Admirers?
Admirers?
Chloe naturally wasn't the type to stare at people even when she was curious. Whenever their eyes locked, it doesn't even take up to a second before she looked away, but now, she was overtly staring at him.
He pushed a plate of 2 Chicken pies to her before heading towards the fridge to take out a juice.
"Water would do." She said.
Once again, he realised her eyes had followed him down to the fridge.
He said nothing and took out two bottles of water for the two of them. After he dropped them carefully, he returned to get two glasses before heading back to the table to sit down opposite her, which was probably a bad idea considering how she had been staring at him. But thankfully, she said her thanks and focused on he food, making him relax. But he definitely would have appreciated Ellie's presence had the little devil not left them both alone.
They both ate silently until his phone rang, penetrating the silence which filled the room.
He looked at his phone on the table and choked when he saw the name 'Katie Engels' on the screen. He quickly reached for the phone and looked at Chloe, hoping she hadn't seen who the caller was. Thankfully, she seemed to be more interested in her meal.
Excusing himself to go answer the call would seem a bit suspicious and ignoring it would even seem more suspicious so he answered the call.
"Hey big boy!" Katie greeted cheerfully.
"Hey!" He greeted less cheerfully.
"I thought you were ignoring me. You read my messages but didn't reply." He could imagine a pout on her cute face as she spoke.
"Sorry. Been busy. Can I call you lat—"
"No worries. I was thinking if you'd be interested in hanging out with me tomorrow. Come on, do not say no."
"Tomorrow?" His gaze went back to Chloe who was still looking down and eating slowly.
"Uhm... I have work."
"I'll pay you." She said.
She seemed really desperate. She had said she wanted to know who he truly was, and she had been living up to her words. She always texted, called, and looked for ways to invite him out.
"Jeremy, are you done eating? I'll do the dishes." Chloe said and stood up from her seat.
He choked and coughed a couple of times.
The way she had even called him 'Jeremy' sounded strange.
"You're with a lady?" Katie asked over the phone. She sounded displeased.
He looked at Chloe who was waiting for him to answer, and had never been more confused in his life.
"I'll... talk to you tomorrow." He said into the phone before hanging up.
"Uhm... I'll do the dishes myself." He answered, feeling a bit flustered.
Chloe didn't want to just sit there so she offered to do the dishes instead and insisted on it.
He watched her leave and almost smiled as he noticed how small she looked inside her clothes. It reminded him that he was far bigger than her, yet, he was easily intimidated by her. Even his short fell past her knee like it was a three quater length. He could only imagine how she had tied it around her waist which was probably very tiny.
He blushed and quickly shook his head. "Alright! No silly thoughts!" He said to himself.
"Where is she?" Ellie asked in a whisper.
Jeremy was surprised to find her there since she hadn't appeared since she ran inside her room earlier.
"She's in the kitchen. Why are you here?" He whispered back and began to wonder why they were both whispering.
"What? You are letting her do the dishes?" She asked in mortification. "You could have won her over by insisting to do it. Or do it with her and hold hands under the soapy water!" She giggled.
"Hehe! Too many dramas. But that's cute." Jeremy said with a grin.
"Oh! You're still awake." Chloe said with a little smile when she joined the dining and found Ellie there.
"Yes. Where are you sleeping?" Ellie asked suddenly.
Chloe was a bit confused by the question. She was the guest so she really didn't have a choice.
"Uhm... the couch?" She said with uncertainty. She remembered the last time she slept over, she had slept in Jeremy's room while he slept on the couch which was obviously smaller than his built. She didn't want him to be inconvenienced again.
"No! You'll sleep in my room. I'll just change the sheets and—"
"Then where are you going to sleep? On the couch?" She interrupted him.
"Well, yea."
"No." Chloe said coldly.
"Why 'No'?" He asked in confusion.
"You'll sleep in your room."
"Fine! I can sleep on the floor while you take the bed." He said and bit back a smile at the thought of sharing a room with her.
"Well... O–kay?" Chloe agreed, though a bit flustered.
Ellie watched the two as they exchanged words before she spoke her piece.
"Jeremy shouldn't sleep on the floor. His back may hurt in the morning."
'Is she trying to suggest–' Jeremy looked at her with wide eyes.
The thought of sharing a bed with Chloe was too much but... he wouldn't lie and say that wasn't nice. His heart began to pound very fast and he obviously heard it shatter into pieces when Ellie completed her sentence.
"You can sleep with me instead." Ellie said with a big smile as she looked at Chloe.
~~~
A few minutes later, they were all settled in their beds. Jeremy couldn't sleep. Not that he wasn't feeling sleepy, but because he kept cussing Ellie over and over again.
Ellie, who was oblivious to what her brother was going through in his room, or probably knew but didn't care, plopped up her head with a hand and looked at Chloe who was trying to find a comfortable position on the bed.
Chloe looked at the little girl and wondered why she was staring at her with so much interest.
"I didn't tell Jeremy." Ellie said.
When Chloe looked confused, she explained. "That you like him. I didn't tell him you liked him."
"What?" Chloe asked in shock. Where was this coming from?
"I... never said I liked him." Chloe said, looking flushed.
"You are still unsure. It means you do. I always talk about this with my friends. We all concluded on this. And they are eager to meet you by the way."
Chloe also plopped up her head and looked at the girl.
"They all think you are lucky." Ellie continued.
"Lucky? How?" She asked curiously.
"Everyone knows Jeremy is the most good looking guy in this city, maybe the country even. He has a lot of admirers. And you know... naturally, they all want to get to him through me so I know a lot of them." She said smugly.
"A lot of admirers?"
"Yes. Even our neighbors." She bobbed her head passionately before she continued, "No offense, some are actually a lot prettier than you."
Chloe frowned while Ellie giggled.
"I have a lot of his love letters. He stopped me from receiving them a long time ago but I can't help it. It's fun reading them. You want to see some?"
When Chloe nodded, Ellie jumped out of the bed and went to where she had kept it.