The Return of My First Love novel Chapter 46

Emily

So, there we were.

The three of us seated at a diner, eating lunch together. Levi and Donni's plates were filled with a burger and fries, while I settled for a salad because I didn't want to chew too much in front of thEmily.

I know, very stupid—but it was just a habit of mine.

The two were too busy with each other, and listening to their conversations, from football to basketball, I felt like some sort of intruder. Sports had never caught my interest, and their boring talk made me fall asleep.

I wondered if Alessio liked sports.

"We should stop talking ahout this. Emily is getting bored." Levi finally noticed I didn't had anything interesting to add.

Donni smirked, and I knew some crap was about to leave his mouth. "She'd get bored anyway because she is a boring person."

Levi offered me a sympathetic smile, and right then and there I knew he agreed with Donni. "I'm not a boring person!" I flipped, a bit too frustrated.

"Oh yeah?" Donni spoke. "Then what do you do in your spare time?"

"I read," I replied, hoping my answer would somehow help the argument.

Donni and Levi shared a look, both trying to hold back their reaction, but they both failed miserably and burst into laughter. "Did you catch that? She reads," Donni smacked the table as if I was the first person in the universe to read a book.

"What do you like to read?" Levi tried being nice again.

"Nothing," I muttered, not in the mood to share any more about myself. I focused on my food, pricking at it with my fork. If this was what it was like to have brothers, then I didn't mind mine not interacting with me. "Since you have such an interesting life, please tell me—what do you do for fun, Donni?"

"Ask your sister," he shrugged, giving a smart-ass comment.

I drew in a breath. "I just want to choke you sometimes."

"How did you know I'm into that?" Donni cracked a smile.

I hated myself for smiling back because once I did, he had a cocky, succeeded smile on his lips as if making me laugh was some big accomplishment.

"What made you change your look?" Levi suddenly asked, referring to my recent makeover.

"She caught Alessio staring at the flight attendant and knew she had to come up with something real quick," Donni responded before I could.

"No particular reason, it just ended up like this," I said, specifically to Levi.

"I think it suits you," Levi nodded with a warm look, which seEmilyed to apologize for Donni's earlier comment.

"I like it too. She looks pretty," Donni added with a full mouth.

"Won't you look at that, a compliment!" I exclaimed. "So, you do have the ability to be nice—you just don't want to use it."

"That's not it," Levi defended his friend. "He's teasing you because he likes you."

Shocked, I looked at Donni, waiting for his reaction. He looked down with a red flush on his cheeks, like he had just been exposed. Maybe Levi was onto something.

"Elaborate, please."

"When he first met me, he refused to talk to me and ignored my existence. Getting bullied by Donni means he likes you," Levi said.

"Well then, he can unlike me," I retorted, trying to hide the fact it was somewhat flattering. It could've been worse—Donni's teasing meant I was accepted in his strange way.

Donni made a 'tsk' sound, clearly not ready to give in. He grabbed his cup and drank from it so he wouldn't have to talk. "I'm getting a refill and her number," he motioned to the waitress before leaving the scene.

Levi let out a smile, shaking his head as he looked at him. "You'll get used to him. I promise."

"Is he always like this?" I had to ask, curious about the dynamics of their friendship. I didn't understand how someone would willingly deal with that twenty-four seven.

"Most of the time," Levi confirmed.

Something about Levi struck me as a bit mysterious. He talked a lot, he smiled a lot, but his answers were honest and short. Donni was an open book and mischievous, while Levi was more observant.

"So, do you know how long Alessio plans to keep you here?" Levi asked out of nowhere. I squinted my eyes, trying to figure out how much he exactly knew about our engagEmilyent.

"Don't worry, I know about this whole arrangEmilyent of yours. Donni knows too," Levi admitted casually.

"Who else knows?"

The idea of Alessio not being good at keeping secrets seEmilyed pretty concerning, especially knowing he shared it with someone like Donni who couldn't keep his mouth shut for a second.

"Just the two of us," Levi said. "So, how long are you staying?"

"I thought you'd know more than me, but I don't have an answer to that question. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," he said, shaking his head. I wasn't sure whether he did know and just chose to keep it to himself or if he had no idea either.