"You did," Amber whispered tightly.
They were at the roof terrace, one that she did not know they had. It was a semi-open area with the most breath-taking view. The sky was soaked in pink and blue from the falling sun, and the terrace overlooked a sea of flickering, buzzing night life. Despite the growing darkness that swathed the area, the place was well lit. The trees were studded with stars and fairy lights spinning over metal, and dinner was placed upon a long white table with artfully arranged candlelight.
"Nice place by the way," Miri said nodding her head towards the swimming pool. "Shame that it's too cold, I guess you can only use it in the summer." Her best friend seemed to have read her mind, and Amber made a face nodding in response. She would love to take a dip.
Amber had called their dormitory a condominium, but her soulmates had corrected her quickly. A penthouse, they said. The one at the top floor with a pool. She had gaped at them then, having missed the chance to get a proper tour of their place. They promised they would show her around later. Seriously…Amber shook her head. They had a rooftop pool. A damn pool. She eyed the strip of illuminated blue, the waters cool and inviting as it lapped at the edges.
"Oh, the pool?" Casper raised a brow. "You can swim in it, we got it fitted with heating. The water's warm," Casper shrugged and Amber gapped at him. Heated water? How much did their electricity bills cost? "It's difficult for us to swim in public, so we begged our company to get us one with a private pool. Would have preferred something bigger with a slide, maybe a deeper end but…"
He shrugged then as if having a pool was nothing too big. Rich people. Her mind jolted, reminding her that Casper was the son of a rich family, one that wasn't too pleased with his career choices. She gulped. Nah, let's not think about that yet…
"You don't swim much?" Amber asked.
"Hm? Sometimes. Hikaru's the one up here most of the time, he likes gardening." Casper pulled her gently to the corner, pointing towards a plastic shelter behind the trees. "That's his garden, if you wake up ridiculously early you can find him there." Amber hummed, nodding at his words. That was interesting. She made a mental note to head up here to search for Hikaru. "Actually…JieMi's the one who swims a lot." Casper admitted after a while.
"I see," Amber replied softly. He seemed the type to be athletic. "I've been wanting to ask if he's alright with me here. I haven't seen him around yet."
She swallowed nervously, feeling a little odd to be talking about JieMi, but she was a tad worried for him. Amber knew that his defiance had made him an annoyance to the group, and she could sense the tension in the air whenever they were reminded of him. Still, they were a team, they were best friends, and colleagues. It sucked that her fallout with him would destroy their relationship like this. And she felt bad for taking over JieMi's home, for literally chasing him out of the house.
"He'll be fine, don't worry love. He promised to cooperate." Cooperate, the word seemed so mechanical and painful. "He's a grown man," Casper soothed, rubbing her arm. "He can take care of himself." And he was right, JieMi was a grown man, a guy who was a whole year and a half older than her. Amber decided to drop the topic with a soft sigh.
"When is the food ready?"
"Are you hungry?" MinJae popped up from behind them, blonde hair glowing in the darkness. Then his thumb was on her lips, pushing something warm and soft into her mouth. She let him, eyes widening in surprise as she chewed. The crumbly, honey taste of sweet potatoes spreading across her tongue. She hummed in approval and he giggled, popping another piece into her mouth. "Cute."
"I can feel the difference in level of service here," Miri commented cheekily. "The preference is obvious." MinJae blushed shyly at her words, frantically breaking off a chunk from the wedge he had in his hands.
"Miri right?" He cleared his throat, stammering nervously. "Y-you want one?"
"No bro. Don't hand it to me," Miri waved her hand, shaking her finger like a teacher would to a student. "You've got to be a bad boy, treat your woman like a queen and act like a cold, heartless asshole to any other female. Girls dig that shit, makes us feel like you treasure us more than anything else in the entire world."
"Why must he be an asshole?" Amber chuckled, Miri and her odd charms. "He can be nice to girls, I don't mind."
"I retract my statement. I meant that he has to act as if he's the world best friend-zone king when he's around any other girl." Miri nodded sagely. "Instead of saying 'you want one?' say, 'friend of my soulmate, take the food.' Or maybe—" Amber plucked the chunk of sweet potato from MinJae's hands and popped it into Miri's mouth. Her best friend blinked. "I guess that works too."
"Uh, the food is almost done soon," MinJae gasped out softly. "Just need to plate it."
He pressed a quick chaste kiss to her cheek, one that made lilacs blossom at the edge of her ears, before darting off to help Hikaru out with the grill. Amber's eyes followed him, reflexively touching the newly formed flowers in her hair.
Her soulmates were working frantically on dinner. Some were bringing out silver bowls of food from the kitchen, while others were finishing up with the barbeque. There were screams as the fire at the grill leapt into the air and then Hikaru was yelling at them to calm down. It was a chaotic mess of nervous energy, but the smile that danced across her cheeks was fond and warm with affection. These people were her family, her soulmates and the people she loved more than anything in the world.
"He's adorable," Miri commented, breaking her from her sappy thoughts. "Really cute. Didn't peg him to be the dominant you described. In fact, Casper seems like the type."
"I am," her soulmate rumbled out, clearly having no qualms in discussing his sexual preferences. His large, flaming hot hands were cupped protectively at her waist, and her skin burned with awareness. "Minnie's a mix."
"Don't let his cuteness fool you," Amber huffed, but a big fond grin was plastered on her face. "He can be a meanie." Then she blinked, her mind reminding her of something she had forgotten. Something that involved her soulmate and her best friend. "Miri! You told him things when I was asleep!" Her eyes narrowed. There was a reason why MinJae knew she didn't mind man on man interaction.
"What did I say?" Miri raised a brow, feigning ignorance with a smooth whistle.
"About my—My hobby!"
"Oh, that. It might have spilled while I talked about what you meant to me. Your writing is a big part of my sex life, I do love your—"
"Writing? Amber writes?" Casper perked up at her words, quickly joining in the conversation. Oh no, not another one. A soulmate who knew about her secret little hobby. Amber was seriously starting to regret even writing those damn fanfictions. Should she just take them all down and purge them for good? Miri's eyes glinted at his words, and she opened her mouth to speak before Amber could stop her.
"Oh, yes she does, they're really, really good. Fancy a quick English read?"
Oh God no.
"Shush Miri!" Her heart pounded in her chest, racing faster and faster. No, no anything but that!
"I'll love to read anything you write." Casper beamed, glancing down at her with warm, tender eyes. "It could improve my English?" Amber nibbled on her lips, panic surging through her system. Oh, those stories would do nothing to your English, she thought. All it will improve, will be your ability to speak dirty talk. That and maybe the many ways of how one can describe a dick in the marvellous language of English. Not sure why you would need that skill but—
"Oh, you have got to read it! It's your secret menu to her heart," Miri urged, cheerily ignoring Amber's desperate attempts to shut her up. She slapped a palm to her lips, but Miri dodged out of the way, chuckling wickedly. "You can probably find out all her kinks by reading those stories."
"MIRI!"
"Kinks?" Casper stared at her blankly and Amber heaved a sigh of relief. Oh, thank God that the genius didn't know all the words in the Dictionary. "What does that mean?"
"It means things that—"
Miri would have continued if not for the click of the door as the final guests of the night stepped out with Ezra leading the way. Her parents looked a little taken back by the view, their lips were moving, no doubt to complement Ezra on his home. Her soulmate looked bashful and shy, as he answered them with a smile that brimmed with her nervousness. And Amber took the chance to escape from the conversation.
"Mom! Dad!" Amber ran, dragging Casper along with her.
"Be careful!" He chided softly and then Amber was in her parent's arms, burrowing her head into the familiar scent of home. Her throat burned with unshed tears as she held them tightly. She had forgotten how much she missed them. And being back in their arms after her painful removal from her home country filled her with a strange sense of relief and completion. Miri was right, her hardships had passed and she was now at her happy place.
"Oh, dear, we missed you so much!" Her mother hugged her, long strands of jet-black hair tickling her cheeks. "Have you been eating your meals properly? Oh, you've lost so much weight!" Her mother rubbed her waist, clucking her tongue disapprovingly. "Have you been eating your vegetables? How are your bowel movements?"