Dancing Between The Hearts- Tylia and Theo

"Who was that?" Tylia asked. She appeared all of a sudden with a towel wrapped around her hair. Theo barely noticed her as he retrieved ingredients from the fridge.

"Oh, that was Alfred. He lives down there," Theo responded as he focused on the stove, busy preparing dinner.

Tylia walked near and stood between the kitchen and the bedroom. She asked, "Do you have a hairdryer?"

"Oh, I have it, but I do not remember where. Maybe in the drawer near the dressing table," he said.

Tylia walked away, searching for the hairdryer in the drawer, but couldn't find it.

She gave up searching and sat at the edge of the bed, unwrapping the towel on her head and rubbing her hair, hoping it would dry. Her hair was long, reaching her waist, and it was impossible to dry it just using a towel.

Theo had done cooking, so he turned off the stove, washed his hands, and headed to the room. While walking, he tried to remember where he had put the hairdryer before.

The room door was not locked, so he peeked his head into the room. "Have you found the hairdryer?"

"Nope," Tylia responded as he entered the room. He searched all the drawers, but he also could not find them.

"Forget it. It lost," Theo stopped searching.

"Don't worry, I figure out something else. I can dry it using this; at least it will dry a bit," Tylia said as she waved the towel and continued to dry her hair.

"Let me help you," he offered, and Tylia agreed.

Although she felt a little shy with his touch, it was soothing. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. She nearly collapsed to sleep.

"It is ok like this?" Tylia snapped open her eyes when Theo asked.

"Yeah, you are professional. If you open the saloon, I'll be your first customer," she praised, but Theo took it as she was joking. He laughed.

"I'm serious about it, Mr Knight," Tylia insisted, her smile fading slightly.

"Just Theo, okay," he corrected.

"All right," she replied, then added, "I guess you should call me by my name too."

"Sure, princess," Theo responded playfully, making Tylia giggle.

Because Theo was getting along with her, Tylia tried to dig into the details about her future husband.

She asked, "I wonder how old you are. You look much younger, not like Uncle Logan."

"Twenty-six," he replied, which startled her.

"You're twenty-six? How did you end up friends with someone much older than you? My uncle was thirty-eight." she asked again.

"I told you before. We are more than friends. I have known him since I was five years old," he told her.

"How?" Tylia was interested to know more, but Theo did not allow it.

He changed the topic, "I think your hair is dry enough."

"Thanks, I'm thinking about calling you uncle since you are ten years older than me," Tylia joked.

"You are not allowed! I might be older, but I'm not old enough to call me uncle," he warned Tylia and made Tylia giggle.

Tylia thought it was brilliant to follow Theo back to his place. Her mood improved a lot.

"Sit down," Theo pointed at the kitchen stool, and Tylia took her place. Her attention was focused on Theo, who was serving the food. There were two bowls of rice and a big plate of teriyaki chicken. It looked simple, but it was not as simple as it looked. Lastly, he put a red rose on the table, which surprised her.

"I will fulfil your Valentine's dinner. Consider it from a friend," Theo said. Then he invited Tylia to eat.

"Yums! Do you always cook for yourself?" Tylia asked curiously.

"Of course. I often travel and must cook for myself," Theo replied casually.

"Really? What are you doing, exactly?" She tilted her head, interested.

"It's a secret," Theo said firmly.

"Secret? Oh, okay. I won't ask about your work," Tylia pouted but quickly changed the subject, "Besides me, who do you usually cook for?"

"There is no one." his voice was calm but distant.

"Your family? Your lover?" she pressed, watching him closely.

"I only have a grandfather, and I have never had a lover," Theo admitted, his expression unreadable. She fell silent, afraid she might overstep her boundaries. He has no parents or siblings. How lonely.

Theo then asked, "Are you graduating this year?"

Tylia just nodded since her mouth was full. Theo laughed as Tylia looked like a goldfish with her cheeks puffed out. Theo found he laughed a lot today. He felt comfortable when with Tylia. The young lady before him showed every side of herself, worrying nothing.

As their dinner was perfect, Tylia wondered─ was it because of the prayer of her parents and Uncle Oliver? No matter what happens earlier, Theo comes to her as a disguised blessing.

After dinner, they tidied up and washed the dishes together, like a couple doing a house course together. Tylia was smiling all the time.

Theo finished cleaning his hand. He wiped with a towel and turned toward Tylia.

He said, "I have something to tell you. Wait a moment. I'll get something from the car."

He stepped out of the house to grab the item. Tylia sat on the sofa until Theo came back with a metal box. He placed the box on the table and sat next to her.

Tylia remembered the events of the days before and said, "Theo, I haven't thanked you for the gift you gave. Thanks for giving me the crochet bunny."

Theo remembered and said, "You're welcome. Did you like it?"

Tylia nodded. "Yep, I like it very much. It's cute."

Casually he remarked, "It was cute, just like you."

Tylia blushed. She felt shy when he praised. She waved her hand and asked, "So what were you going to tell me?"

"Hold on," he said.

Now, he was serious. "Before I tell you, put your thinking cap 'ON', ready to process everything I said."

Tylia raised her brows and nodded slightly. She could sense the weight of his words.

Theo leaned against the sofa, making himself comfortable. He crossed his arms and said, "Did you believe in something people call love portion?"

"Yes, I believe it exists," Tylia said. She was still curious why he asked.

Theo was satisfied and said, "Have you ever heard about Mandrake Root, Myrtle, or the Ylang-Ylang flower?"

"Yes, I read about it before. It was an ingredient to make a love potion," Tylia answered.

Theo was satisfied. "That's Good. I didn't expect you to know this much. It will help me to explain next."

Tylia said, "My maternal family. They were a scientist who studied medicines and herbs. There were a lot of books about medicine in our library. But….."

"But what?" Theo interrupted.

"I only know but don't know about it. I have never seen it physically how it was. So does my mom, but my grandma or Auntie Lydia might know about it."

"Lydia?"

"Yep, she was my mom's younger sister. Uncle Logan was the second son," she explained.

"Wow, you have a big family," Theo was impressed. Actually, he never paid attention to Logan's affair.