“What’s your favorite genre, Partner?” Kevz asked.
“Nothing in particular. I just like it when a song is eargasmic, you know? I automatically add it to my playlist.”
She was singing along to the song that was playing and he did the same. She even felt him remove his arm and lean his head on her shoulder instead.
“Ouch!” he screamed and her eyes flew open. She saw him squirming next to her while holding his toe. Roj and Homme, on the other hand, can’t stop themselves from laughing.
“What happened?” Lemon asked worriedly.
“I’m really sorry Kevz,” Guido apologized in a panic, then he turned to Lemon. “I accidentally let go of the table and it hit his toe,” he explained.
“Guido, did Drew ask you to do it?” Roj teased as he tried to straighten his face.
“Don’t drag me into that,” Drew sneered while checking his phone, seated at the dining table.
“Excuses Drew!” Roj jest and the annoyance on Drew’s face became rather obvious as he glared at Homme and Roj.
She was expecting he’d ignore the two, but what he said next surprised her. “Stop insisting on your imagination, I’m not interested in Leslie,” he seethed.
Lemon suddenly felt cold for an unknown reason after hearing his statement. And though she had no intention, her eyes rolled on their own.
“Partner, are you alright? Does it hurt?” she asked, then he gave her a thumbs up.
“It’s okay now, Partner, thank you,” but despite what he said, he still massaged his toe.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect it to be that heavy,” Guido said as he scratched his nape.
“It’s okay, no worries,” Kevz smiled and tapped the man’s shoulder.
Lemon remained seated on the couch while they finished working on the instruments. It was already past six in the evening when they got everything done.
“Lemonnnn!” Kale called from outside. She immediately stood up to see what was the reason for his yelling, but before she could reach the door, it already flew open with Kale gasping for air.
“You won’t believe who’s here,” then he smiled despite running out of breath.
“Who?” she asked in confusion, as she was not expecting anyone.
He moved to the side to make way for the unexpected visitor. She really had no idea who it was, so she had no choice but to wait for who would show up.
Lemon’s eyes widened when a familiar figure entered the door of the studio. “Levi?” she gasped. “Oh, my God! Leviiiiiiii!” Then she ran towards the lad and hugged him. “When did you get here?”
“Just this morning! I wanted to come here earlier but the jetlag was no joke. I said I’d just go for a nap but I woke up late,” he explained.
She let go of him and crossed her arms over her chest, “And why are you here?”
“Because I missed you?” he said sweetly. She suddenly felt shy and could feel her cheeks burning. Thankfully, Kellen cut it by clearing her throat.
“I think introductions are in order?” she grinned.
“Yay, sorry! Levi, these are my cousins Kellen and Kippler and my bandmates Rawbin, Roj, Drew, Homme, and Kevz. Guys, this is Levi, he’s a friend from France.”
“And Lemon’s ex-suitor slash fling,” Kale added. She glared at him but didn’t get anything but a peace sign.
Her friends lined up to shake Levi’s hand, it almost looked like a fan meet. Even Kellen got this smile pasted on her face as she watched them.
She then excused them to go out and talk.
“What was his relationship with Lemon again?” Homme asked while he subtly peeked from the window.
“Friend slash ex-suitor slash ex-fling,” Kellen responded as she peeked from the door.
“Ex-suitor and ex-fling,” Homme whispered. “And holding hands!”
Rawbin saw Kevz glance at Drew while he was clenching his jaw with his head bowed down on the dining table. He didn’t have any reaction to what the rest of the bandmates were talking about.
Rawbin, on the other hand, continued to listen as he was intrigued by Lemon’s visitor. What irritated him was that they went out to talk.
“Do you know him, Kel?” Kippler asked, referring to the visitor.
“He’s not the one I met when I visited Lemon in France. That guy’s good looking but Levi’s on another level,” she giggled.
Rawbin pressed on his temple as his head suddenly throbbed. He felt like his rivals were all heavyweights. It was good news for him though, when Drew confirmed that he wasn’t interested in her.
‘But aside from these two, is there anyone else?’
“Let’s eat!” Kale announced when he entered the studio. He placed the food packs on the coffee table, then he slumped on the floor.
A few minutes later, Lemon and Levi came in. Rawbin sat next to Drew at the dining table and waited for Kellen to finish taking out the food packs from the paper bag.
“Here, have this,” Lemon said as she passed the food pack to her visitor.
“How about you?”
“I’m fine, not hungry at all,” she told him, smiling.
Rawbin felt a pinch in his heart. It felt weird that he got jealous almost instantly. But he can’t avoid it as he’s seeing how Lemon’s eyes sparkle when she smiles at Levi.
“Until when are you staying here, Lev?” Kale asked.
“Until next weekend. Dad needs to fix a couple of documents, but after that, we’ll be traveling back to France,” he explained.
“Gosh, I thought you were staying here to study!”
“I wish! But you know dad won’t let me,” Levi replied, sounding so disappointed.
“You’re Lemon’s ex-suitor, right?” Kellen butted in. “Does that mean you stopped courting her already?”
Rawbin leaned forward, interested in hearing what he’d say. But then Drew stopped eating too. ‘Is he sure he’s not interested in her?’
“I wanted to pursue her but she asked me to stop and I understood. It’ll be hard since she’s here and I’m staying in France. But if given the opportunity, I’d want to continue courting her. Lemon knows how much I love her,” he responded, sounding melancholic.
Kellen gasped after she heard Levi’s answer. He’s good with words and any girl will surely fall for him if he’s like that.
“Lev…” Lemon muttered.
“I know, I know. I can still remember what we talked about. Don’t worry sweetie,” running his fingers through her hair.
Rawbin narrowed his eyes, wishing he could do the same. But it might be hard for him since Kevz and Kip were keeping a watch on her.
“By the way, have you heard what happened to Zone?” the guy asked. Lemon creased her forehead, then Levi continued, “He got drunk and caused a scene at a bar. He got into trouble and was hospitalized due to a broken arm.”
“For real? Why?” Lemon exclaimed, evidently filled with worry, and Rawbin couldn’t help but feel jealous…again.
‘Who is Zone this time?’
“Well, he went to the bar after he found out that you’re leaving France. Then this guy picked on him and he fought back. He was hit with a chair and used his arm for defense and the rest was history,” Levi narrated casually.
“If he wasn’t an asshole…” Kale chirped, but he didn’t continue as Lemon glared at him.
“That’s why, next time, make better choices, okay?” Levi reminded her and tapped her shoulder, to which she nodded.
They continued with their exchange of stories until Levi had to go. Lemon accompanied him outside and the group found the chance to interrogate Kale.
“Who is Zone?” Rawbin asked without thinking twice.
“Interested?” Kellen teased.
“That was her very first suitor. We were only thirteen then. He courted her for more than a year but when Lemon was about to say yes to him, we caught the guy making out with someone inside our school’s restroom,” Kale narrated.
“What’s Levi’s status then?” Kellen pried.
“Levi is a good boy, but he’s a Papa’s boy too, so Lemon’s a bit hesitant when it comes to him. He can’t even decide without his father’s approval and it’s a huge turn-off for our girl,” he continued.
“Has he left?” Kale asked as soon as Lemon stepped inside the studio.
“Yep, their driver picked him up because daddy said so,” she replied. “As usual,” she and Kale said in unison and they both laughed.
“So guys, it’s already past nine, let’s go home?” Kip cut the conversation.
When everyone agreed, Roj called Lyra and Guido to let them know we were leaving. The two assured them they’d take care of the studio, so they headed out.
From there, Rawbin took a taxi home with Roj, Kevz, and Drew. Homme, on the other hand, went with Lemon as they are neighbors.
“Lemon’s suitor was like a Greek god,” Kevz chuckled.
“Exactly! I thought a model came in when I saw him,” Roj commented.
“What about you, Rawbin? Are you going to be left behind?” Kevz teased.
He knew what he was trying to say. He knew it was obvious that he liked Lemon, that’s why Kevz asked him directly and without second thoughts.
“There’s perfect timing for that dude,” Rawbin responded casually.
“Why? Are you planning to court Leslie, Llamansares?” Drew, who was sitting in the front seat, looked back to ask.
“I’m still planning on it.”
“What about you, Drew? When do you plan to court her?” Roj asked, followed by a roar of laughter.
“I already told you, I’m not interested,” Drew responded.
“If you say so~” Roj replied with a teasing voice.
When you think of it, Drew’s indeed mysterious when it comes to Lemon. Aside from that, they won’t tease him if they don’t see anything unusual about him.
Pushing the thought aside, Rawbin leaned back and closed his eyes. He needed to plan how to get started with this courtship properly.