Amelia’s eyes widened seeing that he drove over to a popular cafe tucked a few blocks away and parked his car. Her face paled, thinking about what she would do if her brothers saw her here with Tristan. Why did he have to bring her here, of all places? She didn’t protest though and went inside together to order two caffè lattes, two molten choco lava cakes, and croissants at the counter. 

Tristan chose a corner booth and Amelia scooted in. Tristan sat down beside her instead of taking the opposite seat. How uncomfortable could it get? Goosebumps appeared on her arms where his arm brushed her skin. Was he doing it on purpose? The devil! He knew the effect he was having upon her. She tried to put some distance between them, but he lifted an eyebrow and leaned in and stare into her eyes.

“Do I make you that nervous, baby doll?” he asked, his eyes trying to read her soul. Amelia looked away, not wanting to admit that he indeed made her very nervous! 

“No, I’m just worried that Caleb would see us,” she lied, looking at her phone to avoid his eyes.

“Are you sure?” he smirked knowingly. “He gets off practice at 5 o’clock, right?” he said, his smirk widening as he went to collect their order.

She blushed at being caught. Yes, she was nervous about being alone with him. She had this uncontrollable crush on him. His jade-green eyes had a hypnotic effect on her, and all her insides turned to jelly every time he came near.

Tristan came back and sat close to her, sipping his coffee and watching her. “I have something for you.” He dug into his pocket and took out a small case. Opening it, he took out a delicate silver bracelet with small stars attached, adding to its charm. 

“This is for you. I meant to give it to you on your birthday, but you received so many expensive gifts. So, I didn’t know whether you would want it. I bought it with the money I earned cleaning my mom’s garden for a month.” He picked her hand up, holding it in his own.

His admission overwhelmed Amelia. She couldn’t get over the feeling of disappointment on her birthday when everyone gave her something except Tristan. At first, she thought he didn’t care, and it hurt a lot. Later, when Tristan started harassing her, she thought he didn’t like her at all. But his confession today really gave her hope that maybe he didn’t hate her after all. She saw the beautiful gift he had got and knew it was priceless for her.

“I love it, Jay. Thank you so much,” she said, looking at him."Will you put it on for me?" He gave her a dazzling smile, attaching the bracelet to her wrist, letting his fingers linger on her skin, sending goosebumps up her arm. While his gaze locked with hers, seeing her reaction to his touch, his fingers caressed the skin on her wrist, slowly, almost in a feather-light touch.

“I carried it with me every day, hoping to give it to you.” He grinned at her while her eyes widened at the admission and hope filled her heart. She could hear it hammering inside her ribcage, ready to burst out. “So won’t you thank me for it?” he whispered, leaning towards her. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Jay,” she said, a tremor going down her body as her lips touched the rough skin of his cheek.

Suddenly, a familiar voice boomed across the restaurant, catching her attention. “Hey, buddy,” said the voice. Looking up outside the booth, to her horror, she saw Brandon with his best friend James greet each other, and order their coffee. Before she could comprehend, Brandon turned around and saw her with Tristan.

“Amy?” he growled, causing Amy to hide behind Tristan’s back. “Come here right now!” he barked. Amy got up and rushed out towards him, leaving a gaping Tristan behind. 

Amelia’s POV 

“You are only sixteen. What were you thinking?” Brandon yelled at me two blocks away from home, sitting in his BMW.

The moment he saw me at the restaurant with Jay, he went mad with anger and pulled me along to his car and brought me home, stopping two blocks away to talk. I knew what he would do was yell at me. I was tremendously disappointed in all my brothers, as all they did was yell at me. Being the youngest in the family really sucked.

“We just stopped for coffee, Bran. Why are you overreacting?” I asked angrily.

“Am I overreacting? Do you nearly sit on a guy’s lap for coffee?” he yelled, his knuckles white with his deathly grip on the steering wheel. His interpretation shocked me. I wasn’t sitting on Tristan’s lap at all. Why would I? I literally lost my cool hearing his crap.

“Oh, please, we were just sitting beside each other and talking. I know, I did nothing wrong,” I said, rolling my eyes. I had never dated, never had a boyfriend, never looked at any guy. Now, when the first time my crush asked me out, there had to be problems with everyone. I was tired of this protective behavior from my family, especially my brothers. I really didn’t need it.

“Mind you, young lady, if this repeats, I will spill it out to Dad. Take this as a warning,” Brandon said with extreme seriousness as he started the car. That silenced me and I was relieved to know that he wouldn’t report me to Dad this time. I was safe, but I had to avoid Jay. I couldn’t afford to make my dad angry. His punishments were always harsh, so we avoided his wrath since childhood. Even my mom failed to save us from him. When he was angry, he was so unpredictable that the whole family cowered in his presence.

The next day, I waited the entire morning to see Tristan, but it seemed as if he hadn’t come to school. I was terribly worried about him. Was he alright? Did Brandon take matters into his own hands and punish him or something? I didn’t know since Caleb too was in a foul mood since morning and avoided me the whole day.