Cupid Hates Me ✔

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sadly, I couldn't carry out my fainting plans for he steered me outside the café towards his car, with Penelope trailing behind us. She threw me a thumbs-up when she was sure Jake wasn't looking.

"Hey, you guys match," Penelope said, grinning at us. She indicated our clothes, but from her tone, I could guess she meant something else too. I nervously looked towards Jake and hoped he didn't pick up on her tone.

Jake glanced at Penelope and then at our clothes before his lips broke into a soft smile.

"Yeah, Rebbie knows my favourite colours are black and white," he said, giving me a look I couldn't discern. "Suits her too, by the way."

"Thanks," I murmured, feeling my cheeks heat up. Well, yes, I did know his favourite combination was black and white, but I didn't purposely choose this outfit. Besides, Penelope chose it and she didn't know.

The drive to Jake's friend…er, Leon's house (I keep forgetting his band mates' names), was short but filled with laughter because of Jake. I had first thought Penelope would be uncomfortable, but Jake made us both laugh so much that it looked like all three of us had been really good friends for a long time or something. I wondered why I was afraid that this meeting might become awkward. It was anything but. Jake was just as friendly and carefree as in our IM sessions, and had a way of making me feel comfortable around him.

Jake parked his car in the driveway of a large, three-storied house. It had cream coloured walls with oval-shaped windows and a neat front lawn. A mermaid-shaped fountain was placed in the middle with well groomed flower beds surrounding it. It was quite a large area and was fenced by tall cream coloured walls all around.

We climbed out of the car and Jake led Penelope and me to the front door, which was opened by a plump middle-aged woman wearing a light blue summer dress and a white apron. She had rosy cheeks and blonde hair tied into a slick bun.

"Jake, good to see you again," she said with a smile, rubbing her hands on her apron as she let us inside.

"You too, Clara," said Jake.

"And who are your pretty friends?" asked Clara, looking at Penelope and me with a pleasant smile.

"This is Rebecca," introduced Jake. "And Penelope."

"It's lovely to meet you two," Clara said to us before turning to Jake again, "What do you want for lunch, dear?"

"Oh, the usual," Jake replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Alright. Have fun," said Clara before heading towards another room.

"Leon's mother's nice," I commented when the lady was out of sight.

"Oh, that's not Leon's mother. That's the housekeeper," informed Jake as he started towards a carpeted, wooden staircase. "Leon's parents are hardly around. Busy life."

I felt sorry for Leon, for I knew how it felt to have busy parents. My parents weren't that busy, but being doctors, I didn't get to spend as much time with them as other children.

As we followed Jake upstairs, I realised that the house obviously belonged to someone well-off. It had wooden flooring, and the hallway that we were just exiting was like a living room, with an ornamental grandfather clock ticking at one corner, a plush red sofa and several abstract paintings on the walls. If the hallway looked like this, I wondered what the other rooms were like.

"Your friend's rich," Penelope voiced my thoughts.

Jake chuckled. "Yep. This is nothing; you should see the room where the band practices."