Chapter 5 Silence Between Sips

Andrea took another sip of coffee from the cup she held in her hands. From time to time, she let out a heavy sigh. She rested her chin on her right hand, her eyes-gleaming with shades of black pearl-gazing blankly at the café staff bustling around her.

Across the table, her best friend Suzy kept staring at her, her eyes silently asking, "What's wrong?" Unfortunately, Andrea didn't seem to notice the look. Eventually, Suzy gave up and turned her gaze to the outside world. It was a bright day, but the heat was stifling.

Growing bored-or more precisely, feeling ignored-Suzy decided to break the silence.

"Andrea, why are you so quiet? Are you mad at me?" she asked softly, snapping Andrea out of her trance. "Did I say something wrong to your mom?"

Andrea slowly turned her gaze toward Suzy and smiled, trying to answer through her expression.

"You're okay, right? It's not like you to drink until you're drunk like that. I was really worried."

In truth, Andrea didn't feel like explaining anything to Suzy. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but more that she didn't know what to say. How could she possibly tell her that she had slept with a man? Suzy, of all people, knew Andrea had never been in a romantic relationship before. And worst of all, that man was now getting close to her sister.

"Andrea, don't you want to talk? I'm here for you, always."

Andrea smiled before finally speaking. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about how I'm going to find extra income again."

"I already told you-you could work at my flower shop," Suzy offered. "Oh, by the way... where did you spend the night that day?"

Andrea paused, clearly at a loss for words. "That night I..."

"Come on! Sean drove you home that night," Suzy pushed.

Flustered, Andrea grabbed her coffee cup and took a sip, trying to avoid the question.

"Don't tell me... you stayed at his place again?"

Cough!

Andrea choked, some of the coffee spilling from her lips. She quickly grabbed a tissue and dabbed her rosy, delicate mouth.

"Geez, drink slowly," Suzy said, worried. "You're acting really weird lately."

"Yeah, she is acting weird."

Andrea turned her head sharply at the sound of a man's voice. A tall guy in a black t-shirt was winking at her.

"Gilbert!"

Ahem.

The person beside Gilbert cleared his throat, drawing Andrea's gaze toward him.

Her eyes widened with irritation. "You!"

Sean frowned slightly. He had called out to Andrea, but her eyes had landed on Gilbert first-and she looked much less friendly toward him.

Still, Sean didn't want to make things worse. The café wasn't crowded, but it wasn't the right place for an argument. He tugged on Gilbert's arm.

"Gil, let's go. Don't forget why we came," Sean said as they took the table directly behind Andrea's.

Andrea let out a quiet sigh of relief. So, they weren't planning on joining her table.

"Hey, Sean is kind of hot, don't you think?" Suzy said. "He's handsome and rich. I heard he's close with your family, right?"

"Yeah. He's been seeing my sister Rachel lately."

"Really? Wow... someone like Sean would definitely go for a high-value woman like Rachel."

Andrea stayed quiet, then lifted her cup and took another sip. She could vaguely hear Sean and Gilbert talking behind her. She was hoping Sean would mention his date with Rachel, and she was so distracted by eavesdropping that she missed Suzy's story about her wedding plans. But the two men were only talking about how unbearably hot the weather had been lately.

"So? Has any guy shown interest in you lately?" Suzy asked suddenly.

"W-what?"

Suzy sighed. "You weren't listening to me, were you? I asked if any guys have been hitting on you. But... you must've secretly gotten close to someone, right?" she added with a teasing tone. "Actually, I've always wondered... have you ever kissed someone?"

"K-Kissed?!" Andrea's face turned bright red. "N-never!"

HAHAHAHA!

Suddenly, Sean burst into laughter, confusing Gilbert.

Andrea shot up from her seat, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. All she wanted now was to flee the café.

"S-sorry, Suzy. I need to go to the restroom," she said quickly.

Sean stood up as well. "Gilbert, I'm going to the restroom too."

Hearing that, Andrea sat back down immediately. "Ah, Suzy... never mind. I don't need the restroom anymore," she said quietly.

"Huh? Suddenly changed your mind?"

Andrea heard Sean cancel his restroom trip as well. She rolled her eyes in frustration. Was he planning to follow her? Has he been following me this whole time and pretending to accidentally run into me here?

Andrea stood again and walked away from Suzy. "I'll go to the restroom now," she murmured.

Quietly, Sean followed her.

Meanwhile, Gilbert moved to sit across from Suzy. "They're both weird, huh?" he said, resting his chin on his hand.

Suzy gave a small nod in agreement.

"So, you followed me all the way here?" Andrea snapped angrily when she realized Sean had trailed behind her.

Sean shrugged. "This is a public café. Anyone can be here, right? And you don't have to shout like that in the restroom."

Andrea glared at his reflection in the mirror. The mirror displayed every inch of the restroom-and Sean's presence in it only made her more irritated. She clenched her teeth in frustration.

Sean, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at Andrea's outfit. White sneakers, a dark brown knee-length dress with short sleeves, and a nude lace vest that hung lower than the dress. For a moment, he was captivated by the reflection of her large, expressive eyes.

Andrea turned on the tap and washed her hands, then splashed water onto her smooth face. "I don't care if you want to get close to Rachel, but leave me out of it," she said coldly.

Just then, the voices of a group of women approaching the restroom echoed. Without warning, Sean grabbed Andrea's wrist and pulled her into one of the stalls, locking it behind them. He sat down on the closed toilet lid and pulled her onto his lap.

"What are you-?!"

"Sshhh!"