Page 34 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“How’s everyone doing?” Juan Pablo asked with an overly cheerful smile. Thomas stood up and extended his hand, but Juan Pablo went in for a hug. “You must be Thomas.” Juan Pablo heartily patted Thomas’s back.
“That’s right. Nice to meet you, Juan Pablo,” Thomas replied as he broke away from his embrace. “Nice to meet you too, Nina.”
We all sat down, and Juan Pablo immediately took the floor.
“Okay, Billie.” He stared at me with his panther-black eyes, holding his hands together on the table in front of him. I took a deep breath and squeezed Thomas’s hand under the table. He squeezed it back to let me know that he was right there with me.
“First of all, I want to apologize. I know that I probably scared you the last time I saw you, and for that, I’m sorry.” He held his hands up in the universal gesture forI surrender. “I will not share anything else that you don’t want me to, okay? I can’t control when certain messages come through, though,” Juan Pablo added, lifting an eyebrow. “But if I close my eyes, just ignore me. Sounds good?”
That soundedmorethan perfect.
“Oh, sure. Please, don’t worry about it. I mean, to be honest, you did catch me a bit off guard, you know.” I snorted. “But I completely understand, don’t worry.” I didn’t understand hisgift, but there wasn’t much left to say on my part. I was glad that he had noticed my discomfort.
“Perfect! Let’s eat!” Juan Pablo chirped, clapping his hands once.
We ate and talked about a lot of things. It was actually fun. Juan Pablo behaved like a normal human being, and he never once closed his eyes tolisten. I’d say that lunch was a success.
As we walked out of the restaurant, I saw Caleb and David standing beside the car. Nina was looking at Caleb from the corner of her eye because why wouldn’t she, right? But she quickly turned away and grabbed Juan Pablo’s hand. Maybe as a self-reminder that she had a boyfriend.
We all decided to go for ice cream to a nearby place. And I caught Caleb staring at Nina when she walked by past him with Juan Pablo. Ugh. But he realized I saw him, so he looked away harshly, as if condemning himself for looking her way.Yeah,that’s right.
I rolled my eyes on the inside and kept walking. Caleb followed us on foot, and David took the car there.
We arrived at the ice cream shop, and I excused myself to the restroom after asking Thomas to choose a surprise flavor for me. Anything except strawberries. I know I must be the only freak in the universe who doesn’t like them, but it’s the only thing I won’t eat.
When I came back, I saw Nina and CJ sitting on a table eating their ice cream and laughing, while Thomas and Juan Pablo lingered near the cashier. Thomas held an ice cream cone in each hand, his gaze directed at the floor. He nodded intermittently, while Juan Pablo whispered to his ear.
That didnotlook good.
“Hey!” I said cheerfully, trying to interrupt the exchange intentionally. Juan Pablo stopped talking when he heard my voice. “Everything okay?” I asked with suspicion, holding on to Thomas’s arm.
“Ah, yes!” Thomas replied, handing the pistachio ice cream cone to me. “We were actually done here.” He returned a half-legitimate smile in my direction.
Damn it. I knew Juan Pablo couldn’t keep hisnotionsto himself.
“Let’s take a seat,” Thomas ordered dryly. Juan Pablo followed us to the table, but Thomas’s face was blank while he monotonously licked his dark-chocolate ice cream cone. But the translucency of his eyes spoke words to me. There was anger, irritation, and even sadness in them.
“Do you want to leave?” I murmured through clenched teeth.
“No, I’m fine,” he replied without looking at me. I wondered if his anger was directed at me. And that just flipped my switch.
Hold my cone.
I gave my cone to Nina and texted the security group chat.
Me:SOS Light mode. 5 - 10 min.
Caleb:Yes, ma’am.
I turned to the window, and Caleb stared at his phone with a huge grin on his face. It seemed to me like the SOS beacon made him snap out of the bad mood he’d been carrying around all day.
I acted naturally, chit-chatted with my friends, laughed at CJ’s jokes, and pretended that I didn’t want to jump across the table and shove my ice cream cone into Juan Pablo’s nosy face.
Caleb walked in the shop, pressing on his earpiece—full-on theatrics. Nina and CJ gasped when they saw him displaying himself in his element.
“Miss Murphy, I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Caleb said in his thick accent, “but your father called, and he wants us to take you to his apartment right away. There’s something he needs to talk to you about. It’s a pressing matter.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked, playing along and trying to sound concerned.
