"But why in the world haven't you asked him his name?!" Phoebe blurted out after Morticia told her what happened the last night, with Ophelia finishing the story by saying that her dear sister forgot to get the phantom's name.
"Believe me, Phoebe, I asked her the same question," Ophelia said, looking quite irritated. "And her response was… unbelievably lame."
The three of them were at the main library. It was one of the rare times that their vacant periods coincide and they decided to meet in order for Morticia to tell Phoebe what happened the night before. They chose to meet in there as Morticia was finely acquainted with the librarian, Beverly Charles, and would not receive any admonishments if they decided to talk inside a silence-invoked zone.
"Well?" Phoebe pressed on.
"It did not occur to me to ask," Morticia replied softly as she continued reading the book titled 1001 Things You Do Not Know About the World's Myths. "Might have slipped out of my mind."
Phoebe stared at her, completely appalled. "For a sharp girl…" her voice faded dismally. Ophelia gave Phoebe a look that plainly said, I told you.
However, before either of them could reply, Morticia let out a sort of dreamy sigh. Her eyes were glassy and they realized that though she was flipping through the book she was holding, she was not reading it at all. In fact, her attention did not seem to be with them.
"Oh, dear," Ophelia suddenly said alarmingly. There was a dawning realization evident in her eyes.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
"She likes him," Ophelia whispered. She turned to her sister and tried to get her attention. "Morticia. Morticia. Morticia!"
"Huh?" Morticia responded distractedly.
"You do like him!" Ophelia exclaimed.
"He was charming and rather good looking, I see no reason why he could not be likeable," she replied in a wistful, breathy voice that Ophelia only heard now.
"No, Morticia," Ophelia replied exasperatedly. "I meant that you like, or for a better word, you are attracted to him!"
"But haven't you said that he was the one who intervened when Natalie's cronies assaulted you?" Phoebe interjected before Morticia could even have the time to comprehend what her sister just said.
"Yes, good point, Phoebe. I forgot about that," Ophelia agreed.
They both stared at Morticia, who pensively glanced above their heads. Phoebe and Ophelia though that she was losing her head. That was until they saw her smile serenely past them.
"What…?" Phoebe began but stopped when she saw Ophelia following Morticia's gaze. She also turned around and saw perhaps the most handsome man either of them has ever seen, smiling gloriously at their direction. Phoebe smiles foolishly back until she realized that the man was not directing his smile nor his intent gaze at them. She and Ophelia faced Morticia and understood rather delayed who the overly handsome man was.
"Hello, Morticia," the man said upon reaching the table they were at. His voice was deep tainted with a Italian accent. His pencil mustache quivered as he smiled at Morticia with great affection. He lifted Morticia's hand, previously lying on the table, and brought it to his lips to kiss it.
"Hello," Morticia said. She turned as she heard Phoebe and Ophelia whimpered enviously. "Oh, this is Ophelia, my sister, and Phoebe, a friend of mine. Ophelia, Phoebe, this is…"
"Oh, how ungallant of me," the man said, realizing that he forgot to introduce himself to her the night before. He spoke directly at her, "Gomez Addams."
"… Gomez Addams," she finished but no longer looking at Phoebe and Ophelia. He smiled apologetically at Morticia, who shook her head dismissively.
"Would you care to join me for a walk?" Gomez asked.
"My pleasure," Morticia automatically answered, not giving much thought on the idea of going away with a stranger. But then, they were together in a small vehicle the night before, a walk could not be any more dangerous.
"My pleasure," Gomez insisted with a smile. He turned to Phoebe and Ophelia, who were still gaping foolishly at him. "You would not mind if I take her away for a walk, would you? Rest assured that she will be back before your next period."
Ophelia remained staring blankly at him, but Phoebe managed to utter, "No."
Morticia started to gather her things on the table and Gomez helped her.
"Never mind that, Morticia," Phoebe hoarsely said. "I will bring that to our next class with me."
Morticia was not sure if Phoebe's suddenly hoarse voice was because of Gomez's presence or the fact that Phoebe was, after all, a banshee. But then, the moment she glanced at Gomez, her friend's voice flew out of her mind.
He held out his hand, which she tentatively took. Very much like a gentleman, Gomez pulled her chair as she stood and brought it back before they left, leaving Phoebe and Ophelia still astounded by Gomez.
Indistinctly, as they left the library, they heard Phoebe hissing as Ophelia, "Remember, Ophelia, you already had Christian."
"Morticia, before anything else," Gomez started the moment he and Morticia stepped out of the library. "I hope you could forgive me for being so ungentlemanly last night."
"What do you mean?" Morticia asked, frowning slightly as if trying to remember anything that Gomez did that could qualify as ungentlemanly.
"I forgot to introduce myself to you," he said by way of explanation. He looked at her with great remorse dancing in his eyes, just like they did when he apologized for shadowing her.
"Oh, that. It's alright," she replied. "Please do not be sad. I do not mind, after all."
Relief washed over Gomez. He smiled again with the boyish grin he gave her the night before. "Thank you for accompanying me."
"Thank you for inviting me," Morticia countered, returning his smile. "It is my pleasure, for some unknown reason."
"I must admit that I feel the same way," he replied. They were absently walking around the perimeter of the library, oblivious of anything except the person beside them.
"I suppose that there has to be a reason why you asked me to come with you," she said.
"I thought it was quite obvious," he casually replied.
Morticia stopped walking. "What was?"
Gomez also stopped walking and faced her, his eyes intent, even seemed hungry to look into hers. "That I want to be with you. I want to get to know you."
"You want to… but why?" she asked, not able to understand his intentions. She tried to gauge him, but sensed something different from what she expected that somehow scared her. She resumed walking, taking Gomez by surprise and followed her immediately.
"When I first saw you in the library, you ignited the dying fire within me," he said, knowing perfectly that he sounded quite senseless.
"I do not understand" she said frowning.
"Neither do I," Gomez replied. "I know what I said sounded ridiculous, even to me it sounded absurd. But I hope you would allow me to explain whatever this is. You see, when you saw me doing my essay, I was deeply frustrated. It was assigned to me during the last term, but then I was not able to do it because… well, I had other things to attend to during the summer."
Morticia's eyes narrowed at him. It felt to Gomez as if she knew that he was hiding something from her. But she did not press on, and he continued speaking.
"And last week, I was about to write rubbish for my essay after sitting in the library for more than three hours of doing and understanding nothing from the mountain of books I took. But then I saw you and I felt that given the short time of accomplishing my ten-page essay, I could do it according to my professor's standards.
"I was not able to see your face but your mere presence was like a siren call to my long asleep self. I suddenly realized that I had not been living these last years. And to be sleeping for a long time, that wakeup call felt immensely refreshing. Very much refreshing that I would not want to fall asleep with my nightmares again."
Morticia was silent for a while, unable to comment to what he said. "I… I am not an antidepressant drug, Gomez," she finally said, looking at him in a strange way.
"I know," Gomez replied. "And I know that it would be unfair for you to think that. After finally speaking to you last night, I realized that I want to be with you. Not because you make me feel alive, but because I have not met any person who is as interesting as you."
"Surely you are just humoring me," Morticia stiffly said. She raised an eyebrow as she threw her head back to look away from Gomez.
"No! I am not," Gomez insisted, alarmed that he might have accidentally hurt Morticia. "I mean nothing of that sort." He rushed to face her, pleading for understanding apparent in his eyes. "Last night, when you expressed your liking for my clothes, when I saw how you dressed, when you said that having pneumonia interested you, I knew that you are not like any other girl."
Morticia looked aghast. "Are you calling me odd?!"
"Yes, I am –"
"How dare you!"
"No! You misunderstood me again. Morticia, please listen to me!" he cried taking hold of Morticia's hand as she attempted to walk away from him. The moment their hands meet, some electric friction passed through them, making Gomez gasp and Morticia's eyes widen.
"Morticia, please," Gomez begged after a while. "There is nothing wrong with being odd. Because I am not as normal as anyone would think and want me to be…" his voice faded.
"I still don't…" Morticia began but he interrupted her.
"I guess I should have just admitted in the first place, to make things clearer from the beginning."
"Admitted what?"
"That I like you, Morticia. I really do."
His class ended two hours previously and he had been standing outside Morticia's room, waiting for her, since then. The final bell rang and his eyes scanned the number of people coming out of the door. He visibly straightened up upon seeing Morticia from his vantage point.
"Hello, Morticia," he greeted when he saw her, he added a quite hesitant smile. It seemed to him that she was not expecting him as she jumped at the sight of him. He turned to Phoebe, who was just beside Morticia. "Hello, Phoebe."
"Hello, Gomez," Morticia replied uncertainly.
Though blushing furiously (it was quite odd to see a light red patch appear on her greenish cheeks, Gomez noted), Phoebe leaned to Morticia's side and whispered not so quietly, "I'll leave you alone, Morticia. Let's just talk tomorrow."
Morticia opened her mouth to stop Ophelia but then she already hurried away. And that same moment, Natalie and her friends passed by Gomez and Morticia. Gomez noticed that they eyed them rather enviously, but choosing to imitate Morticia, he ignored them as well.
"I would like to ask you out, Morticia," he said, his eyes intent on Morticia's.
"What for?" she asked, meeting his eyes briefly but dropping the gaze immediately. Instead, she looked down at her shoes.
"That is rather rude of you, Morticia," Natalie commented, obviously eavesdropping on them. She turned to Gomez and gave him a smile worthy of a toothpaste commercial. "I know who you are. You are Gomez Addams. My friends," she gestured towards them, who also flashed him gleaming smiles and gave perky waves, "and I know all the eligible bachelors in the university."
"Then you and your friends know that I am not one of them," he replied dismissively, which brought scowls on Natalie and her friends' faces. Then he added with a longing glance at Morticia, "Not anymore."
Natalie gasped, understanding perfectly what Gomez meant. As fast as his actions surprised her, she composed herself, determined to have his attention. "Well, if you change your mind, I am Natalie Peterson. Here are –"
"I'm sorry, but I really am not interested," Gomez said, sounding not sorry at all. He turned to Morticia, who was still staring at her shoes. "Morticia?"
"Gomez, pardon me but… why exactly are you asking me out?" Morticia replied, seeming to speak more to her feet than to Gomez.
However, before Gomez could even open his mouth to respond, Natalie spoke up. "You know, Morticia, for someone who seemed to haven't been asked on a date and by some lucky coincidence is being asked out by the most handsome man in the university, you are very much –"
"I would very much appreciate if I get to speak with Morticia privately," Gomez blurted out, unable to contain his irritation to Natalie's interruptions and even merely her presence. He glared at her pointedly.
"Good bye then, Gomez," she finally said, looking abashed for being turned down. "I shall speak with you again soon." And together with her friends, they left them, alone in the corridor of the Literature Building.
"Highly improbable," he muttered under his breath. "Morticia…"
"Gomez," Morticia replied exasperatedly, she even rolled her eyes at him to emphasize her point.
"Morticia, will you please go out with me?" Gomez said, mirroring Morticia's exasperation. It brought a reluctant smile on her lips.
"Is it because you want no one to overhear whatever you are about to say?" she asked finally.
"Of course. You just saw her interrupting us all the time," he answered.
"Are you toying with me?" she asked accusingly.
"What?! No! Why should I?!" Gomez cried, feeling hurt and aghast inside. He knew that word quite well for doing that several years ago. But for the person he likes to allege that to him was like rubbing salt to a very deep wound.
Morticia looked taken aback by his anguished cry. Realizing that her response had nothing to do with his past, Gomez took a deep breath before replying. "Morticia, why do you lower yourself so much? You are a very beautiful young woman. And I still stand by what I said earlier, though you looked ashen and excused yourself to go to your class with fifteen minutes to spare even if you walked like a sloth from where we were. I. Like. You," Gomez said, emphasizing each word to make her believe. "This is not really how I imagined myself professing my love for you, Morticia –"
"Your what?" she asked, looking more surprised.
"My what?" he asked in alarm. Inside, he felt quite sheepish for letting something like that slip. "Look, Morticia, this is not the ideal place for me to discuss how I feel about you. The place is highly unromantic and not worthy of you."
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, demanding a more decent answer.
"Morticia, I will not stop badgering you until you come with me," he said, looking and sounding as exasperated as she was.
"I do not have much choice, then?" she asked, smiling once again reluctantly, looking quite amused at his insistence.
"Not really," he replied, smiling back at her. He also felt good that, though she was hesitant to go with him to dinner, at least she was smiling because of him. "Well, of course, I would rather if you go out with me willingly, than if I have to carry you over my shoulder while you throw a nasty tantrum, screaming and kicking all the way through dinner. Again, that would be highly unromantic."
Morticia sighed, resigned at his insistence. "Very well, then. I will, as you said, willingly go to dinner with you, Gomez." She started to go down the stairs when she rounded to face him, her braids flying behind her. "And you better explain all this nonsense that you are babbling about."
Gomez caught up with her. "Oh, believe me, Morticia, there is nothing about my feelings towards you that is nonsense."
"It is quite hard to find the perfect place, since most restaurants in and around the university offer burgers and pasta," Gomez said as they drove near the rear part of West Parker University. Then he added after seeing a glimpse of Morticia's revolted reaction, "There is one though that serves other much edible food."
"By edible you mean…?" she warily replied.
"What other people call as exotic food," he said trying to soothe her. "Rattle snake meat with chopped liver of monkey, for example."
Morticia let out a relieved breath. "Sounds delicious."
"You do not find that disgusting?" Gomez asked, surprised at her reaction.
"Well, as you said earlier, I am odd, aren't I?"
"So am I, Morticia, remember that."
"That makes us two,"
"That makes us two," he repeated with a content smile. Soon, Gomez slowed down the car as they turned around the corner. He parked the car just in front of the restaurant. Gomez left the car and opened the door for Morticia, holding out an assisting hand which she gratefully took. Not letting go of her hand, they entered the restaurant.
"Good evening, Mr. Addams. It has been a long time!" the waiter greeted, holding out the door for them. He turned to Morticia and greeted her as well. "Good evening to you, too, Ma'am."
"Good evening, Miguel," Gomez replied, returning the waiter's smile. "This is Morticia Frump."
"Good evening," Morticia responded, also with a rather indulgent smile that Gomez did not appreciate to be directed to Miguel.
"Can we have a private table?" he asked, more brusquely than he intended. Morticia seemed to notice but made no further inquiry more than a curious look at him.
"Allow me to assist you to your seats, Mr. Addams," Miguel answered, oblivious of the sudden change in Gomez's tone. He turned to his heel and led them to a private table at the corner of the restaurant. He was about to pull out the chair for Morticia but Gomez beat him to that. When they were already seated, he gave them the menu and left with a longing look at Morticia. They both looked into the menu.
"Yak steak is their specialty here," Gomez finally said, unable to contain the silence and his ire towards the waiter. His voice was relatively kinder now. "But I prefer their ox and henbane stew."
"I'd rather not have something heavy," Morticia replied softly as she pored over the menu, searching for something unknown to him. He looked up inquiringly at her.
"Don't you like it here?" he asked, not wanting to have a date with her somewhere she did not desire. "We can go somewhere else. There is a steak house nearby that serves rare monkey meat, or to the –"
"Oh, you misunderstood me, Gomez. I really do not eat heavily. Most of the time I just drink tea during meals."
"I see. Well, I believe that they have good tea here, although I have not tasted it before."
"I'll have one then," she said, closing the menu and putting it down the table.
"Shall I call back the waiter?" he asked, also putting down the menu on the table.
"As long as you already decided what you will order. And please do not eat less at my expense," she added, looking at him strangely.
"I do not mind," Gomez truthfully replied. He usually eats big meals but he thought that maybe it would be tad ungentlemanly if he eats a big batch of whale spare ribs while Morticia sips a cup of tea.
"I would rather have you eat to your heart's content," she insisted. "It might be interesting. Besides, I do not think tea suits you, Gomez."
"If you insist so…" he slowly said, opening the menu once again.
"I do," she replied with a knowing smile, which Gomez realized to be the irony of him having no choice which he imposed it on her earlier. He returned her smile and called Miguel.
Quite instantly, Miguel came and stood right next to Morticia, to Gomez's irritation. Most of the time, Gomez treats Miguel like a friend. However, he chose now, of all times, to become his rival by giving Morticia sly glances and brushes on the shoulder. The only consolation that appeased the monster inside Gomez was that she was completely ignoring Miguel's actions.
"I will have fried iguana brains with jellyfish and electric eel soup," he said, glaring at Miguel, who did not seem to care. "And red wine for the both of us, if you would agree of course, Morticia."
"Please," Morticia agreed, giving Gomez a smile, which reassured him that she was not interested with Miguel. Then she continued, "And I will have lily of the valley salad with chopped rooster talons, also a cup of henbane tea."
"Anything else?" Miguel asked. It seemed to Gomez that he was prolonging his stay to get a longer time to stare at Morticia.
"Nothing," Gomez snapped, which made Miguel back-off and leave at once. He noticed Morticia peered at him curiously, though did not elaborate.
Instead, she commented about the restaurant, "For such a splendid diner, they have few customers."
"They are not well advertised," Gomez replied, as he tried to calm himself down. Fortunately, the mere vision of Morticia in front of him was enough tranquilizer for him. "Besides, many people are disgusted with the food they serve here."
"You know, I accept that most people find me, what was their word?" Morticia wondered briefly to recall what people tease her. Gomez stared at her as she remembered, her brows knitted slightly together while she bit on her thumb nail, thinking how beautiful she was when she is lost into thinking. He was only brought back to present when her voice rang out as she finally recalled the lost word.
"Ah, weird. Yes, that is their term, how they came up with such ridiculous word, I do not know nor would I bother to know. Anyway, most people find me weird but I cannot truly comprehend how they could be disgusted with my choice of food when they would prefer eating big amounts of grease in the cow they choose to slaughter to become their burgers."
"I could not agree more," he replied, banishing his thoughts about Morticia's beauty. "Not only have they picked on the food we like to eat but with our clothing as well. Have you seen the fashion trend these days? Women are barely covered with those ridiculous scrap pieces of cloth they call clothes, while men look like they are wearing curtains with their oversized pants and shirts."
"Very true. Some look quite presentable, say for example, Natalie and her friends –"
"Who?"
"Natalie. The girl who was all over you earlier."
"Do you really have to put it that way?"
"Put what in what way?"
"Describing her as 'the girl who was all over' me."
"But she was," Morticia countered but looking amused at his reaction. "Why, are you not used to women fawning over you?"
"No," Gomez replied shortly, wishing to discontinue the discussion about women 'fawning' over him, though his neck was becoming more crimson by the second. He chose to change the subject. "Was that her name? I do not remember."
He noticed her narrowing her eyes slightly, trying to understand his sudden choice to change subject. Perhaps realizing that it was another touchy topic, she replied, smiling more amusedly at him, "Gomez! She introduced herself to you, have you forgotten?"
"I was too preoccupied with convincing you to come with me, Morticia. And no man in his right mind would not be distracted with your presence."
Her smile changed into a shy one, which Gomez felt was especially for him. "Anyway, going back to clothes, Natalie looks quite presentable. Except for her choice of color."
"What was she wearing exactly?"
Morticia rolled her eyes on him. But before she could describe to him what Natalie was wearing, Miguel arrived with a tray laden with their order. He seemed to have gotten the silent threat Gomez was emanating that he did not dawdle. In fact, he placed the food upon their table rather hastily and left without further ado. The discussion about clothes seeped out as they ate in silence.
"Morticia…" Gomez quietly said as he spooned the eel's head from his soup.
"Yes?" Morticia replied, looking up from her salad.
"The reason why I asked you out was because I would like to express my feelings for you," he said, abandoning his half-eaten soup to focus solely at Morticia. Instead of copying what he did, she picked up her fork and continued eating, commenting nothing.
"You already did, earlier today," she finally said, not looking at him.
"I know. But you left without a response."
At last, she put down her fork and looked up at him, with what Gomez thought to be an exasperated expression. "Gomez, what exactly did you expect me to respond?"
"I don't know… perhaps an indulgent reply allowing me to court you," he replied, trying to push his luck, though he knew that for sure Morticia would not let him. Still, a little ray of hope was keeping him from being completely depressed.
"Court me?" she asked in surprise. It looked that of all the possible answer from Gomez, courting her was not what she had in mind. Gomez frowned slightly, trying to understand her skepticism.
"Yes. I told you, Morticia, I like you," he answered, still frowning to understand. "The mere fact that I would have to say good bye to you tonight tears me apart."
"I think you are exaggerating, Gomez," she scoffed. Gomez thought that even when she was a bit irritated, she was still very beautiful. "We barely know each other, how could you feel such thing?"
"Love does not require an explanation, Morticia, you know that,"
She stiffened visibly when he said the word 'love', the reason why was quite a mystery for him.
"Perhaps I don't," she quietly said.
"You will know then," he insisted.
"Gomez, you are being ridiculous," she replied, exasperation once again apparent in her voice. Quite surprisingly, to be called ridiculous felt welcoming to Gomez, especially that it came from Morticia. Then she added, shaking him again from his daydreaming, "One thing is that, just like what I have said, we barely know each other –"
"Allowing me to court you would also allow me to get to know you. And of course, you would get to know me as well," he interrupted.
"There are things about me that you would rather not know –" she continued as if he did not cut in.
"Everybody have skeletons in their closets."
"– And you are in your last year of college. Surely you would want to focus on that than being in a ridiculous relationship with a similarly ridiculous eighteen-year old."
Gomez sighed in resignation. "Morticia, like I've told you earlier, you brought direction to my life last week. Even my professors saw great improvement in my performance. They were all curious and would want to extend their gratitude to whoever knocked some sense in me. And that wonderful person is sitting in front of me. Again, Morticia, I see no reason why you belittle yourself. You are a magnificent and beautiful woman. There is no reason why you should see yourself as insignificant."
"How could you say that?" she asked in a meek voice. "You met me seven days ago and you followed me for the past week, but surely, no information about me came to you."
"I wouldn't say that, if I were you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let me just say that I have a certain charm that allows me to delve deeper than just knowing your class schedule and home address," he replied with a charming smile and a matching wink.
"You talked to my professors?" Morticia asked incredulously. Her eyes grew in shock. She clapped a well-manicured hand over her mouth to prevent her from gazing at him open-mouthed.
"Some of them."
"Gomez, you are one big stalker!" she almost cried. "I believe that you should go to the guidance counselor and have yourself checked. Your stalking tendencies have no boundaries!"
"Of course they have!" Gomez replied indignantly. "For one thing, I cannot know more than your school record here. That means I cannot access your high school files."
"I suppose I should be pleased that you have not phoned my father and asked him what kind of daughter I am," she said dryly, though Gomez thought he could see amusement behind her antagonized eyes.
"I would not dare call your father. Especially not before meeting him personally first," he said, bringing back the conversation towards his request of courting her instead of his stalking tendencies. Then he added, "It might bring the wrong impression."
"I actually have no choice, do I?" she asked. She looked down at her plate and realized that she still has some salad left. She picked up her fork and started pushing her food around. Even Gomez looked down at his plate and picked up the fried brains and ate it. It was not as crunchy as before, but was at least not leathery.
"You can choose to ignore me," he suggested after a while. "But then again, I could always stalk you. Of course, I would prefer if you agree, rather than if you go to the police and request for a restraining order."
"That idea seems fine," she said, still pushing her salad around her plate as if she was playing some sort of food hockey.
"The idea of allowing me to court you?" he asked, feeling very much hopeful, his eyes bright with anticipation.
"No, the idea of filing a restraining order."
"You wouldn't!"
Instead of replying, Morticia burst out laughing, which seemed to surprise her more than Gomez, whose mustache was twitching in delight. She immediately placed a hand over her mouth and looked at him in a mixture of embarrassment and guilt, her eyes wide in shock.
"That sounds wonderful," Gomez said, smiling encouragingly at her.
"Did it?" she questioned, apparent to Gomez, his response was as surprising for her as her sudden laugh.
"Yes, hasn't anyone told you?"
Morticia shook her head gracefully. "No. I rarely laugh, you see. In fact, smiling comes as rare. You surely make me do both more often."
Gomez's smile widened in pleasure, his eye twinkled, much like the stars peeking out of the clouds that night. "Well, I am honored to have brought you signs of happiness."
Mortician returned his smile as an embarrassed silence enveloped them. She slowly withdrew her hand from her lips and placed them on her lap. It was only then that they became conscious that they still had food on their plates. In an unspoken unison, they picked up they forks but merely played with their food, ostensibly bashful to speak with each other.
After several moments, of attempting to eat their food but vaguely aware that they were not significantly hungry anymore, Gomez put down his fork and called Miguel to pay the bill. When he arrived and presented the bill, Morticia opened her purse but Gomez stopped her.
"Oh, no, Morticia," he said, shaking his head vigorously. "You do not get to pay."
"Why?" Morticia asked. She looked at him inquiringly, though her hands did not leave her already opened purse.
"Because men pay for dates."
"Oh, Gomez, do not be old-fashioned."
He stared at her in a genuine-looking sadness. "But I thought you like the way I dress."
Morticia suddenly let go of her purse in alarm. She looked at Gomez with her eyes wide, quite pleading, it seemed to him. "That is not what I meant."
Achieving his purpose of distracting her, Gomez reached for the bill and paid for their dinner. She gasped accusingly.
"That was a ploy! You used your charm against me!"
Instead of replying, he just winked at her and flashed her the most dazzling smile he could manage. To his delight, she returned his smile with a special smile, though she tried to look reluctant.
END OF CHAPTER 7. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT! I ALREADY THOUGHT OF OPHELIA'S SECRET, I FIND IT FUNNY SO I HOPE YOU WILL, AS WELL, SO WATCH OUT FOR CHAPTER 9. CHAPTER 8 WILL BE PURELY GOMEZ'S POV. I HOPE IT WILL BE ROMANTIC AS I THINK IT IS. THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE SUPPORT! PLEASE CONTINUE R & R! :)