The Billionaire's First-Born

CHAPTER TWENTY

"You looked pale."

I turned to look at my side where Spencer sat. Just like what I expected, he was bathed in sweat and it seemed like he was exhausted from their basketball try outs.

I puckered my lips when I turned to look at him. He smiled sweetly at me, and that didn't escape the judgmental eyes of his teammates.

"You both look good, Spencer," one of his teammates said while dribbling his ball toward us. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No," I said, which made them turn to look at me. "We're just friends."

His teammate narrowed his eyes, as if he was examining my face based on his look. He walked closer to me. If Spencer hadn't just pushed him away, he would have touched my face. He looked like he couldn’t believe it when he stepped back and smiled at me and when he remembered something based on his look.

"Are you the Solanna that my friend always talks about?" he asked, which made my brows furrow out of confusion.

He turned to look at Spencer, who had already stood up from his seat and was trying to stop him from speaking in front of me. I couldn't do anything but furrow my brows while looking at them having fun.

His teammates said, "Spencer secretly—" but he couldn't even finish his sentence when Spencer covered his mouth using his hands. "He was trying to shoot—"

"Enough of your stupid words, Kobe," Spencer hissed, which made them burst into laughter.

I pursed my lips while looking at them teasing each other. It seems like I already had an idea, but instead of confronting them, I just shut my mouth.

Even if he admits his feelings towards me, I won’t be able to give him a chance either. We're just friends, and I won't change that view of him. Even if I do have feelings for him eventually, I would not allow myself to admit it to him.

We both have an agreement that we will just stay friends, and I know that he already has an idea of what I will answer him in case he asks me regarding my feelings towards him.

I slowly turned to look at the bouquet of flowers that Spencer had presented to me. Kobe shut his mouth when he saw what he did. He didn't even wait for Spencer to let him go because he left voluntarily.

I stayed busy staring at the flowers he gave me. It seems like my hands don’t want to accept what he offered me today.

"Please accept this one, Solanna," he said, which made me avert my eyes from the bouquet he was holding before I met his eyes. "I know that you think it's cheap to give a flower to a girl like you, but still, I just want to give it to you just to—"

"I don't like you, Spencer," I said, which made him purse his lips while still looking at me. "We're just friends, and that's all I can give you. I thought I explained everything to you a year ago. Why are you giving me flowers now?" He slowly lowered his flowers when I didn't accept that thingy. "We're just friends and if you can't accept that, you should avoid me. Spencer, I—"

"I just wanted to thank you by giving you these flowers," he said, which caused my brows to furrow.

Based on his looks, It seems like he's just holding back a smile and laughter while looking at me. He thought that maybe I was too assuming to think that thing.

"Thanks for what?" I asked curiously while secretly pinching my fingers.

I wished that I hadn’t been vocal before. I wished that I hadn’t told him the things that were playing in my mind earlier. I wished that all this was not true.

He smiled at me. "For being my best friend since then." I felt my face redden a bit because of what he said. "I just want to say thank you, and I hope that you will see the man who will also make you happy."

"W-What?" I stood up from my seat.

He put the bouquet on the bench where I was sitting earlier. He held my two hands, and my eyes widened when he gave me a tight hug.

Even though he hugged me, I can still feel that he smiled when he felt that I was shocked until now by what he said.

"Solanna, I already have a girlfriend," he whispered to my ears before he faced me with a wide smile plastered on his face. "I couldn't believe that there was still a woman who believed in my ability aside from you. She always attends my games and she's always been with me these past few months. I started courting her around September, and when we won the game yesterday, she—"

"Congrats, then!"

I cut him off, which made him bite his tongue while looking at me. My tears slowly pooled in the corner of my eyes, and I'm glad that they didn't drip in front of him. I know that he noticed my tears because he was looking me in the eye. I know that he won't notice that because even though it hurts for me to smile in front of him, I still tried to make my smile genuine.

I know that what I said earlier was true, that I don't feel anything for him and I don't like him romantically, but... I don't know why. Maybe I feel this way because I'm afraid that he might be distracted from me or that he might not be able to turn his attention to another girl instead of me.

Maybe I'm just scared because he's going to have time with another girl now, unlike before when he only focused on me.

I may look cool, but deep inside... it hurts me more than I expected.

I don’t like him romantically, but why do I feel this kind of feeling?

"Solanna, are you—"

I chuckled to conceal what my true feelings were. "I'm glad that you also thought of wooing a woman aside from me. I thought you were gay. I-I thought you were just trying to... you know," I mumbled before sighed heavily to calm myself. "I thought y-you're just t-trying to preserve your v-virginity."

He burst into laughter because of what I said, while I did nothing but fake my laughter while looking at him with tears in my eyes. I don't know if I'm hurt or happy with his decision.

He never told me he was dating a girl. He never told me that his attention was already focused on another girl. He never told me he liked a girl.

He never said that he'd already taken.

Is he keeping everything a secret from me? I thought we were friends? Friends never kept secrets from each other, and it never entered my mind that Spencer would be able to keep a secret from me.

It's a good thing that I don't have feelings for him because otherwise our friendship might have broken down. It's a good thing that I only consider him a friend because once I have feelings for him, it seems like it will be hard for me to convince myself that I don't feel anything for him even though there is.

Spencer jokingly put his arms across my shoulder, which made me look at him. When he was busy laughing at me earlier, that’s when I had the chance to wipe my tears without him knowing it. That's why I had the courage to look directly into his eyes.

"Do you want to see her? She wants to meet you personally because I always tell her about you, and also to my friends, also."

I said, "I don’t have time for them," as I was bitter about what I had known. I saw how he furrowed his brows because of what I said, so I couldn't help but push him away from me. "I said, I don't have time for them anymore because I'm leaving soon."

"Oh," he said before he averted his eyes from me, as if he had forgotten that I was leaving.

Of course, he forgot that I was leaving. He never asked if I was okay because of the new girl he could be with at all times. He never asked me about my departure, and it seems like he completely forgot everything, even our fight before because of my resignation letter!

If they met each other in September, then there's a possibility that he was already flirting with that girl when he hired me at the coffee shop he owned.

"When are you leaving, Solanna?"

My brow furrowed while looking at him. I asked, "Why? Are you excited for me to leave?" which made him laugh at me.

He thinks that I'm joking with him now, even though it's not. Do I look like I'm kidding with him now? The audacity of him to laugh at me!

"Not that I'm excited though."

"Not that I'm excited though," I mimicked, which made him smile at me.

He said, "I'm just disappointed because you still have to leave to pay for your debts. If I only had money to lend you just like before, I might have lent you." I puckered my lips while listening to what he was saying. "I don't want you to leave, Solanna."

"But I need to," I said.

I crossed my arms and stood in front of him while raising my brows. He chuckled when he saw what I did. I feel like I will confront him now based on my posture in front of him.

"Why don't you let me go if you already have your new best friend?" I asked.

He smiled mockingly at me because of what I said. "I don't have another best friend aside from you, Solanna."

"The girl we talked about earlier is the one I'm referring to, Spencer."

He laughed at me, while I did nothing but purse my lips while looking at him, who now couldn't stop laughing in front of me. Some of his teammates turned to us, and I myself was embarrassed by the way he laughed.

I wanted to curse at him, but it seems like it isn't appropriate now that their coach was already here for this day.

"Spencer, we're about to start," his coach said before he turned to look at me.

I looked at him when he stopped laughing. I said, "You're about to start," which made him nod at me. "If I ever leave suddenly, I'll just text you."

"Okay."

My eyes narrowed while looking at him. "And if I ever call, you should answer my call. I don't care if you're using the bathroom or you're sleeping. As soon as you hear my call, you'll answer me right away. Do you understand me, Spencer?"

"Yes, Solanna," he said, before he smiled genuinely at me. "Even if I'm calling my girlfriend, I'll end her call just to answer you."

My lips twitched because of what he said. His coach called his name once again, so even though I wanted to ask him a few more questions, I just let him. I decided to turn my back on him because it seems like he had no plan to approach their team because I'm still here.

I'm sure that his girlfriend will also go here even though he doesn't need her support. It never entered my mind that he would be dating a girl as OA as he was.

"I feel like I don't like his new girlfriend, and it seems like we'll never get along," I said before I rolled my eyes while walking away from the court.

It's too early for me to go home. I promised my mom that I would help her sell vegetables and fish at the market, so I decided to walk straight to the market so that I could fulfill my promise to my mother.

I saw her arranging her goods at the stall where she was. There's a familiar man shopping for vegetables at her stall, and based on their facial expressions, I feel like they're talking and having some discussions.

It's been two months since I last saw him. Until now, I still haven't thanked him for his help since the beginning, so even before he walked away, I hurriedly walked towards my mom's stall to confront that man.

"It's been a while, Blake!" I said when I approached my mother's side.

I saw how his eyes widened a bit when he saw me in front of him. Just like me, I knew that he was also glad to see me now, and it made my heart flutter a bit while looking at him.

"Oh! You're here, Solanna," Blake said before he pinched my cheeks.

When my mother saw what he did, my face flushed, and I was no longer surprised when she asked about my relationship with Blake.

"We're just friends, mom!" I said, which made her eyes narrow a bit. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Really, huh?" she chuckled before she turned to look at Blake and smiled genuinely at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you and my daughter were friends."

"She's your daughter, Ma'am?" he asked while pointing at me. He looks like he can't believe what he found out, so I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. "What does it feel like to have a daughter who is pretty talkative?"

"Get lost, Blake!" I hissed, which made them laugh at me. "What are you doing here, Blake? I didn't expect that you would go to these kinds of places."

He smiled at me, so I couldn't help but furrow my brows.