| 05 |

~ Banks Woods ~

Lance has become a constant now.

He's everywhere.

Every. Where.

With Kaylee joining his friends for the Carnival, they're always here at the cafe to discuss things, and when they're here, Lance is here too. He doesn't even work at the restaurant.

Why is he always there whenever his friends and Kaylee are meeting up?

I try keeping myself to my work and doing my job, but it's hard to ignore Lance when he's the only one who seems to shine brightly more than every other person in the room.

His smooth, deep, voice does something to me and I don't even know why. His smile is so radiant, I can't breathe sometimes when I look at him. His laugh is so contagious, that other people around him automatically break into a smile.

Caleb has been spending a lot of time with him too. I can't stop him from talking to Lance. Not when he looks happy and excited to be between him and his friends.

My only hope is that he doesn't get too attached.

Once the Carnival is over, his friends will have no reason to come to the cafe anymore. That means there'll be less of Lance. Or no Lance at all. I can't have Caleb getting attached to someone who might—or will— disappear anytime soon.

Right now, they're all gathered around a table, munching on sweets and confectioneries while discussing things with Kaylee.

I'm making drinks for other customers, arranging them on a tray when I feel a presence behind me. Turning around, I nearly gasp when I see Lance only two inches away from me.

"Hey." He smiles.

"If you wanna get punched next time, stand this close to me." I glare at him.

His smile drops, and he takes a step back. "Sorry."

"What do you need?"

"You were standing here all alone so I thought I'd give you some company."

I stop moving. His words catch me so off guard, that it brings a pang to my heart.

Growing up, I was always the outcast. Always the one who was left behind or third-wheeling. While everyone had a partner or someone to talk to, I was always the one standing helplessly staring at everyone. When anyone else was talking, the whole group gave them their keen ears, but when I opened my mouth to speak, I always got cut off or ignored.

I don't even know what I did wrong. I behaved like the others. I tried other people's ways of talking. I tried smiling more to fit in, but somehow, I was always the one who ended up being pushed to the corner.

After the breakup, I tried to forget about those unpleasant memories and forced myself to put on a 'I don't give a fuck' face. So far, it's worked since I wasn't feeling anything negative when I was left all alone for the past few days while Kaylee and Caleb sat with the men, leaving me to work.

I really don't care.

Then why is Lance's words making me want to place a hand on my heart for it to stop weeping?

Why is there suddenly a big rock on my chest, weighing me down?

I shake my head, forcing myself to get my shit together. "It's alright. I'm working anyway."

He shrugs, hooking his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. "Still."

Did I mention he's wearing a casual white t-shirt and jeans today instead of his normal suit?

I nearly face-planted when he walked into the cafe.

His arms are on display, showing the defined and strong muscles. I have the sudden urge to try and wrap my fingers around his huge bicep but mentally slap myself for it. His chest expands with an athletic posture and there's no slouch to his stance. He stands tall and proud.

I try looking for any faults in this man but I really cannot. No person should look this perfect.

Even if a person has perfect looks, it's really unfair to the rest of the world when they back it up with a great personality. It's just really fucking unfair.

I force my eyes to keep still and from wandering down his body. A really good body.

"I need to give these out." I gesture to the cups.

"I'll help." He takes a tray before I can stop him.

"Don't you have your own job?" I ask as we walk around the counter and towards the waiting customers seated at their tables.

"My dad is the boss right now before I take over in a few years. For now, I'm there to gain experience and familiarity."

"That's something you want to do?"

"Fuck yes. I get to be CEO in a couple of years. I'm really looking forward to it."

I nod. "That's nice."

I hand out the drinks to the customers before pointing towards another table that Lance has the cups to. He walks away from me to deliver them.

"Damn. You look better as a waiter!" Theo calls out to Lance.

"I look better as anything." He grins, before handing out one last cup to a lady with a charming smile that nearly makes her swoon.

"We should trade jobs. I'll be your daddy's new replacement and you can take on the waiting."

"I'll arrange a meeting about this this week and see what we can do."

"See. What did I tell you guys about having rich friends?" Theo elbows Castle, who rolls his eyes. "Here's to rich friends!" He raises his coffee cup.

To my surprise, nearly half the cafe raise their cups along with him. He clearly has a way of making people join the entertainment.

"Kaylee, can I work at your cafe from here on as your one and only waiter?" Lance asks.   

She waves her hand. "By all means, go ahead, but you won't be the one and only since I have no damn intention of firing my favourite girl."

A warm smile spreads across my face.

"I didn't mean that at all. I'd love to work with Banks."

My heart nearly stops when I glance at Lance to see him staring at me.

Damn you, feelings. Why can't you act normal around him?

"I don't think we need another person here," I say, dismissively, before walking towards the back kitchen.

I'm not sure why I feel so bitter.

●・○・●・○・●

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

Almost every person startles at Kaylee's loud, desperate voice. A few of them jump in the air and I think one nearly passes out.

Kaylee dances between them all, trying to manage a billion cups, boxes of sugar and cream, packets of spoons and stirrers, and a dozen boxes of candies, all on her fingers, hands, arms, below her armpits, in the crooks of her elbows and on her head. I think she even stuffed some of the things in her cleavage.

I'm equally struggling behind her with things that are needed to set up for our booth at the Carnival.

Unlike Kaylee, I don't have huge breasts to stuff things between them to relieve my hands of the heavy damn things. 

Once we reach our booth, we all but collapse on the table, letting go of the things to scatter around anywhere they like.

After a few minutes of stretching and gulping down water, we make another trip back to our van to get another bundle of things.

"Once I'm rich, I'm gonna pay ten men to do this." Kaylee huffs out.

"Once I'm rich, I'm gonna pay your men double for carrying all this."

"Once I'm rich, I'm gonna pay two men to carry me."

"Once I'm rich, I'm gonna pay those men double for treating you like a queen."

"This is why you're my favourite girl."

I barely have the strength to smile, collapsing onto the table again.

I can't get up, feeling a low ache on my back. "How about I get a back surgery first when I'm rich?" I mutter.

"Good idea." She pants. "We have more things to get from the van." She groans.   

I groan back, eyeing the distance filled with people and children to push through or trample on.

"Let's take a two-minute break." I plead.

She nods, blowing out a breath. "Yup."

While lying on our respective tables and catching our breath, I don't notice the presence of anyone else until four long shadows fall over my body. Rolling to the side, I'm met with four different pairs of eyes.

"We haven't even opened our booth yet and you're already sleeping?" Theo grins.

Xander has a look of boredom on his face as always. Castle has a blank look on his face, even though, he has a polite aura around him. Lance is smiling directly at me. His gaze doesn't waver even the slightest. He's definitely the type of person to make eye contact for the whole conversation without feeling awkward or shy.

For some reason, my cheeks heat under his gaze, making me avert my eyes.

Why does he have this effect on me? I don't like it. Usually, I stare back at other people. Whenever I do, it's to threaten them or give the 'whatcha lookin' at, bitch?' look.

But Lance didn't do anything to get that look from me yet, so I don't know how to meet his eyes without feeling like...like this. Whatever this is.

I lift an arm to point toward my back. "Backache. Too tired. Two minutes. Or else death." I pant out with each short breath.

"Well, we got all our stuff," Castle says, dropping a huge basket and a box on the ground. "Could you maybe rest on the ground so we can arrange our things on the tables?"

Kaylee and I point our glares at him.

His eyes widen. "Uh. Rest as long as you like."  

After a few minutes of catching our breaths, Kaylee and I finally rise from the tables, stretching our arms.

"I hate not being athletic." Kaylee groans.

"Same. I shouldn't have missed my gym classes back in high school."

Behind us, the boys immediately get to work, unpacking everything and arranging them on the tables.

Kaylee stares ahead at the path we have to take to get the rest of our stuff. A sudden glint appears in her eyes. "I just got an amazing idea." 

Before I can ask what, she turns towards the men and claps her hands, getting their attention. They all turn to look at her.

"Banks and I were having a small argument earlier about something."

"We were?" I ask then gasp when I feel a jab on my ribs. I quickly cough to cover up, "Uh. Yeah. We were."

"What about?" Theo raises an eyebrow.

"Since we met you boys, Banks and I were trying to figure out who's the strongest among the four of you. I mean you all look really hot, but I can't decide who's the strongest. Banks thinks it's Lance and I think it's Xander."

My eyes widen at her words. Horrified. Absolutely fucking horrified.

I meet Lance's eyes to see surprise in them. His gaze flicks to me and I nearly die on the spot at the amusement and confusion on his face.

Theo scoffs. "What about me? Don't I look strong?" He lifts up his shirt then. A pack of eight toned abdominal muscles comes into view, which he flexes, causing them to appear even toner and harder. Kaylee clutches onto my elbow, steadying herself as if she's gonna faint. "Does this look like I'm weak?"

"Wow...no...wow...damn...please take me right here."

I hide my face with a hand. Usually, I'm not embarrassed with Kaylee's openness but something about right now with these men in particular, has me feeling a hint of it.

Would I ever want her to get rid of her shamelessness though? Never. She's the best and there's nothing wrong with her. Mostly.

An amused look comes on all their faces except Xander.

I pinch Kaylee's arm to get her out of her horny thoughts.

She flinches, then clears her throat, "What I was saying was, I guess there's only one way to prove who's the strongest."

That gets all their attention. Even Xander puffs out his chest a little, eager to listen to her.

"The one who carries the most stuff from our van all at once is going to be the strongest among the four of you. This is your chance to prove it to us."

"That's easy." Theo waves his hand. "I'm definitely the strongest."

"As if, man. As if." Lance scoffs, challenge glimmering in his eyes.

"I'm definitely not the strongest," Castle mutters. He has a leaner body compared to all of them. I might even say he looks a little skinny.

"Only one way to prove yourself," Kaylee announces. "May the best-muscled body win! Three!" She calls out. "Two!" The guys look prepared. "One! Go!"

They practically bullet past us within a blink. Kaylee whistles after them, cheering them on. It's scary yet astonishing to see four tall, men, barreling between people and children.

I can't help the grin that spreads across my face. "You're a genius." I grab Kaylee's shoulder.

"Let me enjoy my show." A lustful look settles on her face as she stares at the men. "Girl, this is better than porn."

A breathy laugh escapes my lips and I forgive her for embarrassing me.

For five minutes, all four of them try to gather as many things as they can in their arms. While running back, they almost trample on people in their way, which shouldn't be funny to me but for some reason, it is. Others standing on the sidelines, gawk and stare.

Kaylee cheers, standing on their tippy toes to wave at them.

They come to a stop in front of us.

"Check who's carrying the most," Theo demands, eagerly.

Kaylee nods before doing a one-by-one inspection of the things the men brought. They're not even panting or looking out of breath in the slightest. Damn athletes.

After a thorough examination, she grabs Xander's arm, holding it up in the air. "The strongest among all is Xander Lawson! Give it up to him!"

Claps echo from everywhere around the carnival. A few women call out his name which Xander pointedly ignores.

"Aw man!" Theo throws his hands up. "Are you sure it's Xander?"

Kaylee nods.

"Fuck you!" He flips both his fingers in Xander's direction.

A smug look crosses the latter's face.

"Guess who's hitting the gym double time now?" Lance grins, but he looks defeated beneath that.

Damn, that's one way to destroy a man's pride.

"We'll hold more competitions. Don't worry." Kaylee claps her hands. "Let's get to work now!"

●・○・●・○・●

Our booth is doing horribly.

I can't believe it but it's doing horrible.

It's mainly because there's a similar booth right across from us, that can apparently get customers the autographs of their favourite celebrity if they buy from the booth.

Bull-fucking-shit.

Xander grumbles under his breath, glaring intently. "That fucker always does this."

"Always?" I ask.

He nods. "Every year, he comes up with a new lie to sell his stuff."

"Does he actually get those autographs?"

"He sells fake versions of them," Castle mutters, rubbing his forehead.

"How I wish to grab a hose and spray it all over his fake-ass business then strangle him with it." Theo flexes his hands.

"You and me, both," I mutter.

"Let's not get violent already." Kaylee coos. "We still haven't tried every tactic yet. We have to find a way to attract customers here."

"We don't wanna lie like the cheater, Fred," Theo says.

"I'm not saying to lie. Let's try using fancy words to attract their attention." Before anyone else can argue or agree, Kaylee steps out of the booth and waves her hand high in the air. "Anyone want a delicious meal with steaming coffee that'll remind you of your hometown? Come and get it!"

That attracts a few eyes.

Theo places a hand on the table and jumps on the other side of it instead of walking around. He joins Kaylee. "Our food makes people fall to their knees!"

"We have Van Gogh-designed mochas here!"

"We even have the new Picasso, Michelangelo and the Da Vinci!"

"Our pumpkin-spiced latte makes people orgasm!"

A couple of teenager's heads perk up, looking our way. Some start walking in our direction.

The other little kids grab onto their parent's sleeves, bursting into a collective: "Mommy, what's orgasm?" "Daddy, what's orgasm?" "Mommy, I want an orgasm!" "Daddy, what's an orgasm?" "Mommy, let's get an orgasm!" "Mommy! Daddy! What's an orgasm? Mommy! What's an orgasm!" "Daddy, let's get an orgasm!" "MOMMY, WHAT'S AN ORGASM!"

Parents shoot us disapproving looks, dragging away their whining children.

Theo and Kaylee obviously don't notice.

"Our Hot Buns will remind you of that sweet ass of your teacher from high school!" Theo shouts.

"Our Cold Brew makes you want to get on your knees and slurp it like a you know what!" Kaylee yells.

A couple of people laugh, moving in our direction. Okay, so Kaylee and Theo aren't doing that bad of a job. They're attracting a few. Displeasing a few. Still, it's a disaster when within five minutes, every child is snatched away within a ten-mile radius around our booth.

I share a look with the rest of the members and see that they're equally horrified yet amazed.

Most of our customers are teenagers and adults in their twenties who joke around and make innuendoes while getting their food and drinks, but within half an hour when all the teenagers and adults are served, there's no one left.

Theo and Kaylee get tired of yelling at the top of their lungs and retire back into the booth, sipping lemonades.

"I'm equally horrified yet proud," I say.

"You should be damn proud!" Kaylee says. "How many more customers did we get within that half an hour?"

"Approximately, one-fifty," Castle answers, checking the register.

"Nearly two hundred!" Theo holds up his lemonade bottle. "Not bad!"

"It's not nearly two hundred, dumbfuck." Xander hits the back of his head.

"We need a new tactic," Lance says, eyeing Fred's booth. "He's still getting more customers." 

"That lazy fucking liar," I grumble.

"How about we sing? Put on a musical show to attract more kids this time?"

"You can sing?" Kaylee asks.

"Of course I can." Theo answers while the rest of the boys grunt 'No'.

"It's worth to give it a try."

"Go ahead." I wave my hand.

"See! Giri no imōto believes in me!"

I scrunch my face. "Giri no what?"

Xander slaps the back of Theo's head again.

The latter widens his eyes before stuttering. "I-It's Japanese for give it our best."

I furrow my eyebrows. "But your sentence structure made no sense."

Theo glances at Lance and Xander with an 'I'm dead' look before he looks back at me. A sudden sharp look comes on his face. "You seriously want to discuss sentence structure when we're losing our goddamn business, Banks! Seriously? You know what? Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow! Dishonour on your whole family!"

What the fuck? Did he just quote Mulan on me?

"We have business to do and this girl's talking about sentence structure!" He scoffs, shaking his head while taking a sip from his lemonade. "Un. Believable."

I frown, not even coming close to understanding what the fuck is that all about. I look up to see Xander and Lance glaring at Theo as if they want to strangle him.

What's happening?

"So are we trying the singing musical or what?" Kaylee asks, getting all our attention.

"Let's do it. I even got my special stereo for it." He pulls out a stereo speaker.

I blink. "Where did he get that from?"

"No one ever knows," Castle mutters, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Theo jumps over the table again with the speaker, scrolling through his phone to pick a song.

In a second, music pierces the air.

"All the Single Ladies! All the Single Ladies! All the Single Ladies!"

Sweet cracking Jesus. 

Theo breaks into a dance right in the middle of the street. I expect a completely sloppy silly dance, but my eyebrows rise when he moves like one of Beyonce's professional background dancers.

"Whoo!" Kaylee yells in appreciation, cheering him on as he moves side to side, flipping his long-ish black hair. Suddenly, he starts twerking.

Lance and Castle burst out laughing. I can't keep the smile off my face too.  Theo sings his heart out, giving it his all into the dance, looking like he's enjoying himself.

The music is so loud, it jars my heart. Passersby stop and stare at Theo. Some whistle at him, and others clap and cheer. A few jump in and join him.

A huge group forms around us. A lot of teenage boys join in to dance. People who don't know the moves simply jump up and down. Soon it's more of a dance club than a Carnival.

I can't contain my giggles anymore when nearly every guy around us starts twerking, flipping their hair from side to side. Watching them makes my body hum in excitement.

"Man, I'm joining in." I hear Lance laugh before he jumps over the table, and before I know it, he's standing beside Theo, matching his moves to the song.

My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. While Theo looks like a goofy dancer, Lance looks more like he's about to strip out of his clothes and seduce everyone. Maybe he doesn't even need to strip. 

I try averting my eyes but find myself taking frequent glances. Why the fuck am I blushing so much?

"All of you are slaying so hard!" Kaylee yells. She looks at Xander. "If you join in, you'll end up with a lot of free bras and panties."

He scoffs, turning his face away even though there's a tiny bit of red colouring his cheeks. My eyebrows rise to my hairline. Did Kaylee actually manage to get another reaction from Xander's stone-cold face?  

"Why don't you join in?" She asks Castle.

"I'm a horrendous dancer according to my fiancee and mother."

Castle has a fiancee? I didn't know that. Kaylee and I look at his finger to find it bare.

"I remove it during work so it doesn't get dirty or lost." He explains when he notices our look.

"Oh."

Looking back at the dancing group, my eyes snap wide open as saucers when I see what's going on.

Theo and Lance are sliding off their shirts above their heads. My knees weaken when Lance's ripped torso comes into view, displaying so much masculinity and muscles that it should be seriously illegal.

"Fuck! Don't stop!" Kaylee cheers, clapping her hands. She can barely contain her excitement, bouncing on the toes of her feet. "Isn't this the best day of your entire motherfucking life?" She grins at me.

I mutter something under my breath, looking back at Lance only for my breath to get stolen again.

Why is it only Lance?

Theo isn't lacking in anything. He's equally ripped and masculine and even looks mysterious with his dark hair. Lance seems like an open book. A ray of sunshine. Why am I attracted to him and not anyone else who joins in and takes off their shirt?

They're all spinning their shirts in the air, above their heads, before throwing them up.

Every single person bursts into cheers and applauds when the song ends. The dancers bow their heads, laughing and panting. There are giggles and applause everywhere. The whole place is a loud mess brimming with joy and amusement.

Theo raises both his hands in the air as a salute. "Anyone thirsty after drooling over our dance? Anyone hungry because the butterflies in your stomach ate all your food? Then come and try our booth!"

About four dozen people immediately line up, demanding the menus and food. The dancers want drinks as refreshments. Girls and women come over to sneak another look at Theo and Lance—who haven't put on their shirts yet.

"In your face, Fred!" Theo shouts, looking at the booth across us where a bald man glares at us.

"I never thought this would actually work," Castle says, as he juggles to make twenty burgers and bags of fries at once.

Me and Kaylee have our hands full by the machines and cups, making about forty drinks.

This is going good. Really good. I'm almost in awe of how many customers we've attracted just by Theo having some fun.

"I told you!" Theo arranges and wraps every order and hands them to the customers with a grin or a wink.

"At least you're useful for something," Xander grumbles, making sandwiches and poutines.

"Hey, I brought over about a hundred more customers within three minutes just by shaking my ass. That's called talent plus smartness."

"That was an amazing dance! I didn't know you could move like that." Kaylee grins, setting drinks on cup holders and handing them out.

"Baby, this body is capable of many things." He winks at her.

"Hey, why is no one talking about my dance?" Lance asks. Since he can't really cook or make drinks, we assigned him the cleaning job.

"That was really hot too." Kaylee nods. "I'd shower you people with money but I'm fucking broke."

"We're making a lot of money than expected." Castle points out, stuffing cash into the register and checking the computer.

But once we've served everyone and their excitement dies down, we're back to being empty again.

You know who's not empty, though?

Fucking Fred.

He still has customers piling outside his booth, begging for food just to get an autograph of their favourite celebrity.

"Did I mention how much I hate that lying motherfucker?" Kaylee murmurs to me, sipping from an iced drink.

I pause stirring a cup. "Wait, why are we in competition with him anyway?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"You don't know the story?" Theo asks.

Kaylee and I shake our heads.

"Fred used to work with us, but then he betrayed us for some other bigger business." Castle throws in vegetables inside our portable fridge.

"I always hated him," Xander grumbles.

"You hate everybody," Kaylee mutters.

He glares at her.

"So this is basically revenge," I state.

"Yup." The four men say.

I look out the booth. People move right and left on the street. Kids are screaming and laughing. The sun is high in the sky, blaring its light down on us. Ice creams and popsicles melt in the heat as people rush to guzzle it down.

A few girls passing by catch my eye. They're staring right at me. I raise my eyebrows and they giggle, whispering to each other before walking away.

A frown comes on my face. Uh, what?

I'm still gazing out the booth when another set of girls do the same. Why the fuck are they laughing?

"Kaylee, is there something on my face?" I turn around.

"Nothing except a sheen of sweat."

I wipe it with a paper towel, turning around to look back out the booth. Another girl looks at me, her eyes wide in appreciation as she walks by.

What are they looking at?

I turn around again to ask Kaylee, but pause when the realization hits me. Seated right behind me are Lance and his friends—two of them who haven't put their shirts on yet.

I look back outside and see that nearly everyone I see is female. I look back at the men. Then back at the females. Then back to the men.

An idea forms in my mind.

"I just got an idea," I murmur out loud.

All of them turn to look at me.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Wish I could dance half as well as Theo <3

Are there any other books you guys are reading at the moment? I'm currently reading The Zodiac Academy, and damn, Lance Orion is so hot. Recently, I finished reading As Good as Dead which made me burst into tears...fun times :)

Words: 4,600

Date of publishing: 23rd May 2024