Almost Lovers

Chapter 5

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Lili darted forward as soon as she saw Kassielle. They were back at the cottage where Rhys, Piper, Lili, and Liam were already seated, wrapped in their towels. They were eating the chips they brought with them, and they all looked up as the three approached them.

"Girl, we were so worried! We thought you got lost again," Piper said.

"We thought you drowned or something," Rhys added, then cocked his head as if he wasn't sure what he said was supposed to be a joke or not.

Kassielle quickly glanced at Liam, who was sitting and holding a bag of chips. His hair was still damp. He was looking at her intently. Kassielle wondered if he had been worried about her. Probably not. If he couldn't even include her in the game, why would he even notice if she's gone?

"I just went to the diner," she replied wearily, "I got hungry."

"You went to the diner without me?! Why didn't you say so? You know I'm hungry all the time!" Lili  complained.

"Liar," Killian said to Kassielle, taking off his shirt, exposing his flat and hard stomach. "She didn't just go to the diner. She was with a guy." He threw his white shirt forcefully on top of his bag.

Lili's eyebrows shot up. "A guy?!" she asked quizzically, and a smile formed on her lips. "Oh my god. Really? Is he handsome?" Lili asked. She was grinning, her eyes curious.

"Handsome?" Killian looked at Lili in disbelief, then he snorted. "He was lame, right Grey?" he elbowed her.

"He's handsome. He had curly hair and brown eyes," Kassielle replied to annoy her friend even more.

Killian threw his hands up in the air. "His name was Todd," he said, sounding as if those words should be enough to cancel out the fact that he was handsome. Killian glanced at Liam as if he was expecting him to back him up, but Liam didn't say anything.

What Killian said did not matter to Lili and Piper either, for two girls already had their eyes widened and focused on Kassielle. "You should've brought us with you!" Lili exclaimed.

Kassielle shrugged. "I didn't want to ruin the game," she replied casually.

Liam only stared at the ground.

"I still can't believe you met a guy without telling us," Lili told Kassielle. They were floating in the hot springs while the guys were having a conversation a few meters away from them. It was such a good way to relax. The steamy water embraced their bodies like a warm hug.

"I just bumped into him. It's no big deal."

"But still," Piper added, "you never meet any guy."

"Did you and Liam fight?" Lili asked her curiously.

Kassielle thought about it. Did they really fight? She wasn't sure. It was only her. She was the one who got mad at him. They didn't actually fight. It was one-sided, just like how she likes him but he doesn't. "No. Why?"

"We just noticed that you guys aren't talking to each other these past few hours. Right Pipes?" Lili said.

"Yeah. Do you still like him?" Piper asked.

"Shh," Kassielle glanced at the boys fearing they would hear her but they were on the other end of the hotsprings. The boys were now watching Kyle flex his arms, trying to show off to a group of girls near them. "When did I ever not like him?"

"You probably should make the first move. It's been like, almost four years already," Lili said.

"You know I could never do that."