Ferdinand woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing incessantly on the bedside table. Still groggy from a late night, he lazily reached over and grabbed it, squinting at the bright screen. His notifications were overflowing with messages—dozens of them—from random numbers. Confusion flickered across his face as he scrolled through the texts, each one more baffling than the last.
*Hey, it's Claire, I got your number from the club last night!*
*Ferdy, can't wait to see you again! Call me ;)*
*It was so nice meeting you! When are we going out?*
Ferdinand rubbed his temples, suddenly remembering Elara's antics from the night before. She had been writing his number on napkins and handing them out to random girls at the club. He groaned inwardly. This was not how he planned to start his Sunday morning.
As he scrolled past the endless stream of messages, his phone pinged with a new notification—this one, however, brought a smile to his face.
**Daisy**: *Good morning, Ferdinand. Hope you're having a calm Sunday so far :)*
Ferdinand smiled to himself. Daisy's message felt like a refreshing breeze after the chaos of the night before. He quickly typed a reply:
**Ferdinand**: *Good morning, Daisy. So far, it's been interesting… Let's just say my phone's been a bit too popular this morning!*
He hit send, chuckling softly as he got out of bed. Stretching, he glanced out the window. It was a calm Sunday morning, the sun shining brightly, and the air was crisp—perfect for track day. But first, he needed to deal with the aftermath of Elara's wild night.
After throwing on a t-shirt and sweatpants, Ferdinand made his way to the living room. Elara was already there, sitting on the couch in an oversized hoodie, looking slightly worse for wear. She was nursing a cup of coffee, her hair a messy bun, and a sheepish grin on her face.
"Good morning, troublemaker," Ferdinand said as he sat down across from her, his tone playful but with a hint of exasperation.
Elara gave him an innocent look, raising her eyebrows. "Morning, big brother. What's with the 'troublemaker'?"
Ferdinand held up his phone, scrolling through the messages again. "I don't know, maybe the fact that I've got about 50 texts from random girls you gave my number to last night?"
Elara burst out laughing, though it was more of a chuckle mixed with the groan of someone still recovering from a hangover. "Oh my God, I totally forgot about that! I was just trying to help you out."
Ferdinand shook his head, unable to keep from smiling despite his frustration. "Help me out? Elara, I don't need help with this! I definitely don't need random girls blowing up my phone at 7 AM on a Sunday morning."
Elara shrugged, still giggling. "Come on, Ferdy. You're always so serious, I thought maybe you needed a little push, you know? You never go out, you never date. This was just a bit of fun."
Ferdinand sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Elara, I appreciate the thought, but this isn't exactly my idea of fun. Now I've got to figure out how to tell all these girls 'no' without being a jerk."
Elara rolled her eyes. "Pfft, just don't respond! Ghost them. They'll get the message. Besides," she added with a mischievous grin, "some of them were actually really cute. I'd say you should at least consider one or two of them."
Ferdinand raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And which ones, exactly, do you think I should date?"
Elara perked up, suddenly taking her role as his unsolicited matchmaker seriously. She snatched his phone from the coffee table and started scrolling through the messages. "Okay, let's see…"
Ferdinand crossed his arms, amused but also mildly annoyed. "This ought to be good."
Elara skimmed through the messages, reading them aloud. "Hmm, Claire… She seemed nice, but her outfit was a little too much, don't you think? Maybe not her." She swiped to the next message. "Ooh, Amanda! Now, she was super sweet. You two might actually hit it off. You should text her back."
Ferdinand chuckled. "Amanda? No thanks. I don't even remember talking to her."
Elara waved him off. "Details, details. You don't need to remember her; that's the beauty of texting!"
Ferdinand shook his head, laughing. "This is ridiculous."
Elara grinned, continuing her analysis. "Okay, fine, how about this one—Jessica. She seemed like she had a good sense of humor. You could use someone who doesn't take life too seriously."
"Yeah, no," Ferdinand said flatly. "I'm not dating anyone who gets my number from a napkin at a club."
Elara sighed dramatically, tossing the phone back onto the table. "Ugh, you're impossible. Here I am trying to help you, and you're being all picky."
"I'm not being picky," Ferdinand said with a smirk. "I just don't want to date someone I didn't even meet properly. Besides, I don't need you playing matchmaker. I can handle my own love life, thank you very much."
Elara crossed her arms, giving him a knowing look. "Oh really? Because from where I'm standing, your love life is pretty much non-existent."
Ferdinand raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on his lips. "Maybe that's because I'm not looking for just anyone, Elara."
"Oh?" Elara leaned forward, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Do tell. Is there someone special in mind?"
Ferdinand hesitated for a second, then sighed. He wasn't ready to spill everything about Daisy just yet, but Elara was persistent, and she wasn't going to drop this easily. "Let's just say… I might have someone I'm interested in."
Elara's eyes widened, and she squealed, clapping her hands together. "Ferdy! Why didn't you say so sooner? Who is she? What's her name? Where did you meet her? Tell me everything!"
Ferdinand laughed, holding up his hands to stop her barrage of questions. "Calm down, Ellie. It's not that serious yet. We're just… getting to know each other."
Elara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Getting to know each other? That sounds like code for 'I'm really into her, but I don't want to admit it yet.'"
Ferdinand chuckled. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just taking things slow, unlike someone who hands out their brother's number to random strangers."
Elara pouted playfully. "Fine, fine. I'll let you off the hook for now. But mark my words, Ferdinand, I want to meet this girl. If she's the reason you're not responding to all these other girls, she must be something special."
Ferdinand smiled to himself, thinking about Daisy. "She is."
Elara's expression softened, her teasing tone giving way to sincerity. "Well, in that case, I'm happy for you, Ferdy. You deserve someone who makes you happy."
"Thanks, Ellie," Ferdinand said, his voice warm. "But you're not off the hook yet. You owe me for the chaos you caused last night."
Elara groaned, flopping back onto the couch dramatically. "Ugh, I know. But hey, it was all in good fun, right? No harm done."
Ferdinand smirked, holding up his phone again. "Tell that to the 50 messages I have to deal with."
Elara grinned sheepishly. "Okay, okay, maybe I went a little overboard. But seriously, just delete them! Problem solved."
Ferdinand shook his head, chuckling. "Yeah, I'll do that. But next time, you're not in charge of my love life."
Elara laughed, throwing a pillow at him. "Deal."
Ferdinand leaned back on the couch, his phone still buzzing intermittently with leftover texts from the night before. Elara sat beside him, scrolling through her own messages, seemingly unfazed by the chaos she had caused. He sighed, glancing out the window, the soft morning sun streaming through the blinds. This wasn't how he wanted to spend his Sunday.
He tossed his phone onto the coffee table and groaned. "Okay, that's it. I can't take this anymore. Let's get out of here."
Elara looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Where to?"
"Let's go grab breakfast somewhere and then hit the track. I need to get away from all these texts and just... race a little."
Elara blinked, clearly taken aback. "Wait, track? As in, race? Since when did you become a racer?"
Ferdinand chuckled, standing up and stretching. "I'm not, technically. But I have a car, and I've been going to the track every now and then. It's the perfect way to clear my head."
Elara's eyes widened in shock. "Hold up—you have a car?"
Ferdinand shot her an amused look. "Uh… yeah, Ellie. I do."
She stared at him, her mouth agape. "Why am I just now finding out about this?! What kind of car?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "A BMW M540i."
Elara almost dropped her phone. "A BMW?! You've been driving around in a BMW, and I had no idea? What else are you hiding, Ferdy?"
Ferdinand smirked, amused at her dramatic reaction. "It's not like I was keeping it a secret. You never asked."
She stood up, shaking her head in disbelief. "Okay, wow. So, you've got a BMW. What about this apartment? Is this rented, or…?"
He grinned and shook his head. "I own it. Bought it a few months ago."
Elara's jaw practically hit the floor. "Wait, what?! You own this place? Are you serious?"
Ferdinand laughed at her reaction, enjoying her shock. "Yes, Ellie. I'm serious."
She crossed her arms, giving him an incredulous look. "How long have you been keeping all these secrets from me? What else are you hiding, huh? Are you secretly married? Got a kid I don't know about?"
Ferdinand chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "No, no marriage or kids. Relax."
But Elara wasn't done. She narrowed her eyes at him, sensing something. "But you're hiding something, aren't you? Something important. Come on, spill it."
Ferdinand hesitated for a moment. The thought of Daisy flashed through his mind—her smile, her texts, the way she made him feel like no one else could. But he wasn't ready to share that part of his life with Elara, not yet. It was too soon, too personal.
He gave a half-smile, shrugging. "It's nothing big, Ellie. Just work stuff, you know. Boring things."
Elara didn't seem convinced. She tilted her head, scrutinizing him. "Uh-huh. Sure, Ferdy. You're acting weird."
Ferdinand rolled his eyes playfully. "You're the one who's weird, giving out my number to strangers. Let's just go get breakfast before you start grilling me any more, okay?"
Elara grinned, clearly letting it go for now. "Fine. But I'm not done with this. You're hiding something, and I'm going to figure it out."
He smirked, grabbing his jacket. "Good luck with that."
As they left the apartment and headed for the garage, Elara still seemed in awe, walking beside her brother with wide eyes. When they reached the car, she stood frozen for a second as she took in the sleek design of the BMW.
"Wow… you've really been keeping secrets," she muttered.
Ferdinand just grinned, unlocking the car. "Get in, Ellie. Breakfast is on me."