"I guess the only way to know that is to ask him personally. So, will you come with us?"
Jeayan looked away, pouting.
"Oh, come on, Jeayan," Erick implored.
Jeayan rolled her eyes and then let out a sigh. "I'm not mad at you two," she said, her arms crossed. "It's just so frustrating when someone you love doesn't show some affections toward you."
She then glanced at Erick and added, "Well, except for you. You're annoying."
"Hey!" Erick protested.
Amber giggled.
Waving away the insult thrown at him, Erick continued to ask, "So, are you coming with us?"
Jeayan nodded. She then stepped aside to invite them in. She brought them over to the living room and asked them to take a seat while she changed her clothes.
Both Erick and Amber sat down next to each other on the sofa inside the living room. It was not their first time visiting Jeayan's house so they were unperturbed about being there and made themselves comfortable.
Erick leaned back against his seat, playing on his phone while Amber grabbed some magazines from the coffee table and began to flip through the pages.
Not long after, they were joined by Jaylen, Jeayan's brother, who looked surprised to see visitors early in the morning.
Before Jaylen could say a word, Erick had already turned his head towards the doorway and grinned. It has been a while since he last saw Jaylen. As mentioned before, Jaylen lives at the university dorm and hardly comes home. So, Erick was pleasantly surprised to see him here.
He got up from his seat, startling Amber because of his sudden actions. She turned around in her seat and was surprised to see Jaylen standing at the doorway. She did not notice that he was there nor did she hear his footsteps!
Erick held out his hand towards Jaylen with a smile and said, "Hey brother! You're here again! Back for the weekend?"
Jaylen shook Erick's hand and just grinned.
It has been a while since Amber last saw Jeayan's brother. Now, knowing that he's a shifter, it really… doesn't change much.
She was staring off-space when she realized that Jaylen was looking at her.
Erick noticed him looking at her and asked, "You've met before, right?"
Jaylen nodded. "We've met," he said quietly. "She came here before and had a sleepover."
Erick immediately blocked Jaylen's view of her and said, "Okay, that's enough then."
Behind him, Amber just rolled her eyes and went back to flipping through the pages of a magazine, ignoring Erick who was being so possessive.
And it seems that Jaylen couldn't be bothered as he just smirked and turned around and left the room.
Seeing that Jaylen had left, Amber immediately smacked Erick on the arm, scolding him for being rude in a host's house. Erick just grumbled and went back to sit next to her.
He then continued to grumble, saying, "Where the heck is that woman? Why is she taking so long?"
Soon after, he turned around in his seat and scowled at the newcomer. "You sure took your time," he commented sarcastically.
Amber turned around too and looked at Jeayan in surprise. Jeayan was a girl who hardly dressed up and at most, she would put on her best shirt and pants. Then again, she was already cute in the first place.
However, that morning, she looked quite pretty, wearing a white shirt dress with pastel blue flower patterns all over it, revealing her thin fair arms. Her curly brown hair was tied up in a tendril updo, framing her face.
Both Erick and Amber stood up from the sofa and approached Jeayan.
Standing in front of her, Erick narrowed his eyes at her, studying her from top to bottom. "What are you doing, trying to be so pretty? Who are you and what have you done with Jeayan?" he asked in disbelief.
Amber immediately smacked him on the arm for being insensitive. He can be such a doofus. What woman doesn't want to look pretty for the man they love?
Erick felt wronged as he looked at his mate with aggrieved eyes, rubbing the spot where Amber smacked him.
Jeayan ignored him and turned to Amber. "So, lets go?" she said.
Amber nodded. She then tilted her body to look behind Jeayan and asked, "What about your parents? Are they at home?"
Jeayan shrugged. "They aren't at home. It's just me and my brother. They went to the fish market since the freshest fish would usually sell out after dawn," she replied nonchalantly.
Amber's eyes widened in surprise. She did not know that.
Seeing the look of surprise on the other girl's face, Jeayan explained that there's actually a small fish market in town that only opens during the weekend. It opened after the break of dawn, usually right after the fishermen went fishing. So, to ensure the freshness of the fishes that they've caught, they usually sell it straight away.
Erick scoffed. "A shifter eating fish?" he said jokingly.
Jeayan rolled her eyes at Erick. "Don't knock it until you try it, bud," she said, poking a finger at Erick's chest.
Erick held up his two hands, as if to surrender. "Fine, fine. Next time invite me over for dinner if you're cooking fish," he said, shamelessly inviting himself.
Jeayan just rolled her eyes, not answering him. She then turned around and headed towards the kitchen where Jaylen was making breakfast.
Inside the kitchen, Jaylen was flipping pancakes at the stove. At the side, there were already a huge stack of pancakes on a plate. Apparently, while Amber and Erick were in the living room, he had been busy cooking up the storm in the kitchen since there were already a jug of orange juice on the table, as well as a huge plate filled with scrambled eggs, a basket filled with toasts and another plate filled with sausages and beef patties.
"Jaylen, what are you doing cooking so much food?" Jeayan asked, confused as she looked at the food laid on the dining table.
Jaylen flipped the pancakes onto the stack of pancakes and brought the plate to the table. He then looked at her and said, "It's for our guests. We shouldn't entertain them with nothing."
Although both Erick and Amber had already eaten their breakfast at home before coming over, it did not stop Erick from grabbing a chair and helping himself to the food.
Amber sat down next to him and frowned. "Didn't you say that you've eaten already at home?" she asked, confused.
"I have but it doesn't hurt to eat again," Erick answered as he placed some pancakes onto his plate. "We shouldn't reject big brother Jaylen's great hospitality." He then passed her a plate filled with pancakes and scrambled eggs and said, "Here you go."
Amber cringed, trying to reject him. "But I'm still full," she protested.
"It's fine, just eat a bit," Erick cajoled. "Whatever you can't finish, I'll finish it for you."
Amber sighed, giving him a weak smile, accepting the plate from him.
Jeayan walked over and sat down across them. "I feel like my eyes are going to hurt from too much rolling," she commented sarcastically as she helped herself to the food.
Jaylen just smiled as he joined them for breakfast. It was nice to be back home.