Yes, after my brother got married to my best friend, I have never been happier. I felt contented seeing two of the most important people in my life getting what they have always wanted. I always think that my best friend deserves "the best" man in her life and being able to find that person after so many years of searching was really some sort of accomplishment. Soon my brother and my new sister-in-law will be leaving for their honeymoon. Therefore, leaving me in the apartment alone. It is going to be a lonely month there. I asked my Mom and Dad if they could move in with me for a while but it seemed like they were too tied up with their jobs. They live too far from the city and if I move in with them for a month, it would mean that I have to enjoy an hour of drive to and from work everyday.

This sucks. I may not be a minor but I sure needed someone watching over me to make me feel safe. I kinda get uneasy and afraid whenever I'm alone. 

The day before Kat and Trevor left for their honeymoon, I told Kat about my dilemma - about being alone. 

"Why don't you have your parents come over?" she suggested. 

"I thought I already told you that they can't come. I don't feel safe when I'm alone here. and FYI they're not just my parents. They're your parents now." As I answered her, my brother came in, sat beside Kat and placed an arm around her shoulder.

"I'll ask one of my good friends to stay with you. Will that be okay?" he asked.

At first, I wanted to jump into the offer and say yes, but then I wasn't really sure which of his friends he was going to ask to stay with me. 

"Who is the friend that you're talking about?" I asked.

My brother's facial expression changed from being kind to a sinister one. I was sure that there was something fishy going on here and with the look that he was giving me,  I needed to be ready for whatever it was. 

"You'll see. I'll let him come over tonight. It's a good thing that you mentioned about a housemate because he's looking for a place to stay while he's in the city for a month."

He's given me a clue that it's a HE and not a SHE. My brother's really playing with my curiosity, alright. He's been dead worried about me not having anyone looking after me now that he and Kat are married. He's been setting me up with some blind dating sessions but I kept on saying no. I wanted to be okay without any guy in my life. I didn't want to depend on them anymore. I've already learned my lesson. I've already been through so many break-ups that I am already getting sick and tired of the whole process. Well, looking at my brother and Kat, they are surely the exception.

I stayed at home the whole afternoon after I decided to call in sick at the office. I helped Kat with the packing of her luggage while my brother called in the guy that he wants to look after me. 

Later that evening, the guy arrived. At first, I thought, appearance-wise he wasn't really that bad. He was tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed and little bit tanned. He was quite formal in style and he had a very strange accent - I guess he was anything but American. And yes, he was bringing his baggage with him which means that he's staying here starting tonight at Kat's room. Kat's space was already vacated and all her things were moved to the storage room in the apartment while they're away. 

"Ross, this is my wife, Kat and this over here is my baby sister, Grace." My brother was too proud when he introduced us.
"Nice to meet the both of you," Ross managed to say. He then centered his interest into me. "You must be the housemate that Trevor has told me about."

"I guess I am the one," I smiled and blushed. I must admit, the way he looked at me made me want to turn red all out.

We had dinner, care of Trevor of course. He cooked the whole time while Kat and I finished packing their luggage. The conversation at the table was endless. The four of us were so engaged talking about almost anything under the sun. Ross was bubbly alright. He had all sorts of interests - from arts to music and to the medical world. He was a licensed doctor but he was a musician by heart. I guess he's kind or was he just being nice in front of my brother and his wife? I wonder but by tomorrow, I'm going to see it.

Midnight came and Trevor and Kat left for the airport. They were nice enough to take the taxi on their way there. As I bid my best friend-slash-sister-in-law goodbye, she hugged me and whispered something to me.

"I think he's a nice fellow. You're in good hands," she remarked.

"I guess so. Please call me when you have time," 

"I promise. Tell me everything okay?" I nodded in response.

We giggled as we talked about my temporary housemate. Then I hugged Trevor and then they're off to the airport. When Ross and I got back to the flat, we just said goodnight to each other and went to our rooms. The real getting-to-know begins in the morning. 

I'm so nervous. What would our day be like? I fell like I've invited a total stranger to my flat but somehow at peace that it's someone that my brother knows. I got up and wrapped the robe around my body, tied my hair and headed out to the kitchen. As I got out of the room, the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee drags my feet faster towards the kitchen bar. I could care less about how I looked while I tried to appreciate the smell.

I had a terrible caffeine fix. It's like coffee was made just for me and we're like an inseparable pair. But when I think about it, our coffee maker has served it's purpose already (You can guess that our appliances have no use whatsoever. They're there for aesthetic purposes).

"Good morning, Grace!". Someone definitely said this from behind me. My dilated pupils forced to open fully and turn around. He was there and I just stared at him with a shocked face. I can tell that he was enjoying the look on my face because of the smile that he had. 

"Hi, I mean good morning, Ross" I replied shyly. I can already feel my cheeks burning as I blush.

He walked past me and took his place behind the counter. He was still wearing a smile on his face and then offered me a cup of coffee and some freshly-baked buns. He reminds me so much of my brother and at the same I feel embarrassed with my lack of knowledge in doing basic household chores like cooking.

"You made these? When?" I asked staring wide eyed at the simple feast in front of me. I couldn't help myself when I tried to bring it close to my face to examine what I was just given. It's as if I was the hired food tester for the day.

"Yup, I made them. It's a habit of mine, I guess. I always wake up early and make breakfast for my family at home. Go on, try it."

I took one bun and all I can say was wow. It was delicious and I can taste the cranberry with a zest of orange in it. I took one more and devoured it. The more I ate, the more embarrassed I felt. He was supposed to be the guest here and he wasn't supposed to do all these things for me.

"I think I should tell you I'm embarrassed right now." The bun melted in my mouth. Was there something that this guy wasn't good at?

"Why would you be?" He sat on the high stool behind the counter and started to eat his own bun.

"I'm not really skilled with the kitchen stuff. It has always been my brother who took care of everything for me whenever it comes to food handling. I might disappoint you in that department."

"Hey, I'm not expecting anything. You've given me a roof over my head. This is the least that I can do for you." He smiled at me once more and took a sip from his coffee. I just nodded and continued to eat one more bun. He made more than enough for the both of us. I then wondered, where did he get all of the ingredients from the bun and the coffee? I remember that our cupboards weren't stocked well. Trevor.  I guess he made sure that Ross was free to cook around the apartment like he used to do. 

Minutes later, being diplomatic as I was, I cleaned up the counter and told him to get ready. I felt that he's a cool guy, really. I must say that cooking for your housemate is quite an impressive move but it's quite dangerous, though. If he's going to do this everyday, then he's going to spoil me definitely! After an hour, we both exchanged mobile digits and left the flat. He told me that he was going to a rehearsal of some sort that was a few blocks form the flat and I made my way to the office.

Everything seemed to be organized that day. My meetings went smoothly and all of them started on time. My articles were also doing great - subject to the chief's approval - but nonetheless, an accomplishment. But by the end of the day, the biggest surprise was a message sent by Kat. They were now in Venice riding the ever famous Gondola. 

Kat: Venice is so cool, sis! We should come here together! How's the new house buddy?U getting along well?

I typed my response as quick as I can. I think I nearly damaged the phone with so much enthusiasm. 

Me: Great to hear that! New house buddy's great! Made breakfast today! SOOOOO SUMPTUOUS!

Kat:  Wow! That's fast progress! Really aching to talk to you soon! Your brother sends his love. xoxo Kat and Trevor! 

The lovebirds were doing great. At least I wasn't the only one having a good one today. I wondered how Ross's rehearsal was, though. Did it go well? I thought about ordering a great take out for what he did. I went to my favorite Chinese restobar and got some dim sum for us to munch. Yeah, it's kinda lame to bring dim sum home when he was totally all out with the baking thing early in the morning. But what the heck? It's the thought that counts anyway.  I sent him a text so as not to make him worry about dinner for tonight.

Me: Hey, Ross! Got some take out for dinner. Meet you at the flat.

Ross: Really? I got worried about what to cook. Okay. What dessert do u want?

I guess he's the type of person that never wants to go empty-handed. At first I thought, no. I still had time to rush to a pastry shop and grab some sweet stuff to enjoy after our take out. But then, I might as well give it to him. He might feel bad if I refused him. Men wouldn't want that - this I learned from past experiences of suitors that I always refused every time they offered something to me.

Me: Hmm... I'm craving for some ice cream and cake... what do you think?

Ross: Sounds great! Will grab it for us.

I had to say, it was cute to look at the word us. It was a word that entailed a lot of different meanings. I used to say this word whenever I hooked up with some guy for some time. I figured that this word would have been used to describe my happily-ever-after with my Mr. Right, who, by the way, is still nowhere to be found. I shook my head and tried to suppress the thought into my unconscious mind. I hurried in going to the flat. I was really excited to see what he's going to do with our dessert.

Just as I thought, the oven was working again. He was really working out with the whole impressing thing. It wasn't bad but it made me feel so pressured to learn how to cook. I placed the take out on top of the kitchen counter and took a seat in front of it, resting my hands on the counter top. He smiled while doing his cleaning up as he already acknowledged my presence. 

"How was your day?" we both said it together. We both laughed. I felt like we were little kids trying to figure out who should go first. Being a gentleman that he was, he signalled me to go first and tell my story. I nodded and started my boring tale about office life.

"I didn't do much today," I started. "I just had a couple of meetings. Wrote about 3 articles for the mag and talked with my boss a lot for the upcoming issue. That's it. Nothing much, like I said. How about you? How was the rehearsal?"

He smiled at me and took a seat behind the counter. His blue eyes were shining this time. I guess he was so happy about something. He was like a little boy who couldn't wait to tell his mom how he rescued a cat from a tree.

"The kids were great! They were fantastic. All of them were doing well for the concert. I can't wait to watch them on the big day. Do you like classical music and jazz?" he asked. Okay. I'm having a strange feeling that an indirect getting to know you is going to happen any minute from now. 

"I'm more on the acoustic side but I got trained to play classical piano though. Jazz is fine by me. I like a lot of Jazz singers." He beamed at me. I think it was good that we had something common to work on. Just as I said this, he took out a small baking pan from the oven. It had some sort of chocolate cake. He saw the curiosity and explained. 

"This is moist chocolate cake. We'll save it later for dessert. I know you wanted to have some ice cream and cake tonight. You're in for a treat."

I guess I better tell him not to spoil me too much. I might go looking for this kind of treatment from my future housemate. 

"Ross, I appreciate what you're doing but I think you should slow down on this. I might be spoiled you know" I told him with a grin on my face. He returned my expression with a smile and then just shook his head and raised his hand mid-air.

"Like I said, this is a habit of mine. I got used to this a lot back in the outback. You don't need to feel guilty about it or anything. Just let me be, okay?" I shrugged and got the contents out of paper bag and handed him his part of the take out.

We ate in silence and caught a glimpse of each other once in a while. We also gave each other smiles whenever we caught the other person gazing. Until we got tired of it, he eventually asked questions about me and in turn, I asked questions about him as well. We enjoyed talking with each other; it was getting more comfortable as the minutes passed. Then we had the dessert.

"This, Grace, is my simple version of choco lava. It's hot a warm chocolate topped with vanilla ice cream that will surely make your hungry palette feel satisfied,' he then paused. I guess my face was just amazed. "Too boastful, yeah?" he then laughed.

"A little" and gestured as if pinching something between my thumb and forefinger. I laughed at him with his playfulness and started to work my way on the dessert. It was true what he said about melting in my mouth. It was mouthwatering. I couldn't help but eat more of it. He just smiled as I dug my way on the ice cream. I didn't care about what he thought about me. I was happy to have a great meal after a hard day's work. 

After dinner, he insisted on cleaning up. I couldn't refuse that anymore. My hands already got exhausted from typing the whole day at the office and had done too much writing. I went to my room and called it day. 

Having him here was good. I wouldn't say that its great since it's still his first day. But I got to say, the guy has skills. He can survive without having to be a doctor. He can earn a living with just cooking alone. I bet his wife would be so lucky in the future. He practically does everything. I changed into my pajamas, washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then I climbed to my bed and waited for my eyes to drift into deep sleep. What a day it has been!

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of my mobile phone ringing. Who could possibly call me at two in the freaking morning? I turned my lamp on the bedside table as I sat and groaned furiously on my bed. I grabbed my phone and stared at it to check who it was. I sighed in exasperation as I found out that it was Kat. She better have a good reason for calling me in the middle of the night.

"Hello?" I intentionally made my sound gruff. I was happy that she called but furious and disappointed with the choice of her time. There was a time difference for crying out loud!

"Hey there little sis!", then there was a pause, "Are you okay? You don't sound so good." My eyes opened wide as I realized that I was talking to Trevor and not to my best friend. I sensed worry with his reply. Why was he using Kat's phone? "Isn't he taking care of you?" With this question he asked me about my legal guardian in mind - Ross.

My brothers always have this protective side and in turn, I realize that everyone he knows feels loved and looked after by him. I knew from the moment that he planned on taking Kat to Europe for their honeymoon because he already expressed his fear of my being alone and leaving me alone to fend for myself.

I can still remember that conversation clearly a few days before the wedding day. We were at the shop trying to buy some party poppers for the bridal shower that I organized for Kat.

"Will you be fine while we're gone?" I remembered his face when he asked me. He didn't trust me enough to be alone. The worry and anxiety were clearly shown on his forehead. That made him go looking for someone who could do the job of looking after me. It was a big surprise for me on how he convinced Ross to stay with me for the time being.

"Chill, I'm fine. Wait, why are you using Kat's phone? And why are you panting? Don't tell me you have just-" I giggled as he kept quiet and tried to break me off.

"Before you make any conclusions about why I'm panting, let me just say that we are running around the park near the hotel. And yes, we have... you know... yup." Then I heard him clearing his throat. "I left my phone at the hotel and Kat, being the best wife that she is, brought hers along. So tell me, how is Ross doing? Did he prepare breakfast for you?"

I can tell how embarrassed he was at that time. I can even imagine how he looked at that very moment - face totally flushed. I tried my best to hide my laugh. This was how easy he would make my anger vanish.

"Yup he did. I'm guessing you told him that I can't cook, didn't you? He's really been nice to me, at least in the last 24 hours. I wonder what kind of threat you gave him to make him cook for me. By the way, it's still 2:30 in the freaking morning!" Eventually I let out my steam on why he forgot about the time difference.

I always think that I am so blessed to have Trevor as my older brother. Never was there a time that he tried to abandon me nor neglect me in any possible way. When he and Mom left for Australia, I got sad about it. I wasn't used to not having him around by my side. It was taught to grow up without him. But even if we were miles apart, we managed to keep our relationship intact. When I got into college, Dad decided to join them in Australia. I didn't want him to but he had to, hence, I stayed with Kat under the same room in the university dorm. I was happy that he had time to fly from Australia to check on me and Kat at the dorm. I smiled at the memory of him doing that. I figured that Kat was just beside him listening to the whole conversation that we were having. 

"Oh well, I guess you're fine. My wife wants to say hi to you." He eventually said and handed Kat the phone.

"Hey, Grace. I hope you're doing fine." She said. I smiled as I heard Kat's voice. "Is the new guy okay?"

"Yes, he's fine, mighty fine. He's kinda nice actually. It's just different not having the both of you here. How's Italy? I hope he's treating you right, too." I heard her giggle. 

"Yup he is treating me nicely. He's been gentle in the last couple of days...if you know what I mean." We both laughed since she knew that I got the point that she wanted to make. I could hear my brother making some grunts beside her. He was clearly embarrassed now. 

At around three in the morning, I had to end the call. I just had to tell them both that I had a conference to attend to later that day and that I had to get enough sleep. My brother was the last person that held the phone that time.

"Be careful there, will you? I kinda worry about you everyday and so does Kat" he said. I can feel the sincerity coming all the way from Italy.

"Sure. Call me when you can. I miss the both of you badly. I can't wait to see you guys back from the honeymoon. Good luck to making a lot of little Trevors and little Kats." I laughed and then bid him goodbye. 

As I woke up from my slumber after talking to my brother and my sister-in-law, I decided to linger in my bed a little longer and think about what I was about to do that day. I looked at the door and then wondered what Ross could be up to now. Was he going to make breakfast again? I wondered what he would be making now? Surely, he wouldn't want to make me something to eat. I have to do something for him this time. I have a few tricks up my sleeves and that means I have to show him the best recipe that I had - scrambled eggs. No matter how simple it was, I think that would be enough to show my appreciation for what he has done for me yesterday. 

I got up, readied myself and headed to the kitchen. As I walked towards the counter, I couldn't get my feet to walk towards it anymore. I found a guy without his shirt frying some eggs with his Bluetooth headset on. He was laughing as he said something to the person that he was talking to on the phone. He was wearing on pj bottoms and for the first time in my life, I finally got a view worth appreciating. His body was really sculptured. He caught some sun which made him more attractive. The ab department was also proving to be great. How many sit ups does he do to get that kind of physique. Then he caught me staring at him. Oh my! How am I supposed to recover now?

"Well, she's here. She's just got up." He smiled at me and winked at me. Wait, did he just do that to me. I hope he's not hitting on me. I couldn't get that part of flirting since I never mastered the art of flirting. I shook my head and thought that he was talking to my brother. 

"Trevor?" I mouthed at him. He nodded and continued to fry some bacon strips. The smell was divine. I could really get used to this. He was really spoiling me - as my brother has instructed. 

He gave me my meal and continued talking to my brother as he poured himself some freshly squeezed orange juice. Where did he get the oranges for the juice? I think I need to get working on the kitchen department. I noticed he pressed something on the headset then went on staring at me as I ate.

"My brother called you too?" I said to kill the blush that seemed to start reappearing. I tried to stuff as much food as I could so that I would avoid his stare at me. 

"Yes he did. He wanted to check on what I was doing here and if I was keeping your tummy full. What are you doing later tonight?" he asked. Is he asking me out? Boy he's fast. It's his second day here and he's making a move already.

"Nothing much. Why?" My curiosity could really kill the neighbor's cat since I had none. 

"My kids are performing at the park tonight at 7. I was hoping you'd come. I taught these kids how to play music. You might want to write something new for your column in the magazine" he proposed. 

"How did you know that I was working for a magazine?" 

"I read your column every month. You're a good writer I think. So, are you coming? C'mon it'll be fun, I promise you." He pleaded. Oh well, it's not every day that a guy who wears no shirt, just his pj bottoms barefoot in your kitchen asks you to watch a kiddy musical. I think I'll go for it. It would also be the perfect time to repay him for his kindness. 

"Ok, I'll go. Then I'll pay for dinner. I won't take no for an answer." I offered his hand for a shake to close the deal. He gladly took it and held it for quite some time. We both stared at each other and exchanged smiles. I'll be honest, he's getting cuter by the minute.

We both left for our jobs and I set off towards the office. I sat in front of the computer thinking about what transpired between us in the kitchen. Was he really asking me out? That question kept on playing on my mind. I couldn't quite believe what happened back there. I turned on my unit and started writing some new articles for the feature that I was doing for the magazine's anniversary. I looked at the clock and wished it were 6 pm already.

I gladly went out of the office, finishing all of my tasks and quickly headed straight towards park. To my surprise, there were a lot of people there and I'm guessing that they were parents. I took my seat when someone approached me.

"Excuse me, Miss but your seat is over there at the front." It was Ross holding my ticket. "You can't really see me from here." He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards one of the VIP seats in front of the rest. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a show to attend to. Enjoy!" he whispered. I laughed a little and waited for the show to start. 

I kinda say that he looked dashing on stage. He was great with the kids. He played the piano while the kids handled the stringed instruments and some percussion. The show was really fun. I fancied taking some pictures during the show and I now believed what he told me earlier that it was a good scoop for my magazine column. It was something fresh and clearly out of the box unique. The audience was captivated with the performances of the children and of course by Ross, himself. 

After the show, he stayed for a few minutes or so to have some pictures taken and talk with some of the parents. He apologized as he approached me.

"I'm sorry, I made you wait a bit longer than expected" he said. He changed his outfit this time. I can now see the garment bag that he was holding.

"No, it's not a big deal. I enjoyed the show. You were great up there. Congratulations. I'm amazed at how you taught these kids to play. The music was lovely. You should be rewarded with a great meal. I'm thinking you're pretty famished right now."

"Yes, I am. Take me out of here will you?" he laughed as he pleaded. We walked towards the restaurant. Luckily I had a reservation there and we didn't have to wait in line to get a table. 

As we waited for the food, we exchanged stories on what kind of work he did with the kids, how he ended up becoming a music teacher and why music became his main passion. He was really optimistic about opening his own music academy where less fortunate kids could learn how to play without having to pay a lot. I admired that of him. He was a man of his own mission. In one way, he was like Trevor. He had a vision that he wanted to be fulfilled and something that he could be proud of. He asked me how ended up writing for the magazine that I work for and he even went bold on asking me about my past relationships. In turn I asked him about his. We enjoyed talking a lot that night. I think I knew him better now. 

Walking back to the apartment was fun too. We continued talking about ourselves til we figured that we should call it a night. 

"Thanks for coming to the show Grace. I appreciate it and thanks for the dinner." He was standing near me. He smiled at me; the smile that he had earlier this morning. I almost got lost with how blue the depths of his eyes were. He was really making me confused.

"Sure, anytime." Anytime? What was I thinking? I'm a writer for crying out loud. Where are my freaking words when I need them? "I guess we both need to take  a rest. I enjoyed too. Goodnight, Ross."

"Goodnight, Gracey." Did he just call me Gracey? Only Trevor and Kat call me that when they're utterly happy. I blushed and smiled at him and went inside my room. As I closed my door, I realized that I am in trouble of falling for Ross. Should I be happy about this? I wasn't sure about anything though. How should I feel? He's making my insides go nuts. He did two things today that made me think about how we we're going to end and I'm not sure if my brother was going to be happy about it. The question was if he was also feeling the same way. I'll have to wait for the rest of the days to come.