I'm Not In Love

Chapter Eighteen

Anna

   Somewhere around yesterday when the twins had saw Kate and I off , we had exchanged numbers, because we would be working together a lot now. Which was a huge deal for us both.

I mean it wasn't everyday you get two big celebrity artists numbers. Not if those artists were as cute as pink buttons and friends with your celebrity crush.

A whole big deal.

If anybody had told me this would happen a year ago I would tell them to f**k off and find a better thing to do.

But hey, this was real.

I picked the call very quickly and beamed "hi" into the phone.

"Hey barbie!" I heard Nike's ever silky voice sing-song happily to me. I could only smile like an i***t.

"Hi", I said again. Maybe I was being stupid, but he was being too cute for me to think of a reasonable thing to say.

Would you blame me?.

"Uhm... Nick and I were wondering if we could see you now. we are at the dorm, but it seems like y'all are out"

" Yeah, we are in the park. We'll be there in 10". I told him and cut the call.

What were they going to talk to me about. Had Trap said anything bad about me. Could he not work with me again. If so he was a big immature child.

Woah woah, easy there missy. That's probably not what happened.

Right. I turned to the guys and announced it was time to leave. And Kate started to ramble on on how it was a fine day to chill outside and do those romantic stuff I would really love to do one day. But today wasn't the day.

I've got two handsome men that needs to talk to me at the moment.

We packed our props and left the park ,leaving the two teenagers awe stunned by our short performance. I giggled at them.

"Follow us on YouTube; Dance a beat. And on iG too for more videos" I hollered to them and sprinted towards my team as we sauntered down the lane home.

The walk down home from the park was very short, and the neighbourhood was quite silent , I guess it was the perks that comes with living in a big estate as this.

We chatted about everything ,talking and laughing altogether. We mentioned how we were pretty much looking forward to first day of college that was starting tomorrow and Ralph and Zak mentioned how they got this job at an old restaurant downtown.

They were really ecstatic about it and pretty much hyped up. I guess this week was going to be busy for all of us.

Zak opened the brown gate and we all cheered and whooped ,laughing at each other as we entered for no reason at all.

We were a big bunch of silly troupes.

I never thought I would get used to walking into this beautiful building. It was an amazing sight to the eye.

"Y'all looking like you just robbed the bank".

We stopped in our tracks to see the two identical men looking at us from across their cottage. They looked so much alike. Sporting an orange tshirt , matching gray joggers and sparkling white shoes.

I bet that was Nike air Max. It was so cool.

          They pulled off that look perfectly. Looking as if they were one. I would have been pretty much confused as my whole team was if I hadn't known better. Nick's tattooed arm was in full view,a better way to tell he wasn't Nike,even now that he wasn't wearing any earring.

I love twins but these men made me want twins as identical and gorgeous as they were. I mean you could never go wrong with twins. Not with these guys.

    I smiled,"we went to record our new dance video, Nick. There's no black bag",I told him

"Or gun, obviously" Zak put in and shrugged.

      "Wow..can we see?",Nike asked.

"After we do the editing man",Ralph clutched the camera to himself as if protecting it.

And I scoffed,rolling my eyes.

They raised their hands up in peace,"it's okay",Nick replied.

I gasped in surprise,how could they even mirror their actions.

"So uhm...could we borrow Barbie here for some minutes",Nike inquired sheepishly. He was a very humble one.

But then loads of tons of reasons why they would want to talk to me was running through my mind. They seemed a bit suspicious too. If only one could read minds.

"Uh okay,yeah sure"

"Like whatever. That's cool"

"No problem, she's all yours"

" Okay"

My was I shocked. How could they have just dismissed me like that. I watch them all roll in,chattering their heart away like it was any other day some artist would ask to talk to me.

Traitors.

Only Stephen was reluctant before he left, and I couldn't look at him as he walked past me into the house.

My mouth thinned and heaved a sigh. I crossed the lawn over to them, looking from one beaming man to the other. They looked so young for thirty one years old.

"Let's go in Barbie",Nike mentioned and we all entered their little cottage. Contradicting the weather outside, in here was warm and cozy. More neat than we had met it yesterday, I guess the twins had arranged it while they were waiting. It wasn't something Trap would do.

They offered me a seat, and I sat on their brown sofa, Nick grabbed me a glass water from the sink. Beside the sink was a bar of wines and definitely alcohol. I bet this was all they took whenever they were here. Or maybe they just ordered pizzas.

They slumped into a red bean bag and were looking at me intently as I sipped the water. I blinked my eyes to distract me, these good looking men would not have me drooling over them.

"Look, Anna. We need a favor from you, and we both know you're the only one who could do it. That's why we called you, cos we trust you, even for the mean time we've been together. ",Nick started.

And I gulped. Me? What favor could they possibly want from me?. Were they really asking me to leave in a nice way, for their friend?. Do they want me to be cool about it?.

"Yo chill barbie, relax. It's all good, okay?",Nike assured me. And I nodded, waiting for them to go on. One would think I was the most meekest and gentle girl there was. I just sat in my chair taking in their words.

"Thing is we need a new house keeper for Trap. A live-in one. His last house keeper called it quit yesterday, cos he was mean to her. And we think , you could put up with him"

It took a minute for that to digest, before I blurted out.

"Me?. Are you kidding me!. How am I supposed to that. Trap clearly hates my gut and you know that. Besides I wouldn't be a maid for money",I told them sternly.

First of all, it was an insult they thought of me to work as a maid. Second and worst of it all, was clearly the fact that the person I would be working for doesn't like me at all.

   He would probably shoot my head off when he sees me standing in his living room.

"No no, barbie. It isn't exactly what you think. Of course you are more than being an house keeper. You're a pretty girl and a talented dancer. But it's just that, Trap has had about ten house keepers over the year."

" Every one of them left",Nick added for him, and he nodded.

       " They all left. And we thought maybe you would be able to keep up with him. I mean we saw how you spoke back at him in the studio, and he didn't do anything.For your info ,no one has ever talked back at him. He could have fired you, but he didn't, he didn't mention you to Steve either",Nike explained to me .

" Yeah. And, trap is not all that bad. He just is socially not ... there. He wouldn't harm anyone", They were defending him again.

But I still had my doubts. As appealing as the proposal was sounding, it had danger written all over it. And one thing it was telling me; not to accept.

"So you want me to be a live-in house keeper for Trap, just because you think I would be able to handle him? ",I asked,making it seem like an ugly s**t.

They looked at each other and then nodded back at me.

I let out an exasperated gasp. Shifted my booted leg on the carpeted floor and crossed my arms on my chest. As much as I would love to live with Trap,get to see him everyday ,this proposal of theirs seemed too good to be true. It would be another situation entirely if Trap was nicer to me.

"Is he aware of this?", I asked them,"does he want me to be his house keeper. Because last time I checked,he had some attitude going on for me"

The two men broke an awkward smile,shifting on their seats.

"So uhm... Trap doesn't know about this arrangement. He is surely gonna flip when he knows. But we are doing this for him", Nick confessed shyly, combing back his sheen black hair.

          I knew it.

" If you could put up with him for two months,and influence his character. It would mean he is improving socially,and would mean a lot to us and our fame. And another plus is Scott likes you. He's been flirting with you for a while, eh?", He gave a mischievous smile and I merely scoffed

" And another plus is we'll pay you $2000 each for both month.Whether you get the job done or not. But we are hoping you could change him"

I tried so hard not to be too shocked. That was a lot of money for being an house keeper. And how could a little girl like me change him?. Why would they want me to do it,and not someone else. Why would they trust me?,even I didn't trust myself.

It is too good to be true,Anna. Back out now,before it's too late- My subconscious warned me.

I shifted gently on the couch, processing everything they have been saying. It was sudden , unexpected and me common sense was telling me it was absurd, yet my heart wanted it so bad. And the money ,of course it would be like a token to these big men,but it was huge to me. I wouldn't even need too much part-time to survive anymore.

That amount alone would cover my hospital bill and a little of school expenses. Maybe there was hope for me after all .

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Maybe I was thinking too much in this. I had been thinking about giving up my pride to make up for my wrongs anyway. Maybe I should give it a try and if Trap still wants to remain an asshole, I'll quit.

"There's only one thing", I think them.

"What is it?"

" My team... They deserve an explanation."

..............

The twins braced them selves headed to the dorm with me and explained the situation to my team. And it was no doubt they were absolutely shocked by the news. They asked a lot of questions which the two me deftly answered. They gave lots of excuses,lots of reasons why they didn't want me to leave.

All of which revolved around Trap.

Kate was hugging me so tight,whyning about how she would miss her best roommate and I felt so teary. The love was just too much, that it made me have second doubts about the whole issue.

The boys didn't buy the idea. They didn't look all too confused. They were worried Trap would bully me, and Tunner went on to say it was inappropriate for a man and a woman to live together.

I wanted to point out to him that not everyone was a pig like him. And besides it was rumored that Trap was a gay. It was unfortunate though,for a man as handsome and good looking as Trap would be gay. What a waste of looks.

     But correct me if I was wrong, weren't they the group of people that dismissed me too quickly when the twins had wanted to see me.

        But then I guess this case was different.

The Two men further went on to explain that Steve was also aware of the arrangement. And they had nothing to be afraid of. They added that I could still come to the dorm to hangout with them,or for practices or anything at all.

I didn't say anything at all. I was just looking from man to man and to a worried Kate. I might have stooped too low to go as far as doing this for money, but the money was also important.

I would be able to get treatment, whether I got the job done or not. And nobody would ever know I had an I'll ess,not even mummy or summer or Amy.

But definitely somewhere deep in me, I love this arrangement. I shouldn't but I did.

I'm only human.

Through the conversation only Stephen didn't say anything. Which worried me a lot. I wish I could read minds, I would know what was it on his mind. But at the end, he rose up from the couch and went upstairs.

My shoulders slumped. He could either be annoyed about it like the rest were or it could be his way of not giving a damn about it. Stephen was unpredictable, I couldn't really tell.

Nick and Nike left and they grilled me.

"How could you have agreed to that,mama. What happened to we hate Trap?", Zak was first to ask.

The rest rushed over to my side of the mint couch.

"Yeah, Anna. We can't let you live with him", Kate's voice shook,she wrapped her hands around me and laid her head on my shoulder. She felt vulnerable being that way and I almost succumbed.

"I don't understand,why would they want you to be his house keeper. There are agencies that do the job better", Daniel shipped in . He was sitting beside Kate,a beanie on his head.

"Exactly, what are they trying to pull off. I don't think you should go Anna. We don't want you to go",Tunner urged, with that puppy eyes that must have been the reason girls flocked around him.

I sighed,they were making it extremely hard for me. If it wasn't for the money involved, which could probably save my life, I would f**k it all and stay with my team. But they didn't know.

And they had better not.

Ralph had a lollipop in his mouth a while ago, he must have not lost it in the middle of the conversation, "Anna say something",he said ,sprawling next to Tunner on the grey rug.

"Anna isn't a baby",a rich bass voice pointed out,and we turned to see Stephen walking into the sitting room. God I thought he wasn't going to come out. He sat on the grey bean bag opposite us and continued,tucking his hands in his grey jeans pockets," She is old enough to decide for herself. Y'all quit badgering her".

I was staring at him all confused. He wasn't stopping me, I thought he would. I thought maybe he was annoyed like the rest , that I would leave. But he wasn't,his trademark smile on his face proved it.

Like I said,the guy was unpredictable.

"Not you too Stephen. C'mon,we gats knock in some sense to her,if she can't see it. Baby or not", Daniel argued,his accent lingering on his sentence this time,made me realize how this new change must be hurting them all.

"What I'm saying is if PRIME hadn't given us this dorm,we would be living separately right?", He asked and there was silent, " Now,Anna here is a grown up herself,she knows when to back off. And we won't stay still if we notice a spec of mal-treatment, which I don't would ever happen. Trap may be a eick at times,but he wouldn't be stupid to maltreat her. He is a celeb. Besides Steve knows about this."

They were not saying anything. More because he was right, Stephen was defending this more than I would. It was almost as if he knew I needed it. All the while,not taking his eyes off me.

        "But..but" ,Kate stuttered helplessly

  "No buts Kate. It's all up to her now", he said with smooth ease, his chestnut hair falling messily on his brows. When his honey-brown eyes caught mine, I held it for an heartbeat and then looked away.

      Stephen was confusing. I didn't understand him.

      "Now how about we finish with the vid edits and posting it?"

    There was silence for a while, but then they gave up and skimmed towards Stephen,resuming their usual mumblings. Well Kate didn't leave, I guess she would rather cling to me,hoping she would change my mind.

      I kept patting her back anyway,my way if telling her it was okay. Even though it wasn't.

         "You're gonna be fine?",she whispered.

     And I almost didn't hear it.

  I nodded,"I'll be fine".

     "You can always come back,Anna. We'll be here for you,okay"

     I smiled. That was all I needed to hear. And I was grateful for that. I thought I would cry, with all the emotions filling me

      I couldn't ask for anything more at the moment.