Emily stepped into the hotel lobby. She initially wanted to change only her boots but thought about changing to a dress too. Unlike her Aunt Angie, she wore more of a knee length sweater dress in the color, mauve purple. The top and the sleeves clung to the skin while the skirt had a bit more room for her legs. She paired it with her white flats.
She also kept her beret on.
They would be trying clothes today. She’d appreciate an easy-to-remove-and-to-wear wardrobe more for the day ahead.
Her eyes scanned the lounge area, looking for her companions. A plant blocked her view a bit but she found her cousin sitting on a cushion bench. She looped her black purse on her elbow crease, changing directions.
When Emily moved closer, she saw Jae on the same bench Alex. Emily stopped walking and observed them.
They huddled together, talking in whispers. The conversation seemed serious. Sometimes they’d look over their shoulders like they were checking if anyone was near them. Emily’s eyes also swept the place, wondering who could they possibly be looking out for.
At the other side of the lobby, Logan stepped out of the doorway. He had meant to come down as soon as he unpacked but the elevator had broken down. He went over the emergency stairs but in front of him were an eldery couple. He had thought about overtaking them but the woman spotted him and struck a conversation.
She had been a good conversationalist that Logan would feel bad if he left them all of a sudden. Not to mention, he worried if they’d make it to the end without any accidents.
They essentially parted ways when they reached the ground floor.
By the time Emily saw him, Logan had already seen Jae and Alex. One glance and his face had turned sour. His eyes squinted at the pair. The longer they talked, the deeper the wrinkles on his forehead became.
That did not look good.
Alarm bells immediately rang in Emily’s ears. She quickly made her way towards the two and grabbed Jae’s wrist once more.
“Come on, people” she scoffed, pulling Jae to his feet, “We need to go. You never know how long it would take to find the perfect outfit.”
“Wait, what about Logan?” Jae asked. The 16 yr-old had a good grip. It took him some time to regain his balance, “And Alex?”
When they reached the entrance, Emily let him go and waved the hand freely, “Oh, they’ll be fine. Logan has a car and Alex knows the way.”
“Uh-huh” Jae replied. A valet came up to them, asking about their transportation. Jae gave him his car number and keys.
While they waited, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned lower until his nose brushed her hair, “What is this really about?”
Emily shook her head, avoiding his eyes, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll assume it’s because you want us to be alone together.”
At this, Emily slowly turned her head towards Jae. She had pressed lips together into a fake smile and had squeezed her eyes into a glare. Despite her sarcastic expression, Jae smiled goofily.
He knew she’d glance his way if he said that.
“I take it that you didn’t see how your twin looked like he wanted to bash your head in” Emily dropped the smile and hissed, “I just saved your ass.”
“Would you like me to reward you with a kiss?”
“If he doesn’t bash your head, I will.”
The valet soon came back and handed over Jae’s keys. Before he could open the door for his lovely and sarcastic female companion, she already slid inside the passenger seat.
He merely shook his head and tipped the attendant. Then, he jogged around the car to sit on the driver’s side.
“I already texted Alex about the details, we can go ahead” Emily said, her eyes on her phone. Jae saw a quick glimpse of her screen. For someone who only needed to state where they were going, she sure wrote a lot.
===
Alex watched skeptically as Emily dragged Jae out of the hotel. Her cousin had a smaller frame than their basketball captain. Jae could easily overpower her. Yet, he let her pull him to wherever she wanted to go.
It was a comical and confusing sight.
She eventually shook her head. From the corner of her eye, she caught Logan walking her way.
She gave him a shy smile. With Emily’s acting, Alex could guess Logan saw the whole thing. She stood up, brushing off any wrinkles on Emily’s blouse. Her cousin loved her a lot but if anything happened to the clothes, she would be given hell.
Alex met Logan halfway.
“Hey” she greeted him, “How are you holding up?”
Logan’s eyebrows scrunched, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you didn’t want to be here, remember?” Alex chuckled. She didn’t know if Logan knew he was avoiding her eyes. Curling her thumbs around her backpack straps, they walked side by side towards the hotel entrance.
“I think it could have been worse,” he answered. Logan already took out the car number and keys before a valet could ask him.
Alex bit her inner cheek. How awkward could the atmosphere get? She became used to Logan’s never ending chatter that she felt at a loss. Her companion barely spoke to her—even when all she mentioned had been about his well-being.
That should show care, right?
Alex sighed, “I still owe you a story, don’t I?”
Logan kept his eyes on a familiar car heading their way, “Which?”
“The one that happened at the restaurant.”
“Right. That one.”
“It was what Jae and I talked about earlier” Alex winced at the lie. She didn’t want to but based on Jae’s words, it would be better if Logan didn’t hear about his ex… for now.
“Oh, so you told him, first?” Logan asked. The valet hopped out of the car and gave Logan his keys. He gave him a quick tip before opening the door for the passenger seat.
Since the brief eye-to-eye they made after Emily and Jae left, this was the second time Logan met Alex’s gaze. She stepped towards him and maintained eye contact, not getting in the car.
It saddened her to see how much Skye had done to the two brothers, “It’s not like that. He had been there. We just happened to talk about it.”
“Right” Logan replied curtly. He gestured towards the seat with his free hand, “After you, milady.”
Alex exhaled sharply, sliding inside the car. She had been lucky before because Aunt Tim intervened. It gave them time to cool off. This time around, she was alone.
With Logan.
A displeased Logan.
What could she possibly do?
===
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