Chapter 142: Don’t Tell Adam

Chapter 142

Kim’s POV

“Of course we heard them, Ruby. We have ears,” I whispered harshly, taking the glass of water from her while still trying to wrap my head around the things I had just heard.

“I can’t believe Adam had this kind of stuff going on and didn’t even bother to tell me.” Ruby pouted before taking a sip of her milkshake.

“Maybe he didn’t want you to know.” Penelope shrugged before munching on another one of her cookies.

“Or maybe he didn’t know,” I corrected, giving Penelope a sharp glare.

And just then, Penelope and Ruby looked over my shoulder. “Ouu, speak of the devil.” Penelope wiggled her eyebrows before biting into her cookie once again.

“He’s going to have to be ready to give me all the details he knows about this,” Ruby said, already leaving her seat.

My arms shot out, pulling her back to the chair.

“What? What if he doesn’t know?” I hissed quietly.

“Well, we’ll just tell him. I’m sure he’ll love to know.”

"Well, what if he’s not supposed to know? …” The question made Ruby pause. She then glanced at Penelope, who returned her gaze. “Or worse. What if finding out will get him in some kind of trouble? Or kicked out of his team.”

Ruby’s lips thinned.

“Hey guys.” We heard Adam call from afar.

I then tightened my grip around her, my warning silent. “Don’t tell him.” My gaze darted to Penelope. “You too. Hey Adam,” I added brightly as I turned to see Adam just a few steps away.

"Hey…" His eyes glinted as he returned my smile. I immediately knew he was thinking about our last meetup and what I had said.

Quickly, but without making it look too obvious or desperate, I moved to the side, gesturing to the empty space beside me. Penelope and Ruby were already sitting beside each other; it was only normal and expected that he sat beside me.

“What took you so long?” I asked when I finally sat down, placing my jacket on my lap.

“There was a little traffic, and I got this place mixed up with somewhere else,” he answered. He then turned to Ruby, who was right across from him. “Hey you.” He wrinkled his nose like it was some kind of secret greeting between them.

“Shh.” She waved at him dismissively with a small grin before leaning closer to the table. “Focus on your pretty girl.”

I blinked, suddenly remembering that Adam referred to me as “pretty girl” a lot of times, and I found myself blushing slightly as he quickly glanced at me.

I could tell he was still feeling bad about that day.

“Hey, hey. "Penelope here," Penelope announced, drawing our attention toward her. “Since you didn’t see me, I decided I should make my presence known.”

The three of us burst out laughing before Adam waved at her. “Hey Penelope. It’s nice meeting you.”

“It’s nice meeting you too, pretty boy.” She wiggled her brows at him before taking yet another bite of her cookie.

“How long have you even been eating that?” Ruby eyed her with concern, voicing out exactly what I was thinking.

“It’s a lot, don't you see?” Penelope gestured toward the plate in front of her. “Want some?”

“Sure!” Ruby didn’t even hesitate before reaching in for a cookie while Adam and I just watched them. Though I was very aware that he was sneaking glances at me.

My lips thinned at the feel of his fleeting gaze on my neck. And as my luck would have it, our gazes crashed once when I thought he wasn’t looking.

Way to make this more awkward, Kimberly.

“Hey you two!” Penelope’s voice was oddly cheerful as her gaze darted between us, and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what she would say. “Want a cookie?”

“Oh no.” Ruby waved her off before either of us could reply. “They look like they need some nice alcohol. I think we should go to a bar and have a nice drink, you know. Together. To celebrate.” Ruby practically bounced in her seat, moving her shoulders in a small dance before bumping them against Penelope, who looked equally thrilled by the idea.

I let out a small giggle, though it was quickly overshadowed by Adam’s chuckle.

“What’s the occasion?" Adam asked, resting his crossed arms on the table.

Ruby and Penelope exchanged a look before glancing at me, and then Penelope shrugged. “Let’s just say we want to celebrate some new info we just got—" She immediately stopped speaking when I pinned her with a hard glare.

Adam’s brows pinched together in confusion, though a small smirk tugged at his lips. “And may I know what this info is?”

“No,” I blurted the word out, causing him to turn to me immediately. “No,” I repeated, my tone lighter this time as I ran my fingers through my hair.

“It’s girl stuff,” I pouted, eyeing him. “Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know.”

He parted his lips to speak, and I immediately thought it’d be best if I rephrased my sentence, as he could use that against me. “Or rather, it’s not your business,” I said with a challenging look.

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh? Not my business, huh?” He raised a brow.

“Mhmm.” I nodded with a small smile, still holding his gaze.

"Well, I guess I’m just going to let you off the hook this time.”

I let out a scoff. “Like you’re ever going to do anything to me. But of course I’m not mean, so you’re invited; if you don’t wanna come, it doesn’t matter.” I waved my hand vaguely through the air. “It’s not like we’re going to miss you or something.”

Christ. I really gotta learn when to keep my mouth shut. I was literally complaining about him feeling bad last time, and now I was giving him another reason to.

“I’ll miss you.” Ruby raised a hand.

"Ouu, me too," Penelope added.

Adam then turned to me, satisfaction practically oozing out of him. “It’s starting to look like you’re the problem, pretty girl.” He looked me up and down, and I felt a little relief that we were bantering again. “Because everyone says they’ll miss me. But of course I’ll do you guys a favor and accept your invitation.”

I wanted to give a snarky response, but I ended up smiling at him like a fool.

I was glad. The fact that we were talking like this meant that he wasn’t mad at me anymore.

Or rather, feeling uncomfortable.

Now, I just hoped I didn’t ruin it again.