The Sebana Heir

Chapter 34

Ria woke up in the morning and looked at the time. It was already ten past nine, and she turned her head to the window to find the sun shinning in through the curtains. She reminded herself that it was just Saturday and that there was no need to rush out of bed. So she slowly made her way to her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, then she heard her phone ring from the bedside table.

"Hey Sky," she answered.

"Ria! You wanna come out shopping with me today?" she asked.

"Shopping?"

"Yeah, Korene says she's got CIN trials. I don't even know what that means, but you and I can go out today!" she exclaimed.

"Uh.....okay. I guess I don't have any thing better to do," Ria agreed.

"Great! I'll come pick you up right away,"

"Wait, now?" Ria asked in surprise. But by then, Sky had already hung up. She looked around her room wondering what to wear. She had a quick shower before pulling out a pair of waist-high jeans and a cream crop top. She roughly ran her fingers through her hair in the mirror, to brush it up. No makeup, no perfumes, just deodorant and a bit of hairspray, then she gave one final look at the mirror before walking downstairs in her sneakers and a small satchel purse hanging across her shoulder. She peeped into the kitchen where she found Sheela at her usual spot behind the counter. Sheela called her in for some breakfast and wouldn't let her leave without getting something to eat first.

So Ria had to sit down at the stool by the counter and eat her breakfast in front of Sheela. She knew that Sky would eventually ring the doorbell when she arrived so she decided to wait in the kitchen for her. Ria shared a conversation with Sheela as she watched her flip some pancakes on the pan.

"So Sophie has a Swim-a-thon today?" she asked.

"Hah," Sheela nodded.

"Is it something like a walk-a-thon, except that it's the swimming version?" Ria asked before getting a shrug from the Indian lady. "That should be fun."

"You going out too today?"

"Yea," Ria nodded while she bit into her toast. "My friend's actually coming to pick me up soon."

"I guess I'll be free for the rest of the day then," Sheela smiled. Then at that moment, Hayne entered the kitchen in his sweat pants and grey vest that showed off his good muscles while his hair was in a gorgeous mess. "You awake! Come have some pancakes." Sheela told him.

He saw Ria at the counter and she looked quite stunning in her tight jeans and top complimenting her lovely skin.

Ria gave him a quick side glance before he walked past her to head towards the fridge. They both felt the same kind of awkwardness again, some sort of tension between them made Ria feel uncomfortable just sitting on that stool in that kitchen. They were both reminded of what had happened last night. Her eyes darted side to side and she tried to focus on the meal before her; but she could also feel his eyes on her, from the back.

"So, uh, where's mom?" she heard him ask.

"She left with Sophie early this morning," Sheela answered, "Very early. They did not even give me time to make their breakfast. I was planning to try this new pancake mixture I saw on the TV that day. I think it's called...... Blueberry pancake mix? Do you think it really tastes that good Ria?"

"Mmm..." Ria nodded with an assuring smile.

"I thought it'd be too sweet," the Indian woman added. Then she flipped the side of the frying pancake before disappearing into the pantry to find something. While she was in the pantry, silence stayed between the two in the kitchen. Ria couldn't dare to look back at Hayne and he also couldn't find the words to say at that moment that could minimize the awkward situation between them. He rubbed the back of his neck before looking around wondering what to say. Should they talk about last night? Should he apologize for what he did? Did it mean something to either of them?