章 19: Sneaky
Inside the deli, Deborah led Lorenzo through the doorway, drawing curious glances from the customers as they noticed the blood streaming down his head.
Even though Lorenzo had leveled up and felt somewhat better, pain lingered in his head and other parts of his body; his head had suffered the most damage.
Thankfully, his enhanced attributes meant he was at least on the mend.
Despite feeling okay, Lorenzo allowed Deborah to cling to him as she steered him further inside the deli. Being so close to her, he couldn't help but feel comforted.
Fat Moe, attending to a few customers, looked up and caught sight of Lorenzo and Deborah. His eyes widened at the sight of the blood. "Lorenzo? What happened?"
"Moe, can you grab a first aid kit and a dish towel, please?" Deborah asked urgently.
Without a word, Fat Moe nodded and quickly fetched a dish towel and first aid kit from the kitchen.
Meanwhile, to avoid causing a scene among the diners, Deborah led Lorenzo to a back room. She helped him sit down before standing to retrieve the dish towel from Fat Moe. Just then, she paused, hearing Lorenzo's grateful voice. "Deborah, thank you back there..."
Turning to face him, she heard him continue, "You saved me back there. Thank you."
Hearing that, Deborah immediately shook her head and said, "What do you mean 'saving you'? I didn't save you—you're the one who saved me back there." She had tried to protect Lorenzo, but they got separated when Max's friends intervened. While they held her, it was actually Lucas who pulled her away from them.
Lorenzo just smiled and replied, "No, it was you who saved me, Deborah. If it weren't for you, I would have been beaten up badly..."
Lorenzo was speaking the truth. After all, if Deborah's feelings hadn't deepened for him at that crucial moment, he might not have completed his system task, never had the chance to level up, and wouldn't have been able to spring into action to confront Max and his friends, Patrick and Philip.
So, Deborah's timely appearance was critical for Lorenzo, and that's why he insisted that Deborah had saved him at that moment, and he wasn't about to deny it.
Meanwhile, Deborah, having just heard Lorenzo's expression of gratitude, simply smiled and said, "Well, if you really insist that I saved you there—then I guess you owe me some cookies."
Lorenzo chuckled and responded, "Haha, definitely."
Deborah smiled again and said, "Wait here, I'll go get the first aid kit and dish towel from Moe."
Lorenzo nodded, watching as Deborah walked away. After she left, he placed his hand on his head, then looked at his hand.
Blood, still fresh from his recent injury, coated Lorenzo's hand. He pressed the same hand against the wounded area and muttered, "It's nothing serious..."
Shortly after, Deborah returned with a dish towel, a box of American White Cross gauze pads, and a bottle of Mercurochrome.
She approached Lorenzo, set down the gauze pads, and gently held his head. "Let me see the wounds," she said, her voice calm.
Lorenzo remained silent, feeling the closeness as Deborah examined his head wound, her breath warm on his skin.
Deborah then applied direct pressure to the wound with the dish towel to stem the bleeding. She cleaned the wound with Mercurochrome and, once it was clean, covered it with the gauze pads, securing them in place with cloth strips.
Deborah sighed in relief, satisfied with her work.
"You're not only good at dancing but at handling wounds as well..." Lorenzo smiled, impressed.
"Well, my mother taught me," Deborah responded.
Lorenzo nodded and looked at her appreciatively. "I see..."
There was a brief silence before Deborah broke it, asking Lorenzo, "So, why did you get into a fight with those three?"
Lorenzo offered a wry smile. "I don't know if I should tell you..."
Deborah pressed him, her curiosity evident. "Why? Tell me."
Lorenzo sighed and confessed, "That guy, Max, actually started a fight with me because of you..."
Hearing this, Deborah was visibly surprised. "Because of me?"
Lorenzo just nodded.
"Why would he fight you over me?" Deborah asked, puzzled.
Lorenzo shook his head. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure." Although he claimed ignorance, he had an inkling about Max's motives.
Reflecting on the film "Once Upon A Time in America," Lorenzo remembered that Max ends up with Deborah and ultimately betrays Noodles. This plot point was enough for Lorenzo to suspect that Max harbored feelings for Deborah but was reluctant to show them.
Despite knowing that the film's ending—whether it was just a figment of Noodles' guilt-ridden imagination—was debated, Lorenzo saw the possibility that Max's feelings for Deborah were real, especially given how confrontational Max was towards him about her.
As Deborah mulled over why Noodles and his friends had confronted Lorenzo because of her, a realization dawned on her. Noodles clearly had feelings for her, and seeing Lorenzo getting close to her must have irked Noodles' friends.
Thinking it through, she began to piece together the possible reasons why Noodles' friends had confronted Lorenzo.
Deborah also recalled the time she had secretly watched Lorenzo and Max fighting in the alley, where Lorenzo had beaten Max. Now, with Max and his two friends ganging up on Lorenzo, a wave of guilt washed over her. Turning to Lorenzo, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry for all this, Lorenzo... If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be—"
Before she could finish, Lorenzo gently held her hand, interrupting her. "It's not your fault," he assured her, looking deeply into her eyes. "No matter why they wanted to beat me, even if it's because of you—it's not your fault."
Deborah felt a wave of emotion as she looked at Lorenzo's injured head. With a chuckle tinged with sadness, she asked, "Do you regret meeting me and getting close to me now?"
Lorenzo reached up to tenderly hold her right cheek with his left hand. "Don't say that. I never regret meeting you or getting close to you," he assured her.
As Deborah gazed into Lorenzo's eyes, her heart fluttered. She glanced at his lips, and slowly, she found herself leaning in, her lips inching closer to his. The idea of kissing him seemed right, and she wasn't opposed to it.
Just as their romantic moment was about to blossom, the door to the room burst open. Fat Moe entered abruptly, causing Deborah to quickly pull away from Lorenzo.
Lorenzo looked at Fat Moe with visible annoyance, his thoughts clear: "Damn it, Fat Moe—you're ruining the moment!"
Fat Moe looked between them and asked, "What are you two doing?"
Deborah shook her head, dismissing the question with a simple, "Nothing..."
Fat Moe raised his eyebrows and said, "Father might return at any moment." He paused and, as he was leaving the room about to close the door behind him, he called out to Deborah, "Just reminding you."
Hearing this, Deborah turned to Lorenzo. "You might need to leave. I don't know how I'd explain your being here if Father saw you."
Lorenzo nodded in understanding but asked, "Before I go, Deborah, can we finish what we started?"
Deborah, fully aware of what Lorenzo was referring to, feigned ignorance. "What are you talking about?"
Lorenzo chuckled. "You know... the thing we were about to do before Fat Moe interrupted us?"
Blushing, Deborah gave Lorenzo a gentle push and said, "Go now, before Father sees you and I get in trouble..."
Lorenzo laughed as he stood up, shaking his head. He noticed that his health points had risen from [HP: 93/100] to [HP: 97/100] after Deborah had treated his injuries.
Lorenzo found it odd that his body healed so quickly from Deborah's treatment, but he chalked it up to the system probably aiding in his recovery.
Deborah escorted Lorenzo to the deli's back door that led to the alley. There, they shared a moment, both staring at each other. Deborah felt especially awkward, still processing the almost-kiss that had been interrupted by Moe.
"I'll see you again, Deborah," Lorenzo said.
Deborah simply nodded, turning to head back into the deli when Lorenzo's voice stopped her.
"Deborah!" he called out loudly.
Deborah was startled when Lorenzo called out to her. As she turned, her eyes widened in surprise when Lorenzo closed the gap between them and swiftly kissed her on the lips. It happened so fast she could barely react.
Just as Deborah braced for more, expecting Lorenzo might take further advantage of the moment, he pulled back with a grin.
"Hehe, that's better! I'll see you again, Deborah!" Lorenzo said playfully, not waiting for her response before swiftly departing.
Left in a daze, Deborah's face flushed deep red. She couldn't believe Lorenzo had stolen a quick kiss. "That sneaky man..." she muttered under her breath, her mind reeling from the suddenness of it all.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo strolled down the street with a satisfied smile. While he hadn't managed a lengthy kiss with Deborah back in the room, the brief kiss they shared was enough to buoy his spirits. "Can't win 'em all," he thought, relishing the brief connection.
Simultaneously, in the game's system under the [Relationship Tab], Lorenzo's status with Deborah as a potential lover climbed to 38.
Lorenzo couldn't help but smile at this progress. Considering he had only been close to Deborah for a little over a week, this was a significant development.
At the same time, Lorenzo had made significant progress in his attributes status. The confrontation with Max and his friends, Patrick and Philip, had unexpectedly worked in his favor. Not only did it accelerate his relationship progress with Deborah, but it also allowed him to level up to 2 and increase his attributes. If not for the improvement in his physical abilities, he wouldn't have been able to sneak that kiss.
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