Little punishment...
Little punishment...
Her tag number was 8 and there was no way she was going to do that.
"Come on, can't you just…" Jeremy was interrupted when Chloe's phone began to ring.
She took it out and her eyes shone with surprise seeing it was her father calling her.
Jeremy looked at the caller curiously and wondered why she looked uncomfortable to answer the call. When his mother was alive, she did let him go to parties so he didn't see why they wouldn't let a 23 years old girl party.
The music at the background was a bit low since they were about starting the kissing game so she figured she could take the call in there and just pretend she was spending the time at the office.
"Hello sir?" She said with false cheerfulness as she began to head towards the main door, leaving Jeremy behind.
"Chloe? Why aren't you home? Where are you?" Her father asked at once.
"Yu are at home?" Chloe asked in surprise. It was rare for her father to be at home since he and his mother were always busy at the hospital.
"I hope everyone's ready!?" Frank, who was Mc'ing roared into the mic making Chloe's eyes widened.
"What's that? What's that sound?" Her father asked and she could hear the confusion in his voice.
"Uhm.. I…"
"You went clubbing?" Her father asked and she could imagine the frown on his face. For a King offspring, she was expected to not do anything inappropriate which included going to clubs, having boyfriends until she was ready for marriage and spending the night out. Although her parents pampered her, they were pretty strict when they wanted to be.. and they still thought the old fashioned way.
"No! I'm not at a club. I.. went for a friend's welcome party." Her eyes suddenly went to where her brother was standing and an idea popped into her head. "Leo is also here. We are going to leave together so you don't have to worry about me."
"Leo is there?" Mr King asked with skeptically. How come Chloe and Leo shared the same friends?
Sensing his suspicion, she quickly hurried to where Leo was standing and blocked the speaker with her hand since Frank was already beginning to say a lot on the mic.
Jeremy just stared in confusion as she said something to Leo.
"I told him you were here also." Chloe said to
Leo who followed her to a quiet corner before he took the phone from her.
"Dad? It's me." Leo said into the phone. He couldn't remember the last time he spoke on the phone with his father.
He heard Mr King clear his throat before saying.. "alright. You both make sure to have fun responsibly." He said before disconnecting the call.
Leo had expected that.
"Thank you." Chloe said to him as she took back her phone.
"Where are you going to sleep?" He asked his sister.
"You are going to return home right?" He asked hopefully. He wouldn't mind her staying over at his place if she was planning to go sleep at that weird guy's place.
"I'll be fine. I'll return home. Thanks for this." She said with a smile and was about to leave but he stopped her.
"Thanks for earlier." He said awkwardly.
"I'll transfer the money to your account."
"You don't have to do that. Mia has been kind to me. She's been helping me out with school work so this is nothing. Besides, I don't like Benjamin for her." She said flashing him a smile.
"I like you for her." She winked at him making his cheeks color lightly. He couldn't believe his sister was teasing him right now.
"Are you saying this because of the picture you saw on the group chat?" He asked pulling his ear. "There is nothing going on between us."
"What picture?" She asked curiously.
"Didn't you see the picture in the family's group last night?"
"I muted the group chat a long time ago. You uploaded a picture of Mia there?" She asked in surprise as she unlocked her phone but he quickly interrupted her from searching.
"Just ignore it already." He said with an embarrased smile.
"If you like her you should go for it. She probably likes you too."
"I'm not sure I want to have this conversation with you." He said while trying hard to conceal a blush as he began to head back towards the group. He noticed Richard had already left where he had been standing to go stand beside Mira.
Chloe knew her brother quite well and knew he wouldn't attend such parties but he had come anyway and his eyes never left mia. Maybe she had been wrong to conclude earlier that he just wanted to mess around with her?
Leo's eyes strayed towards Jeremy who was glaring at him with undisguised jealousy.
What the hell was wrong with him? Didn't he know he was her brother? Loe asked himself.
Jeremy had seen Chloe laughing happily with Leo but she was always so cold around him. Did she want him to become her brother before she would eventually warm up to him? But that was never going to happen!
"Thanks again for taking the call." She said and was about to leave when he stopped her again, much to Jeremy's impatience.
"Chloe?"
"Hmm?"
"You should stop blaming yourself now. That wasn't your fault." He said to her with a sympathetic look on his face.
He knew she would understand what he meant.
She looked at him quietly and said nothing. She only nodded briefly at him before she left to join Jeremy who had noticed the change in her expression.
All the while, the kissing game had already started.
Leo looked at Mia who was standing beside James while Richard and Mira stood in another corner. He had noticed how uncomfortable Mia had been ever since Benjamin's useless confession. He swore he had used everything within him to not react even though his breathing had stopped.
If looks could kill, Leo's glare would have killed Benjamin the moment he said those words. But did he have the right to feel this way?
Mia looked at his direction and when she saw him staring at her, she quickly turned to look ahead innocently.
"You confessed or he did?" James asked Mia while still looking at the couple who were kissing on the stage.
"No! How… why would I... con-fess to him.. ha ha!" She stuttered.
"Wow! That's new." James said and turned to look at Mia's flushed face. It was the first time she was reacting so defensively and he knew it was very obvious it was a big, fat lie.
"Just don't say another word... please.."
Mia said uncomfortably and he complied. She already had a lot for one night. He didn't want to tease her.
James' eyes drifted to a certain corner and his eyes caught the sight of Richard whispering something to Mira who was smiling. He said this and quickly turned to look at the stage.
What was suddenly wrong with him? He asked himself in frustration.
"Number 6?" Frank called from the stage and everyone waited for Number 6 to raise his or her hand.
In this particular game, all genders picked from the same tag bucket.
"Number 6.." Mia tried to remember whose tag was number 6 amongst her friends... it was Benjamin!
Her breathing hitched up.
He had excused himself to go make a call earlier and hadn't returned for over 5 minutes. She prayed he wouldn't come now but unfortunately, her prayers weren't answered because he appeared in sight.
Benjamin went up the stage that was made from little wooden tables while mia began to slightly panic.
He wouldn't choose herz would he? It was either she agreed to kiss him or embarrass him in public. Without even thinking twice, she made her choice.
"Mia." Benjamin pointed at her with a smile and the crowd began to cheer as they waited for her to join him.
It felt funny. There was a time she had gone to a party just to kiss him. Now, the case was reversed and she was just staring at him with wide eyes.
She suddenly smelled a familiar scent beside her and soon, a larger hand laced with hers.
Her already wide eyes widened further as she looked at Leo beside her.
"I'm sorry Mia, but I meant it when I said I wouldn't let you have a good time with him."
"What are…" Before she could complete her sentence, he scopped her into his arms in a princess style making her and a lot of people gasp in shock except Benjamin who didn't like how things were playing out.
"Shhh… I'm saving you." He whispered to her as he began to head towards the door with an amused look on his face.
This was only a little punishment for inviting Benjamin over.
Mia had never been so embarrassed in her life. She didn't even want to imagine everyone's facial expression at the moment.
"Put me down.... please." She said quietly.
"It would make it more awkward and embarrassing for you if I do so." He said and continued to carry her out while she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
At least, this was better than her plan to run out of the room earlier, right?
She wasn't so sure though.