Hawaii is a wonderful string of islands that has always been viewed as a perfect vacation spot. Except, what happens when the islands' beauty and source of wealth are exploited by criminals? Criminals capable of stealing your free will and getting a...
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"I think you ran out of steam too quickly and your endurance seems to be lacking," Ryan answered bluntly. He turned away from Kyle and started leading the way back to their table. It had seemed like he'd said all that he wanted to, but he added one more comment over his shoulder. "But yeah, I thought you were really good, Kai."
The compliment was so unexpected that Kyle nearly tripped over his own legs. At this point, Kyle already had a pretty good idea of when Ryan was in a good mood. It was usually followed by aggression and apathy toward the dancer. So, a direct compliment like that one was a surprise. But of course, he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't take a few pokes at his roommate. "So are you gonna join us next time and show me how it's done?" he asked.
Ryan glared back at him partially and growled just like he expected.
The group reached the table shortly and gathered around to take their seats. Everyone grabbed a burger except for Arden who scanned each one before putting it back down.
"Rye, which one is mine?" she asked softly.
Confusion flickered across his face before his eyes widened in realization. Arden was a vegetarian after all, so she wouldn't have any random burger. "I forgot to order a garden burger," he apologized.
From across the table, Kyle snickered and tried to cover it up with a cough and stuffing his mouth with fries.
"Just give me a minute, I'll be right back," Ryan assured her and dashed out of his seat before anyone could blink.
Arden sighed happily and poked at her fries. "Isn't he wonderful?"
Carman laughed the loudest in response. "Yep, I just hope he doesn't hop over the counter and make you a sandwich himself to save time. Do you remember when he did it in Kansai a few years ago? That waitress looked like she wanted to call the police."
While Arden just giggled at the memory, his words caught the group's curiosity. Julie wasn't going to miss a chance to hear the story. "He did what exactly?"
The scarlet-eyed young adult smiled and leaned back with both arms folded behind his head as he prepared to tell the tale. "So, this was way back when he was like fifteen I think and I was visiting him and dad for the winter. We all went out to this place that made fancy sandwiches and burgers."
"It was Tili's Shop. You all would probably call it a deli, but it was really nice," Arden chimed in eagerly.
"Right, Tili's Shop. So, it's me, Ryan, and dad on vacation thinking about food. Dad is just like, 'why don't you invite that nice girl of yours to eat with us?' and I swear, even Ryan's hair went rigid. He was so excited and tense that I wanted to throw him into the snow to cool off."
The twins were wide-eyed. Neither of them had ever travelled to Japan since they were too young. There was a full seven years between them and Ryan. Kion spoke up first, "You guys went out to eat with dad?"
"Yeah. It didn't happen often, obviously, so we were both a little eager to impress him. When we got to the store with Ryan's special girlfriend," Carman gestured to Arden with a wink. "He was at 150%. Ordered all of our food and paid for it with his own money."
"Except, I hadn't told him that I became a vegetarian yet." Arden giggled just thinking about the way he reacted next.
"Right, so when he found out that you wouldn't eat the sandwich he tried to call the waitress. But she was busy with other people and somehow didn't notice him waving her over. He waited for at least three whole seconds before deciding to get up and jump over the counter. The cooks literally did not know how to react to him, so they just backed away and gave him room to start cooking.
"Of course, I was a little eager to show off as well. So I might have jumped in after him to show dad I could handle the kitchen too." He added quickly.
"Might have? If I remember correctly, you challenged Ryan and the chefs to see who could prepare orders the fastest! I still can't believe they accepted it," she chided. The table was filled with so much laughter that she didn't even notice when Ryan returned and set a plate down for her.
"Did your father really allow you two to do that?" Kyle asked incredulously.
"Allow us? Dad edged us on! He placed like twenty orders just so that we could actually have a real contest. Our dad expects nothing less than incredible."
