Mika hugged her before they climbed down the stairs of the plane. “Girl, this is it!” he exclaimed. “I feel like I’ll finally have a boyfriend here!”
“Gosh! Why are you such a flirt?” she called him off as she laughed, but he just stuck his tongue out at her.
“You’re just envious because I’m prettier than you and, for sure, they’ll all come after me,” he added.
Lemon can only shake her head at his antics. He’s not wrong anyway. If he weren’t gay, girls would surely chase after him.
He’s good-looking if he’s a guy. But that’s not the case. He’s flirtier than Lemon. Heck, he even got a complete set of makeup when she didn’t even have one.
“Lemon, let’s go?” her mom called when she noticed that she stopped on her track when they were about to ride the car that picked them up.
She nodded and followed her. They’re headed to the hotel where they’ll be staying overnight while the preparations for their new house aren’t over yet.
Tori bought a house near the school they enrolled in. It’s also close to where she’s planning to set up Victoria’s Fashion Street.
Dahlia and Mika will be staying with them so she won’t be spared from his craziness. But she considered that a good thing. At least she’ll have someone next to her.
When they reached the hotel owned by Lemon’s uncle, his family immediately welcomed them. Along with him were his wife and his twins, Kipper and Kellen. They’re both Lemon and Mika’s age.
Rigo’s the eldest among the siblings, but he’s just two years older than Tori, so they’re more like friends. Ena’s there too. She, on the other hand, is the youngest in their family.
They all went straight to the hotel’s restaurant for brunch and their table was filled with the exchange of stories between siblings and cousins. They can’t help but laugh at Mika too whenever he speaks.
“Are you going to SMU too?” Kellen asked and Lemon nodded at her with a smile. “OMG! I’m excited! I hope we’re in the same class. Have you guys enrolled already?”
“Yeah, we’re in section Hope,” she informed Kellen, and the girl’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Lucky us! We’re classmates!” she squealed.
Mika and Lemon looked at each other, smiling. The twins have been studying there since prep and they’re known on the campus and that’s an advantage to them.
“My G! I suddenly felt excited. I can’t wait till Monday!” Mika shrieked and raised a hand to my cousin for a high five.
Lemon can see fondness in her cousin’s eyes while talking to Mika. Kippler, however, is a bit wary of him and she understands why.
After having brunch, they excused themselves from the welcoming committee. Mika and Lemon went to their suite while Tori stayed for coffee. On their way, the twins followed them.
“Give me your number cuz,” Kip handed her his phone as he placed an arm over her shoulders. “I don’t like your friend,” he whispered, and Lemon chuckled.
They don’t really see each other often but they’re close. Between the twins, she’s closer to Kip than Kellen.
She typed her number on his phone before handing it back. Then Kip suddenly exclaimed. “Shoot!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I forgot we got a practice today,” he said, slapping his forehead.
“Oh, you’re still in that band?”
“Yeah, of course! I can’t stop now that we’re popular on campus!” he said smugly.
“Yeah right! You’re popular among high school students,” Lemon teased, and he reached out for her hair to mess it up.
“Kellen, I’ll go ahead, are you staying?” he called to his twin.
“Where are you going Kippler?” Mika asked in a flirtatious tone that soured my cousin’s face.
“Band practice,” he answered timidly.
“Really? You’re in a band? Are you all good-looking?” Mika asked again and Lemon couldn’t help but shake her head. He really can’t stop himself from asking about handsome guys.
“They all are!” Kellen butted in. “They’re all in our basketball team too,” she said in a squeal.
Mika’s eyes immediately widened after hearing what Kellen said. “Oh my G, how I wish it was Monday already! As in!” and they both laughed in unison.
When Lemon looked at Kippler, she saw him shaking his head at the two before turning to her. “I’ll go ahead,” then he leaned forward to kiss his twin’s cheek and he did the same to Lemon. “See you Monday cuz!” he added before exiting the suite.
Kellen stayed a bit longer, exchanging stories with Mika. She only bid them goodbye when her dad called and told her they were leaving.
Tori and Dahlia came not long after Kellen left. It was only past one in the afternoon but they were all looking like zombies, tired from the trip.
Lemon didn’t even notice when she fell asleep. She only woke up after someone harshly tapped her shoulder and shook her incessantly.
“Girl wake up!” Mika started to sound irritated. When she stood up, she realized that he was already wearing a two-piece bikini and it was red. “Let’s go swimming!”
“Where’s mom?”
“She left with mom. They’re checking out the shop,” he replied. “Hurry up and get changed. I need to swim, it’s hot!”
Lemon nodded at him as she reached out for her bag. She was not even sure if she had swimwear in her hand-carry but she checked anyway.
Fortunately, there’s one. Unfortunately, it’s a two-piece too. As much as possible, she doesn’t like wearing outfits that are a bit revealing.
According to Mika’s mom, Lemon’s body doesn’t look like she’s fifteen. It’s more like the body of someone aged 18.
She has curves in the right places and her arms and legs are long enough to maintain her body’s proportion. And though they’ve been telling her that she should be proud of her body, she’s still shy about it.
Lemon quickly changed so they can go down before Mika starts whining again. She donned her striped black and white two-piece and wore a kaftan over it for a bit of cover-up.
It’s really hot in the country at this time of day, so she’s not even surprised that Mika’s excited about jumping into the water. She feels the same if she’s to be honest.
When they reached the pool area, Lemon quickly sat down on the nearest lounge chair. While Mika just threw his towel on the other chair.
“I’m going in girl,” he announced and she just nodded at him while checking her phone.
She was surprised to see that she had already gotten messages from the twins. Lemon saved both numbers and placed her phone under the towel. She then took her kaftan off before walking towards the pool.
Sitting on the edge, she dipped her feet as she watched Mika doing laps. “Aren’t you going in?” he asked.
“I will, in a while,” she responded, as she didn’t really feel like swimming yet.
“Hi!” someone called, then a guy who looked close to their age sat next to Lemon. “I’m Yel, by the way,” he said as he offered his hand.
And because Mika’s sense of smell automatically gets activated when a guy is near, he suddenly showed up, taking the guy’s hand and shaking it. “I’m Mika,” he said.
He was at the other end of the pool but he swam back as if he were in the Olympics when he saw the guy next to Lemon. She can’t blame him though. This Yel guy is indeed good-looking.
He got thick brows but that didn’t overshadow his beautiful, round eyes. He’s got a good build and it compliments his natural brown skin. His hair was cut in a way that emphasized his oval face.
“Lemon,” she replied as she returned the handshake.
“Nice name,” he muttered. “Aren’t you gonna swim?” he asked again.
“Maybe later, I’m too lazy right now,” she grinned and Yel just nodded at her.
“How young are you?”
“15,” Mika butted in.
“Oh. I’m 2 years older. I’ll be your older brother then,” he chuckled.
After that, he didn’t say another word. He was just sitting there, looking somewhere far. Even Mika kept glancing at him as he suddenly fell quiet.
Lemon started feeling kind of weird being around the guy. She doesn’t know if it’s because he looks mysterious or because he’s too handsome that it’s starting to feel intimidating.
“Lem come on, I’m about to go out,” Mika said, so she turned to the guy and excused herself.
She swam the distance toward the other end of the pool and back to her original spot. When she looked around, Yel was nowhere to be found.
Lemon just shrugged it off and did a few laps again. They stayed for thirty more minutes before getting out of the pool.
“That Yel’s really handsome,” Mika commented while they were drying themselves.
“Yeah, but he looks so serious in life,” she answered.
“That’s what most girls like you know? Someone who looks like he can secure your lifetime,” he stated while winking at his friend.
Lemon can’t help but shake her head. He really got a weird way of putting things but she didn’t comment further on it. Otherwise, they’ll end up arguing over a stranger.