"Leandro..." I uttered, meeting his dark grey eyes full of malice. I took a step back when he moved to jump in the water. He dove near my direction so my face got drizzled.
I continued moving backwards, my eyes never leaving him as he tried to recover from the fall. Leandro is handsome, he almost has the same physique as Jack. Though, the latter has more bulk. His family's riches only added to his appeal so he got all the girls at his disposal. But now that they're slowly losing their power and money, I wonder what vile plans he is planning underneath his sleeves.
Alicia ran quickly next to me; alarmed and concerned. Leandro's reputation is really not a joke 'cause even the kids knew how fucked up he is.
"Hello, girls! May I join the party?" He smirked teasingly and I felt Alicia's tight grip on my hand. The kid hid fearfully behind me. I tried to force out a laugh, trying to cover up the tension I was feeling.
"Oh, uhm...W-we would love to have you here with us but we're actually just about to l-leave," I chuckled awkwardly.
"Too soon, huh? Why not stay here a little longer and hang out with me? It'll be fun," his smirk grew wider as he neared us. A scream almost escaped my mouth when he forcefully grabbed me on the arm. Alicia started crying.
"Leandro-"
"Hey, it's okay. We're just gonna hang out," he glanced playfully at Alicia and patted the kid on the head. His eyes didn't stay long on her, it eventually darted back to me. "Besides, I miss your big sister here. Haven't seen you in a while, Janina."
He let go of my arm, yet his long fingers traced my shoulder....up to my neck. I looked at him alarmed before swatting away his sinful hand, he let out a dark hideous laugh.
"What's the matter? Don't you miss me?"
My teeth gritted in irritation. I never really liked him. He's too arrogant and forceful, something that turns me off. He's shoving his feelings to me without proper courtship. I had to turn him down multiple times before he finally lost interest. Honestly, I just thought he was challenged by me because nobody really has the guts to reject him.
"Nina, let's go..." Alicia whispered, tugging my arm desperately for an escape. I held her hand tightly before turning my back against Leandro. Though, he was quick to catch my arm.
I looked back at him, now annoyed. "Let us leave. You can have the cove to yourself."
"But I'd like to have some company."
"Then you should've brought your gang mates with you," I retorted, rolling my eyes.
Speaking of 'gang mates', it's unusual to see Leandro without his friends. Most of the time, he's always seen around with his little pack who happens to have the same reputation as him. Same muscled men with their big dirty trucks while puffing cigarettes everywhere. Birds of the same feather, flocks together indeed.
His eyes tensed as he looked away from me. I saw how his adam’s apple moved harshly after a hard gulp. "They're currently busy with their lives."
Busy? I have to laugh. What stuff could they be possibly busy about? Pestering the neighborhood? Harassing women on the streets? Illegal drag racing? Partying and drinking?
"I see," I nodded. "But no one is busy enough for you when you have the money and power, right?"
And now that he's slowly losing both, where are his so-called friends now? I genuinely feel bad for him.
"What did you say?" His eyes narrowed darkly at me. Alicia trembled at his change of tone so I had to wrap my free arm around her thin shoulder to calm her down.
"Please, just let us go. You're scaring the kid."
"What's happening here?" A voice interrupted us from behind me. I know that voice perfectly well!
I turned around to see Jack nearing us as he slightly struggled to cross the rock formations to get in our location. He's wearing the same white sleeves shirt I bought for him when he was still healing and unable to work. His muscular arms were contracting sensually as he leaned in the rocks for support.
"Jack!" Alicia breaks free from my grasp as she runs quickly to meet the man halfway.
Leandro snickered, finally freeing my arm from his rough hand. I rolled my eyes at him before turning my back to head towards the cove to pick up our stuff.
Jack glanced warily at Leandro as he followed behind me. He picked up Alicia and carried the kid on his back.
"Was that man bothering you?" He asked, slightly alarmed.
"Relax. I didn't do anything." Leandro's laugh echoed in the cove. I didn't notice that he followed us all the way here. I threw him a glare. He must be really thirsty for attention right now.
Jack's head tilted in his direction. His thick, dark eyebrow knitted in obvious irritation as he glowered at the man.
"Do you need anything?" He asked, not a bit fazed by Leandro's big presence. The latter smirked haughtily at him.
"Your cousin..." Leandro glanced at me. "I've been trying to take her out for a date but she keeps rejecting me. Do you know a way for me to win her heart?"
Cousin.
I rolled my eyes. Right! Willowvale is such a conservative town so we had to make up some stories about Jack being our close relative. If we didn't do that, everyone would assume he's my boyfriend and I'm housing him in our home without marrying each other first. I'll be shamed in the worst possible way and people would constantly talk about our lives, as if their opinion matters, and as if they have big contributions to my life.
"You're a suitor?" His green eyes darkened even more. I held onto his arm to meddle in.
"No he's not. Let's go, Jack."
"Uh-huh. Is there a problem with that?" Leandro asked cockily, arms crossed against his chest.
"I don't like you for Nina!" Alicia snapped as she rolled her eyes at the man, now having the guts to act brave after she got Jack as her ally.
Jack's lips curved into a smirk. I widened my eyes at him but he didn't seem to get the signal. The exchanging of arrogant glares from the men in front of me continues. I drew in a frustrated sigh.
"Aww, little girl. Why not? I'll buy you tons of chocolate."
"Instead of spending the remaining money on your bank account for your father's treatment, you'll waste it on chocolate? Really?" Jack fired back sarcastically and I got a little scared when Leandro's face reddened. He has such a short patience, I'm afraid this would end up resulting in a physical fight.
"And besides, too much chocolate is not good for kids," Jack shook his head as he let out a dramatic sigh. He looked at Leandro as if he's utterly disappointed. "You're not doing a great job being a suitor. Better quit it."
"Let's go, Janina." Jack grabbed me in the arm and pulled me along with him.
"Nina, you forgot to bring my basket!" Alicia gasped when she noticed I was only carrying one basket in hand, and that was mine. I smiled apologetically at her then flashed a peace sign. The kid continued whining."Nina?! What about my mangoes?! And the basket? That was Mama's advance Christmas present for me! She'll be mad if she sees me empty-handed when I go back home."We took the coastal road for the second time that day. Fortunately for Alicia, Jack insisted to give her a piggy back ride 'til we get home. The hot weather hasn't subside a bit. It's still boiling hot so I didn't bother to wear my sundress anymore. I just covered my lower part to protect myself from the malicious stares of the passersby.But Jack was a different conversation. He seemed to be more bothered about me being half-topless 'cause I can feel the subtle glances he's been throwing at my direction since we got out of the beach.If he was a different man, I'd assume th
Normal.I sighed, a little relieved as I put down the blood pressure monitor at my bedside table. I couldn't bring him to the hospital since we do not have the money for that. Good thing my past job came in handy so I managed to assist him with first aid at least.Some older men who were watching near us saw what happened. They were kind enough to help me up and bring him here in our house...to my room.My hand flew to his forehead, his temperature was normal too. I wonder what happened to him? Is it about his memories? Did the fireworks triggered it? Well, that's good for him. However, it was worrisome to see him in pain."Mom, it's fine. You should go to bed, I'll look after Jack." I said after seeing her yawn for the twentieth time. She was leaning against my bedroom door, concern along with weariness were etched on her face. She was almost hysterical earlier when we brought him home unconscious.My mother nodded as she f
The house feels empty with my Mom not around.It was a Monday evening, I just got home after a long, boring day at work. Jack...or Florian, isn't home yet. I'm not sure if he'd be working overtime again but I'm slowly getting worried for his health.Is he still sleeping? He arrives home late from the inn and wakes up early in the morning to go fishing. Once he's back, he would go to the market sometimes to sell the fishes. After that, he would then get ready to leave for his work back at the inn. A tiring cycle. Unlike me who's sitting pretty at the till 'cause whether I manage to sell a book or not in a day, I would still get paid the same.I just finished cooking for dinner and I thought of bringing some packed food for Florian at the inn. He mentioned once that meals are not free in their workplace, meaning he's been eating late these past few days because of the overtime.My lips curved into a satisfied smile as I finished packing the food
I inhaled deeply, trying to calm down my nerves. He’s too much for me. Every little detail about him is striking and screaming manliness. From his head down to his foot, there’s nothing you could put to waste. It’s not even shocking that girls would still line up for his attention even if he isn’t on the same level with the rich bachelor men of Willowvale. His physical looks were more than enough to attract them.I blinked profusely as I tore my eyes off his body.“I prepared your dinner-“ my words got stuck in my throat when he completely disregarded my presence and walked past me, heading straight to my bedroom where he’s been staying at these days. I even saw him roll his eyes!What’s wrong with him? He’s really gonna throw tantrums just because of that?!He slammed the door shut and I stared at it in disbelief. Oh, wow! I couldn't believe my eyes as I continued watching the c
I didn’t bother to question him anymore. He took a quick bath after we ate, determined to come along with me to the shop. He was already dressed when he got out of the shower.Wearing a simple gray shirt and black cotton shorts, he looked dashing when he sauntered to the living room while drying his wet hair with a towel. The shirt was a little fit to him and it highlights his muscular chest and biceps.“Where’s your cardigan?” His brow furrowed as his eyes scanned me again with disapproval. His eyes lingered to my shoulder and arms which are the most exposed part of me. I let out a forced cough.“It’s in my bag, I’ll wear it later at the bookshop when it gets cold. The air-conditioner was newly cleansed so the machine was working two times better these days-““Wear it now before we leave the house, Nina.”“Huh? I-I’ll wear it later-“ I bit my lower lip when
“What?” Florian leaned in on the counter with a smirk.It’s been two hours since Leandro left the store but this brute insisted to stay here. Up until now, I’m still shocked and mostly pissed at him. What if Leandro spread that word to everyone? I don’t even know what the hell is he talking about? Is he insinuating that we’re together? Hell no!Leandro didn’t respond to his remark. Instead, the guy smirked at us before exiting the store with a playful whistle. He even winked at me from a distance before he entered his car.I glared at Florian. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re spreading to everyone that we’re not cousins-““’Cause we’re not?”“Yes! But you agreed to this, right? You know how conservative and close-minded this town is.”He rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about other people’s opinion, Nina.&r
"So you and the ex-mayor's son, huh..."My forehead creased when I heard Jack behind me. I was preparing some soup for dinner when I felt him entered the kitchen to drink water. He probably just got back from the cove."Did you found Alicia's basket?" I faced him after switching off the stove. He nodded, his eyes watching me intently as he put down the glass on the sink."You and Leandro?" He reiterated and my brows knitted at his question. He seemed to be interested about my non-existing relationship with the brute man of Willowvale."Uh...that was a long time ago." I tore my eyes away from him. However, I felt his gaze remain on me."He's your ex-lover?""What? No!" I quickly denied. "He used to be a suitor.""Used to?" His brow cocked at me. "He's still hitting on you."I shook my head. "He already stopped almost two years ago. This was the first time we had an interaction since then. And why are you asking, by
Florian looked like he couldn’t wait to go in the funfair anymore so I agreed to just leave the dishes on the sink after we had our dinner. He also insisted that he’ll be washing them himself once we get back. I thought it’ll be awkward in the dining but no naked conversation was mentioned as we ate. Well, thank God for that.I threw on a plain black hoodie and I was surprised to see Florian wearing the same thing. It looks like we purposely pick the same clothes to pair up each other. I blushed a bit as I finally headed out of the door. He locked the house and trailed behind me.The cold wind immediately whipped past my face as we passes by the beach. Looks like everyone’s in the carnival tonight because the beach was almost empty.“Crap! I forgot my wallet,” I looked at Florian and smiled sheepishly at him. “Can you wait for me here? I’ll just go back to get my wallet. I’ll be quick!”He shook his head. “It’s fine. My treat.”“A-ah…you don