«So you can keep me inside the pocket of your ripped jeans. Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet.»
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The twins waved their hands in her direction, Jenna smiled brightly and waved back at them. They quickly continued playing whatever it was they were playing in the grass.
Part of coming back after years of living in Lille was trying to reconnect with her family, and that included her nieces. The twins were born the same year she left London, about five months before everything went downhill for her. Of course she kept in contact with her sister, so Jenna was no stranger for them, however, it was not the same to see their aunt through a screen than having her with them.
With everything that had happened with her since she arrived in London, Jenna decided that perhaps spending a day with her nieces would help her see the bright side of being there. Plus, she realized her sister would appreciate a day off; Alia was a great mother, but the look of relief when Jenna showed up at her house and asked for permission to have the twins for the day just told her everything.
Naomi and Rhea were well-behaved, except when they decided doing innocent questions was their favorite hobby. They were nosy, the same way all five years old were, but every time they decided to ask her why she lived so far, far, far away (Jenna chuckled at that, because according to the twins she was living in other continent) she just tried to distract them with another question, until they eventually dropped the topic and eagerly asked her to take them to the park.
It seemed like a good idea. They were having fun playing with each other, eventually petting a dog that came running to them, everything was alright; until her eyes fell on the person sitting in one of the benches in front of hers. It was quite the distance, but she didn't need glasses to recognize him.
This has to be the ugliest joke in the world, she thought to herself. The smile on her face quickly faded as her eyes contemplated the scene in front of her.
Eden Hazard (it kept proving her theory that as long as she stayed in London she wouldn't be able to have peace) was a few meters away from her, lacing who she supposed was his youngest son's shoes. It'd be a lie if Jenna didn't admit the sharp pain she suddenly felt on her chest.
He finished lacing his son's shoes and then smiled at him, patting his head and motioning with his head towards other two kids. She knew how to add up; those were his other kids. The little kid ran to his brothers, Eden staring in his direction and grinning.
Jenna swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. Not now.
"Auntie Jenna!" Rhea yelled at the top of her lungs.
Her eyes drifted from Eden to her nieces immediately. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized Rhea just wanted to show her how she could do one of the moves she learned in dance class. Jenna raised both thumbs up, which apparently was enough to satisfy Rhea as she went back to following whatever Naomi was doing.
Making the mistake to look back at the benches in front of her, Jenna found Eden staring back at her. She wanted to face-palm herself. Rhea's scream could be heard even from the other side of the park, and the guys wouldn't miss the name Jenna even if he wanted to.
In other circumstances, it could've looked like he was following her, but his expression denoted genuine surprise. Like he knew of all the places he could run into her again, the park was not one of them.
Jenna deflected her eyes back to the twins, thinking if she pretended he wasn't there then it'd be easier to feel comfortable. Of course Eden Hazard (even after being told by his friend to just let her go and accepting it at the time) could not pass the opportunity he had in front of him, so the next thing she saw from the corner of her eye was he walking in her direction and shamelessly taking a seat next to her.
