|| Coral ||

Theo's question had got me completely staggered, and I felt as small as a microorganism as he kept looking at me for an honest answer.

"I—"

"Ouch!"

Theo and I snapped our necks at the sudden squeak and found Ara on the floor wincing with her hand on the back.

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry, sis!" Wyatt frantically apologized.

Theo's eyes widened as he let go of me and ran to his fiancee. He kneeled beside her and started fretting over her while Katrina started scolding Wyatt for dropping Ara.

I would have laughed at Ara's ungraceful fall, but I was too relieved to be out of Theo's scrutiny. I hated to be thinking it, but... I was glad she fell.

But as I stared at the commotion, it gave me time to clear my head and think properly. I turned my gaze to Wyatt, and I really didn't know how I felt about him.

Did I still love him?

If it was asked to me just a week ago, I would have said no. But right now, as my heart kept reacting to him, this question was a bolt from the blue. I didn't know anymore. I was supposed to be over him.

Maybe... those were my lingering feelings which never got closure. Yes, that must be the case. I didn't love him. I stopped doing that ever since I broke up with him.

And did I hate him?

I never could. I tried. But whenever I would remember that despite how neglected I felt towards the end of our relationship, he treated me like a queen during our first few years. Not to mention, as a person, it was nearly impossible to hate him.

Therefore, right now, my feelings for Wyatt were neutral. Yes, that was it.

Thank goodness, I got that sorted out. It was like a boulder off my chest.

"Coral, why are you spacing out when I'm dying over here?" Ara hollered, and I snapped back to reality.

"Oh, please, you're not gonna die over something like that." I rolled my eyes and approached her. She didn't seem to be that hurt. "Will you be able to stand?"

"Let's see if I can." She tried to stand with Theo's support but failed, which very much seemed like acting to me but didn't seem that way to Theo who scooped her up in his arms.

"I think that's enough practice for today. I'm gonna take her home." Theo threw a glare at Wyatt before leaving with Ara.

"Let's wrap up today, then," Kevin announced, and Katrina nodded.

She huffed and said, "Wyatt, I expect you to get better on our next lesson. Please practice by yourself. It's a sincere request."

Wyatt nodded. "I'm taking my leave then." He headed towards the door after picking up his things. I bid goodbye to the choreographers and ran after him to find him waiting just outside their studio.

When I reached him, he started walking along with me.

"So... how did you manage to drop her like that?" I asked out of curiosity.

Wyatt never dropped me when we were practicing, and the steps were much harder.

"To save you from Theo," he simply responded.

I gaped at him. "What?"

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It seemed like he was making you uncomfortable with something he asked. You looked so shocked, so I knew I had to do something."

"I can't believe you would drop Ara for that. Her wedding is coming up. What if she hurt herself too badly?"

"Please, she was overreacting." He rolled his eyes. "I made sure to drop her gently so that she wouldn't get hurt. I'm not dumb. She was just tired from work all day, so she probably just wanted to go home."

Well, that all made sense.

Both of us received a text just then from Ara.

Ara: "Just let you know, I'm perfectly okay! I'll be good to dance by tomorrow. Don't worry!"

I sighed in relief and was about to put my phone back in my pocket when another text chimed in.

Theo: "My questions still stand."

This annoying bastard!

You: "My feelings for him are neutral. I don't love him, nor do I hate him."

I felt satisfied with my reply and smiled to myself as I put my phone back.

Strangely, I was in a good mood now. Because I could be normal with Wyatt with no feelings involved. Probably that was a stupid idea, but the temptation was too much.

"Hey, do you want to do something fun?" I asked, and Wyatt looked at me in surprise. He was about to open his mouth, but then I remembered. "Oh, right, you were about to catch up on your work. Sorry I was being inconsi—"

"That's fine. Since we got off the lessons early, we still have time. I planned to work after dinner, anyway," he replied. "What do you want to do?"

I grinned and cheered, "How can we be in San Francisco and not ride the cable cars even once during our stay?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "But the closest station is a little far from here, and I certainly don't fancy walking there on foot."

I glanced around and my eyes landed on a sports store. A bulb of a fantastic idea lit up in my head, and I grinned deviously.

"Oh, I don't like that expression," Wyatt murmured dreadfully.

My grin got wider as I grabbed his arms and started walking towards the store. "How about we do some roller skating?"

"Huh?"

Without answering him, I ran inside the store and got into talking with the owner who was happy to sell me two pairs of roller skates.

Wyatt was waiting outside. I went to him and handed him his skates. He looked at me with a please-think-about-this-again look. "Hey, how about we drive to the cable station? I can tell Blake to bring the car here—"

I shook my head firmly and sat down on the edge of the sidewalk to take off my shoes.

"It's risky, you know," he tried to reason.

"What, you scared?" I provoked.

"Yes," he admitted without skipping a beat. "Don't you remember how you ended up crashing into a thug last time?"

"Yes, I do. It was pretty hilarious." I stifled a chuckle.

"No, it wasn't. It was scary. Please, Angel, let's not skate."

"Come on, it will be fun." I started putting on the skates after placing my shoes in the bag. "What happened, Wyatt? You always used to go along with my plans."

"Yeah, because we were dating and I didn't wanna upset you."

"So what? You are okay with upsetting me now?" I gave him a pointed look, and that got him to sigh in defeat.

He walked up to me and kneeled in front of me, starting to tie my laces which I was struggling with. "Alright, then. But we won't overspeed, okay?"

A big smile formed on my face. "Okay!"

Once he was done with my laces, he sat beside me to put on his own skates.

"Is the size okay?" I asked, and he nodded. "Phew. I was a little confused about your shoe size."

He smiled. "Still, you got the right one. That too, in my favorite color."

I frowned and commented, "I'll never understand your appeal of green."

"Hey, don't insult my favorite color."

"Fine, fine." I stood up and dusted my back, then picked up the bag with my shoes. Once Wyatt was done, I started to suggest, "The streets are pretty empty—"

"The sidewalk," he said sternly.

I scowled at him and got back on the sidewalk. "Fine."

For as much as he complained about never getting to order me around, he was pretty good at getting me in line. Liar.

I stuck out my tongue at him and started skating towards the cable car station. He followed after me soon enough.

We both used to be pretty good at roller skating back when we were in high school. Though right now, I felt a little off-balance for being out of practice.

"Slow down a little," Wyatt said, and I obeyed since I was starting to lose balance.

"How are you still so good at it?" I asked, a little impressed.

"I used to go around with my friends in university."

"And here you were objecting against me. How prejudiced." I rolled my eyes.

"Because it's you. I can never be too careful with you."

"You're always so overprotective."

"Can you blame me? You get into so many accidents. You even once got into a car accident—"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault. I wasn't the one driving that car— woah, woah—" I was almost about to slip, but Wyatt caught me on time by my elbow.

"See, this is what I was talking about." He shook his head in disapproval and straightened me up.

"Thanks," I mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed for slipping just when we were talking about accidents. But as we continued skating, Wyatt didn't remove his hand from my elbow, rather it slowly slipped to my wrist, keeping a light but firm hold, and suddenly, I didn't feel out of balance anymore. It was strange how he could always ground me. Even now.

I didn't mention his hand, quietly enjoying skating through the night.

We reached the station in fifteen minutes and took off our roller skates while sitting at the bench. One of the cable cars arrived after ten minutes of waiting, and we both hopped in after paying for our tickets.

There were no seats available, so we both decided to stand in the open space, which was what we had preferred.

As the cable car started moving, I felt thrilled like a little child, watching the beautiful night view of the city from up so close.

"Where do you wanna get off?" Wyatt asked me.

"Next one. Then we will ride another one back and skate back to the hotel."

He nodded at my plan. "Move back a bit. You're too close to the edge."

"No, I want to enjoy the breeze," I said stubbornly.

He sighed and moved a little closer to me, his chest just hovering behind my back. "Just to be safe, I'll stay close to you."

I nodded and closed my eyes, feeling the cool breeze... and Wyatt.

I jolted my eyes open.

Nope, Coral. Remember that you feel neutral towards him. He's just a companion on your adventure. Nothing else.

Just then my phone chimed, probably Theo replying to my earlier text. I pulled out my phone and read his text:

Theo: "Are you sure?"

Just with those three challenging words, the boulder was back on my chest, this time even heavier and more pressing, and I was easily knocked off my fake equilibrium.

"Angel?"

I quickly turned my screen off and looked behind to meet Wyatt's concerned gray eyes.

"Put your phone back in. It's not safe."

"Oh, yeah. Right, sorry." I put my phone back inside and looked ahead at the view, shaking my head again to keep my head clear. Theo was just messing with me. Of course, my feelings for Wyatt were neu—

Wyatt leaned close to my ears and asked, "Are you having fun with this?" As his warm breath tickled my neck, my resolve shook and Theo's words echoed in my head.

Are you sure?

"Yes, I'm having a lot of fun!"

"Then I guess it was all worth it." As Wyatt smiled for me and my heart clenched, those three words echoed louder. It really was a stupid idea.

Are you sure?

No, I am not.

★★★