgloss to go anywhere. This time, because of the dating event, Grace was forced to wear eyeliner and lipstick to complete her sister's makeup.

Freddie picked them up right at 6 pm. Their father and mother were forced to permit Grace to go out at night because, this time, she was with Lea. Her mother had smelled a conspiracy there. Unusually, Lea was willing to hang out with Grace and her boyfriend. However, for lack of a better reason, her mother couldn't stop them.

"Hey, you look beautiful, Lea. My friend will have an instant crush on you." Freddie made small talk behind the wheel when they were already in the silver CRV-type car that was winding slowly down the road out of the alley of Lea and Grace's family home.

"Yes, meet the MUA first, hehe...." Grace patted her chest proudly.

"Wow, you're top, honey." Freddie flicked his finger towards the nose of Grace, who was sitting next to him. Meanwhile, Lea, who was in the back seat, was alone and nervous, thinking about who her blind date would be.

"So we'll meet him in the movie theatre, huh, Fred?" Lea asked to ward off his curiosity.

"Yes. He doesn't live in the same direction, so he'll go alone. We'll meet him there. No problem, right?" Freddie asked Lea back. He was afraid that his girlfriend's older sister would be uncomfortable or that there was something wrong with their plan. He had to maintain his image in front of his future sister-in-law if he wanted to make it easy to get Grace's parents' blessing.

"Oh, no. Just wondering why." Lea answered in an indifferent tone even though her chest was pounding uncertainly, waiting for the figure of her blind date partner. What would he look like?

"You'll like the person. He's my friend. He's a good man." Freddie explained a little. Very little information was given, making Lea even more curious. She had been interrogating Grace since the house, but her sister didn't know anything about it.

"Oh, maybe he's a bit quiet, please be understand, okay. He's originally quiet, so that's how it is. No wonder it took him so long to meet a girl, ehehe." Freddie again gave a little description when they almost arrived at their destination, the movie theatre.

When they arrived at the big mall where the movie theater was located, Freddie took them in the opposite direction from the movie theater.

"Let's have dinner first; it's still an hour away, right?"

"Okay, honey. Where's your friend?" Luckily, Grace represented the question that was already hanging on Lea's lips.

"There, waiting for us at the cafe over there," Freddie pointed while entering a cafe. The cafe had a special table setting with only two chairs.

"Oh my, is this cafe designed specifically for those who are dating, huh? Only two chairs per table on purpose?" Lea commented in a hilarious tone. Making Freddie and Grace laugh instantly.

"It could be, Lea," Freddie said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"Hi, Shane." Freddie finally stopped at a table that was a bit on the far side. It was quite separate from the other tables.

The man who was sitting with his back to them turned around and stood up. A handsome man with an attractive, cool face. His slanted eyes were exactly like those of actors in Korean dramas. Gosh, Lea was immediately attracted by his charismatic figure.

"Hi, have you arrived?" Only a word with a heavy voice full of authority came out.

"Yes, sorry, a little late. The road is quite crowded, hehe. This, you know, Grace, is my girlfriend. And this is her sister, Lea." Freddie answered while continuing to introduce the two girls who were with him.

The cool figure narrowed his eyes more as he smiled and greeted and shook hands with Grace.

Then, nodding his head, he greeted Lea by name,

"Shane... come sit down."

Gosh, so she had to sit directly with Shane here while Grace and Freddie sat elsewhere? Ah, I'm going to die, Lea thought a little panicked. She was not used to being alone with an unknown man.

"Oh, okay." That was all she could say as she was forced to sit in the chair opposite Shane.

"We'll go there first. We'll meet you at the lobby of the movie theatre in an hour." Grace excused herself and led Freddie to another empty table.

Lea took a deep breath. Which was noticed by Shane, making her a little naughty.

"Don't be tense," Shane said later. That was making Lea even more confused, not knowing what to answer.

"Oh, no. It's normal," she replied shortly, trying to brush off her nervousness so as not to look so embarrassing in front of Shane.

"You both don't look alike, do you, even though you're sister?" Shane commented as she looked over to where Grace and Freddie were sitting.

Lea followed the direction of Shane's gaze. Grace and Freddie were laughing together across the table with their hands on that. Oh my! Her sister was quite flirtatious, too, though Lea embarrassed herself seeing her sister's behavior.

"Our faces, you mean? Yes, Grace looks more beautiful, anyway, really," Lea replied, starting to melt the awkwardness between them.

Shane looked at Lea, then back at Grace while comparing. Lea became red in the face because she was so embarrassed to be noticed to such an extent.

"I don't mean about your faces. You guys have similar faces, just a little different. Beauty is relative. Freddie's girlfriend is good at grooming. That's what makes her look more wow than you."

Since Lea was silent, Shane continued,

"What's completely different from you guys is the attitude. See, your sister can be that flexible and cheerful with her boyfriend. As for you, I see that you are stiff and not flexible."

"Okay, you're a very detailed observer, aren't you?" Lea commented in surprise.

"Usually, men are ignorant about such things."

"But are my observations correct?" demanded Shane to acknowledge the correctness of his assessment.

"It's up to the observer. If I say no, you won't believe me, right? You seem to be a person who is too proud of yourself and won't give others a chance to refute."

"Wow, you're like a psychic when you talk, seemingly not paying attention to me but guessing into my personality; it's interesting how intuitive you are."

Their conversation continued with several arguments until their food was delivered. Lea, who had lost her appetite, just stirred the contents of her plate with no appetite to finish. Meanwhile, Shane seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

Strangely, the man commented that Lea could not be as flexible and cheerful as Grace while he behaved like a block of ice. So Cold.

***

"Let's finish the food quickly. After this, the movie starts." Shane ordered suddenly after he glanced at the watch on his wrist.

Lea pushed aside her plate, which was only reduced by a few mouthfuls. She couldn't eat in such an uncomfortable state of mind. For her, eating with an ice block with a blind date theme that would hopefully change her single status into having a partner was the most uncomfortable thing.

Grey glanced at the contents of Lea's plate. Compared with his plate, which was also still filled.

"You also have no appetite, huh? Or did you eat at home earlier?" he asked just to make small talk.

"I ate earlier," Lea replied quickly to avoid further discussion.

"Freddie said that his girlfriend's brother was okay, so I'm fine with setting up a blind date with you. But...." Shane paused his sentence a little.

"But I'm so far from your expectations that you lost your appetite, huh? Do you want us to go home now? Sure, let's say goodbye to Freddie and Grace." Lea cut in as he got up from his chair and slung his bag over his shoulder.

However, Shane grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Owh, listen to me first," he protested.

"Sit down again, will you?" he continued, a little annoyed with Lea's guessing attitude.

Lea complied. After all, she didn't feel comfortable with Freddie if she had to say goodbye first. It would be her who the people at home would criticize Grace.

"What? That's why you should say it directly, just continue it, so you don't cut it into unclear pieces. It makes people misinterpret!" Lea grumbled, not wanting to look at the face of the man in front of her.

"Who said misinterpretation? Your guess is right. But it's not good for them if we ruin this event! It's been scheduled so hard too!" said Shane unabashedly.

Lea was wide-eyed at Shane's confession. Crazy, yes, this guy has no sweetness at all when it comes to talking, she thought to herself. Immediately, she made a flat face and remained silent.

And in front of her, Shane was the same way. What a block of ice! She grumbled to herself. Why else would she have been initially attracted by his charismatic looks and figure? Huh, fooled. His personality could be cooler but frozen!

Silent to each other, they were finally surprised by the sudden arrival of Freddie and Grace, who were already in front of their table.

"Hey, come on. Already done, right?" Grace reprimanded Lea, who seemed to be daydreaming. Shane also got up and said he wanted to go to the cashier first.

"No need, Shane. I could have done it earlier." Freddie prevented his friend and then dragged him away in the direction of the movie theatre.

Meanwhile, behind the two of them, Grace walked beside her sister and started interviewing her about Shane.

"How is it? Do you like Shane?" Her eyes sparkled with hope to hear something happy.

Lea let out a long breath.

"Huff, no. He's so cold. No friendliness."

"Oh really?" Grace's face immediately turned sullen.

"Yes. I've been sitting together for no more than an hour and I've already got a list of insults for me. Bummer. It's like he's already perfect!" Lea grumbled about Shane's attitude.

"Oops, maybe it's your weird attitude that makes him do that?" Grace blamed her sister instead. Because she also memorized her sister's behavior, which was indeed difficult. Especially when dealing with new people.

"I don't know. Anyway, I don't get along with him. Ice blocks and shaved ice cannot be united," concluded Lea flatly.

"Well, ice blocks and shaved ice, you said it. Try to finish it first until after watching the movie. The movie is romantic, who knows something gonna be different?"

Grace was still holding out hope that her sister would get close to Shane. If not, she would have to struggle to find another mate for Lea, even though convincing her sister to go on a blind date once was already difficult.

"Don't forget the treat. For your sake, I had to do this. If not, I would've gone home earlier." Lea replied, annoyed.

"Hey, Freddie already bought the food. We also got the tickets from Freddie, right? We should be the ones to charge you a treat if this competition is successful." Grace replied vehemently.

"What the hell. The food's not good. The atmosphere isn't fun either. The date is a pain in the ass too. What worked!"

"Ish, you have to change your attitude when you watch the movie together! Don't let it happen that you argue with each other again like before. Just enjoy the movie while imagining that it's you, okay?" Grace tried to advise her temperamental sister.

Although in her heart, she was not sure Lea would be able to hold her temper. This was because her sister's character was difficult. Especially if she didn't like people from the start, then it will also remain like that until whenever.

Seeing that her sister was silent, Grace added,

"Freddie had already warned you that Shane is a quiet person. That's what you think of as ice blocks."

"Yeah, he's really quiet, but once he speaks, his words are very bad and make those who hear feel so hurt, you know."

"Oh my ... how could you go to that extent? Freddie said he's usually nice. It's just that his flaw is hard to get close to women. And the worst thing is that he's faced with a woman like you, who has a hard time dealing with new people."

Suddenly, Lea, whose walk was a little off because her mind was wandering, bumped into the back of someone in front of her.

"Aww!" she exclaimed, rubbing her head.

"Be careful. So careless!"

The accusatory voice pierced Lea's heart as it came from the mouth of the man who had successfully ruined her beautiful night.

The girl looked up, staring fixedly into the eyes of the man in front of her, who was also looking at her intensely.

"You're the one who suddenly stopped, why am I the one being blamed?" she accused in a raised voice because of his annoyance. Her emotions had now risen to the top of her head.

Talking to Shane any longer would give her a heart attack as her auto tension rose many times over, she thought in horror.

"Hey. Look, we're already here. Yes, I stop. You are the one who was distracted, how come other people are being bullied? What a miracle!" Shane even addressed Lea in the same high tone of voice, which made Lea again inflamed and unable to hold her temper anymore.

She stomped her foot on the floor to get rid of her irritation, and then, without saying anything else, she turned to leave while swearing to herself.

"You are an ice block! I don't want to sit and watch with people like you! Better go home and sleep!"

"Sorry, Lea!"The exclamation of a voice instantly stopped her long strides. Did her ear is wrong? Did the ice block say sorry?

***

Lea stopped her steps but reluctantly turned around. And a moment later, someone suddenly grasped her fingers from behind.

"I'm sorry ...," Shane said while looking at her seriously.

"Let's try watching the movie first," the man continued in a persuasive tone.

Lea no longer knew how to answer. She obeyed as Shane guided her towards Grace and Freddie and walked hand in hand into the movie theatre.

It was already crowded inside. The big screen was already playing the opening commercial. Shane still held Lea's hand while walking along the rows of seats to find the seat number matching their tickets.

After finding the place, Shane invited Lea to sit down, and he sat next to her. Lea looked around for Grace and Freddie but couldn't find them because the lights had been turned off. Only the light from the projector was the only source of illumination.

Shane, who seemed to be ignorant and cold, was also caring. He still thought of bringing a big box of popcorn and two cups of drinks. Lea received it with a fair amount of admiration.

"A delivery from Freddie earlier." The ice-block man's words instantly dispersed her admiration. If it was in animation, his charisma that was depicted as a mirror had instantly cracked into pieces.

With his bent face, Lea relaxed her seat at least so that her body would be more relaxed than her mood. However, her elbow accidentally nudged the popcorn box that Shane had placed on the arm of the chair between them. The poor popcorn immediately toppled over and spilled its contents all around.

"Oops!" Lea was confused and embarrassed by the mess in front of her. Especially seeing the fierce expression of the man next chair. How annoying.

"What? I didn't mean to!" Lea unconsciously exclaimed, forgetting that they were in an area that should not be noisy. Which automatically made many pairs of eyes look at her. Oh my! Everything didn't seem right tonight! Lea was annoyed. If there were a disappearing door, she would have used it right then and there.

Already feeling guilty, Lea did her best to clear the popcorn off the chair and left it scattered below. What else could she do? Did she have to find a broom to clean it up, too? Of course not.

However, the unfriendly look in Shane's eyes made Lea completely uncomfortable. If she left there now, all eyes would be on her. She didn't want to be the center of attention like that. But... if she stayed there, she wouldn't be able to stand the ice block's unfriendly attitude either.

"Shut up and sit quietly until the movie is over. After that, you are free to leave without me holding you back." Shane said in a flat tone.

How the ice block man knew that Lea was eager to leave was a mystery to her. And even into the future, she would continue to wonder silently how Shane could understand her way of thinking even at the same time the thought had just crossed her mind.

"Oh, okay. I feel like a prisoner." Lea commented sarcastically. She was annoyed but didn't want to look so.

"Who would want to take a stiff, celeb-like you captive!"

Another one of those super-striking sentences issued by the flat-faced and sword-tongued. Lea spontaneously glared at Shane while flabbergasted. Wordlessly, she got up and stormed out of the theatre at a half-run. He didn't care about Grace or Freddie anymore. Especially with the response of that damn creature named Shane. Don't care about the devil!

Outside the theatre, she was still walking fast, stopping at the edge of a cold drink box, buying one with a slip of money and downing it to soothe her emotions.

This was not who she was. She was not cut out for this kind of blind date in the first place. Especially if she knew her partner was the North Pole ice block. It was bound to end in a cold war.

Lea's cell phone rang. She put her cell phone in the bag and didn't want to pick it up at the moment. It must be Grace who asked why she left first. Ah, later, she will be blamed for being too ignorant, for not being cooperative, even though it's just Shane who's annoying. Better to be quiet, Lea thought, ignoring the ringing of her cell phone.

Lea then chose to spend time at a food court near the exit. Because she was too lazy to go home alone and risked being interrogated by her mother, she waited for Freddie and Grace and went home with them. Oh, Grace should know that she owes her sister a huge favor.

Waiting for someone to go out with a stranger who is as annoying as Shane is an uphill battle for a single woman like her. While chewing her fried potato and sipping her bubble cocho ice, Lea played with her cell phone. She asked Amanda how she was doing with her respective boyfriends through the chat app. One minute, two minutes, nothing. Oh, probably she is still busy, she thought to herself.

Lea hadn't told Amanda about this sudden blind date plan. If she had known the full story, she would have laughed at her. According to Amanda, finding a match for Lea was indeed a super difficult thing to do. In addition to her high standards, her explosive attitude is sure to make many men decide to leave after getting close to her.

She could already imagine what kind of words Amanda would throw at her. Blame her rigidity in behavior. The standard of taste was too high, and also the problem of how to respond to the feelings of the opposite sex in general.

Huh, so annoying. Lea stirred with such emotion her cup of bubble coco ice that it accidentally splashed onto the person who was passing by next to her chair. Suddenly, the man's slick, clean, white, long-sleeved shirt was stained brown.

Lea looked at the owner of the shirt, scrunching his eyes in horror in case she would be severely scolded by the man who was now staring at her like a lion about to pounce on a village goat that accidentally entered the forest.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Lea said regretfully.

.

The man continued to eat him with such a piercing look that Lea almost thought of running away from there. She was afraid she would be persecuted for trashing the man's shirt. She unconsciously glanced at the security at the main door. If he had to, she would ask the security for protection, she thought in panic.

A voice then appeared to take control of the situation.

"Excuse me, just let it go, Brother. She was indeed very careless. But she didn't do it on purpose, please understand. Small incidents like that are common in our lives, right?"

It was the ice blocker, Shane, who came to rescue Lea.

***