Ethan, who had burst out of the house earlier, became much calmer when he saw so many faces he did not recognise. He ended up drawing everyone’s attention, including Laura, because of the fact that he was also good looking.
“Your boyfriend has so many good-looking friends,” Laura said as she looked at Ethan, who had been shyly introducing himself.
“That’s why I called you all here,” Jen said and stepped forward to say hi to him. There had been an incident that happened a while ago and she knew to be grateful since he had helped her resolve it. Laura also stepped forward with her friend and greeted the new handsome man that appeared.
If she did not know that it was her ‘brother-in-law’s’ birthday, she might have thought they were all gathered there for blind dates. Ethan didn’t keep them for long and soon they were in the house, making their way to Lucas’s wing.
Lucas showed them to their rooms and quickly ran off with his girlfriend. Seeing how happy her friend was, Laura couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
She has never dated anyone. She was too scared of meeting the wrong person, especially because she had personally witnessed what happened to Rachel because of all the wrong people she had fallen in love with.
Besides that, Laura had never really met anyone who piqued her interest. With the exception of the long-haired man, she had seen earlier. She had always been aware that she was attracted to people with beautiful faces, but with the way her heart skipped when she saw him for the first time, she knew that maybe she had found someone she would like to be with. How did she know? It was a gut feeling!
With these thoughts filling her head, she unpacked her suitcase and placed her things in the closet. She then went to take a shower to get rid of the fatigue she was feeling and went to pick something to wear. As she did so, she heard someone knock on her door before the door opened.
“Who is it?” Laura shouted from the walk-in closet.
“It’s me,” Jen said as she followed her voice.
“Oh, come in,” Laura said as she continued to pick out her clothes.
“What are you doing?” Jen asked as she walked into the closet that was smaller than the one in their room.
“Picking something to wear,” Laura said and picked up a crop top.
“I was about to go to the stables with Lucas. Do you want to join us?” Jen asked and smiled when she saw the way Laura’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Horses? Then I’m definitely coming,” Laura said, and pulled out a pair of blue jeans.
“Then I’ll wait for you outside,” Jen said in a rush as Laura had already discarded the robe she had been wearing and started dressing up.
“En,” Laura responded, and heard the door to her room close. She quickly got dressed and put her hair in one long braid so it didn’t get messy later.
After putting on her boots, she went to take her phone before leaving her room. When she opened the door, she saw her friend sitting on the sofa with her boyfriend’s head resting on her lap. For the first time, Laura felt like maybe she had been too hasty in agreeing to go with them.
“You are ready, right?” Jen asked as her boyfriend sat up.
“Mmmh, it’s not far, is it?” Laura asked. She hoped they would say it was so that she could bail on them. She had become reluctant to leave with the two because she knew that she was going to be a third wheel and feel awkward the whole time.
“No, barely ten minutes away. Let’s go,” Lucas said as he stood up and led the way. Laura could only sigh inwardly because it looked like she had to be a witness to this couple’s love for god knows how long.
The three of them walked across the green field to go to the stables, with the couple leading the way while Laura created some distance to provide some privacy for herself. She was happy that her friend looked happy with her man, but she was unwilling to be a third wheel that served to contrast the difference between single people and lovers.
Laura picked up her pace when they got closer to the stables as she knew that once they got on horses, then she could go her own way. It was at this moment a man walked out of the stables carrying a familiar figure in his arms.
Laura hadn’t registered who they were until she realised that the person being carried was her good friend Rachel. She watched curiously as Rachel guiltily looked at them as she hurriedly released the tall tattooed man, only to hug him again when she almost fell. He then took her to sit on a bench before greeting them properly.
Seeing the way he hugged Lucas, Laura figured that he was another close friend and not some random person, but she still couldn’t let go of her wariness.
“This is Jen, my girlfriend and her friend Laura,” Lucas introduced. Brian politely shook their hands in greeting and stepped back to create some distance. He did not know what it was, but he could feel that the two girls were a bit hostile towards him, especially the red-haired one.
“Are you alright?” Laura asked Rachel, who was massaging her legs. Rachel looked at her friend and saw that she was genuinely worried.
“I’m fine. My legs were numb from horse riding,” Rachel explained, and Laura looked at her skeptically.
“Is that so?” Laura said, finding it hard to hold back her sarcasm. She was very close to Rachel, and after getting beaten up by her last boyfriend, she had to uproot her life and emigrate to another country to keep her safe. Seeing her like this, with yet another man who looked like trouble, made her very uneasy. Jen, who was standing next to her, nudged her with her elbow to remind her to keep her expression in check.
“Well, we were curious about the horses so we’ll let you two do your thing,” Jen said and pulled Laura, who was short of glaring at Brian, before leaving them alone.
“We left too quickly,” Laura said jokingly to Jen as she tried to ease the tense mood. She knew that she was just projecting her fears and that the guy wasn’t necessarily dangerous like Rachel’s past boyfriends.
“It was getting awkward. Besides, it looked like they were having a good time,” Jen said as she looked at the horses in their stalls.
“I also wanted to come now to make sure she wasn’t being forced into interacting with him,” Jen continued. Laura finally understood why Jen asked her to come as a third wheel. It was to scope out the guy who showed an interest in their friend.
“I have told you he is a good guy,” Lucas said, as if helping Brian explain. The two girls knew of Rachel’s past, and those good guys turned out to be the incarnation of the devil himself.
“I know, but still,” Jen started to say, but was pulled over by Lucas.
“Can you guys not do this in front of me?” Laura asked them as she turned to leave, it looked like she was not wanted around anymore. She silently promised herself that when she started dating, she was going to make all single people and couples suffer from the amount of PDA she was planning to dish out.
She continued to lament and mumble to herself as she walked back to the mansion. She didn’t feel like riding horses anymore, the fact that she could see Brian carrying Rachel back to the house did not help with her annoyance either. She suddenly remembered the long-haired man that disappeared after getting into the house. She silently promised herself to have him enamoured with her by the time they leave.
With her naïve thinking, she thought it would be easy because of how effortless it had always been before.
Laura went back to her room and changed into her white two-piece bikini. She had taken a twenty-minute walk to ride horses and didn't even get on one. Also, with how her emotions were all over the place, she wanted to cool off, so she planned on going for a swim. She undid her hair and put on a sheer white shirt to give her a sense of modesty before leaving her room and going downstairs. As she searched for the pool, she came across one of the maids that were running errands and stopped her to ask for directions. After knowing the general area of where the outdoor pool was, she leisurely made her way there as she carefully observed the features of the house. When she reached the exit, she saw Jen and her boyfriend returning. Not wanting to interrupt them, she opted for another exit. When she walked into the pool area, the place was completely deserted, with the exception of one person who was relaxing on one of the lounge chairs in the shade. Looking at how an umbrella was added, ev
James opened the small fridge that was in the cabinet next to him and pulled out a bottle of wine. Before turning to study her. "So what do you do?" James asked, curious about what she does to make a living. "I'm a model, exclusively for Rock Jewelries," Laura said in response to James's question. She watched the way he opened the wine bottle in a daze. "Oh? What agency are you with?" James asked, suddenly curious. "I don't have an agency," Laura said with a smile as she watched the way he was searching for a glass to use. "Do want some?" James asked her, and Laura shook her head. It looked like he wanted to have some, and she couldn't bear to take that away from him. "You sure?" James asked again, and Laura nodded. She was happy just looking at him. She didn't need to drink wine. She watched as he took a sip of the wine straight from the bottle and unconsciously swallowed her saliva when she saw his wine-stained lips. James licked the wine that was left on his lips and smiled w
"They are gone," James said to Laura, who still had her head buried in his chest. "They'll probably come back," Laura said, reluctant to move away now that she was so close. She was also embarrassed because she was the one who wanted to kiss him but forgot that she had no experience in these matters. She felt like she made a fool of herself. "They won't return," James said and easily lifted her so she sat down instead of lying on top of him. Laura looked at James, who had his grey eyes on her and looked away in embarrassment. "Maybe I'm a bit drunk?" Laura said with some hesitation, and James looked at her in disbelief. "You said you weren't drunk," James said to her, feeling tempted to flick her forehead. "When did I say I wasn't drunk?" Laura asked him and James, who tried to recall what happened when he asked her if she was drunk, became silent. "I think I'm the one that's drunk," James said as he bent over to pick up the opener he had dropped earlier and resumed his action of
Two hours later, Laura was woken up by her alarm. It was still bright outside when she went to sleep, but it was already evening and the sun was setting. She squinted as she looked at the red sky through the floor to ceiling glass window as she sobered up from sleep. She stayed on her bed and dazedly watched the sunset and only got up when it got darker. She stretched and yawned as she went to the bathroom to freshen up so that she could start getting ready for the party. Although she was feeling more awake, her mind was still groggy from sleep. With thoughts of getting herself out of her funk. Laura took a light blanket and went to the empty living area outside her room. She stopped by the small bar area and poured herself a drink and went to on the sofa that was facing the large screen tv. She turned it on and started watching a movie absent-mindedly while drinking. As she did this, she went through all the things she packed and thought about what she was going to wear. She knew
Laura sat down at the long table and had dinner with her girlfriends. She hadn’t realised that she had not eaten all day until it was pointed out by her friend Jen, who had found the group of them well on their way to getting drunk. Now that she was eating something, she was feeling much better. But a few minutes ago, James had walked onto the terrace with Brian and Laura kept following him with her eyes the whole time. The two had made eye contact a few times already, but Laura was not shy enough to look away, so even when their lines of sight clashed, the two of them would look at each other briefly before James would knowingly smile at her and continue doing his own thing. She continued to watch him even then. The dark hair that fell to his shoulders, the open shirt that revealed his toned body. The defined pecs and abs and the dark tattoo on his side would peek out once in a while. The way he would laugh easily when someone would make a joke and the way his Adam’s apple would r
“Aaah!” Laura screamed in surprise when James unexpectedly lifted her up for scoring another goal for their team. The surrounding cheers suddenly turned into laughter in the face of her panicked expression. Even James, who was carrying her, couldn’t help but laugh as he let her down. Laura, who was hugging James’s neck, slid down his body until her feet touched the bottom of the pool. It was a moment where Laura could feel his hard and firm body and James could feel her softness, especially with the way her chest pressed against him when she continued to hang on to his neck. “Aren’t you going to release me?” James asked Laura, who was still hanging off of him. “Oh, sorry,” Laura said and reluctantly let him go and stepped back. James smiled when he saw how reluctant she looked and almost pat her head. Fortunately, he caught himself earlier. “Okay, you lovebirds, let’s continue with the game,” Jason said from the other side of the net after he came back from retrieving the ball and
“So, do you have a girlfriend?” Laura asked James, who was trying to steady her, so she didn’t fall off his lap. “Don’t you think it’s too late to ask me that after everything you’ve done today?” James asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well, do you?” Laura continued to ask. “I don’t,” James answered, wondering where she wanted to take this conversation. “Wife?” she asked, realising that he may have one. “I’m not married either,” James answered with a chuckle. “Then what do you think of me?” Laura asked him. “Hm? What about you?” James asked, wanting her to be more clear. “Since we are both single…” Laura said and trailed off, not knowing how to explain herself. It was like she realised that this wasn’t going to work if she was the only one interested. “Are propositioning me?” James asked, feeling mildly surprised. When Laura heard him she looked away, feeling both nervous and regretful. “It’s the first time you are avoiding my gaze since we met,” James said with a smile. “I’m no
The following morning, Laura woke up with the worst hangover. When James took her back to her room the previous night, she took a quick shower and fell asleep. She squinted as she looked out the window from her bed and groaned when the memories from last night came pouring in. She was planning on cutting back on alcohol for the next few weeks after going so hard the previous night. She fell into a daze as she looked at the bright scenery outside the window and remembered what happened when she was alone with James. After leaving the pool, they took the elevator and arrived at the ground floor. She complained that she was hungry, so he went to see if there was any food left and brought some back for her. She ate her food while James, who was sitting on the opposite side, watched her eat. He would even occasionally pick something up and place it in front of her lips. He did it so seriously that she felt a bit embarrassed by his actions. In reality, he was also just drunk, not as much