บท 281: Alex - Back to the Stitz Diner
Stitz Diner bustled with activity.
It was Sunday morning. Families flocked the booths after their morning routines. Some went to mass. Others chose to eat breakfast out. Couples started their dates early. The rest simply craved for their special Sunday menu.
It was a packed house the entire day.
Walk over the blue tiles of the sea, pass the red vinyl booths by the front, turn at the corner of the long white counter near the jukebox, you'd find a small area had been refurbished to accommodate more customers.
It had a similar set up except for more loose tables—ones not attached to the wall like the booths. Chairs were in the form of stools to match the service counter. At the furthest side of the room was one long dining set created with several tables.
The setup could accommodate 8 people.
And it was full.
Max faced the front windows of the diner. He sat in the inner two seats. It had been him who picked the place he wanted. Carla sat by his right while Colin took the left. Lauren occupied the last chair left.
Across from them, Alex and Emily sat next to each other. The twins accommodated the ones on either side of them. Alex wasn't too excited about the arrangement. It left her in front of Max—a position she hasn't been for weeks.
"Do you... " Max began to say. The waitress just left after taking their orders. His scrutinizing eyes scanned the diner. "Do you really have bodyguards around, Alex? Are they supposed to be disguised as customers?"
Alex glanced over her shoulder, spotting her security team easily. She shifted her attention back to their table. A smirk played on her lips. "Why would I tell you that? Next thing you'd do is interview them about their jobs."
"I could make a really good bodyguard."
"No, you won't," everyone protested.
He pouted. "Why do I hang out with you guys again?"
"Because Alex and I are paying?" Emily suggested. She had a notebook in front of her, sketching a dress design randomly. The lead on her pencil scratched against the surface. She had been in the mood to design since yesterday.
"Free food? Right. Perfectly valid."
"Oh, it's good to be here with you all again," Lauren moaned. She folded her arm on the table and laid her head on it. She was able to face the rest since she was at the edge. "Remind me to ask a server to take our photo. I'll print it out so everyone can have a frame of it in their rooms."
Carla sipped from her glass of service water. She had been watching one pair this entire time. It was convenient that they sat in front of her. The corner of her lip curled up. "So, yesterday was the big day. How did it go~? Or should I ask how far did you go?"
Alex shrugged, ignoring the last question. She grabbed her own water to hide any signs of blushing. "It was… nice. I don't really think any of you are interested in an escape room."
"Nope. No, we're not. We're more interested in if a ship is sailing."
Eager eyes leaned forward. It came from more than one spot on the table. Alex pulled her hands and hid them under the table. She snapped her head towards Logan. Upon seeing him, she found him smiling at her.
"What are you doing?" She asked, fluttering her lashes.
"Looking at you for as long as I can," Logan answered in one breath. He tucked her hair behind her ear, giving him a better view. "You are going back today, after all. I am taking every chance I could get."
"Get a room," Jae coughed into his fist.
His younger twin glared in his direction. "We already had our time. If anyone needs it, it's you."
"Holy shi—" Max gasped in his dramatic fashion. Checking on the other customers, he lowered his head on the table and hissed, "Did you make out in the escape room?"
"No, we didn't."
"No, it was outside."
"Logan!" Alex slapped his arm. That should be enough info. There was no need to elaborate on how it happened. How did she even manage to do that? There was a witness at the time too! Her bodyguards probably saw it too.
Did her parents know about it now?
Was she going to be in trouble?
Unlike her, someone was in cloud nine.
"Yes. Yes, I'm bragging," Logan declared, grinning from ear to ear. He didn't care if it made him look silly. This wasn't a time to care. "I would have told them even if you weren't here. I'm that happy."
"Well, at least, one of us is happy." Emily muttered. She turned to a new page and started on another drawing. This time, it was a top and skirt outfit—inspired by a dress she wanted to remake into something else. She liked what she was seeing so far.
Jae snorted. "I'm sure your stomach is just as happy."
"That is—" She looked up, frown lines creased between her brows. Then, she nodded her head at him. "Very true."
Lauren caught the exchange. She propped an elbow on the table and cupped her cheek. The fingers of her free hand drummed against the counter. "I see you two are getting along well. I haven't seen you fight since you saw each other this morning. Is there someone else who should be telling a story?"
"Yeah, we also kissed."
"We did not!" Emily corrected quickly. She stabbed her pencil's eraser on Jae's arm, digging onto the fabric and into the skin. They had already kissed before. Why would he need to lie about one?
"Right, right." Jae said, blowing a kiss in her direction. "We had a date."
Emily pressed her lips together.
That one action was enough.
"Ohoho! You hesitated!" Lauren pounced before she could take it back. She wiggled her eyebrows, not letting Emily escape. "So you did agree to a date!"
Emily narrowed her eyes. "I haven't forgotten that you helped trick me into it, Lauren."
"At least, your stomach is happy, right?"
"Nice," Colin complimented Jae. He raised his hand for a high-five. "Congrats, man."
"Thanks." Jae chuckled, returning the gesture. "How was meeting Officer Williams?"
"Went better than I thought. I think he gave us his blessing."
Lauren's back went rigid. I didn't take a rocket scientist to know which one Colin meant. She turned her head towards her left, facing the wall and flipping her hair. It was a good thing she didn't tie it into a ponytail.
She had something to hide her cherry cheeks.
Unfortunately, Emily caught on what she's trying to do. The former clicked her tongue and pointed a finger at the official couple around here, darting between the two. "Something is telling me that something happened between the two of you."
Neither Colin nor Lauren provided an answer.
For Lauren, the topic hadn't even appeared in her mind until her father spoke about it. When Colin left to go home, she found his reaction perplexing. Had he—Had he thought about it before? If he had then…
Blood rushed into her cheeks.
Emily became more convinced about this juicy gossip. "Okay, someone spill the beans before I take a guess and make it more embarrassing."
Lauren gritted her teeth. There was no way for Emily to let this go. Pulling out her phone, she typed a quick message. Her head stayed bowed as she waited for the moment to pass. She couldn't even read what she wrote.
Emily's gasp everyone's attention, including nearby customers.
"What are you guys looking at?" She feigned innocence and shooed them away with her hand. "Go mind your business. Nothing to see here."
Colin pretended that he didn't see the exchange. He turned his head in the opposite direction and drank from his glass of water.
He jumped in his seat.
"What's wrong with you, Max?" He asked, coughing out the water that tickled his throat.
"All this time I was sad that we didn't have a sleepover as a group..." Max lamented. The chair didn't have a backrest he could lean on. He resorted to slouching on the table. "Now I realize it was a good thing because ants would be crawling into the room with how much sugar, spice and everything nice we have in here!"
"No sleepover then, huh?" Carla teased, not buying it. By now, she learned it was his way of proposing ideas. It was a trick—a trick for them to ask.
"I would change my mind…" He replied. It already matched her predictions. There was a catch to it like she thought. "... if it's at Alex's house."
"Oh, I'd love that!" Lauren gushed, relieved that she could move on to a new topic. "There should be plenty of space! And since it's the city, we'd have a lot of places to explore!"
"See?" Max said. Her response encouraged him of his brilliance. He stuck up his nose to the ceiling. "You all can be lovey-dovey while I enjoy being served like a prince. It's a win-win situation."
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
CailinMatthews
CailinMatthews Gang is back! For one last time~
Kidding. Hehehe.
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If you're still reading this story after months of hiatus, you might be wondering why there's several chapters releases today.
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Well, my dear readers. It is not because of the holidays though they are secondary, I guess. But it is because this book reached it's 1 year annivesary on Dec 30, 2020. It has been one year since I began it again.
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As a treat, hope you enjoyed the mass release!
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Have a good day!
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