A few days had passed, no calls nor texts from Jai. Paolo was in a middle of a practice, getting worried. Finally snapping out of his ignorance, Paolo decided to go to Jai's house. Only to be stopped by their Captain Seth.
"Woah there, champ. Where do you think your going?" Seth asks him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm just gonna go to Jamie's house, Captain. I need to talk to her." Paolo says.
"Right now? While we're in a middle of a practice?" He asks, placing his hands on his hips.
"I just really need to talk to her, captain. I did something wrong." Paolo reasons out.
"Who the hell is this Jaimie? Why is she so important that you want to skip this practice?" Seth says, irritated.
"She's the one he snapped at, Captain. The brunette girl in Chemistry?" A teammate says, making both boys turn to him.
"Oh that girl?" Seth asks, turning back to Paolo who nods in response.
Seth smiles at him and places a hand at the back of Paolo's neck, gripping it tight, he pulls Paolo close. His mouth directed to Paolo's ear.
"Listen here and you listen well. I am not stopping this practice nor letting you go to that stupid girl who deserved what she got. Finals are close and if I don't get that Championship Cup, I'll be the one embarrassing you in front of the whole school. Got it?" Seth growls out.
"Yes." Paolo mumbled.
"Speak louder, rookie." He growls.
"Yes, Captain." Paolo says louder.
"Back to practice!" Captain yells out.
Paolo sighs in defeat and takes his place beside other teammates, while Captain informs them of the changes in their drills. He shakes his head and focuses on practice.
Meanwhile...
Lukas enters Jamie's house, having his own spare key.
"Love? Where are you?" He yells out.
"Love?" a voice asks, a woman he guessed by its soft and welcoming tone.
"Who's at the door?" A rough and hard voice asked again.
'Oh, shit' Lukas thinks to himself.
Jai emerges from the living room, her eyes widening at the sight of Lukas with a basket of snacks.
"What are you doing here?" She asks in a hushed voice.
"You weren't in school so I went here to check on you." He says, his eyes filled with worry. "Are you sick, love?"
Lukas places his hand against her forehead to check her temperature. This simple action made Jaimie red. She swats his hand away and glares at him.
"I'm okay. Why didn't you tell me that you are gonna come here?" She asks, crossing her arms.
"Uh, Surprise?" He says.
"Darling, who is here?" The soft voice asks once again. "Is Paolo he- Oh."
"Hello, ma'am" Lukas greets the woman.
"Hello, young man. Jaimie, who is he?" The woman asks.
"He's Lukas, my, uh, friend. Lukas meet my Mom, Ria." Jai introduces the both of them.
Ria holds out her hand, which Lukas takes. Kissing the back of her hand as a sign of respect.
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am." Lukas smiles, respectfully at Ria.
"Nice to meet you. Now, where did you find this charming, young man, Jaimie?"
Lukas blushes and looks away, glancing slightly at Jaimie, who was also red as a tomato.
"Uh-Umm Let's go in the living room, yeah? Yeah, let's go." Jai says.
Ria chuckles at her daughter and smiles at Lukas, before making her way back into the living room. As they enter, Lukas met eyes with a man. Tough and buff. The man stood up and went beside Ria.
"My Darling, who is this?" The man asks Jaimie.
"Daddy this is Lukas. Lukas meet my Dad, Joseph." Jai introduces them once again.
"Pleasure to meet you, son." Joseph held out his hand.
"The pleasure is mine, sir." Lukas says, gripping his hand tight.
"Good grip." Joseph says, before sitting back down.
"Let me take that to the kitchen, Lukas." Jai says, taking the basket.
"Sure, thank you." He says.
"What's your relationship with my daughter?" Joseph asks, after Jaimie had gone into the kitchen.
"We're friends, sir." He answers, truthfully.
"When did you meet?" Ria asks.
"Oh, We met in school. I approached her in the library, looking for a book, I asked for help. She showed me the section and gave me the book. Jaimie was really nice and even smiled at me." Lukas narrates to Jai's parents.
"The next day, I waited for her at the gate with a single rose as a thank you for helping me. I asked her if i could accompany her to class and she said yes. After that day, I always wait for her at the gate with small gifts. We bonded through books and songs. Once she was comfortable enough with me, she gave me her number and ever since then. We've been great friends, ma'am, sir." He smile at them.
Ria and Joseph smiles as they watched the boy narrate their first meeting. Lukas held a soft smile and a pink tint to his cheeks. His blue eyes sparkling and showed happiness and respect.
"And you call her 'love'?" Joseph asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Umm, I call her nicknames. Uh, I call her love, sweets, darl, umm I tried calling her tiny once and she punched me so hard it bruised." He laughs at the memory.
"You seem great friends." Ria smiles at Lukas.
"Oh we are really." Lukas smiles at them.
Jai enters the living room and plops down beside Lukas. She smiles at him, which Lukas returns adoringly. Ria and Joseph smiles at the both of them.
"Anyways, darling, We have to go. We still need to go home and file your papers." Ria stands up making the pair stand up once again.
"Do you really have to, Mummy?" Jaimie pouts at her Mom.
"Well of course, princess. We need to make sure you'll be ready for next month." Joseph hugs his little princess.
"Okay, daddy." She smiles sadly at her parents.
"Let me walk you out, please." Lukas offers.
They made their way towards the door, Jai trailing behind Lukas. Her tiny hand clasped around the young man. This action shocked Lukas. Jaimie rarely held his hand, it was normally on his bicep or arm.
"Jaimie?" Joseph calls out, after they were out the door.
"Yes, daddy?" She answers.
"Keep him." Joseph smiles at the pair.
