“Hey, my cousin will start melting if you don’t stop staring at him,” Lemon whispered while lightly tapping Audrey’s arm, and the girl immediately blushed, giving Lemon a light nudge in return.
“What are you whispering about?” Kip asked when he noticed that they were nudging at each other. Audrey suddenly stiffens while Lemon can’t stop herself from smiling.
“Nothing! I didn’t know you were a gossipmonger Kip!” she called him off and he messed her hair. He stood up to play again but she held him back. “Stay with us, we have no one to talk to,” Lemon pouted.
Kip glanced at Audrey, who was now red as a tomato, before pulling a chair close to the girls and sitting there. He was about to say something but he was interrupted by Kale.
“Give me the cue stick Kip. I’ll play with Drew,” he said as he took it.
The way Kale said it, one would think he’s good at playing billiards. In reality, he doesn’t even know how to hold the cue stick properly. He just wants to show off.
“Are you sick?” Kip asked while looking at Audrey. “Your face is all red,” he added, and Lemon almost let out a laugh.
‘How can this guy be so dense?!’ she thought to herself.
“Are there any terror teachers at SMU?” Lemon asked to steal his attention. She noticed that Audrey had gotten redder and she didn’t even know if the girl was still breathing.
“Most teachers there are nice, you don’t have to worry about anything,” he responded. Lemon was about to say something when someone screamed.
“Ouch!” looking at the billiard table, she immediately saw Drew’s red face while he was bent down and touching his foot.
Kevz told them the billiard ball jumped off of the table and landed on Drew’s foot after Kale hit it. Now, Lemon’s friend doesn’t know where to hide as he was embarrassed and scared at the same time.
“You should just sit down,” Lemon whispered through gritted teeth as he tried to hide behind her.
“Sorry Drew, the ball probably got too excited,” he said, trying to make the situation funny, but Drew just scowled at him.
“Are you okay?” Lemon asked, concerned for him and worried about her friend. He suddenly stood up straight as if nothing had happened.
“Yeah, I’m fine Leslie,” he replied coldly.
“Are you sure? It looks painful and your face is still red,” she commented, but Roj butted in.
“He’s fine now since you came to him,” he gave Drew a nudge and Lemon suddenly felt a bit panicky after what he said, so she just smiled at them awkwardly before going back to her seat.
“It looks like you already got an admirer, cuz!” Kip teased as he pointed at Drew.
“Silly! Roj was just kidding,” Lemon refuted.
“You should know Lem, most of Roj’s jokes are true,” Kevz chimed in, then he and Kip laughed. She didn’t notice that he was now standing next to them.
Lemon bowed her head, feeling embarrassed because of what he said. She also can’t help but steal a glance at Drew, checking if he’s okay only to see him glaring at the two.
“I need to go guys, my mom’s calling!” Roj cut the foolishness between his friends.
Drew and the rest of the guys nodded at him so they had no choice but to stand up and follow. Again, Audrey hooked her arm to Lemon’s as they walked out of the billiard hall.
“When are you moving to your new house?” Kip asked as he put an arm over his cousin’s shoulders. Lemon felt Audrey’s hand turn cold and she almost laughed.
“We’re going home there tomorrow,” she responded.
“Really? That’s nice then. We’ll be neighbors by tomorrow,” he said, smiling widely.
“Really Kip? We’re becoming neighbors?” Kale asked to confirm.
“Yep, as in neighbors! Homme’s our neighbor too,” he nodded toward his friend, who gave us a salute in return. “They moved to the subdivision earlier today,” Kip added.
Kellen’s eyes widened in shock after hearing what her twin said. Lemon can’t stop herself from shaking her head after seeing her cousin’s reaction.
When she looked the other way, she met Drew’s eyes. Lemon suddenly panicked, not knowing where to avert her gaze.
Feeling shy, she just smiled at him but he didn’t even bother returning it. She smirked as she bowed her head down, a bit disappointed at his reaction.
If Lemon’s to be asked, Drew’s the best looking member of their band. But then he seemed to have a not-so-nice attitude. He seemed snob.
Compared to his bandmates, he smiles the least and rarely speaks. Thus making it awkward to be with him.
Lemon and Mika reached the hotel past 7 PM but while in the car, Tori called to tell them to go straight to the restaurant and so they did. When they got there, Tori was busy chatting with Dahlia.
“Where’s Kellen? I thought she was with you,” Tori asked as the two reached their table.
“She went home because Uncle Rigo called,” Kale informed her and she nodded in return.
“How’s your day, fille? Are you able to buy everything?” she then asked Lemon.
“Yes, Mom. I’ll just go back to the mall if there’s anything else I need,” she responded.
“Okay then. Tomorrow, the driver will pick you up, so don’t leave unless Gab’s already there,” Lemon turned to look at her mother with her forehead creased. “He’ll be your driver and he’ll take you straight to the new house. Your uncle’s done with the finishing touches, so you can already use your room, you too, Mika,” Tori announced.
“How’s the shop, mom?” Lemon asked in return.
She has no interest in fashion design though she’s asking. She probably took after her father as she was more interested in running a business.
“It’s good so far. We already got clients too. They’re your Uncle Rigo’s friends. That’s why we’ll be busy these coming weeks. You know, most want to become June brides,” Tori narrated.
After a while, their orders arrived and they happily conversed over dinner. Afterward, they went straight to their suite to get some rest.
Lemon and Mika got early classes the next day and, thankfully, Lemon was not as nervous as she was when they first came. Especially after meeting Kip’s bandmates.
They found out that all of them were in the same class, so that calmed her down a bit. However, it looks like there’ll be chaos with the addition of Mika to the group. They had already started at the billiard hall earlier.
While trying to get some sleep, Lemon’s phone vibrated, and when she checked it, she got a message from an unknown number.
‘See you tomorrow, goodnight!’
She replied to ask who the sender was, but she only got an ellipsis as a response. Lemon wanted to feel scared, but whoever it was could have gotten the wrong number too.
She ended up saving the number as ‘IGNORE’ and then she placed her phone under the pillow. She was about to doze off, but unfortunately, her phone started ringing.
“Cuz!” Kellen exclaimed when she answered.
“Hi, Kel! Why are you still up?”
“I’m about to sleep too. I just want to check if Drew texted you,” without seeing her. Lemon knew she was smiling just by the sound of her voice.
“Someone texted but he didn’t say who he was. Is his number 0939*******?”
“Nope, his digits start with 0927. Maybe he’s not texting you tonight,” she sounded teasing.
“Silly, I thought Kip gave out my number to someone!”
“Good luck! If it was Kip, he wouldn’t have given it for sure. Maybe that’s why Drew asked me. So what did the texter say?” she pried.
“See you tomorrow and goodnight,” Lemon answered casually, but she was surprised when Kellen suddenly shrieked that she had to pull the phone away from her ear.
“OMG! You haven’t even gone to school, yet you already have an admirer! Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be Drew.”
“Kel, you’re being silly. Go get some sleep!” trying to shoo her cousin away, but she just laughed at her. Lemon can’t help but shake her head when what Kellen said sinks in.
“Okay fine! I’ll see you tomorrow then, good night!” then she ended the call.
Lemon quickly put the phone back under my pillow and lay down. But then she couldn’t help but think about what Kellen said.
It’s too impossible to be Drew. He barely talked to them earlier, so she just pushed the thought aside. Kellen’s probably just overthinking.
‘And why am I feeling disappointed?’