My Handsome Uncle, Please Be Mine!

23 || First Kiss ||

Part 23.

Clara, a high school senior, aged 17. Like most girls her age, Clara also didn’t fully understand the journey of life or how her current actions might impact her future.

What Clara knew was that her feelings for Joe were genuine. She had rejected many boys who had crushes on her to preserve her love for the charming widower. Without fear, she showed him attention and didn’t care about older women competing for his affections.

Clara remained steadfast, trying to stand her ground and protect her feelings of love. But now, Clara found herself at a crossroads. Between advancing and risking heartbreak or retreating with disappointment.

Especially since Mrs. Linn seemed to disapprove of her closeness to Mr. Joe.

“Ugh!” Clara sighed heavily. A heavy burden weighed on her chest. There was a lingering tightness, prompting tears to well up, then cascade down her cheeks.

“Enough!” she muttered, wiping away the tears that flowed from the corners of her eyes.

Clara’s stomach growled. She suddenly remembered she hadn’t eaten since morning. Then, she decided to leave her room. Descending the stairs, she headed towards the kitchen.

Clara’s steps halted as she realized Mr. Bond, Mrs. Linn, and Mr. Joe were having dinner together in the dining room.

“Where are you going, Clara?” Mrs. Linn asked, eyeing Clara from head to toe. Clara, naturally beautiful even without makeup.

“I’m going to the kitchen, Ma’am,” she replied.

“Join us for dinner, Clara!” Mrs. Linn offered.

Clara hesitated for a moment. It didn’t feel right to refuse the offer. She sat down beside Mrs. Linn.

At the head of the table was Mr. Bond. Joe was on the left, while Clara and Mrs. Linn were on the right.

Clara filled her plate with rice and grilled scallops. She enjoyed that type of seafood.

“Have some more rice!” Mrs. Linn requested.

“I’m good, thank you,” Clara replied.

They prayed together before starting to eat. Clara and Joe remained silent, not exchanging any words. Truly like a couple in conflict.

“What did you use for transportation earlier, Clara?” Mrs. Linn asked, turning to Clara seated beside her.

“I was dropped off by a friend, Ma’am,” she answered. The sauce from the scallops she was eating was delicious, whetting Clara’s appetite.

“A friend, huh?” teased the middle-aged woman.

“Yes, my friend, Ma’am!” Clara answered with a serious expression. Meanwhile, Mr. Bond and Joe only listened to their conversation.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend, Clara?” Mrs. Linn inquired. A girl as pretty as Clara and without close friends seemed unlikely, especially nowadays.

“Um, no, Ma’am!” Clara replied, shaking her head slightly.

“That’s good, you should focus on studying. Later, you can go to college and after graduation, you can work at Blue Jewelry,” said Joe’s mother enthusiastically.

“Um… yes, Ma’am!” Clara replied. She couldn’t refuse, as the woman exuded a dominating aura.

Silence fell upon them. They returned to focusing on the food on their plates.

“Joe?” his mother called.

“How was your work today?” Mrs. Linn asked.

“It went smoothly, and we’ll soon be launching a new product next week!” Joe replied with a flat tone.

“Why have you been so quiet since this morning? You haven’t even smiled at your mom since then!” she protested. Mrs. Linn only had Joe Sebastian, her only son, who was always the apple of her eye. It was understandable that she was very attentive and noticed every change in her son’s behavior.

“Not now, Mom,” was all Joe said.

Mr. Bond, who understood Clara and Joe’s situation, chose to remain silent, observing. Afraid of saying something wrong and letting his wife know things she shouldn’t know.

“Clara, could you wait here?” Mrs. Linn requested.

Clara nodded. That’s all she could do. She glanced at Mr. Bond and discreetly glanced at Joe. One thing she realized was that, even though she was angry, her feelings of love and admiration for him never waned. Evidence of this was that Clara’s eyes always seemed to be drawn to Mr. Joe.

Mrs. Linn got up from her seat. She grabbed her bag. Then, she returned to the dining room. She sat back in her seat.

“Clara, which one do you think is prettier?” Mrs. Linn showed two photos of women.

Clara examined the two photos of women. She hadn’t seen them before. Then, she looked at them one by one with focus.

“This one, Mrs. Linn,” Clara replied.

“Oh, alright.” Mrs. Linn took the photo from Clara’s hand. She turned to Joe. “Tomorrow, Mama will make an appointment with this woman, to have dinner with you, Joe!” she said.

Clara’s already tight chest constricted even more upon hearing Mrs. Linn’s words.

“What do you mean, Mom?” Joe asked. He glanced at Clara before focusing back on his mother.

“Mama doesn’t want you to continue being sad and unable to move on from Vivian, Joe! Open your heart to other women!” Mrs. Linn commanded, seeing Joe’s gloominess, she was truly frustrated.

Joe remained silent. Clara, who was in front of him, made him suppress his anger. A mixture of sadness and indescribable feelings filled his heart.

“I’ll go to my room first, Dad, Mom,” Joe excused himself.

“Wait, Honey!” Mrs. Linn stopped him. But Joe walked away, going upstairs to the second floor without paying attention to his mother.

“Mrs. Linn, Mr. Bond, I also need to go to my room, I want to study!” Clara excused herself. The look in Mr. Bond’s eyes made Clara uncomfortable. The middle-aged man seemed to dislike her.

“Sure, Clara, go ahead and study!” Mrs. Linn replied.

Clara rose and walked towards the stairs, slowly climbing step by step.

As Clara reached the top of the stairs, she was startled. Joe grabbed her hand and pulled her into his room.

Joe locked the door and led Clara to the balcony. He wanted to talk to her.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Joe asked, standing with his back to Clara.

Clara was frozen. The touch from Mr. Joe was so impactful. Yes! Her heart was beating very fast. Instead of focusing on the man in front of her, Clara was busy thinking about how to get out of Joe’s room.

“Don’t just stay silent, Clara! You even dared to choose a woman to be arranged for me, what are you thinking, Clara? You’re too bold!” accused Joe. In reality, he was only disturbed because of Mario, who had driven Clara home.

“I have to go back to my room, Om, before Mrs. Linn and Mr. Bond go upstairs to the second floor!” Clara said fearfully.

“You won’t be able to leave until you answer!” Joe threatened, showing the room key in his hand.

“Did Uncle forget what he said this morning, Uncle Joe said I’m not the type of woman Uncle Joe likes?” Clara retorted.

“Do you forget our 45-day contract, Clara? As your boyfriend, I don’t allow you to be driven home by Mario. Couldn’t you have taken a taxi?” Joe protested.

“Okay, I won’t let Mario drive me again, Uncle, but please, I need to get out of Joe’s room!” Clara begged, fear evident on her face.

“Come here!” Joe pulled Clara to sit beside him. His arm rested on Clara’s shoulder, forcing her to lean on him.

“Uncle!” Clara whispered, truly afraid that someone else might see them.

“Don’t call me Uncle! We’re alone here, call me something else!” Joe ordered. With his left hand, he held Clara’s hand.

Ugh!

This time Clara’s heartbeat was already racing uncontrollably. Yesterday she had longed for Joe to hold her hand. But now, when it actually happened, Clara froze. Between fear and desire.

“Why are you just staying silent! We’re alone here, there’s no one else!” Joe said, caressing Clara’s hand.

The girl remained motionless. It was her first time being this close to a man. And that man was Joe Sebastian, the man of her dreams. The handsome uncle who would always be handsome.

Clara remained silent.

“You can do anything too, right? We can do other things besides holding hands, Clara!” Joe whispered in Clara’s ear.

“No… Uncle… just this is enough!” Clara replied.

“As long as the contract hasn’t ended, it means you’re still my girlfriend, Clara, so don’t get close to anyone. Especially Mario, I don’t like him!” Joe asserted.

“Okay, Uncle!” Clara complied.

“Uncle again? Don’t you want to call me ‘darling’?” Joe protested.

“Um…” Clara mumbled, biting her lower lip in embarrassment, extremely embarrassed. And her heart couldn’t compromise because it was still beating fast and strong. Maybe Mr. Joe could hear it too.

“Okay, from now until the contract ends, when it’s just the two of us, you have to call me darling!” Joe insisted.

“Um…”

“Darling,” Joe called out softly, stroking Clara’s hair.

“Yes, da… rling!” Clara replied.

“Can I ask you something?”

Clara nodded.

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” Joe asked. Like Mrs. Linn, he was also curious about Clara’s love life.

“Never, Uncle! Uh, Darling,” Clara said. There was happiness and her heart was fluttering. Maybe Joe was just pretending, but at least before the contract ended, she still had hope.

Joe cupped Clara’s face with both hands. “Look at me!” he whispered.

Clara was startled. Their faces were very close, just inches apart.

Clara swallowed. Trying to calm her heart and the fast flow of blood.

“Have you ever kissed, Clara?” Joe asked.

“Never, Uncle!” Clara answered, biting her lower lip.

“Do you want to try it?” Joe offered, he started to not care about the conditions he made.

Before Clara could answer, Joe landed a kiss on Clara’s lips. Long and deep. Being the first wasn’t easy. Especially when there was no rejection from Clara.

…

Joe released their lip lock. They looked into each other’s eyes.

“Uncle, I have to go now!” Clara requested.

“Okay, Clara, you stay here, I’ll check the situation outside!” Joe replied. He got up from his seat and left his room.

Joe was disappointed because Kimmy and his parents were not there. He still wanted to be alone with Clara.

He returned to his room.

“How about it, Uncle, can I go back to my room now?” Clara asked hopefully.

“You can’t, Clara, it’s very crowded in the living room, not only Dad and Mom are there, but Kimmy and Cici are also there!” Joe reasoned. Clara’s lips, as sweet as strawberries, still lingered on his.

“Tonight you don’t need to study first, sleep in my bed or we can watch the stars together! Isn’t that what you want!”

Clara’s mind went back to the beginning of the contract. It was clear she wanted to be accompanied by Joe every night. Chatting and even having dinner together. But not like this. In the same room and this close. Her heart was racing!

“Does Uncle already like me?” Clara inquired.

“No, Clara, I just want to explore my role as a boyfriend, because this is only for 45 days, so that someday you will remember my kindness!” Joe replied. Who knows if Joe was being honest or lying.

Clara sat on the edge of the bed, casting her gaze around the room. Joe’s room was very spacious. There was a large wardrobe set, a sofa set, and a king-size bed. Clara’s gaze stopped when she saw Joe’s wedding photo still neatly hung on one side of the wall.

“As a girlfriend, am I allowed to be angry when my boyfriend still keeps photos of his ex-wife?” Clara asked. The girl looked down, hiding her heartache. How could the man who had just stolen her first kiss still not move on from his ex-wife?

“Don’t worry, Clara, I’ll throw it away tomorrow,” Joe said.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Knock, knock, knock…

The sound of knocking on the door echoed, Joe and Clara exchanged glances.

“Joe, Kimmy wants to sleep with you!” Mrs. Linn called out.

“Joe!” she called again.

Joe motioned for Clara to hide in the secret room behind his wardrobe set. It was a narrow room only about one meter in size. Meanwhile, he pretended to be asleep.

Creak!

The door opened as Mrs. Linn entered the room, holding her granddaughter’s hand.

“Sleep next to your dad, Kimmy!” Mrs. Linn instructed.

“Yes, Grandma!” the little girl replied with her cute voice. She then climbed onto the bed and lay down beside Joe.