Page 60 of Love Me Not

We rounded the corner to see Gina prepping the plates and Lux bringing them to the table.She paused when she saw us and sent us an easy smile.

“Did you have a good day at school, Bella?”

“Who cares!Let’s eat!”she replied as she climbed into her assigned seat.

Lux smiled at her before motioning for both of us to take a seat.

I put my hand on Lucas’s back and guided him to the table.

“Name’s Lucas,” he said and reached out to shake Lux’s hand.“Thanks for inviting me over.”

“Not at all, we’re happy to have you.And I hear congratulations are in order?Someone got into college?”

I flushed when Lucas sent me a look.

“Sure did,” he said, his smile more like a grimace.“But let’s not make this all about me.The food looks delicious!”

“So good,” Bella piped in as she grabbed another spoonful off the plate in front of her.

Lucas sat down, and I followed suit, my mouth watering at the spread.

“Looks great, Gina!”

Gina, who was still in the kitchen, turned to me and nodded in thanks.

“Wish I could take all the credit, but Lux had very specific recipes and instructions.”She gave Lux a knowing look.

Lux cleared her throat and sat down.

“Anyway, getting into college is a very big thing,” Lux told him as she started filling her plate with salad.“You should be proud of yourself.Celebrate the win that it is.No need to be humble.”

I placed my hand on Lucas’s.I was so unbelievably proud of him that it was hard to verbalize.

“On our way back, I’ll get you that boba I promised you,” I said.

He shot me a smile and quickly pulled his hand from under mine so he could start to eat.

The action caused my heart to ache just a bit, but I brushed it off as him being a teenager who didn’t want his overbearing older sister to get too touchy-feely.

“This feast is more than good enough.”He started to dig in.“So, Bella, you were saying something about that gambling ring?”

“Gambling ring?”Lux asked, her head snapping to Bella, who nodded excitedly.

“We gamble in loads of things and get fun prizes at the end!Today we played Go Fish, and yesterday we played Uno.Sometimes, if we get bored, we gamble on which couple will break up first.I usually win.”

Lux sent me a look as if to say,Is she being serious?I gave her a sheepish smile.

“Show her what you won,” I said.

Bella dug into her pocket and pulled out a handful of small items.A fidget toy, a fragrant pencil that smelled like berries, a single sticker, and a small, white case that I only just realized were AirPods.

“Which rich kid gave those up?”Lucas asked, jerking his head toward the latter.

“Kinsley’s boyfriend gifted them to her, and she put them up in Go Fish and lost.”Bella was beaming.

Lux grabbed the case and popped it open, a frown marring her face.

Just when I thought she was going to give her a lesson in ethics or something, she closed the case and gave it back.

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