Arian couldn’t sleep a wink throughout the night. He kept turning and tossing in bed, tangling the sheets over and over again. Long before his alarm clock and the family’s age long butler came into the room, he was fully awake, admiring the phone he forgot to return yesterday.
The colorful pouch brimmed with energy. The designs were girly but in a way, mature. Untamed curiosity or plain idleness made the young master go through every inch and breath of the phone.
Or, was it that subtle power of dominance a third generation French aristocrat naturally had that made him think it not rude to intrude?
Anyway, it was easy because there was no lock on it. Period.
At the end of it all, Arian concluded it was new as there wasn’t much stuff on it. Not to seem… uhm, critical, by pertaining to a certain gender … but typical of teenagers, the gallery was filled with tons of pictures!
Selfies upon selfies of no actual event!!
They all caught the young master’s fancy but a particular one stood out. It was a picture taken at night which showed the smiley face in a dainty little nightdress, with a background of a beautiful city.
The moonlit night made her foxy skin glitter the more and her smile seductive.
Surprising himself, which was starting to become a thing these days, Arian reached for his favourite phone on the nightstand and sent it. He wasn’t sure why he did… But he did it anyway.
After that, he got out of bed and groomed up, had a tank of freshly blended coffee and used the elevator to the garage to meet his friends already waiting…
***
Natalia turned and saw Leonardo walking over. She cheerfully waved to him and he smiled back before giving her a kiss on her cheek.
Elva’s head did a quick cartwheel!
However, the princess didn’t take it much to heart. From her royal classes, she’d learned the various manner of greetings of different nations of the world. So, she maintained her pleasant smile as the Italian pulled away.
He turned to Elva who was having a difficult time processing what the heck was going on.
“Hi! I’m Leonardo, Leonardo De Luca. It’s nice to meet you.” He beamed. It was then realization hit her!
Now, hold on.
It was NOT the realization that he was Italian with half the accent, but the realization that he was the guy who saved Natalia from the stairs on her first day. Elva returned his smile with a wave.
“So, are you guys ready for today? Our class is hittin’ it at the lawn tennis court.” Leonardo briefed as he walked them to the girls locker room designated for the seniors alone.
“Yeah, I am!” Natalia glowed with enthusiasm.
“Uh… No, you’re not!” Elva swiftly countered. “You have to rest. No stress. The doctor’s orders, not mine.”
Natalia groaned in remembrance and began a silent whine in protest. However, after Leonardo promised to be responsible for her, Elva reluctantly compromised.
Oh, Elva. She could be such a mom sometimes. The princess thought and helplessly smiled at her worried countenance.
Twenty minutes later, the girls stepped out of the locker room and met Leo patiently waiting for them at the corridor like he offered. Then he led them to the court after sparing a casual compliment.
Natalia secretly flushed because the gym clothes were really pretty. It was a short, white, sleeveless gown which had a little flay attached to it. A little white short peeked out from underneath the skirt as well.
The designer, really paid attention to detail!
Like everyone else, Natalia wore hers with ankle socks and white sneakers. She used her hairband to pack her hair up in a ponytail. White wrist bands also came with it. But she felt really uncomfortable.
The Princess wasn’t used to wearing… quite revealing clothes and the sultry stares she got only made it worse.
The trio got to the lawn tennis court and a gasp escaped her lips. It was huge and splendid!
Everything was in place. The racket stand, the balls and…. and the water stand??
When Leonardo said ‘our class’, Natalia thought it’d only be a number of them. But he didn’t mention that spectators were allowed!
Then she began to panic.
With capital letters, the princess SUCKED at lawn tennis! Hectic sports in general, and now?… Elva looked at her stricken features and cackled.
A practise-game with two partners on each team was already on and an umpire was monitoring the exchange.
It looked like a real game!
Leonardo held Natalia’s hand as they were about to descend the multiple flight of stairs leading into the court, ripping her attention away from her silent fright! She had almost forgotten he was her temporary guardian.
Feeling a little restrained, she looked up and flashed him a smile nonetheless.
They walked over to a sector of the bleachers where their class was seated. Natalia noticed Leonardo still held her hand but he didn’t seem to notice. Rather, his gaze was focused on the winning team playing on the court.
The gossipy looks started once more as students turned their way. Natalia gently tried to pull away but oh no, he had a grip! She made to lower her head feeling the pressure from their gazes but stopped halfway.
‘Except for a noble cause, never do the bowing.’ Her grandmother had said. Not a silly cause!
Leonardo was a friend in need, though distracted. So she wasn’t gonna feel intimidated! She told herself, made excuses or whatever!… And raised her head high.
They got to the lowest bleacher and sat on it. Elva passed Natalia a water bottle from her duffel bag which she was helping her carry.
The Princess smiled in gratitude and opened it. The group were the only ones at the bottom while the rest were scattered way up. Natalia was grateful for the privacy.
“What are we intended to do?” She turned to Leonardo when Elva got busy with her phone. She was texting Nicky their exact location.
“When they’re done, another batch is gonna replace them according to the coach’s grouping. Soon, it’ll soon be our turn.” He explained. She nodded and turned to watch. After a while, she turned back to him.
“Leo, why weren’t you in school yesterday? I checked but didn’t find you. Were… were you ill?” She worriedly pressed her lips.
“And poor Leonardo was missed by his stunning flower, wasn’t he?” He teased and cutely tilted his head. Elva pricked her ears up in gossip while Natalia flushed, making his magnetic grey eyes twinkle the more.
“I’m sorry.” He turned serious. “Some family stuff but don’t worry, I’m here now.”
“I wasn’t worried!” She argued, trying to stop the heat from spreading.
“I’m sure you weren’t.” He cooed. Natalia aggrievedly scowled at his teasing look which increased his chuckle.
Soon, the middle aged female coach, who looked so young like a teenager, came over and grouped the next batch of players.
“Okay! For the second to the last team…?” She barked from her manual. “Arian De’ Argent will be teaming up with Bianca Wells against Leonardo De Luca and Natalia Kendall. Got it?!”
Excited murmurings drowned the rest of what she said the moment she was done!
The spectators that had come to watch suddenly jerked from their boredom and craned their necks haphazardly, looking out for the owners of those names. Natalia looked behind and in one swift motion, her eyes met with those she promised to stay away from.
He was sitting at the extreme top of the stairs where a temporary sunshade had been created specially for him and his elite friends, to shield them away from the lazy sun.
Natalia didn’t notice Arian earlier. But now, she didn’t miss the unmistakable glare that was directed at her?… Leo??… The both of them???
Her gaze drifted when she noticed that three empty bleachers separated the young heirs from the rest of the students down!
“Um… ma’am. You see, I don’t play tennis. No, I can’t play tennis. So could I, maybe, sit out this week?” Natalia meekly asked, hoping against hope.
The coach threw an understanding smile her way that for a moment there, she was fooled by it!
“I’m sorry, miss, but this is practice. Not an actual game. If you DON’T play tennis?… A first time for everything, right? And if you CAN’T… your partner will guide you through.” She said and briskly walked away.
The Princess threw her partner a help-me-look but Leonardo shared an encouraging smile that was faltering instead.
There was nothing he could do!
He took her other hand and pulled the reluctant girl up. It was then Natalia noticed Bianca and her girls, who were smiling and giggling evilly like the devils they oh so were.
And was she actually putting on more lip gloss?! No, wait!… Were those sneakers or heels?? And her gym clothes were actually shorter than everyone else’s!
Natalia almost choked in utter disbelief.
She glanced back at Arian and noticed that his burning glare was still directed at what she was currently, just noticing.
.
Her and Leo’s entwined hands…
***
“Something smells rotten in Denmark.” Ricky suspiciously noticed with sharp eyes.
Jeffrey swiftly turned and gave him a towel-slap before continuing from where his hurting friend stopped.
“Yeah, no kidding. When did those two get close?” He squinted his eyes at Leonardo and Natalia.
Jeffrey had actually slapped Ricky because his mom was from Denmark. Well, his late mom. Arian would’ve smirked at his silliness but nothing amused him at that moment.
“Aish! You really need to grow up, dude! I meant Arian and the redhead’s grouping. Something smells fishy.” Ricky grumbled, smoothening his messy hair.
“Yesss…” Jeffrey drawled, pretending to be interested in his observation. “That and those two down there! When did the pretty boy get into the picture?!” He frowned.
Arian had seen everything from the moment they were at the top of the stairs. The young master didn’t realize he’d been glaring until Natalia shot him an innocent questioning look.
He scoffed and stood up, slammed his empty soda can in the trash before going downstairs. As he reached for a random tennis racket, Bianca sashayed out of nowhere and brushed skin with him as she picked one too.
Arian almost redirected the glare in irritation but stopped himself in time. What the hell was wrong with him?!
He went over to their lane and did some distracted stretching, seeing her again. However, he wasn’t staring at his clumsy partner which made her smile for some reason as she strutted over.
Rather, he was looking past her, mentally marking his opponent, the jerk… who was picking out a tennis racket for Natalia.
Then the game which Arian eventually hated started. Why?
Why??
Number 1; All through the game, Bianca kept getting in Arian’s way, making him miss every shot and pass!
Number 2; The ‘jerk’ kept passing the ball to her, knowing fully well she completely sucked!!
Number 3; Whenever the gorgeous French aimed the jerk’s face, something pops up and ruins it!
Number 4; The audience doubled in number, watching the whole thing like he was a circus freak or something!
Number 5; The clumsy redhead kept stepping on his feet, not hiding the fact that she was openly flirting!
The young master paused and scoffed, wishing she was at the other side… So she’ld taste a piece of his racket!
Number 7; The jerk continued defending Natalia like some freak-hero!
Number 8; … Number 8?? It was no longer a game or practice. It had turned into a war zone! A fierce, chaotic one! With the way they were both hitting at each other, ignoring earning points and breaking the rules?? One would think it was world war three!!
And number 9; Screw number nine! Arian wasn’t leaving until the jerk had gotten a freaking broken nose!…
Chapter 21