I was on the verge of being single for about 2 years, while attending art school with my besties StitchRex and YzmaEelyn. StitchRex was in a relationship with SadSimon, who ended up getting a job at Rainforest Pub in Sunway, where us 3 girls used to hang out, for great wood-fired pizzas and an occasional drink during our later gossip sessions.
So one night, we were having some food and beers at Rainforest, this guy comes over, in baggy khaki pants, the black Rainforest t-shirt, a red bandana on his forehead, so close to his eyes that it covered his eyebrows, and serves us our beers. Then he looks over at YzmaEelyn who's doing Perspective drawing on her artboard and starts talking non-stop, asking us where we're from, and saying that he's doing Interior Architecture in Limkokwing and how he loves it all and blablabla.
We were at first, pleasantly surprised, but as he went on and on, YzmaEelyn and StitchRex were exchanging looks, because the conversation was getting longer and longer. The boss walks by, says he's the new bartender, and then tells him to go do something. Bubbly bartender walks off, and the sleazy boss talks to us, asking us how the food is and all.
The next day, we were outside, this time, just having some food, in the early evening, when SadSimon comes over to us, and saying he wanted to tell me something
"Julia, the bartender asked me to ask you, if he can give you his number."And so, I said, "Er, it's okay. No thank you."
SadSimon goes back inside for a bit, comes out again, and says,
"His name is Ian, and he asked me to tell you that he's not Malay."We all laugh, because that's so random, but I eventually don't take his number nor give him mine.
That weekend, 3 of us went over to StitchRex's place to have a stayover, Friday night, as we were going up to Genting to have CoffeeBean and have StitchRex's brother test out his new engine. That night itself, when we were having a good laugh over standup comedies, my phone beeped. I looked at it and a message from an unknown number said:
"Hi I'm Ian the bartender from rainforest. how's your weekend going?"And I replied that I was at my bestie's place having a sleepover because we were going up to Genting for coffee the next day. And so, we texted each other a few times, and that was it.
After coming back to my room in Sunway, getting ready for the week of classes, one night, I get a text from IanBartender, asking me if I would like to go out for a drink at a mamak. Having no car back then, I told him so, and he said that he would fetch me. Now, thinking over and over and over, I finally told him where I stayed, and he said that he would fetch me after sending something to his friend's place. So I got ready, and mooched around the lappy for a bit, until he said he was outside.
Outside, I saw this little Kancil, with a guy I could barely recognize from Rainforest, because I had no remembrance of him. There he was, in baggy khakis, a short sleeved shirt, and that bandana over his eyes again. And I was thinking to myself, "Ohmygod, I better not get killed/raped/kidnapped tonight." And then, I opened the door and sat inside.
He smelt wonderful, but I think, the both of us had over-enthusiastically sprayed too much perfume, and over the mingling smells of both our scents, he complimented mine. Which was really sweet of him. And so, he took me to a nearby mamak in SS15, Darussalam, which was his favourite hangout, and we only had ONE drink each, and that talk lasted from, if I remember rightly, 10 something at night, to 8am the next morning.
He sent me back, and he went to work, I went to classes, and that night itself, we went to the same mamak again, but this time, I brought my good friend, DarshenC, in case Ian got any ideas, and also in a weird way, for Darshen to kinda give Ian the acid friend test. Turns out, Darshen's older sis and Ian were good friends back in church, and they have tons of mutual friends. We all have a good night, and go back home.
The next day, we meet up again, and sit down and talk and talk and talk. And the next afternoon, he takes me to Taipan Subang Burger King, where we eat burgers, and he tells me that you can actually see Genting from there. It's slightly misty and drizzly, and then he asks if I want to have a drink. I agree, he jumps over the rail saying that he's going back to get the bottle of his most favourite drink, Southern Comfort, and that he'll be back soon.
I actually wait quite long, and I get really cold and wondering how the heck I'm going to get back if he turns out to be a weird guy who just walked away. But, he comes back and we get into his car. I'm shivering, and he sees that, and offers his jacket, which is a really cool DHL jacket from his dad's old job. Somehow, somewhere, I sneak a tiny sniff, and it smells absolutely wonderful. A little bit of home, perfume and his smell, which smells so right. We eventually make it back to my room. I make him stay outside in the hall for a quite long, while I clear up my super messy room, and then finally we sit down and start chatting away, while having sips of Southern Comfort.
We get a nice buzz from the drinks, and start daring each other to do the silliest things in the world, and laugh our asses off at each other. Then, somehow, I ask him if he wants to stay over, and he agrees. I take a bath, and later on, he tells me that HE sneaks a sniff at my pillow and he likes the smell of me, my shampoo which he finds on it. He also takes a bath, while I make a makeshift bed of comforters and blankets on the floor, with a blanket for him, and my baby blanket for myself.
We both lie down, chat a little more, and then, he looks at me, his face slightly pink, and asks me, "Can I kiss you?"
I blush, and say nothing, and bury myself under the sheets, laughing shyly. He asks again, and I look up at him, and say, "I'm too shy!!" We kinda laugh and muck our way around it, and he asks again, really seriously, and so we kiss.
And before we made sweet love, the moment just before it, he looks into my eyes, and whispers, "I love you." I didn't hear him clearly, and I say, "What was that?" and he shakes his head shyly and says nothing.
One week later, he takes me out to dinner, at his favourite restaurant in Taipan, Pizza Uno, and then, he says he's taking me to a surprise place. We end up going to Sunway Pyramid, and we're walking towards Rainforest. He asks me to sit down at one of the pillars, the skylights are moving and shining, the buzz of people walking around, and then he drops down on one knee, and asks me,
"Will you be my girlfriend, Julia Ung?"From that day on, we were inseparable.
Happy 6th Anniversary, my soulmate.
No comments:
Post a Comment