"Maybe I already like you a lot… Isn't that possible?" Lucas said as he stared right into her eyes. Riley looked at him softly, not knowing what to say or if she can say anything for that matter. Lucas gave her a warm smile that literally made her knees go weak but all she could feel other than her knees going week was the tingles that were coming from where his hands were laying, on her waist, and the flutter in her heart along with the butterflies in her stomach.
Lucas was just about to pull her closer when they her heard her mother's voice calling from the hallway. Riley hurriedly got out of his grasp and stood away from him. She ran a hand through her hair nervously while Lucas headed towards the dish washer, pretending to be looking for something.
"Mr. Lucas!" Topanga said as she looked at the pair.
Lucas gave her a nervous smile, "Uh…. I… um… I was hungry…"
"What should I make for you?" Topanga asked.
"No, thank you… I already had something to eat." Lucas said with the same nervous smile. Riley looked at him and gestured with her head towards the door, telling him to leave. "And I was going to my room… Good night."
"Good night." Topanga said and he gave her a nod before leaving the mother and daughter alone in the kitchen. Topanga waited until Lucas was completely out of the kitchen before looking at her daughter with somewhat of a glare on her face.
"Mum… I got up and came here for a glass of water and Mr. Lucas was hungry-" Riley tried to explain.
"You can't Riley! You shouldn't have entered the kitchen if you saw him in here! Honey… You should try your best to avoid being alone with him… Mrs. Cathy could've came to the kitchen as well and caught you two."
"You're right, Mum… I couldn't think."
"Riley, please don't be the topic of their talk with me… I promised them that no problems are gonna happen… Please."
"Alright… I'll be more careful, mum… Don't worry." Riley said as she looked down at her feet.
"Alright, baby girl… Let's go to bed." Riley nodded and they both headed back to the penthouse. Riley went to the bathroom as her mother went back to bed. She splashed her face with some cold water before heading back into the room to find her mother in deep sleep. She sat down on her bed and hugged her minion tightly to her chest as she thought.
No, Honey… It's not possible…. Or is it? She thought to herself as she recalled his words to her. What would happen if it is indeed possible? Ha, what does he even know about feelings? Look at what he said even though he has a freaking girlfriend! His girlfriend is a bitch but still, he isn't loyal to her? He's probably making fun of me… What a jerk! She huffed and looked out the window.
"Riley?" Her mother broke her train of thoughts and she snapped her head towards her. "Why aren't you asleep, baby girl? You're waking up early tomorrow… you should sleep."
"Alright, Mum… I'll sleep." Riley said with a nod and laid down in bed.
In Lucas' room, he was laying down in his bed while looking up at the ceiling with a small smile on his face.
"What the hell did you do?" Lucas mumbled to himself but his smile only got bigger. "You did well."
The night turned into morning, and Riley was done getting ready so she tiptoed towards her dresser to get her bag, but she ended up knocking over her jewelry box and waking her mother in the process.
"Riley!" Her mother exclaimed in fear after hearing the noise and sat up in bed quickly. She hurriedly hurried towards her daughter. "What happened, baby?"
"Nothing, mum… I'm going to work a bit early today."
"Aren't you going to have breakfast?"
"No… I'll have something to eat at work." Topanga slipped on her slippers and looked at her daughter worriedly.
"Riley… Did what I said last night upset you? Is it why you're leaving the house early like that?"
"No, mum… It didn't upset me." Topanga gave her an unsure look, not believing her, "I swear to god that it didn't… I'll be more careful from now on, don't worry."
"My little wise baby…. I know you, Riley…. And I know that you wouldn't do anything wrong. It's just that Mrs. Cathy is very sensitive when it comes to anything that has to do with her son."
"What? What the hell would we do to her son?" Riley asked, her eyebrows frowned in anger.
"Not because we'd do anything for her son, baby girl, but… I don't know."
"Okay… I get it." Riley said with a nod. "I never brought you trouble before, and I will never do, Mum… Don't worry." Topanga gave her a nod and hugged her goodbye. Riley sat down on the couch by the door and slipped on her pair of mint green converse as a pop of color to her outfit. She was wearing a pair of blue jean shorts and a white graphic T-shirt that has writing on it in mint green. She took her bag and left the penthouse, after checking that the coast is clear.
She walked until she reached the gate of the house and slowly turned around and looked at the mansion-like house sadly. She shook her head before turning around and calling Maya, wanting to see her before they go to the club.
Just as Riley left the house, Lucas' alarm went off and he opened his eyes with a groan. He sat up in his bed after turning it off. Memories of the night before came back to his smile, bringing a soft smile to his face.
"I wonder if she's awake…" He said to himself. He shook his head with a smile and typed a new message on his phone and sent to her. After staring at it for a few seconds, he decided to get up and take a shower. He took extra care of himself while showering, wanting to impress her even it's with how clean he looks. His little shower/pamper session included shaving the little stubble he had that was potentially going to be a beard.
"No…. No, I can't wear this today, of all days…" He said to himself as he stared at the hanged hot pink button up. "She'll make fun of because she'll think that I'm trying to grab attention." He shook his head before hanging it back in his closet. He started looking for something else until he decided on a dark ice-green button up that had very, very tiny white dots on it. He stared at it before giving a nod of approval then taking out his mobile phone. "She hasn't read it yet…. Could she possibly be sleeping until now?"
He slipped on his shirt and paired it with a pair of white jeans and black vans. He fixed his hair and applied a few sprays of perfume before heading out of his room, towards the garden, to join his parent for breakfast.
*GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW*
"Well, I don't see where the big deal is, you- WAIT HE DID WHAT!?" Maya exclaimed after Riley had told her what happened the night before. "Wait… let me get this straight… He kept asking you to help him… then you two stayed together at club until late at night and he was very nice to you that he even gave you a ride home… Then he made you a sandwich?" Riley gave a nod. "That guy likes you."
"Well… He actually said that."
"What?!" Maya said in surprise. "What did he say?!"
"He said that he likes me." Riley confirmed Maya's prior statement.
"Man, who do I know these things?" Maya asked excitedly.
"Yeah, Maya… How do you know? I really don't understand."
"Doesn't matter now… How did he tell you?"
"I don't know! He said it so clear though…. Like, no going around the bushes…"
"You're killing him, Riles…. I mean, how did he say it? Did he hold your hand? Did he stare into your eyes? Most importantly, did you feel your heart beat?" Maya explained to her seemingly clueless friend. "Did he say it softly, almost in a whisper or was he loud and clear?"
Riley stared at her friend for a few moments, "I don't, Maya… He said… I don't know!"
"Offf, Riles! Okay, fine…. What did you say to him?"
"What would I say? I was all different types of shocked and I was just standing there, I couldn't even move. After that, my mum came…"
"Off, Topanga…. Such a great timing, woman!" Maya said sarcastically but still in annoyance. "But what did she say?"
"She was annoyed by the situation… but thankfully she didn't say anything too bad."
"Well, getting caught was bad."
"No, Maya… In my opinion, getting caught was good." Riley said as she remembered how Lucas was about to lean in and kiss her when her mum walked in on them.
"How? Why would it be good?" Maya asked, her thick eyebrows gathering in confusion.
"Seeing my mum brought me back to my senses…. What were I doing in the kitchen with their son at such a late hour of night? I mean… What if it wasn't my mum who came in? What if it was someone else? How was I going to explain it? I would've caused trouble for my mum… How was I able to be so reckless? How was I so irresponsible, Maya?"
"Riley…" Maya said with a serious yet soft expression on her face. "Do you want me to tell how you were so irresponsible and reckless?" Riley gave a hurried nod and Maya stared at her with a soft smile before answering her own question. "Because you like Lucas too."
"What? Me? I don't like him! I don't like anyone! Are you even serious?" Maya shut her lips tightly to stop herself from giggling out loud at her friend's actions of denial. "I don't like him!"
"Of course, you don't like anyone…. You don't like Lucas at all, not even one bit… Of course." Maya said with a small smirk on her face.
"I told you that I don't like him, Maya! Why aren't you believing me? I don't freaking like him!"
"Alright, fine… You don't like him but he does like you." She said with the same smirk on her face making Riley huff in frustration.
"You know what? I shouldn't have told you… Anyways, let's go or else we'll be late for work." They stood up and made their way towards the club since the park they were at was within walking distance from the club.
They arrived and changed into their uniforms before heading into the restaurant to start their shifts.
"Riles…" Maya called as they were both busy with organizing tables and cleaning cups and forks before laying them on the tables nicely. Riley gave a hum without looking away from the napkin she was folding. "I still can't believe it… The heir of the big and fancy JM Company likes you."
"Oh, how great!" Riley said sarcastically. "Don't exaggerate it, Maya… Besides, he doesn't like me… He's just looking for something to entertain him to make time pass… As if his girlfriend isn't enough!"
"In my opinion, he doesn't love that girl."
"Doesn't love her? How would you know?" Riley asked sarcastically.
"I just understand things." Maya said with a smirk.
"No, seriously… How did you understand that?"
"From his eyes… A man in love is different… He looks into the eyes of the girl he loves deeply…" Maya starts explaining dreamily, taking a seat on one of the chairs. "He stares into them so deeply to the point where you feel trapped in that moment… It takes you to whole different world and although you're alone in it, you don't want to come back or go there with anybody other than him... You want to stay there forever." Riley stares off as she listens to Maya's words, zoning off into a world of her own while remembering last night. "Whatever happens around you two doesn't matter… As if you two are alone in a big universe… It's a weird type of attraction that you can only find between two people in love." Maya gave a sigh. "Is that type of attraction between Lucas and that girl? I don't think so." Maya looked at Riley and a small smile came to her face when she noticed her staring blankly ahead of her, knowing that she was thinking about Lucas. "Bssst…" Riley seemingly came back to earth and looked at Maya in confusion. "I was talking to you…"
"Oh… Um… What does Lucas know about love anyways?"
"I don't think you should be so confident… If he loves you, I wouldn't be surprised at all…. I mean, after all the time you two have spent together, I believe that he's quite late."
"First it was Farkle and now it's Lucas… When are you going to stop getting my hopes up?" Riley said angrily but Maya knew not to get mad from her anger.
"Okay, I'll shut up, I'll shut up."
*GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW*
"Oh, look! He still didn't wake up." Joseph said with a smirk.
"It's still quite early, honey… He'll be up soon."
"Oh, really? Yesterday he went to work just so that he doesn't hear anything from me but the day wasn't easy on him… The work was quite a lot and quite hard."
"You'll see, Joseph… He'll wake up and go to work… Just wait and see."
"Yeah, of course… He'll wake up at noon and then he'll stop by the club, wave at some employees and say hi to them… Then he'll probably play some sport to waste some time… that's all." Joseph said sarcastically.
"I hope God embarrasses you and prove you wrong…. I'm not gonna say anything else."
"I'm ready to be embarrassed… if only you just do it once." Cathy just sighs before a grin makes it's way to her face as she hears a voice from behind them.
"Good morning!" Lucas said happily as he made his way towards the table.
"Baby… Good morning! Come on, sit down and have your breakfast." Cathy said with a smile and Lucas sat down on the empty chair beside his mother.
"I'm going to have something quick and leave… Work doesn't wait as you already know." Lucas said naturally, not trying to grab his father's attention but doing so.
"Good morning." Topanga said with a smile as she approached their table with her apron around her waist and a plate of homemade stuffed mini croissants.
"Oh, Topanga! Are those croissants?" Cathy said with a giggle. "What are you doing? We're on a diet." Cathy said, but didn't complain when Topanga placed two in her plate.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Cathy…. It's very light and low fat as well." Topanga assured her with a smile and served Lucas two as well.
"I never knew that croissants could be low fat…. These look super delicious… It's looking at me and telling me 'Eat me! Eat me!'…"
"Don't worry, they're super light…." Topanga assured her and she nodded with a grin.
"Hmm… So delicious!" Lucas said after taking a bite and Cathy and Joseph nodded in agreement.
"Did your daughter inherit your cooking skills?" Joseph asked curiously.
"Riley is a pretty good cook but her specialty is cakes… She became quite popular at the bakery she used to work in for her cakes." Having heard that, Lucas remembers their first meeting when he almost hit her with his car and a small smile comes onto his face.
"Really? I love cake… Can she make us one?" Joseph asked and Topanga nodded. "I haven't seen your daughter in a while… Does she stay in her room all the time or what?" Topanga's gaze connected with Cathy's which didn't go unnoticed by Joseph. "Did you warn her not to come out of her room?"
"No, honey… Why would I?" Cathy said.
"Riley started working, Mr. Joseph… That's why she's not around as much anymore." Topanga informed him.
"Working? Where does she work?"
"What was it?" Topanga asked herself nervously. "Riley told me but I already forgot…. It's a nice place whatsoever…. It was a sports club if I remember correctly and she works at its restaurant."
"Oh, that's good." Joseph said and Topanga nodded before excusing herself.
"The girl just came back from working abroad and she immediately went and found herself a job… That must mean that she's a very hard-working and ambitious… God bless her." Cathy said and Lucas couldn't hide the small smile that came to his face. Hearing his mother praising his girl –or soon-to-be-his- made him feel very happy.
"What else can they do? They're just trying to face the difficulties of this world alone." Cathy gave a nod of agreement. "Honey… Always take care of them and ask them if they need anything, alright? We have to take care of them."
"Don't worry, honey." She reassures him with a smile.
Lucas, feeling a bit down because of what they were talking about, wipes his mouth with a napkin and stands up. "I'll be heading out now."
"Oh, but you barely ate anything." Cathy complains worriedly.
"Why don't you ever say that to me?" Joseph whines and Lucas takes this as his chance to escape so he turns around and walks away from the table.
"Baby, did I ever interfere with your life before we found out about your illness?" That was the last thing Lucas heard before he walked back into the house through the glass door of his room.
He walked out through their front door but stopped when he reached the door to the penthouse. He checked his phone once again but the message was still unread.
*GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW*
Riley checks her phone to see the time but finds that she has a new message from Lucas. Hesitantly, she opens the message.
-Lucas:
Good morning, should we go to work together?
Riley stares at the message for a few moments, not knowing what to do, before shaking her head and going back to helping Maya.
"Lucas sent me a message." She states out of nowhere and continues working as if she said nothing.
Maya smirks and asks, "What did he say?"
"Should we go to work together?" She repeated his message.
"I always get your hopes up, don't I? I don't have anything to do with it…. The guy simply likes you, whether you believe it or not." Maya said and Riley gave her a glare or warning but a customer called before she could reply. "I'll go."
Maya left to go check what the customer wants and Riley recalled some of the sweet words that slipped out of Lucas' mouth the night before.
Maybe I already like you a lot… Isn't that possible?
She shakes her head and opens his message again. She types a reply then deletes it, and repeats the action multiple times before locking her phone and getting out of the door, needing some fresh air.
*GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW*
"Oh, good morning, Mr. Lucas! Do you need anything?" Topanga greets as Lucas makes his way back into the kitchen.
"Uhh… Can I have a glass of water, please?" Topanga gave him a nod with a smile which Lucas returns. "Thank you." He said when she handed him a glass of water.
"Good Morning, Mr. Lucas." Katy greeted after she made her way into the kitchen and saw him standing there, drinking his water.
"Good morning." He greeted back with a smile.
"Topanga, I couldn't find Riley this morning… Did she leave the house early or is she still sleeping?" Katy asked and Lucas wanted to hug the life out of her and thank her endlessly for asking the question he was dying to know the answer for.
"She left early." Topanga answered with a nod, bringing a satisfied smile to his face.
"Have good day." Lucas said, putting his glass down on the kitchen isle before heading out of the door.
"Ah, weird! He came and took his water himself!" Katy said in surprise and Topanga just shrugged.
After getting into his car, he takes his phone back out and opens the text. "Why is that girl not answering my text even though she read it?" He asked himself before deciding to call her.
Riley's phone rang as she was taking a tray of dirty dishes and cups towards the kitchen. She took it out of the pocket of her mini-skirt and canceled the call with a frown of her eyebrows when she saw it was Lucas who called. Maya noticed her expression and immediately knew who the caller was and smirked.
"Alright, then…. We'll meet at our work place." Lucas said in frustration before starting the car and heading out of the house.
"Good morning, Dad!" Farkle greeted as he made his way into the living room where his father was reading the newspaper.
"Good morning, son." Minkus greeted before checking the staircase, to ensure that Caitlyn wasn't coming. "Farkle, we couldn't discuss it, all the preparations for tonight's party are ready, right?" He said in a quiet tone.
"Everything is perfectly ready." Farkle said with a nod and a grin.
"Caitlyn is gonna go speechless because of that surprise." Minkus said happily.
"Absolutely… She's not expecting anything like that from us at all."
"That surprise is gonna be good for her…. You know… Caitlyn gets very emotional on her birthdays." Minkus said with a sad shake of his head.
"I know…. Even though she doesn't talk to me about it, I know how she feel like very well… On every single birthday of hers…. She waits, wondering 'am I gonna get a call from my mother?'…. That's why she gets very excited before her birthday, even though she knows that she'll be disappointed by the end of the day… She still waits nevertheless…. You know, dad… They say that people forget their pain as the years pass, but there's nothing like that for Caitlyn…. My anger towards my mother increases as the years pass but not for myself… but for how sad my sister is because of her absence."
"Your mother also didn't want that to happen to Caitlyn… to either of you… but she also had her reasons, she-"
"Oh, please, dad… I'm not a kid anymore… I'm aware of everything… I understand things well now." His father sighs and looks down at his folded hands. "Anyways, I'll be heading out now…"
"Alright son… to the club?" he asked as Farkle stood up from his seat and fixed his shirt that has risen up a bit when he sat down. Farkle nodded and walked towards the door. "Oh, Farkle…" Minkus called, standing up from the couch. "I still can't figure out what to get Caitlyn…"
"Me either…"
"Well, if you get any ideas, call me… I'll go wake the birthday girl up." Farkle gave him a nod and walked back towards the door then left the house. Minkus shook his head before heading up the stairs towards Caitlyn's room. He knocked on the door lightly a few times. "May I come in, Cait?"
Since she's such a light sleeper, she woke up upon hearing the light knocks and her father's voice. She rubbed her eyes before sitting up in her bed. "Come in, daddy."
"I wanted to wake the birthday girl up myself." Minkus said with a grin as he closed the door behind himself. He sat down beside her on her bed and wrapped his arms around her in a fatherly hug. "Happy birthday, baby girl…. I'm so lucky that you were born… I'm so lucky that you're here with me right now… And I'm so lucky that you're my daughter."
"Thank you, daddy… I'm so lucky that you're my father too." Caitlyn said with a bright smile as she pulled away from the hug and gave him a kiss on every cheek. "How was I when I was born, dad? Tell me again."
Minkus gave a laugh before answering her. She asks the same question on every birthday. "You were very pretty, baby girl…. I can't forget that very first moment I saw you…. I immediately felt the responsibility of being a father to girl land on my shoulder…. I couldn't hug you for a few days, you know? I was afraid of hurting you…" The both laughed lightly.
"I can't ever let you go, daddy… You're the best." She said with a grin before it slowly fell down. "And my mother? Was she happy?"
"Is it even possible for her to not have been happy? Of course she was, baby girl…" Minkus said with a smile before deciding to discreetly change the subject. "I wish you were able to see your brother then… He stood proudly with his short height saying, 'I have a sister now!'" They both laughed once again.
"You two never fail to make me happy… You never made me feel like something is missing… Especially you… Thank you for being a father and a mother to us and also for not remarrying and bringing a step-mother for us." She said with a soft smile and wrapped her arms around him.
Minkus hugged her back but couldn't help but feel guilty, for keeping his relationship a secret from her, and worried. He didn't know what her reaction is going to be when he does tell her.
*GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW*
Lucas reached his office and saw Mr. John flipping through one the files he gave to Lucas yesterday through the class door. He sighs before walking in.
"Hello." Lucas greets.
"You did a much better job than I expected." Mr. John said. "I congratulate you."
"I'd like it a lot if you tell my father about that as well." Lucas said with a smile.
"Of course I will… But if you don't get help next time…"
"Help? What help?"
"Mr. Lucas…. The place is filled with cameras that work 24 hours…"
"Well… It's good that you said so…. But that will stay between us, won't it?"
"It can stay between us only if you finished the new project that I'll give you with the same efficiency… on your own, of course."
"New project!" Lucas exclaimed in disbelief.
"We thought about making a championship between our members during this month… What I want from you is to find an idea and build a show that has to do with the championship…. In here, you have some samples for last year's shows and activities… I think that they'll help you."
"Alright…" Lucas says with a nod.
"You have until the end of this week to finish this… Have a good day." Lucas gives him a smile and with that, Mr. John leaves his office.
"What do I even know about building shows? I wouldn't have finished what he gave me yesterday if it wasn't for Riley…. Speaking of… Where is that girl?!" He takes his phone out of his pocket. "She hasn't called me back… Could it be that she's avoiding me? She must be a bit shy because of what I said to her last night…" He thought to himself with a smile. He decides to call her again to try his luck.
"You're starting to really annoy me, Lucas." She said as she cancels his third call. She turns around and comes face to face with a smiling Farkle. "Good morning."
"Good morning, How are you, Riley?" Farkle greets her back.
"I'm okay, what about you?" She answered with a smile.
"I'm fine… I came here to play some sports and I told myself to come see you since I'm already here." He said. Usually, it would make her heart flutter to the point where she'd almost die but now, the flutter in her heart is barely there. "How are things going? Did you get used to the place?"
"Everything is going well." She replied with a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that… Um… you're coming to Caitlyn's birthday party tonight, aren't you?"
"Um… Unfortunately I won't be able to come tonight…" She said apologetically.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"No! It's just that I'm getting off work at 6 and then going home and getting ready will probably take a good while…"
"Oh, yeah… You're right… I didn't think of that." He replies and thinks about it for a few moments while biting on his lip. "You can leave early, can't you? If you do then everything will work out just fine… It doesn't matter if you're a bit late to the party as long as you show up in the end, right? I can even ask for a permission for you."
"No, you don't need to do that… I don't want to cause a problem from the second day."
"Don't worry… you're right…. It's impossible for you to get ready or even make it to the party before it's finished after your shift ends… Plus, Caitlyn will be really happy if you come." He says with a grin.
Riley thinks about it for a few moments before sighing, "Alright."
Farkle gave her another smile before starring at her as if he just remembered something, "By the way, I heard that you live at Lucas' house… I was really surprised to hear that."
"Ask me about it…. My mum started working while I was in Miami and she happened to work for his family… When they had to sell our house and she was left homeless…" Riley trailed off.
"Your house was sold?" Farkle asks in disbelief. "So that's why you're living at Lucas' house?"
"Yeah… When we were left homeless all of a sudden, that was the only solution my mum could find, thanks to Mrs. Cathy… But I wasn't in the picture at first since I was supposed to stay in Miami for the entire summer and my mum thought that by then, she would have already found a house… So when I came back suddenly, Mrs. Cathy had to allow me to stay there as well."
"Don't worry, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Joseph are very kind and nice… But I get you… Leaving your house and your routine must've been hard on you."
"It was very hard." She said with a nod as she looked down at the ground.
"Riley…" Farkle trailed off, making her look up, and when she did, he reached his hand out and caressed her shoulder in a supporting manner. Right then, Lucas saw them through the glass wall of the restaurant as he was coming to check on Riley. "You're one of the strongest girls I've ever met."
Lucas felt his blood boiling as he noticed Farkle's hand that was on her shoulder. He soon removed it and Riley gave him her signature smile.
"She cancels my calls and texts but she's not busy at all for other people." Lucas mutters through greeted teeth as he looks at the pair. Farkle says something to which Riley nods to and then he leaves so she turns around and goes back to what she was doing. Maya notices the furious guy that is making his way into the restaurant and secretly prays for her friend while she silently watches. "Riley…"
Upon hearing his voice, she turns around and stares up at him in surprise. Farkle as well watches the exchange in silence from where he was seated, on one of the tables.
"Why do you keep canceling my calls? I called you multiple times and I texted you this morning." He says as calmly as he can.
"I'm busy… I have work to do." She says simply. "What happened? What do you want?" She finally snaps.
"I noticed how busy you are…" He trails off as he shifts his gaze towards his cousin. "Anyways, I have a new project that I have to finish… I need your help."
"But I have work to do here… I work here and not in your department… Excuse me." She says and turns to walk away but he grabs her arm, stopping her.
"What's happening, Riley? Why are you acting like that?"
She yanks her arm out of his grasp. "Nothing… I told you that I have work, Lucas…. So will you stop making a big deal out of this?"
"You're that mad because of the things I said last night?" Riley just looks away from him. "Or are you a little shy now or what?"
"I really need to get back to work. Excuse me." She's says simply and leaves hurriedly before he could grab her again. She stands next to Maya as Farkle stands up and makes his way towards Lucas.
"Cousin…" Farkle calls and Lucas turns around to look at him. His stare was cold and hard. "How are you?" He asks when he reaches him.
"Fine." Lucas replies with a curt nod.
"So… Is there a problem between you and Riley?" Farkle asked. Riley and Maya watched the exchange, happy that they were within earshot and could hear everything.
"Nope, we don't have a problem… She was going to help me again today and we were just discussing that." Lucas replies with a tight smile, his stare softening a bit.
"Well, what I saw while I was sitting there didn't make it seem like she wants to do what you want… Leave the girl alone… Her work is here at the restaurant… She's a waitress and not your secretary or helper… She doesn't get paid to do that." Farkle says sternly and sharply.
Lucas' stare that was almost back to normal turns back to cold and hardens once again. He takes a step closer to his cousin and folds his hands over his chest. "Why do you care too much about this? I just don't understand."
"There's nothing that is not understandable, Lucas… We talked about this before… I promised Riley that she'll be comfortable here and you know how much I care about the promises I make and keeping them." This brings a tiny smile to Riley's face.
"How can I possible not know?" Lucas says sarcastically. "But I think that you're caring a bit too much… I think you're exaggerating a bit… I mean nothing is wrong… Anyways, did you come to do sports?"
"Yeah, I play tennis for a bit."
"Alright, and I'll go back to work." He says with another curt nod and a tight smile. He starts to step forward a bit to give Farkle the illusion that he's leaving so that Farkle leaves first, which he did. When Farkle had walked out of the restaurant, Lucas looks back at Riley with the same cold stare and she looks back at him softly before looking away. He then turns around and walks out of the restaurant as well.
"Girl, one of the heirs of the JM Company goes and the other comes, what's happening?" Maya says after a few minutes of silence.
"Don't even ask, Maya… I'm so confused."
"What did you and Farkle say? I'm so curious…. No, wait… Tell what has to do with Lucas first… When you were talking to Farkle here, he was furious…"
"No, I didn't answer his calls so that's probably what he was furious about."
"That's possible… What did he want anyways?"
"There's a new project and he wants my help… I told you that he's only making fun of me… He needs me to finish his work, that's all."
"Off, Riley… Are you stupid or what?" Maya said with a huff. "Getting help from you is only an excuse… He's trying to spend more time with you, why can't you see that?"
Riley stares at her for a few moments before shaking her head. "I have other things to do, Maya…. I have work to do, I'm working!"
"Alright, fine…. What did Farkle say?"
"First we talked about Caitlyn's birthday and I told him that I won't be able to make it since I won't have enough time to get ready but it was useless… He told me that he'll ask for permission to leave early…"
"Wow… he's even taking the permission for you which means that you have no excuse…"
"Nope, unfortunately, I'll go." Riley said with a sigh of defeat.
"Of course you'll go… You removed Farkle from your head and head… prove that to yourself and open a new page with him… Get ready and look pretty, even prettier than you normally do, then go to the party and have fun… that's all you gotta do!"
"Maya, I don't even have a single dress… who knows how the party will be and what the people are gonna wear whether it's a simple, casual kind of attire party or a fancy attire kind of party… I'll make a joke out of myself."
"Ohh… And of course Lucas is going to be there… Now I understand you, pumpkin…. Anyways, these things can easily be solved… Besides, haven't you seen Lucas' girlfriend? If you had the same amount of money then you'd be much prettier than her."
"What does this have to do with Lucas' girlfriend?" Riley asks in frustration.
"Oh, it slipped." Maya said with a grin and Riley just rolls her eyes at her friend. "If I knew that you'd be this jealous, I wouldn't have talked about her at all."
"Maya, you were the only that didn't make fun of me… and now you're making fun of me as well."
"Alright, pumpkin, don't get mad so fast…. I tell myself to not open the subject again but the something new happens… Anyways, how much money do you have? You didn't spend the last paycheck we took from the bakery, did you?"
"No, I haven't."
"Alright, and my paycheck is still with me as well…. We'll put my money on your money and buy you a very pretty dress." Maya says excitedly.
"No, we can't spend all of our money on a dress!"
"Actually, we won't spend it… We'll return the dress after you use it and then we'll get our money back."
"We'll return a dress after it's been worn? No, I can't do that… That's cheating, isn't it?"
"You're too kind, Riles…" Maya says with a shake of her head. "Alright, we'll rent it then…"
"How?"
"There're shops that do that… You can rent a dress for one night… You can even rent the shoes and the bag."
"Really?" Riley asked with a grin, happy that she found a solution.
"Yeah… I'll give you the address and you go find a dress, since you're leaving early… your hair is done already so you can just figure if you want it down or in an up-do then you'll only have to worry about your make up."
"But I can't buy a dress on my own, peaches." Riley whines.
"Umm…. Well, you can take pictures of every dress you try on and send them to me… That way we'll choose together… We'll find the dress that suits you the best."
"Great idea, peaches!" She says excitedly and claps her hands together before frowning again. "But what are we going to do about the present? I can't go empty handed… But what do you get for a girl that literally has everything?"
"You're right…" Maya trails off as she thinks about it. "Oh! You're an artist… You must have a few paintings that you drew, right? Wouldn't it be nice if you give Caitlyn one of them? A hand-made gift always mean more than the expensive one."
"Oh yeah… I have one that would be great for Caitlyn… oh and I even framed it a few days ago."
"Perfect! God, I don't know what you'd do without me." Maya says with a smug look and flips her long blonde hair.
"Peaches…" Riley trails off and wraps her arms around the short girl in a tight hug which Maya returns.
Just then Riley's phone rings and she walks away to answer it as a customer calls for Maya. "Hey, Cait."
"Hey, Riley…. How are you?"
"I'm fine, what about you?"
"And I'm fine as well… I wanted to ask you for something and I'd be very happy if you agree…" Caitlyn trails off.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Can you meet me this afternoon if you don't have work? Sofia was going to come with me to the salon but something came up for her and I can't decide on my hairstyle and makeup by myself… If you can come…"
"Alright, I'll come… but I have work now, Cait… So can I call you later?"
"Of course… Good luck… bye." Caitlyn says and they both hang up. Riley goes back to her work and continues her day smoothly after that.
With Lucas though, it wasn't going so smoothly. It's only been an hour and a half and he didn't do anything. He spent the past hour and half flipping through file after file and scrolling through the files on the laptop as well. He was bored out of his mind to say the least.
He got out of his chair and started pacing back and forth in his office. He gaze falls on the pen that was in Riley's hair yesterday when they were working and he picks it. His mind goes back to the night before and how she would smile at him every time she'd catch him looking at her.
He huffs and starts pacing again. "Times just doesn't want to pass today… I feel like I've been here for hours upon hours when it's barely been 2 hours…. If only she'd helped me, we would've been done with it by now… Anyways, I don't need her anymore." Right then, his phone starts ringing. "Hey, Kayli."
"Hey, baby… What are you doing?" Kayli asks as she lays on the cushioned swing in their backyard by the pool.
"I'm at the club."
"When will we meet? Let's do something today… I'm so bored." She whines.
"I'm also bored but unfortunately, I'm working."
"Oh come on, Lucas… Did you really start working?"
"Yes, Kayli…. You know what I went through with my father…. My mum also gets in hard situations because of me."
"I come to the US so that we could see each other more and then you go and start working… Alright, you're right but I'm acting like this because I miss you, babe…"
"Actually we can meet, I just have to finish my work first… If you come and help me with my work, it'll be over a lot sooner…" He tries, even though he almost completely sure what her answer is going to be.
"What? I'll work too?"
"I have a project to do so I'll tell you the ideas I have and you'll tell me if you have any ideas and we'll discuss them together…" Lucas said
Kayli give a nervous giggle, "Babe… I really want to help you but I don't understand anything about your work…. Anyways, I'll let you go back to your work and we'll meet later… There's Caitlyn's birthday party tonight… I'll barely be able to finish getting ready in time." She says before hanging up after he says goodbye. "Look at what you're asking me, Lucas!" She says and scoffs.
"My girlfriend for years refused to help me…" He trails off before looking at his fingers that still had the pencil between them. "I think she likes me too."
*GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW*
The hours pass by quickly for Riley and soon enough, it's the afternoon. She went back to where they change their clothes and slipped out of her uniform and into the pair of jean shorts and graphic tee that she was wearing earlier. She exchanges her black vans for the pair of mint green converse that she was wearing. She takes her bag and closes her locker after fixing her hair in the mirror.
"You took the shop's address, didn't you?" Maya asks her when she reaches her. Riley nods as she slips her phone into her bag. "Alright, don't forget to show me the dresses."
"Alright, don't worry." Riley said with a nod and a smile.
"Enjoy your time, pumpkin."
"You too, peaches." Riley says with a wink since Maya had told that she'll see Josh since her brother will be out of town. Maya smiles and goes back to her work. Riley takes her phone back out and calls Caitlyn for the salon's address. "Caitlyn… My shift is over, where and when are we going to meet? Yeah… I was heading towards that street anyways…. Okay I'll meet you in about an hour."
"The salon is in the same street as the shop… The question is how am I going to get there?" Riley wonders aloud to herself after hanging up.
Alright, first off, I'm so so so so so so sooooo sorry for not updating all that time. I went to my aunt's house in Egypt and I didn't have internet on my laptop. Even when I tried to write, my cousins would come up to me and either talk to me or just get me to do something with them, making my forget about writing... It's hard being in the same house with 4 cousins that are basically the same age as you, the oldest being 4 years older than me.
No amount of words can express how sorry I am for not updating for that long... or how sorry I am already that I won't be updating for an even longer period. Which brings us to our next subject...
School, aka senior year, starts this Sunday, aka the day after tomorrow (The 25th). As you know, I don't live in Egypt so the country I live in give many national vacations where all schools must give. The first one I know of is in January and I believe that it's the longest vacation they give as it's usually a week, if it doesn't come during the weekend which would suck for you guys. Until then, I probably won't be able to update because getting a chapter done for you guys to upload it today, literally took me a day and a half to write. I started writing it on Thursday and today (Friday) I started writing at 12PM and now it's almost 12AM... So if I don't have things to study during the vacations we hopefully take, I'll try my best to update.
Originally, I was planning to end this chapter with Caitlyn's birthday but I still have a few things to cover before her birthday scene and I'm really sleepy right now so I can't focus much.
I don't wanna jinx it but I'll try my best to update again tomorrow, but don't expect or wait for an update. Alright, so let's say that I don't update till mid-June or early July and that this is the last chapter I update until then, we're gonna consider the story done for the time being. We'll consider what is yet to be written and updated to be a sequel. I wanted to do a separate sequel but I don't wanna lose the name of the story and search for a new one because I believe this one fits, I don't want to name the sequel 'Just like strawberries; Part 2' either. That just seems lame to me. So we'll consider it a sequel but it's really the same story... Do you know what I mean?
The story is by no means done... I have my fears that I'll lose my readers or I'd lose interest in the story but I have no choice but to put on temporary hiatus. I don't want to use that term so that's why I'm saying it'll be a sequel. Like, even if I'd updated more while I was in Egypt, I still wouldn't have reached the end of the story. And I know this is such a bad point to stop but I'm literally falling asleep as I'm writing this
I'm so sorry once again, you guys...
Another reason why I decided to stop here, I need a song asap... This time it's a song about seeing the one you love with someone else and not being able to do anything but watch. Please, if you know a song PM me or type it in a review so that I can use it, whether I update tomorrow or not, because I can't find any.
Lastly, sorry for any grammar mistakes or typos and for the long AN.
Until next time,
Haneenxx