True Love Waits

Sheffield wore a sky blue casual shirt today, and the smile on his face was still that rakish smirk he always wore, a grin that hinted at danger. And he looked none the worse for Evelyn's harsh words, as if nothing happened yesterday. He was still so happy when he saw her.

His generosity embarrassed Evelyn. She nodded slightly and apologized, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked in confusion.

"About yesterday..." she explained uncomfortably. "I had no clue the old woman's backpack was filled with dangerous goods."

"I've dealt with her kind before. Don't worry. Just be careful from now on. I have to go! See ya later!"

Before Evelyn could respond, Sheffield had already returned to his buddies.

Evelyn was a little disappointed when she saw him with his colleagues; talking, laughing, clapping each other on the back.

She shook it off and walked into the tea plantation with a wicker basket.

The plantation was located on a mountain. Evelyn's new sneakers were soon stained with clay, dirt, and who knew what else.

She took out a wet tissue and tried to clean them. A futile gesture, as after two minutes, they were muddy once more. At last, she gave up and decided to clean them after getting back to the guesthouse.

At the top of the mountain, a female tea leaf picker waited for her. She took her to a high-class tea plantation and taught her to pick the tender sprouts. The process involved finding the young and juicy leaves with a portion of the stem and a bud at the end. Then when she found that, she carefully picked it and placed it in her basket.

Evelyn really enjoyed this. It was relaxing, Zen-like. She stayed on the hilltop a while longer, her mood much improved.

Soon enough, her basket was half full. A familiar voice suddenly said behind her, "Hey! Need a break?"

It was Sheffield.

long he had been standing there. When she turned around, he was

at her basket of leaves and

at all the tea leaves she had picked. "Mind

she was having problems when she started. She had just begun to get the hang

knew everything, and he didn't brag. It turned out that he was better at it

fact: ever heard of lip tea?" he

The name sounded

tribute to the Royal Court. It was collected by teenage girls and stored in a wicker funnel. The young girls picked the

cast a sidelong glance at the serious expression on his

her eyes and smiled at her mischievously. "How about I pick some tea leaves with my mouth so that you can collect them?" Evelyn rolled her eyes at

closer to her. "Okay, fine. How about you pick some for me like that? I swear I'll

his mouth while he was

Not bad for a novice. Much yummier than mine. Tell you what: if you pick them with your mouth and then use your body heat to warm them up... Okay, okay, don't glare at me.

leaves were plucked by teens? With their mouths? I'm not a teenager. I'm almost 30. See if you have any better luck

She thought about it for a while and said, "No one's said that to me in about 20 years. And they called me 'cute.' You weren't even

father, and so put on a tough front to deal with them. The cute little

said about her age, Sheffield shrugged and said, "They don't see you like I do. I mean they don't know you. You are completely hot. And savvy.

to be admired, and men wouldn't have

did he say? That was before Evelyn. He said he'd

say he met one. More than that, he'd

You're

it. You, on the other hand... Evelina, if you want to get married one day, just

just tell me. I'd do it in a heartbeat!' Evelyn's

at the man who was looking at her seriously, and said softly, "I