Chapter's song:  Ariana Grande - Side To Side ft. Nicki Minaj (I'm literally listening this on repeat)

Juno left around midnight. Thank God. Seth and I were already planning to ditch the house as soon as the guests left. Our grandmother and her shiny new husband were taking the weekend away. They didn't tell us where, and we were so happy that they were leaving, that we didn't ask.

Bryan left after them but he promised to come back in the morning. Seth wasn't so excited as me. Honestly, I tried not to, but it was hard. We would be spending a whole weekend together. There had to be some alone time so we could talk. I would make sure of that.

After everyone left, the house was a mess, but we didn't clean anything. Seth said it was the first thing Bryan had to do for babysitting us. I rolled my eyes, yet, I was super tired from the stress of the week and then the wedding, so I left it all like that.

Seth's mood improved when I told him that he should invite his girlfriend and that we could use Bryan's chef skills to cook something delicious to impress her.

However, I couldn't sleep. I plotted different ways to make Bryan open with me. A part of me wanted to trail carefully until the subject came up, but another part of me wanted to shake the answers out of him. In the end, I decided to be straightforward. For his sake, but mostly for mine. I just needed to know.

The next morning, right after eight, the doorbell rang. I was already dressed in jeans and a pink t-shirt and I'd cleaned up most of the house, but there were still a lot of dishes to wash.

Bryan greeted me with half a smile. He looked good in that grey t-shirt of his. Then again, the guy looked good in anything. I was totally biased.

"Good morning." He raised the paper bag on his right hand. "I brought breakfast."

"Thank you." I moved away so he could pass. "Seth's still asleep, but I already started coffee."

I thought about asking him right there and then, and get it over with. But I wasn't feeling brave enough, so I decided to bring it up after breakfast.

The scent of coffee filled the room as the coffee machine stopped gurgling. I opened the bag to find three Danish pastries still warm from the oven.

Screw Seth. I'm eating all of them.

I set the table while Bryan poured the coffee. "How are you feeling about the wedding?" He gazed at me after setting a mug in front of me.

"I'm happy for Juno." I pinched the corner of one of the pastries and brought it to my lips. It was delicious. "I mean, Mr. Gomez, Carlos, is a nice man."

"But?" Bryan sat across me, his hand wrapped around the steamy cup.

My lips curved up. "I don't know. Things are going to change, I guess."

"Changes are good." His brows furrowed. "Most of the time."

I shrugged. "I guess we need to adjust." I glanced at him. "But Juno was so happy. I swear I'd never seen her smiling like that."

Bryan smiled back. "She was stunning yesterday."

We both stayed in silence for a moment. I finished the first Danish and offered one to him, but he declined. More for me, I guess. As I dusted sugar off my fingers from the second one, I pursed my lips. I didn't like the way it all felt awkward.

"That little boy was cute, huh?" Awesome, Jess. In my defense, all I wanted to ask was why he'd been acting out like an ass last week or where the hell had he been. I had to bit the inside of my cheek two times before I blurted it all out.

Seth was in luck. I lost my appetite and left him a Danish and a half before we started to wash what seemed to be a never-ending pile of dishes. We finished by noon, and the air cleared up when I almost drop one of my grandma's precious plates. Bryan had good reflexes and caught it on time.

I told him about the plan to meet Seth's mysterious girlfriend and he was on board. By the time my little brother woke up, we had planned the menu and were ready to go to the grocery store to get everything.

"Seth, you need to call your invisible girlfriend. We're making paella."

My brother's eyes widened. His hair was all-over the place and he rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"We'll meet back in an hour. You still need to clean the house a bit, okay?" Seth groaned as I shook my head chuckling.

Before we left the house, I had to repeat the same thing three times to Seth. He wasn't a morning person. Or an afternoon one. The last thing I heard as I closed the front door, was a fourth "What?" Seth wasn't definitely a morning person.

The ride to the supermarket was quiet. Too quiet. Tired of this awkwardness, I decided to start with small talk. "So, what have you been doing lately?" The words left my mouth and I cringed. Way to break the ice!

Bryan's gaze was glued to the front, but his lips quirked. "I haven't done much other than work." I let out the breath I was holding. I didn't want to hear that he was having a great time after work, to be honest. "Nadia asked me to join her for dinner twice, though."

My stomach rolled as I turned to the window. My jaw clenched. I thought about Tom and how long had they've been dating. She looked like she had a crush on Bryan. Little fact that made me see red.

"Nice." My answer was curt and my tone was colder. I bit my lip. Freaking hell.

He chuckled. "Too bad I couldn't make it."

My eyes narrowed. He was testing me, wasn't he? He wanted to make me jealous and I caved in like the complete goof that I am. I crossed my arms and glared at the passing houses. I'm such an idiot.

"That is disappointing. Maybe she'll invite you next week."

"Tom will be back, so she won't be feeling alone anymore," he said. I clenched my jaw and stayed silent until we stepped inside the supermarket. Bryan grabbed a shopping cart and started to hum, like everything was just great. The nerve of him.

"We'll need rice, chopped tomatoes, peppers and─"

"I'll get the rice; you get the seafood." I didn't wait for an answer, I just walked away from him. My blood boiled as I made my way through the supermarket. I couldn't even concentrate, I missed the grains aisle twice. I had to ask a clerk to find it.

Taking a deep breath, I stared at the aisle. There were like ten types of rice and I didn't know which one to get. I rolled my eyes to myself. Calm the effing down Jessie.

When my pulse started to calm, I read the tags until I found one pre-cooked and perfect for paella. I grabbed it and made my way to the seafood, but Bryan was nowhere in sight. With a frown on my face, I started to look for him through the supermarket, to no avail.

He wouldn't ditch me. I think.

I left the rice back in its place before stepping outside. I didn't know if I should be angry or desperate. Especially because my cellphone signal was null. I was scrolling through my contacts when I heard his voice. "I really hope you like chocolate."

My pulse quickened as I pressed my lips together. When I gazed at him, he was suppressing a smile and holding two ice-cream cones in his hands. His eyes glinted like a mischievous little boy. Darn. He was too cute to be mad at. I put away my phone and reached out for my ice cream. "Chocolate will not save you," I said.

His lips tugged up on a beautiful smile. "But chocolate does make everything sweeter." I rolled my eyes before tasting the ice cream.

He bobbed his head to the side. "Do you feel like talking a walk?"

I followed the line of his eyes. There was a small park next to the grocery store. It had a little pond with ducks swimming by. An old man with a vintage ice cream cart rang his bell as he strolled on the sidewalk. We couldn't eat inside the supermarket, and my ice cream was too good to throw it away. Plus, it felt like some sort of peaceful offer.

We crossed the street and found a bench to sit at to eat our ice cream. The ducks quacked in the background as the sun rays felt warm against my skin.

"I'm sorry if I made you jealous."

My cheeks flushed while my stomach tightened. "I'm not." I heard him chuckle before grabbing my hand. My heart started to race at the gesture. I stared at his hand on top of mine before looking up.

His smile faded as our eyes met. My chest tightened while his thumb made a circle on the back of my palm, leaving a tingling sensation behind. "I'm really sorry for─"

My phone started to ring. My breath caught in chest as the thing kept ringing. For real?

*SIGHS*

Why did you have to call Seth?! *Shakes head*

On other news, this is the first time I post a chapter and Grammarly doesn't correct me anything. I'm feeling proud of myself :)

PS: If you like to cook, check out a new profile I'm part of: CookingGALs where we'll be posting recipes in January!

Love you guys. Don't hate me too much!