Harry, who was playing PS with his father, rose from the couch when the doorbell rang a couple of times.
"It's probably Lucy," Aaron said since they were all aware that she was picking up Jamal for their little date and it was almost time for them to leave.
"Yeah," Harry said in agreement as he opened the door.
He scowled when he saw Tom standing there with Lucy, "If I had known you were out here I wouldn't have opened the door," Harry said, and Tom chuckled.
"Why not?" Tom asked as he walked past Harry into the house while Lucy embraced Harry.
"You know the damned passcode! Use it!" Harry hissed at Tom as he led Lucy into the house and shut the door behind them.
"Well, you're not alone in the house, are you? What if someone was running around naked?" Tom asked with a grin, and Harry rolled his eyes while Aaron raised a brow.
"And who would be running around here naked?" Aaron asked, and grinned at Lucy as she came to kiss his cheeks.
"How have you been?" Lucy asked, giving him her whole attention while Tom and Harry continued to argue about Tom's annoying use of the doorbell despite the fact that he could unlock the door himself.
"This old man has missed you," Aaron said and Lucy giggled as she sat beside him.
"What old man? I don't see any one around here. All I see is a very attractive mature male," Lucy said, batting her lashes at him, and Aaron chuckled.
"Can you stop flirting with my girlfriend? Each time we are around you, it's either you or Jamal flirting with Lucy. Do I have to cut Harry off?" Tom asked, mock glaring at Aaron.
"Lucy, I suppose you will have to choose. It's either us or Tom," Aaron said, and Lucy placed a hand on her chest.
"How could I ever do that? I think I'm polygamous in nature and can't settle for only one fine man. Hence, I chose handsome men from different age groups. You all would have to love me for who I am," Lucy said, looking from Aaron to Tom and back again, while Harry shook his head in amusement.
"Thinking about it, you're right. But a teenager is missing from the list. Should I find you one?" Harry asked, and Lucy rose dramatically.
"Alas! I think I have found my one true love who loves me for who I am," Lucy said as she went to hug Harry and they all chuckled.
"Lucy!" Jamal cried excitedly as he hurried down the hallway to greet her.
"Ah! And my other true love," Lucy said with a beaming smile for Jamal as she went on one knee to embrace him.
"I can't believe how much I've missed you," Lucy said as she buried her face in the crook of his little neck and he wrapped his tiny arms around her neck.
"I missed you too. I'm ready to leave," Jamal informed her, and Lucy pulled away from him to look at him.
She giggled when she noticed he was dressed in a shirt and trousers with a bow tie which sort of made him look really formal.
"You look dashing, darling," Lucy said as she straightened up, and Jamal grinned.
"Thank you. You look beautiful as always," he said as he looked Lucy over.
She was dressed in a floral glared knee length dress with bow straps. Her hair was back in a ponytail as usual and her glasses was in place.
"When are you going to look away from my girlfriend long enough to acknowledge my presence?" Tom asked, and Jamal grinned as he looked his way.
Even though he was never going to admit it out loud to anyone, Tom was his idol, and he was more than happy to see him.
"She is my girlfriend for today. Right, Lucy?" Jamal asked with a smirk, and Lucy bobbed her head.
"Totally," Lucy said as she rose.
"Going with you on a date doesn't mean she is your girlfriend," Tom said, and Jamal raised his chin.
"It does!"
"Does that mean I will be your boyfriend when I take you out on a date?" Tom asked, and Jamal looked at Tom incredulously.
"I'm not going on a date with you. A date is for boys and girls. I'm only gonna hang out with you," Jamal said matter of factly and the rest of them laughed.
"Well, I suppose I can let you have your COUSIN for today," Tom said, stressing on the word and Jamal scowled at him.
"Hello, sober Lucy!" Candace greeted as she joined them, and Lucy winced.
"Give me a break, will you?" Lucy asked, and Candace laughed softly.
"You sure took one from your senses yesterday. I'm surprised you are able to show your face in public," Candace said with a grin.
"All I did was dance and talk," Lucy said dismissively.
"Yeah. Very interesting dance steps too. Did you see the video?" Candace asked, and Lucy gasped.
"There was a video?" Lucy asked, turning to Tom who had not mentioned that.
Tom shrugged, "Harry took care of it. Right, Harry?" Tom asked, looking at Harry.
"That doesn't mean the videos don't exist. Maybe you should take a look at it. That way you will think twice the next time you think it's a good idea to get drunk in public," Harry said with a pleasant smile.
"I hope you ladies can find another less irresponsible way to hang out? Perhaps have such drunken meetings in your room or hang out in a spa and gossip without alcohols. I don't want to have to deal with any unnecessary scandals," Harry said, giving both Lucy and Candace a pointed look.
"It was your girlfriend's idea. Talk to her, not me. It wasn't like I was drunk anyway. Good thing it was both your girlfriends who ran the whole show," Candace said as she went to sit next to Aaron and he draped his hand over her shoulder to pull her close and she relaxed against him.
"Well, you can do me a favor by making sure Lucy never takes a drop of alcohol when next you girls hangout. I will talk to Sonia and Jade too. She woke up with a raging ulcer this morning and I had to take her to the hospital," Tom said and they all looked at Lucy with concern.
"An Ulcer?"
"Are you alright now?" Harry and Candace asked simultaneously before Aaron could speak.
"Do not mind Tom. It wasn't that serious," Lucy assured them.
"Yes, it was. If only you had seen how pale you looked," Tom said, and Jamal frowned.
"We can stay home if you are not feeling…"
"You're so sweet, Jam. But you don't have to worry. I'm fine, alright? Let's leave these adults now and go spend some time together?" Lucy interrupted Jamal as she took his hand.
"Is there something he shouldn't have?" Lucy asked Candace curiously.
"Don't worry, Jamal is responsible. He wouldn't let you get him whatever that would hurt his health," Candace assured Lucy.
"Alright then. We should get going," Lucy said as she went to kiss Aaron's cheeks and then kissed Tom before leaving with Jamal.
"So, is Jade coming over?" Harry asked Candace after they were sure that Lucy had left.
"No. She asked that I meet her at Bryan's house. She is busy supervising the workers," Candace said and Tom turned to Harry.
"Do you want us to join them? I thought you wanted to hangout?" He asked since he had not planned to head there until later in the day.
Bryan had assured him he that everything was under control and his help wasn't needed. All that Bryan wanted was his and Lucy's presence.
"Sure. We are hanging out. Give me a minute to change my clothes then we can drop Candace off to meet Jade before going to the lounge," Harry said as he walked away to do just that.
Outside, once Lucy and Jamal got to the parking lot, she automatically unlocked the car as they approached it and Jamal ran ahead of her.
She looked at him wondering what he was up to, and giggled when he held open the drivers door for her to get in.
"My heart can't take any more of your sweetness, Jam," Lucy said with a wide smile as she stopped next to him, and instead of getting into the car, she opened the backdoor for him to get in.
"Thanks for holding out the door. But I can't get into the car if you're not seated and buckled in first," Lucy said, and Jamal left the door open as he got into the car and let Lucy fasten his seatbelt even though he thought that wasn't necessary and he could do it himself.
And he also did not really like the fact that he was being tucked away in the backseat like a kid. He wished he were an adult and could ride in front with her or even drive the car himself.
After Lucy got into the car, she turned in her seat to face him, "So, what would you like to do? Do you have any fun place in mind you want to go?" Lucy asked, and Jamal shrugged.
"Can we go see a movie?" Jamal asked, and Lucy raised a brow.
She had expected him to want to go to the amusement park or a playground, "Cinema?"
"Yes. And maybe we can get ice cream and snacks later," Jamal suggested, and Lucy found herself grinning when it dawned on her that he was treating it like an actual date.
"Sure. That works for me. But we will have to stop off at an amusement park or a video arcade. I'd love to play a couple of games. Is that fine by you?" she asked as she started the car, and watched as his eyes lit up through the rearview mirror.
Although she wasn't really into movies and stuff, but for Jamal she could do it since it was obvious he had suggested that mostly for her sake.
"So, what sort of movies do you like?" She asked, wanting to make conversation with his as she drove away from there.
"It depends on what I'm allowed to see," Jamal said, and Lucy giggled.
"Right. We will have to find something age appropriate for you," Lucy said, wondering why it hadn't occurred to her that they couldn't see normal adult movies.
"But we can see something you like. I'm sure she won't mind," Jamal said, referring to his mother, and Lucy smiled.
"Nah. I'm not very much into movies. I sleep halfway into them, so it's best we see something you prefer," Lucy said and Jamal shook his head.
"Then let's not see a movie. I thought you would want to see a movie since uncle Harry said that's what adults do during dates," Jamal said, and Lucy giggled.
"Don't you want to see a movie?" Lucy asked and he shrugged.
"I wanted to because I've never been to a cinema so I don't know what it feels like," Jamal explained, and she smiled.
"Then permit me to be the first person who goes to a cinema with you," Lucy said, and he looked at her hesitantly.
"But you won't enjoy it. You just said you will sleep off," Jamal pointed out.
"I will try not to, and if I begin to doze off you can wake me up. Deal?" She asked, and Jamal smiled at her.
"Okay."
They continued in silence for some time and Lucy would have thought that Jamal had slept off had she not been glancing at him from time to time through the rearview mirror.
"Lucy?" Jamal called after a while.
"Yes?"
"Are you going to get married to Tom?" Jamal asked, and Lucy's heart skipped a beat.
"Huh?" She asked, not sure she had heard his question clearly.
"Are you going to get married to Tom?" Jamal repeated, and Lucy was silent for a moment.
"Uhm, I'm not sure yet. Why?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't ask further questions there and just tell her what he was thinking instead.
"You want to break up with him?" Jamal asked with a slight frown.
"No, I'm not breaking up with him," Lucy was quick to correct.
"Then you're going to get married to him," Jamal stated reasonably.
"Why do you ask?" Lucy asked again, not responding to that. She wasn't about to tell a seven years old kid all that was going on in her head right now.
"Well, I sort of like Tom and he loves you a lot. So I was thinking that I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings by taking you from him," Jamal said, and Lucy stuck her tongue in her cheek to stop herself from laughing.
"Ah! I see. That's so considerate of you," she managed.
"If you both have a daughter, she would be just like you, but I would be older than her and she can be my girlfriend instead, right? That wouldn't hurt either you or Tom. That way everyone will be happy, right?" Jamal asked, and this time Lucy couldn't help her laughter.
"I suppose so," Lucy said, and she watched as Jamal's lips curved in a smile.
The kid never ceased to amuse and amaze her.
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