Chapter 312 - The Real Score

[This chapter is dedicated to Erin_Glaser. Thank you for sending your power stones to our story.]

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Jess strolled along the line of the high-end boutiques of the shopping strip as she waited for Luke. She was a bit early for their meeting time but because it was the weekend, there were more people than usual in the area. 

She doesn't like walking around in such crowded places but she does not want to get inside one of the stores since shopping is something that she would never enjoy doing. She glanced at her phone and saw that there is still ten minutes before their agreed hour. She looked around and tried to spot a place where she could wait for Luke and found none.

She got out of the shopping street and trod back to where she parked her car. The farther she walked the fewer people she bumped into. She checked her phone and searched for some interesting cafe or restaurant from where she was. She was bent on her phone when a woman pushing a stroller bumped her from behind. 

"I'm so sorry," the woman bent down to touch the back of her leg where she got hit. 

"It's okay," Jess said and smiled at the little boy that was holding a toy giraffe in his hands while making bubbles. She touched the woman's shoulder who was still bowing and apologizing to her. "It's fine, really." 

The woman sighed. "Thank you. I was on the phone and didn't see you," she gave Jess a loop side smile. "My name is Adela and this little one is Broody." 

Jess lowered herself down in front of the stroller to 'talk' to Broody. "Hell-lo! How are you?" She noticed that the little boy has soft blue eyes. She wondered if she and Noah have kids of their own, are they going to get Noah's blue eyes. Lucille got her father's eyes. 

Broody gurgled in reply to her sing-song voice. She grimaced inside when she realized that she was already thinking of having Noah's kids. Not just one. Deep inside she got embarrassed with her thoughts. 

Before she got more embarrassed, Luke called her. She pushed herself up and smiled at Adela. "Nice meeting you and little Broody." She waved a little before she turned her back on them to answer Luke's call. 

"Where are you?" She looked up and saw a coffee shop. "I'm here at Ticao Cafe. I think it's a bit in the back alley of the shopping strip." 

She dropped the call when Luke agreed to meet her in the coffee shop. Before she even entered the cafe, she had already forgotten meeting Adela and little Broody. It was just another encounter on the road. 

She was queuing to order some coffee when Luke came and stood next to her. 

"Got me a flat white, Little Miss Jessie," he whispered over her shoulder. 

She jerked her shoulder in surprise and when she looked up she saw Luke's grinning at her. She slapped his shoulder and he laughed in reply. 

"You're late! You pay for my coffee and pastry." 

"Do people get stingy when they become an aunt?" 

Jess rolled her eyes at Luke's teasing. "Spare me. We are not here to talk about me." 

Luke laughed dryly. "I'll get us a table." He walked away from the line before Jess could reply.

Jess simply stared at Luke's back across the room but before she could mull over Luke's action, it was her turn to order.

She brought the tray of her order at the far end of the room where Luke was sitting, phone pressed on his ear and his expression was sullen. 

"Trouble in paradise?" She taunted as she put down the tray.

"It was my father." He picked up his coffee and took a sip. He had his gaze outside the glass window.

"Is everything alright?" 

Luke sighed. "It's alright as it can be. I no longer feel guilt whenever I say no to them." He said with a sad smile, curving on his lips.

"I'm sorry, Lukey. I hope I can do something to make you feel better." She reached for his hands across the table and caressed them. 

"You can't ask about me and Oliver." He said with a straight face. 

Jess scoffed. "You are sly but no." 

It was his turn to scoff. "There is nothing to tell anyway." 

"That's what makes me really curious. You tell me all about your other relationship but you refuse to tell me anything about you and Oliver." She said with furrowed brows. "Not to mention, I also know Oliver to be straight...you even said so." She added before Luke could say something that he closed his mouth and let her finish. 

"Yes. And that's what makes it difficult to talk about." 

"Are you two really in a relationship?" She crocked her brow. 

Luke heaved a deep sigh. "I don't know. That's the reason why I don't really want to talk about it." 

"Then why did you?!" She asked with widened eyes. She was trying to keep her voice down because they are in a public place but with the outrageous information she kept hearing from Luke, the other customers from the next table looked at her. 

"We were drunk…" He smirked. "It happened once and it…" he lowered his voice, glancing to his right, checking if the other customers were still looking at them. When they weren't, he crooked his finger on Jess, urging her to lower her head down. 

Jess grimaced. As much as she wanted to know about the real score between Luke and Oliver, she wasn't really keen on knowing the sordid details of their relationship. 

Luke crooked his finger again and nodded his head once, urging Jess to lower her head too. 

Jess heaved a deep sigh and lowered her head to listen to Luke. 

"It happened a few days before you went to Mumbai. Just as I've said, we were drunk…" He whispered with a very serious expression on his face. Jess furrowed her eyebrows, already dreading the rest of the story. When Luke straightened and leaned his back against the chair. 

"And?" Jess asked, confused. 

"That's it. We were drunk." He smirked. 

Jess realized that Luke was playing with her. She crossed her arms over her chest and cursed Luke under her breath, kicking his leg under the table but Luke just laughed at her annoyance. 

"Fuckers," she said with gritted teeth.