Someone shook me gently while calling out my name.
I opened my eyes slowly and blinked to clear my vision.
Soon my vision focused on a young man towering above me.
"Are we there already?"
"Yes"
I blinked twice still feeling groggy from sleep. The moon was already out in the sky casting its silver glow.
Kelvin's garage consisted of a white pick-up truck, a silver Mercedes car, and a red and black Suzuki motorcycle.
We exited the garage and walked to the pathway leading to the house, gravel crunched under our feet.
His house was a three-bedroom semi-detached chalet bungalow painted with a warm, slightly bright color of ash and white and a splash of black.
"Your house looks nice" I spoke looking around excitedly.
"The inside is even better"
Retrieving a set of keys from his pocket, he thrust one into the keyhole and turned it before turning the door knob.
We entered and I allowed the warmth of the house to drown me.
Kelvin switched on the light and I had to shield my eyes to reduce the attack of bright light.
"Sorry"
"It's fine. I should have been prepared"
The house was neatly arranged with stunning interior decoration, a nice crackling fireplace stood proudly at the center of the living room bringing light and warmth to the apartment, and a large LED tv was hung above it.
"It's a cold night, might as well have hot chocolate at a warm fireplace"
"A true ideal fantasy"
The floor was covered with marbled tiles, matching sofas were neatly arranged in a manner that took less space and brought out a certain charismatic beauty. The look was accented with antique vases placed at strategic positions and artistic pictures hung on the wall.
"Wow, you live here by yourself?"
"Yes"
"You must be very rich"
"Not very rich, just enough to afford every basic necessity with ease"
"Where do you work? Is it a fun job?"
"Nope" he said popping the 'p'. "If anything it's super stressful. I'm a business attorney at Globus law firm"
"What does a business attorney do?"
"We handle legal matters for businesses and ensure that all company transactions occur within the scope of local, state, and federal laws. Common legal work includes mergers, acquisitions, formation or dissolution of businesses, patents, intellectual property, and liability disputes"
"So you're a lawyer?"
"Not accurately so. All attorneys are lawyers but not all lawyers are attorneys"
"Does this mean you're more special than a lawyer?"
"I wouldn't put it that way, just more specialized"
"Do you have a particular aspect you focus on?"
"Solely business. Sometimes I help my friend in his area of expertise, Real estate, as a paralegal of course"
"It sounds stressful"
I yawned.
"Tired?"
I shook my head.
"Hungry?"
"Yes, is there something to eat?"
"Umm..." Kelvin scratched the base of his neck and gave me a sheepish smile.
"What?"
"I don't exactly know how to cook, I've tried learning but even the simplest recipes seem extremely difficult. I'm not proud to say it but I can ruin cereal if I'm not careful"
"So what do we do?"
"We could eat out? I'll resume my classes..."
"Or I could cook? I'm very good at it, been cooking my whole life" I didn't have a choice because my aunt was so petty. If she wanted eggs with basil, you'd have to cook eggs with basil and still make them appetizing enough.
"How can I make you cook? You should be in bed by now, resting from the exhaustion of traveling"
"I can't sleep on an empty stomach" I pressed my hands to my rumbling stomach.
"Let's eat out today"
He grabbed my hand and led me back to the garage after locking the door.
After a while we arrived at a fairly large run-down restaurant, shutting off the engine we proceeded inside. This place didn't look like the kind of place, a person like Kelvin would go to eat.
"This place might look worn out but the food they serve beats any fancy diner or restaurant I know. C'mon"
The smell of hot chili soup hit me hard and I inhaled, a small smile appeared on my face as I savored the aroma.
The whole place was crowded and yet nobody seemed to be uncomfortable or even complain.
"The whole place is occupied, there's no stool anywhere. Where are we going to sit?"
"I'm good friends with the owner so don't worry. Come"
Kelvin stirred me to the end of the restaurant, he stopped at a door where 'staff entry only' was scribbled haphazardly on a plank and hung.
Kelvin pushed the door open and pulled me inside.
I blinked to adjust my eyes to the sudden darkness, after a while I could make out four figures hunched over a table playing cards.
"OI!" Kelvin called cheerfully.
The figures looked up and at Kelvin.
"Kel! Is that you?" One of them yelled from across the table.
"If it isn't me, who else?" He called back jovially.
The light coming from a lamp on the table dimmed, and one of the men playing card swore lightly and smacked the lamp hard, it glowed brightly again and I could make out the faces of the four men.
"What's up with the lights?" Kelvin asked one with pale sandy hair and green eyes as he looked around.
"Having minor faults, you should fix it...like always" he grinned.
"Prick!" Kelvin swore.
They must be Kelvin's close friends, he didn't act guardedly around them.
It took about three minutes and the light came on.
Kelvin dusted his hands and walked towards them.
"Oh shit, is it just me, or is it that there's a beautiful chick in this room and I never noticed" the one with tattoos on his hands, pale sandy hair, and green eyes exclaimed suddenly bringing everybody's attention to me.
I traced my legs nervously on the floor hating all the attention I was getting.
"Holy shit! You're right brah!"
They rushed towards me but Kelvin placed himself between them, shielding me.
"Man, what's up with you?"
"Stay away from her, can't you see that she's uncomfortable with all the stares?"
He pushed them away from me lightly and took my hand.
"Come, let me introduce you to them"
He pulled me over to the table and made me sit on a comfy chair.
"This.." he pointed to the guy with the tattoos, sandy blonde hair, and green eyes before he continued, "is Jax. He's a gym instructor"
"I'm his gym instructor" Jax interposed grinning at me wolfishly before stretching his hands for a shake which I gave, offering him a small smile.
He held on a little longer still smiling, Kelvin looked displeased and separated our hands squeezing Jax's hand tightly.
"You better stop thinking about... anything"
He warned Jax who just grinned wider.
"This.." he pointed to the guy with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, "is Jacob. He works at a demo site, that's why he's all big and....huge"
We exchanged hi's and nice to meet you's.
"This" he pointed to the one across the table with black almost raven hair and brown eyes, "is Anderson, short form Andy. He works for the CSI and is sometimes selected for FBI missions"
"Hey, you're pretty" he gave me a crooked grin and I just cocked my eyebrows.
A throat was cleared and everyone turned back to Kelvin.
"I will ignore what you just said because you have helped me in the past on several occasions but never again will you call my sister pretty with that look in your eyes again. Do you understand?"
Soon the door opened and a young brunette stepped in, she carried a huge tray with different plates of food on it and moved towards us.
"Incoming" Jax coughed out the sentence and the others turned to look.
"She's kind of cute. Who's the chick?"
"You mean womanly, Alexia is anything but cute" Kelvin splayed his hand on the desk and cracked his knuckles.
"Guys say that even if the woman isn't cute"
"Do they? I haven't heard of that"
"When was the last time you dated?"
"When was your last time?"
"Haven't"
He stared into my eyes.
Alexia stopped at the table and smiled at Kelvin then the others and then her confused eyes landed on me who was sitting close to Kelvin.
I thought of something and a naughty smile graced my lips.
I reached for Kelvin's hands and squeezed them, making sure that Alexia could see them then smiled slowly at Alexia.
Alexia looked away and lowered the tray to the table.
So she was into Kelvin.
Andy caught my eyes and he smirked.
"You're a naughty one, remind me never to get on your bad side" he mouthed to me who just smiled and patted Kelvin's cheeks adorably.
"Umm, is there anything else you guys want?" She scanned the table not looking at Kelvin or me.
"Kelvin baby, do you think you could get a soda or a fruit juice, I'm not really into beer"
If only Steven Spielberg could see me now, I'd definitely be selected for the role of a conniving villainess.
I leaned into Kelvin slightly making Alexia huff and look away.
"Kel?" I cooed.
"Kel?"
"You know, Kelvin in its shortened glory"
"Hmm... Kel?! that sounds okay. Alexia, could you get her a soda?"
"We're out" Alexia snapped.
"Of soda? You're never out of soda"
"She can go get it herself, you know. There's nothing wrong with her legs"
I whimpered and grabbed Kelvin's biceps.
"Stop scaring her Alexia, she's still very young and tender"
"Ohh, so you like young and tender girls?"
"What are you talking about?"
"She's saying she's old, is what she's talking about" I sighed softly still pretending to feel scared while smiling at Alexia.
Alexia's glare burned holes through my head.
If looks could kill, Alexia would be the new Supergirl with her invisible eye lasers.
Andy chuckled loudly.
"Alexia, are you sure you're out of soda, it's not you to forget to stock something, especially if it's something as important as soda"
"I'll check" It seemed like she wanted to say something but she just nodded not looking at Kelvin and turned away, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.
Kelvin stared at her back confused.
He turned to Jax who was still smirking and raised an eyebrow.
"What was that about? I don't understand what just happened. Did Alexia act strange to you guys too? I felt like she was acting strange"
"What are you talking about?" Eden popped some chips into his mouth and chewed.
"She was acting... well you saw how she acted"
"I don't know, maybe she's just jealous" Jax pulled a bowl of chicken soup closer to him.
"Jealous of what exactly?"
"How am I supposed to know? I'm not Alexia, why don't you go ask her yourself"
"Or maybe, she's on her period. I heard that girls exhibit strange phenomenons when they're on their period"
They made it sound like some science movie, it was just the hormones.
"Whatever"
"Are you sure, shouldn't you look into it Kel?" Jax smacked his lips and blew Kelvin a kiss.
"Send a flying kiss once more to my side and I'll stitch your mouth together"
"Such a dragon. I hope you don't taint my innocent little lamb"
"My sister is off limits to you guys, no offense but think of how weird it would be if one of you started dating her, that's right, awkwardly weird"
He was blunt to a fault.
Alexia hadn't returned and I was getting tired of waiting for my soda.
"I'll go get the soda"
"You should wait, Alexia would bring it"
"It's fine, she might be having a hard time finding one, I'll go help her"
"Hurry up"
"Don't finish everything"
"Alright"
Stepping into the restaurant, I looked around and saw Alexia chugging spirit at one end of the bar, she already looked drunk, her face was red and she was talking to herself.
I scoffed and headed for the bar and sat on a stool.
"Stupid Kelvin, I... for years and you still go ahead and... with some chick who wants you not for who you are..."
"Then what do you think I want him for? Body?"
Alexia jerked up sharply, turned, and faced the person on the bar stool.
Her eyes narrowed when they met mine then they dispelled every emotion.
"What can I get for you?" She said curtly, I guess she couldn't sugarcoat the jealousy in her voice.
"I came for my soda–"
"So you finally got up from your throne, your majesty. I thought you'd ask Kelvin to carry you like some damsel in distress" she hiccuped and gulped down another glassful of spirit.
"Would you rather I send Kelvin instead?"
"You don't know anything about him, he's a good man and you're just a... whatever you are" she snapped rudely.
People behaved funny under the influence.
"You must have a thing for Kelvin" I smiled.
"So what? All you want is to use him like those other women" she turned her nose up in the air.
"I don't see Kelvin complaining, so what's your deal with it?" I could completely see, I think anyone would see it too that she had it bad for Kelvin but I guess Kelvin didn't feel the same way or maybe he didn't even know.
"It's my business because I want it to be"
I would have loved to see how far I could push it but I needed to eat and go to sleep, so I just let it go.
"Where's the machine?"
She tossed her head to one side and pointed to a dispensing machine with her chin.
"Thanks"
"Don't need it, have had enough to ..." her next words were a slur.
I inserted a coin and pressed a number before grabbing the soda and heading back to the private room.
"You took long, are they out?"
I decided not to tell Kelvin about the vending machine full of soda.
"Kind of"
Dinner went much smoother than I anticipated. Kelvin's friends were a nice and lively bunch, although Andy did hit on me a few times during the dinner.
Kelvin gave him the skank eyes to keep reminding him to stay in his zone, of course, Andy didn't take it seriously.
Dinner had come to an end and soon it was time to say bye.
"Can I have your number?" Jax stretched his phone towards me.
"No Jax, leave her alone"
"Kelvin, you are not going to marry your sister"
"Did you not hear what I said about her dating any of you?"
"Dude, it's her choice, stop being a killjoy"
Kelvin grabbed my hand and dragged me to the truck.
"Those asses, trying to mess with me"
"Should I stay away from them?"
"No, that's not necessary, they didn't mean what they were doing, they were just joking around"
"Trying to get you to react?"
He studied my face before tucking my hair behind my ears.
"Do you also think I hide my true feelings?"
"Yes, I'm not so sure but from what I've seen, you're not very expressive about it"
"People change"
He rounded the truck and entered the driver's side.
What did he mean by that? People change.
Did something happen that made him become that way?
"Come on"
I made my way to his pick-up and buckled up.