?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 54 ?
Denise narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m sure she hasn’t
said ‘yes’ to any of your attempts to ask her out for a date yet.”
“Well, this wasn’t a date. I was merely looking after her
well-being.”
“Then great. There’s no problem if I tag along.”
I merely laughed. I was definitely glad that Denise would come with us.
I would be a bit uncomfortable being out alone with Chaise at this hour.
As we walked out, I could feel a lot of people looking at
me.
Some were even calling out my name, telling me I was
amazing up at the stage.
I merely nodded and smiled shyly at them.
At the parking area, I saw Hunter with Tania. My heart
pounded inside my chest. I was glad I was with Denise and
Chaise.
I was pretty sure I would not be able to walk in front
of Hunter at all. But it was inevitable because they were in
front of the space where Chaise parked his car.
Tania looked stressed. It seemed like she was shouting
at him. Hunter was quietly leaning against a red car, holding the pendant of his necklace in one hand.
His face was flushed and he looked like he was struggling to control his emotions. He didn’t even look like he was listening to Tania at all.
He looked up and saw us walking past them. He caught
my eye and held my stare. I couldn’t understand the
emotion on his face as he looked into my eyes.
Did he hear me sing? Does he recognize me at all?
I had a feeling he knew who I was.
Unfortunately, remembering me and admitting that he knew me were two totally different things.
Hunter’s glance drifted off to the rose I was holding in
my hand. I saw the bored expression on his face before he turned away.
“Burger Inn?” Chaise asked as we all hopped in his jeep.
“No! Half of the people who were in the concert will be
there too! And I just want a moment of peace, please!”
Denise replied.
“Me too,” I agreed with her. “Because of what I did
tonight, I’m sure a lot of people would recognize me there.
And I don’t want to be the subject of table conversations,
whether good or bad. I just wanna be left alone to eat a
hearty meal with my friends.”
“Agreed,” Chaise nodded.
“God dmn it, Hunter!” we heard Tania shout in
frustration. “Why?!”
“You know why!” Hunter bit back at her.
We all turned to their direction.
Tania looked like she was on the verge of tears.
“I swear, I will tell your father about this!” she wailed.
A few of Tania’s friends from Jacksonville approached
them.
I saw Hunter shake his head. “I don’t care,” we heard
him say. His face looked stoic. “Knock yourself out.” Then he
walked away from her.
“Aarrghh! Can we go?” Denise groaned. “I have too
much of this at home already, I can’t bear any more of the
Hunter-Tania drama! Come on, Chaise, drive!”
“Oh, I thought you girls wanted to listen. That sounded
juicy,” Chaise chuckled as he pulled out of the lot.
“What was that about?” I dared ask, trying to keep my
voice steady.
“That’s Tania being the brat that she always was,”
Denise answered. “She hung around the house a lot, even
when Hunter wasn’t at home.
God, I hate her guts!”
“Why wouldn’t he be at home when she visits? Weren’t
they sort of a thing?”
“Tania kept chasing Hunter and he was being difficult. I
don’t know. He must be getting kicks out of seeing girls
make a complete fool of themselves in front of him.”
“His ego?” I echoed.
“Don’t know. Don’t care. Who knows what’s going on in
Hunter’s mind nowadays?”
“Maybe he’s not really interested in her,” Chaise
suggested.
“Come on, just look at her! Who wouldn’t be interested
in her?” Denise pointed out.
“Ahh… me?” Chaise asked, looking at Denise like she
was out of her mind. “I’m totally not interested in her.
Maybe she’s pretty and she has all sorts of clothes you
would find in a fashion magazine. But I’m not interested in that.”
“You are an exception. All you see is Alice,” Denise
argued.
“Denise!” I hissed at her.
“Well, that is true,” Chaise said, grinning at me.
Chaise took us to Shrimp and Lobster Palace, a cozy
Chinese restaurant that served the best Chinese food in
town.
“This is my treat, by the way.” Denise announced as we
sat on our table. “You both had been so helpful to me. Even
you, Chaise.
The principal was so pleased. The immersion program was a total success.”
“Are you sure you’ll get the bill for this?” I asked.
Denise nodded. “I won’t hang out with you anymore if
you don’t make me pay.”
“Oh, in that case, I’ll tell the manager now that this is all on me, if that’s what it will take for you to leave me and Alice alone,” Chaise teased.
“Don’t you dare!” I warned him. Then I turned to Denise.
“Okay. But don’t get used to it.”
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