Chapter eleven: "It's Me"
During the entire conversation with Aiden, I have to keep nudging Cloud at the side to keep talking to Aiden or else the tension will get worse, we all decided to leave the Music lounge and go back home
Aiden offered to walk me home today and Alice gave me a victory smile before she left with the rest of the group, this walk would have been nice if it was only me and Aiden but when I looked to my right, Cloud was there walking very closely with me
After a few minutes of walking, I can see my Dad at the garage fixing the van
Did the engine break again?
Our van is very old and it breaks down from time to time
I jogged to my Dad so I could help him, I could feel the two walk closer behind me
"Dad" I spoke and I could hear the sound of the wrench stop, he pushed himself out from underneath the van because he was on top of a skateboard
"Hey sweetie" he answered as I help him stand up, his eyes landed on the two
"Hey Cloud and.." He squinted his eyes at Aiden trying to see if he could remember his face
"It's me Aiden, Mr. Price" Aiden happily said and my Dad gave him a grin right after making a shocked face
"Dear me, you two have grown" Mom complimented both Aiden and Cloud as she walked out of the house holding the toolbox
"Hi Mrs. Price" they both greeted her in unison which is freaking me out because they are doing the exact same thing
"Do you need any help?" Cloud asked dad as he knelt to take a look beneath the van
"I know a thing or two about fixing engines," Aiden told us as he rolled up his sleeves
Cloud removed his leather jacket and it showed his muscled biceps and some veins are showing, I glance up at Cloud's face who is now smirking at me
"You like what you see?" He whispered then I rolled my eyes at him as I stepped into the house ignoring his gaze burning at the back of my head
As I close the entrance door I saw all of my sisters looking out the window looking like curious puppies
"Woah, Penelope where are you getting these hot guys?" Brie told me as she keeps ogling at the two in awe
"They're my old preschool friends Aiden and Cloud" I answered Brie as I went to the kitchen to get bottled water
"Are you serious? The last time I check both Aiden and Cloud were scrawny looking" Ella told me, she was right. Before high school began, I started noticing that Cloud's body is starting to have muscles and his height is getting taller
"Sadly we're too old for them" Natalie sighed dramatically and I chuckled
"Maybe you can find a hot doctor in the hospital" I advised her and she groaned
"As if he would notice me" she mumbled and crossed her arms
"How about Jason?" Adeline suggested to her, Jason was Natalie's closest friend since her elementary days. Natalie would describe him as a dork who likes Star Wars and has a baby Yoda plushie
"I only see him as a friend" Natalie replied but Caramia gave her a puzzled look
"I think I remembered that you were kissing him after you were drinking during your graduation party, you were insanely drunk that it was hard to persuade drunk you to go home," Caramia said
Natalie shrugged "Nah, I doubt he will remember that"
I went upstairs and walked into my room to see that Aunt Laborè was nowhere to be seen
She must be with her boss right now
I nodded to myself before I changed into more comfortable clothes with an oversized grey t-shirt and wore black shortage
I put my hair up in a high ponytail right after I was finished I went down. The two were helping Dad but what Aiden and Cloud didn't notice is that they were catching a lot of eyes from women passing by our house
I am not lying that together they look and built like Greek God, I ran to Dad's side and was now in charge of giving the tools to him. 2 hours have passed and all of us are now sweating like crazy, Mom came out to of the house with a tray full of sandwiches and orange juice
Cloud and Aiden removed their shirts and their sweaty upper bodies are now on full display for many people to gawk at least
"Yo catch!" Wendy yelled to the two and she threw them 2 wet towels for them to clean the dirt off themselves
She gave one to me also and I happily accept the wet towel, I cleaned my face and looked at how dirty the towel is now from just cleaning my face because of the dirt from helping in the garage
It was now in the middle of the afternoon and the scorching heat doesn't seem to stop anytime soon with a passing cloud or anything, I stand from my seat on the cement ground to stretch
I feel relaxed again because my sitting position on the ground was straining my back, I turned to see that my sisters are now helping out to check the other van if it still works
I grabbed a sandwich in the tray and I enjoyed the flavors that hit my tongue, my mood just went up from eating. As everyone was still eating Adeline decided to ask Cloud and Aiden
"So which one of you is dating Penelope?"
I almost choked on my drink and coughed a couple of times as I hit my chest
"Adeline," I told her name through my forced grin gritted teeth
Aiden smiled and Cloud chuckled as he finishes his Orange Juice, as he goes to give the glass to Mom
"It's me," he said out loud and my Mom was left frozen she let go of the glass and it shattered on the ground
My parent's mouth went wide, my sisters though has a different reaction
"No fucking way," Brie said in shock as she looked at me. Both Mom and Dad looked at each other like they just heard the biggest news of their life
Mom cleared her throat and went back to her composure "I see I didn't expect Penelope would be dating" she looked to Dad
Dad gave an approving smile to me, both of them knows Cloud's good side as the Golden boy who got perfect grades, charming smile, and successful early career
"I'll take care of the glass" I spoke up and went in to get a broom, when I stepped in the house my sisters ran to me with Natalie be the first one to headlock me
"You lucky girl" Caramia told me and both Adeline and Wendy bounced around in happiness
"So all this time you're actually dating a model, oh my" Brie gave me a shocked look with a huge grin on her face, she squealed together with Ella
"Why are you guys so happy about it?" I asked, I am still stuck in Natalie's headlock as I try to get out of it
"Oh Penelope, you've been living under a rock much," Wendy told me as she sighs dreamily
"With you going out with Cloud it can only mean one thing," Ella told us out loud, I raised a brow at her
"And that is?"
"We might have a model brother in law who is rich" Caramia whispered in my ear, I finally got out of Natalie's headlock and fixed my oversized t-shirt
"And this is why it is hard for you guys to find a guy" I joked and Natalie ruffled my already messy hair
"Don't bring up that topic" she said and walked away to her room
I found the broom and cleaned up the broken glass shards on the ground and threw it away, the sun has already set and we all finished fixing the van
Cloud and Aiden wore their t-shirts on and before they could leave my Mom told them "be careful out there!"
"We know 'Mom'" Aiden replied, our families are really close to the point that we joked to call each other's Mom our Mom
Cloud on the other hand doesn't like to introduce his family to us, I waved a little to them as I walked them a little
Aiden left after crossing the other road and before Cloud could leave, he leaned so close next to my ear that I can feel his warm breath on my neck and shoulder
"Our plan will start now," he said in a low voice like a whisper then kissed my cheek
His hand were in his leather jacket and after he pulled away from me his eyes looked behind me and I turned to see my family watching us from afar, I turned Cloud around and pushed him to go farther
He laughed a little as he walked home waving bye to me