The Day I Kissed An Older Man

It would be remiss to claim that Vince did not love Rita, but there were numerous considerations clouding his feelings. There was his desire to have a family that at least looked complete and could be admired by all.

Sherman could not help but feel a pang of sorrow for Rita's predicament and wished she would not have to go through that at all.

The names Karen Parr and Esmond Parr popped up in his mind, and he sat up abruptly as soon as he thought of that. For some reason, he had numerous recent encounters with individuals whose surname was Parr.

"Tch, I shouldn't be overthinking things. Parr is a common surname. It's absurd to assume that they're all connected," he chided himself before settling back down.

Half an hour later, he still found it difficult to sleep. It was one of those times he wished that Lucy would have just handed him several stacks of documents to review. Rather than toss aimlessly in bed, he could better use the time to review some contracts. Unfortunately, he did not bring any home, so he resigned himself to another two hours of tossing before finally drifting off.

The next morning, Rita awoke feeling disoriented until she noticed Sherman's message. [Let me know when you're up. I'll fetch you.]

Rita realized she had overslept and hastily replied to his message. Memories of the previous day's embarrassment flooded back into her mind.

"Dear God, please just free me from that suffering and let me forget about all that," she mumbled silently. Despite her reluctance to face reality, she picked herself up and got ready, opting for a casual dress. When she finished freshening up, she looked at herself in the mirror and felt a sense of clarity wash over her.

If she could turn back time, she would do the same thing she did the day before and choose vulnerability in front of Sherman again.

It might be embarrassing, but Sherman was not like other people. He would never judge her for what happened, and not to mention he was a very good listener too.

Rita smiled and muttered to her reflection, "You're doomed."

After hastily tidying up, Rita rushed downstairs to find Sherman already waiting Seeing him lean on his car door while scrolling on his cell phone made Rita's heart race for some reason.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting!" Rita exclaimed.

Sherman's frown eased at the sound of her voice. "No worries, I just got here. You don't look like a reporter at all."

Rita blushed at his directness. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I don't look nice most of the time?"

"Not at all. You usually seem rather professional. This is my first time seeing you dressed like a college student," Sherman replied. He reminisced about their encounter at the Russells' banquet, where ske donned an evening dress and put on a delicate layer of makeup. She was beautiful then, but there was a certain air of unapproachability to her at that moment.

Seeing her dressed in a preppy manner made him feel as if she was no longer unapproachable, shortening the distance between them to within arm's reach.

Rita could not help but scrutinize Sherman. "You look so much younger in the clothes I chose for you."

"And I have you to thank for that." He chuckled.

Their exchange lightened the mood and revealed a side of Sherman that Rita had yet to see. By shedding off his formal attire, he seemed to be more genuine-more himself. He was only slightly older than her anyway. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Shall we, Miss Rita? Oh, but I think we should avoid using honorifics later," Sherman proposed.

"Okay. You can just call me Rita, and I'll call you Sherman. I know what it means to go undercover," Rita agreed with a mischievous grin.