“What do you want, Vegas?” Jom asked.
“Porsche, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I only meant well,” Vegas said, frowning. I’d never seen him frown before—he usually had a cheerful smile plastered on his face.
Tem lifted his chin. “What’s this about, Porsche?”
“You can say anything—yell at me, please, but please don’t hate me,” Vegas said, coming closer. I backed away even more, sighing wearily. Why don’t you try having someone grab your neck and try to kiss you, motherfucker!
“Vegas…” A familiar voice called from the door. I turned toward the sound to see Kinn walking in with three of his friends.
“Brother…” Vegas mumbled, shrinking in on himself. As Kinn walked over to me, the whole gym went silent; it was like they were astonished at the sight of Kinn and his entourage.
“What are you doing here?” Kinn demanded. His voice was steely, but hushed, like he was trying to be mindful of all the people in the gym.
“What are you all looking at? Get back to practice!” P’Beam shouted at the entire gym, making all the athletes get back to what they were doing.
Vegas walked over and held onto his cousin’s arm. “I’m here to see the seniors. Brother…please don’t be angry with me. I just wanted to help him,” he insisted, his voice pitiful.
Kinn let out a huff, his expression still stormy. “Don’t come near my people again!” he warned Vegas, pointing at his face. “And be careful that your meddling doesn’t go too far.” Vegas frowned, looking pensive for a moment, but then he nodded.
“Let’s go, Porsche,” Kinn said, his tone back to normal. I nodded and went to say my goodbyes to the seniors before following Kinn outside.
“Tem, Jom, do you want to come eat with us?” Tay invited my friends, who had come to see me off.
“Is it free?” Jom asked, cracking a shameless smile.
“Of course it’s free! Kinn will pay for everything,” Tay said cheerfully as he looked at Kinn.
“They’re coming with us,” Kinn told me. I didn’t really get why he felt the need to tell me, but I nodded.
We all went as a group—Kinn’s friends in one car and my friends in another. I tried to get into Tem’s car, but Kinn was having none of it, stuffing me into his own car instead.
We arrived at a Japanese restaurant on a side street in the middle of the city. It looked kind of shady, but Kinn said it was good enough to earn a Michelin star and was incredibly exclusive. It seemed he’d already arranged everything in advance, because when we walked in, the chef and staff came out to greet Kinn and his friends.
“Welcome, Mr. Kinn, Mr. Tay, Mr. Time, Mr. Mew. The food you ordered is ready in your room. Please let us know if you need anything else.”
Tem, Jom, and I stood there awkwardly. The staff here seemed to hold Kinn and his friends in high esteem; they were practically rolling out the red carpet for them. I felt a little uncomfortable having people bring me my drink and utensils and constantly ask if I wanted anything else. Tem and Jom seemed uneasy as well, not daring to move.
“Go on, eat,” Kinn said. I was sat next to him, with Mew on his other side and Time at the head of the table. Everyone else sat on the opposite side. Kinn saw my hesitation and placed a piece of sushi on my plate. From what I’d seen online, I’d guess it was foie gras. I’d eaten Japanese food before, but only at those buffets you saw in shopping malls. This restaurant was so damned fancy that I was freezing up.
“Do you like it?” Kinn asked when I finished chewing. I nodded. He poured soy sauce for me and everything—I didn’t have to lift a finger. He kept putting various things on my plate, expensive food that I’d only seen on the internet and never thought I’d get the chance to try.
“Can I order more foie gras? You gave it all to Porsche,” Tay whined. Tem and Jom looked at me before looking down at their own plates.
“If you want to order more, get your dear husband to pay for it,” Kinn said, pointing his chopsticks at Tay. I looked between Tay and Time, only now realizing that they were boyfriends. Time often pampered Tay, but at times he seemed to barely pay any attention to him.
“What? That’s so unfair!” Tay exclaimed, and called a server over.
“Do you want anything else?” Kinn turned to ask me. I looked at the food on the table before turning to my friends.
“Do you guys want anything?” I asked. My friends shook their heads. “Nah,” I said to Kinn, who nodded and turned to the server to order more food for himself.
Shit, I had so many different foods on my plate. It was a good thing I’d watched so many restaurant review videos online, otherwise I wouldn’t know what half this crap was.
“Make sure to eat and get your strength up,” Kinn leaned in to whisper softly, smirking. “The night is young.”
I elbowed his side, hard, until he made a face. I scooted away from Kinn and looked up to see the whole table staring at me. My two friends sat in stunned silence. I glared at them, and everyone looked away to continue eating. The hell are you guys looking at?!
“Hey, isn’t that Mek?” Time asked, pointing outside. The restaurant was sectioned off into private rooms, but there were no doors; we could see people as they walked by.
“Ah,” Mek said, seeing us and walking over. I noticed Kinn and his friends acting awkwardly, like they were caught up in some kind of predicament.
“Why did you have to point him out?” Tay quietly scolded Time, who looked guilty.
“You guys came here and didn’t invite me?” Mek said, propping his elbows on the table and eyeing everyone.
“I thought you already went back to the UK,” Mew said, looking at Mek apprehensively.
“My business here isn’t done,” Mek said. He glanced at me before turning to greet Kinn. “How are you doing, Kinn? Feeling better now?”
“Mm-hm. Much better,” Kinn answered evenly.
“That’s good.” Mek turned to me. “Is the food to your liking?”
I didn’t know what to say. “It’s…good.” Whenever I saw Mek, I got the same nervous feeling in my gut as I did around Vegas.
“I didn’t think you’d bring him here,” Mek said with a chuckle. “Do you still like this place? Doesn’t look like anything here has changed at all. Same atmosphere, same vibe. I haven’t been back in so many years, but I still think about the past.”