Joel and Rylie felt it was only right that they tell Cameron together that they were seeing each other. They decided it had to be in person, so they invited him out with the intention to tell him by the end of the night.
Rylie was waiting by the entrance of the mall when Cameron tapped her shoulder.
"Sorry, did you wait long?"
She shook her head with a smile, "Don't worry, I got here not too long ago. I think I saw Joel drive by as well. He should be here soon."
Sure enough, Joel jogged up to them shortly after.
"Hey guys! Cam, is this really what you wanted to do today?"
They were at the mall yes, but off to the side, was a laser tag arena. The three of them looked up at the sign. Rylie and Joel then turned to Cameron and smirked.
"Yeah, why not? Afraid you guys will lose?"
"What?!" Rylie exclaimed.
"Oh, you're on!" shouted Joel.
They strapped on their gear and got their guns ready. They waited for the door to open, along with the other screaming children and young adults. The grinned at each other as the announcement came on and the doors swung open. They each found a hiding spot and as soon as the bell rung, they ran to find each other; shooting any glowing targets they saw along the way. Maybe because they were running around in an enclosed room with everyone breathing heavily, but by the end of it, they were all sweating profusely.
"You guys…can't beat me," Cameron shouted as he tried catching his breath.
"Don't underestimate…me," Rylie retorted as she waited for the screen to announce the top scorer.
"We'll see who…comes out on top," Joel exclaimed.
'Alienboy12 is the winner!'
"Yes! I won daddy!" They all turned their heads to where the voice was coming from and saw a twelve-year-old boy jumping up and down.
"I guess that means we all lost…?" Rylie shrugged and all of them burst out laughing.
"Hey, why don't you come to my place for dinner? I just bought some nice pork chops I could cook for us."
"That sounds great Joel! I've missed your cooking," Cameron said excitedly, "Oh but I parked a bit far…"
"That's okay Cameron, I'll ride with Joel this time," Rylie smiled.
Cameron headed to his car, parked further in the back of the parking lot. When he was out of sight, Rylie and Joel walked towards his car as well with clasped hands.
As they settled into their seats and he turned on the engine, they both let out a sigh.
"When should we bring it up?" she asked.
"Things seem to be going well. Why don't we tell him together after dinner?"
"Yeah...okay. I'm just really nervous, I hope he takes it well."
He reached out to hold her hand and patted their clasped hands with his other one.
"There's a chance he won't take it well, but I would rather be honest with him than lie to him. He deserves that much from us."
"You're right, let's do it today!"
They drove back to Joel's place and arrived before Cameron. Rylie helped him in the kitchen by prepping the ingredients and chopping them up for him to cook.
"I wish there was a faster way to cut onions so my eyes sting less," she whined as she patted her eyes with the back of her hand.
Joel looked at her technique and chuckled. She heard him and pouted playfully.
"Are you laughing at me, Joel?"
"Sorry, sorry! It's just…there actually is a faster way to cut onions."
"What! Show me!" She offered him the knife she was holding, and Joel tried to squeeze in but there was no counter space to slide the cutting board towards him.
"Watch your arms, I'm going to get behind you," he stepped back and positioned himself behind her and leaned in.
"What…"
She felt his body pressed against her back as he placed his hand over hers. He skillfully slid the knife through the onion to make specific cuts. When he finally sliced it from the top, the onion crumbled and became perfectly diced. He handed the knife back to her.
"Now you try."
She held the knife and did exactly what Joel showed her. As she made the last cut, she bounced enthusiastically and turned sharply to the left.
"Look Joel! I did…!" She stopped talking as she came face to face with Joel. Their faces were inches apart and she could feel his hot breath on hers. Not being able to resist, Joel leaned in and closed the gap between them.
Her lips softly caressed his as they kissed passionately, neither of them wanting to stop and come up for air.
They heard a plastic bag drop to the floor in the distance and they both jumped in surprise.
"What…what are you guys doing?"
--------------------------------------------
James stirred and squinted as the sun shone through the patio door. He realized his arm was numb and looked down to see Emilia's peaceful, sleeping face staring back at him.
Amidst their night of passion, they had both fallen asleep on the sofa clinging to each other. She had slept in his arms with her bangs across her face, going in the opposite direction. Her breathing was steady as he felt her little movements as she breathed in and out.
He watched her sleep for a little while longer before he tried to carefully wiggle his way out without waking her.
"Huh? What's going on?" Emilia stirred and rubbed her eyes in confusion.
"Nothing, sorry. I just couldn't hold it in anymore and really need to go to the bathroom," He chuckled and darted across the room. She sat up and stretched out her arms.
"What time is it?" James shouted from the bathroom.
"It's…eight o'clock apparently."
"Thanks!"
She heard a flush and saw him open the door after washing his hands.
"Hmm? Why do I have so many messages so early in the morning?" She saw her phone was blinking with 12 unread messages from a group chat.
"Oh crap! I forgot I have a group meeting this morning!" She jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom to get ready.
"Don't worry Em, I'll drive you so take your time," He changed into a fresh change of clothes and collected her things for her.
When she finally came out of the bathroom, she looked for her bag but saw it was already by the front door, along with her boyfriend and a sandwich.
"How am I doing on my first day as Emilia's boyfriend?" he smirked. She beamed and kissed his cheek.
"Amazing."
He dropped her off in front of her building where she would be meeting her group members to brainstorm for an upcoming newscast. As he sped off, she made her way up the stone steps but was stopped by two men in black suits. She tried to side step out of their way but they stood in front of her again.
"Miss, we'll need you to come with us for a few minutes."
"No, I don't know you and I have an appointment. Now if you'll excuse me…"
"Please miss, we're not here to hurt you. Our boss would just like a word with you."
"I don't know who your boss is! How do I know you're not here to kidnap me, or who knows what else!"
"Our boss is Mr. Kim, James' father."
Emilia stopped in her tracks and studied the men carefully. One of them reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card with his name on it. She contemplated for a moment since anyone can fake a business card but they seemed more nervous that she wouldn't follow them. Was Mr. Kim that scary of a boss?
"Okay, but no funny business!"
They escorted her to a nearby black car and helped her into the back.