3

It was the only day off I had after a long month of work, and what I had most wished for during this awaited day was to stay in my bed sleeping.

Perhaps on the couch, watching the bad movies on television, or simply doing anything that came to mind. However, it had to be something far from the annoying happiness that emanated from Rhys's aura.

Unfortunately, to my dismay, I couldn't do any of what I longed for internally, not even in the slightest. An inventive brown-haired guy with a dazzling smile had woken me up very early to tell me about the plans he had for both of us that day.

"We're going on a double date," he announced while washing dishes next to me, drying them with a cloth to leave them shining in their respective places.

"What do you mean 'we'?" I chuckled nervously. "That sounds like a herd to me."

"Come on, Lucy!" he muttered with a quite serious expression, leaving me petrified in my place with his sudden change of attitude. "One girl is for me, and she'll bring a friend for you. It's simple. We'll go get some ice cream, then maybe some drinks, and if we're lucky, they'll be for us," he quickly added while continuing with his chores. "Since I've been living with you, I haven't had sex with anyone, I'm desperate. Can you help this poor man out?"

"You're disturbing, you know that?" I murmured, with a lot of displeasure in my tone.

This half-crazed guy definitely lacked a screw, being so straightforward with his ideas, especially whatever he might come up with. He was not at all reserved in his way of speaking.

Rhys had no filter; he was direct about everything he mentioned, always getting straight to the point, to the extent of leaving me speechless on several occasions.

"How long has it been since you had sex?"

"Since I was born?" I mumbled thoughtfully.

It's not that I hadn't had intimate relations on occasion, or several occasions—I wasn't even sure if those could be called sexual acts. However, it wasn't precisely with a guy, and I wasn't close enough to Rhys to discuss it with him. There was no need for him to know about my personal life.

"Are you a virgin?"

"Is that so strange?" I chuckled, amused by his horrified expression.

"Today, Lucy, you have the glorious opportunity to stop being one!"

"I'm not interested. If you want, go and sleep with both of them."

"No way!"

And after thousands of swear words, unnecessary arguments, and playful shoves, he managed to convince me to get dressed in my best clothes.

He even took the annoying trouble to give me advice on supposedly winning over guys and moving gracefully, making me look like a cheap mini-imitation of himself.

I rolled my eyes at my reflection in the mirror; I definitely wanted to return to bed. However, he took me by the hand and dragged me far away from my possibilities.

We walked for a few minutes before stopping a few blocks away at a nice ice cream shop. I had to admit that this town was quite small, small enough for everyone to know each other without much effort.

The run-down place where I had grown up was as outdated as its few inhabitants.

Old stores were scattered along various streets, which I could count on my fingers. They managed to stay in business for generations within the same family, miraculously never closing despite tough times.

No one dared to open a competing business since those who tried didn't last long before going bankrupt due to the sparse customer base.

The people here were loyal to one place until their death. This disgusting place was full of familiarity and camaraderie, something I truly did not share with anyone.

We entered the frozen establishment, invaded by laughter and chatter from the various people sitting at different tables. I followed Rhys with some nervousness.

He, quite cheerful, stopped in front of a table occupied by two guys I remembered well – a beautiful raven-haired girl and an obnoxious blond guy from several nights ago.

"Jack!" they sighed excitedly, and I had to contain my expression of displeasure.

Wait, wasn't his name Rhys? That fool would soon get a scolding for lying to me about his name.

"Guys, this is Lucy. I hope you treat her as well as you treat me," he said with a wide smile, wrapping one of his heavy arms around my shoulders, causing me to blush at his touch.

"Of course!”

After an immense ice cream cone for each of us and mundane chats, we ended up discovering each other's names. The beautiful girl was Tina, and the obnoxious guy was Marlon.

Both were siblings; they lived on the outskirts of town and worked as waiters at the only restaurant in the entire location. They were pleasant but not enough to captivate me as much as Rhys, Jack, or whatever his name was, who seemed enthralled by their silly stories.

Things seemed to be going completely well. However, as expected from a troublemaker like Rhys, he fell silent at one point in the conversation while I chatted with them about jokes and movies.

They laughed a bit forcedly.

Marlon looked at me with a certain desire, at least something in my favor, or so I thought, until Jack had to ruin it with his actions. After all, why was I surprised? That guy was an idiot.

"Excuse me for a moment," he whispered, hastily getting up from his seat.

"Where are you going?" I asked, puzzled by his behavior.

"I found it!" he exclaimed excitedly, leaving me even more confused with the sudden situation.

"Is something wrong?" Marlon asked, furrowing his brow as he watched Jack act that way.

He exited the establishment with determined steps and stood outside in front of a guy I couldn't recognize due to the dirt on the windows of the place.

"Wait for us a second, okay?" I muttered, running out of there to see firsthand what was happening.

Outside, there was a group of guys who looked quite dangerous at first glance, surrounding Jack, who was yelling obscenities at one of them.

The tallest one, the one who if I remembered correctly, had stolen his wallet weeks ago, the reason for my bad luck. That stupid guy who couldn't stop smiling at the things coming out of Rhys's mouth.

Frustrated by so much calmness, Rhys pushed him hysterically, demanding amidst shouts that he return his money, but the guy just let it happen indifferently.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, without losing that nonchalant expression.

"Give back my wallet! You damn thief!"

"Rhys..." I grumbled, crossing my arms and approaching without the slightest hint of fear of being attacked. "Could you please return their money and documents? Their presence is affecting my life."

"Hey!" he roared, grinding his teeth, quite angry with my last comment.

"Shut up!"

"If I give him what he's asking for, can I stay with you in return?" he said with a smirk, quickly grabbing me around the waist to pull me closer to his body.