The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Jeremy did not even look at the message. He simply turned off the phone and put it in his pants pocket.

Corinne leaned on the steel railing by the side of the bridge and stared into the distance. The wind from the river blew softly over her hair, making her look like an elegant and beautiful lady straight out of a classical painting.

The bridge was located opposite Yonder River’s embankment, where one could see the most cutting– edge high–rise buildings in the whole of New Capital City.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

“Be careful. Make sure you don’t fall off the bridge.”

Jeremy grabbed her by the collar from behind as if he was picking up a kitten. In less than three seconds, he managed to ruin Corinne’s beautiful image. Her feet were hanging off the ground, making her so uncomfortable that she thought she was going to choke to death.

‘Oh, my god. He’s so annoying. Why does he keep treating me like a kid who doesn’t know anything?‘ thought Corinne.

“Let me go, Mister. I’m not so stupid as to fall off the bridge!” she said.

Jeremy carried her to a place further away from the railing before letting her go. Her feet finally touched the ground.

Then, he condescendingly looked down and scoffed at her. Are you sure you’re not that stupid?”

“Of course!” exclaimed Corinne with a frown.

“If you’re not that stupid, why can’t you see it?”

“See what?”

“Use that brain of yours and think for yourself,” he said fiercely.

Corinne was a little speechless. She did not want to continue the conversation, so she asked, “Mister, when are your men coming to pick us up?”

Jeremy shoved his hands into his pockets and stared into the distant river. “No one is coming to pick us up.”

‘What? I remember him telling Anya that someone will come to pick us up soon!‘ thought Corinne.

She frowned and said, “What? No one’s coming to pick us up? Are you seriously suggesting we walk home like this?”

Jeremy narrowed his eyes and said, “Why not? I thought all you young people like to wander around aimlessly when dating each other.” 

“You’re kidding, right? That’s so last century. No one does that anymore! Why would we do that? Think about all the gas fumes we’ll breathe in,” Corinne complained with a disgusted expression on her face.

Jeremy was speechless.

Corinne was laughing at just how old–fashioned he was when she suddenly realized there was something off about what he said.

‘Wait a minute… Did he just use the word dating? Is he trying to imply that what we’re doing now is dating?‘ Corinne wondered. She pondered over Jeremy’s choice of wording, not entirely sure if she understood what he was trying to tell her.

Jeremy bent down slightly to accommodate their height difference and looked deeply into her eyes. “Then can you teach this old man what it is that young people nowadays do when they go on dates?”

Corinne snapped out of her trance. ‘He’s definitely being weird

Her lips began to twitch unnaturally. “Umm, the usual like eating out in a restaurant, drinking at a bar, watching a movie, going to an escape room, and the likes…”

Jeremy frowned slightly. Except for eating and drinking, everything else was a waste of time for a mature man like him.

“So you like doing those things, too?”

Corinne nodded and said, “I guess. I went to a few escape rooms with some classmates before and found it quite fun.”

“Male or female classmates?” Jeremy asked with a frown.

Corinne felt a little guilty when he asked that. She thought this must be what it felt like to be interrogated by a parent after getting caught sneaking out at night. However, she suddenly reminded herself she was not a teenager anymore, so there was nothing to be scared about.

“Both! Can you please stop being so narrow–minded, Mister?” 

‘What? Is she really calling me narrow–minded?‘ Jeremy’s face darkened. He pinched the space between his eyebrows in a bid to tamp down his emotions.

"Corinne Carew, you..."