Lukas's POV :
We entered Five Guys, my hand still on her hips. Nerdy Grandma just had to pick a fast food joint, huh? Out of all the luxury restaurants in a mall, she wanted greasy burgers and fries. Classic her.
The girls in the corner were staring at me already—no surprise. Their eyes lingered on my chest, since, well, I left the first three buttons of my shirt open. (You're welcome, ladies.) But then, I noticed their glares shift to the Nerd beside me. Pure envy. Her shoulders were stiff, and I swear I felt her trembling a little under my hand.
And then something weird happened. My protective instincts—yep, the ones I didn't even know existed— kicked in. I sent the girls a sharp glare, and they instantly looked away. Normally? I'd wink at them, maybe run my eyes over their curves just for fun. But today? Couldn't. Just...didn't feel right.
Why though? Why the hell her? Why'd she manage to mess with my habits when no one else ever could?
Nah. I shook my head. I was just not in the mood, that's it. Yeah. That's the only reason.
She snapped her fingers right in front of my face, dragging me back.
I blinked and realized we were at the counter already. I cleared my throat, forced a smile. Not my usual charming one—just... normal.
The reason? Counter boy. Not counter girl. And I'm sorry, I'm not about to waste my killer smile on some dude.
"Two burgers, two French fries." I shot her a smirk. "Anything else, love?"
Her eyes almost popped out before she looked at the counter boy, trying not to kill me right there. "Uh... and two Cokes, please."
He typed fast, smiling politely. "Right, sir, ma'am. You can sit at table 14. It's reserved for couples."
I didn't give her the chance to deny it. "Thanks, man," I said smoothly, and dragged her off before she could open her big mouth and reveal we ain't a couple.
Table 14 was private as hell. Silk curtains around it, blocking nosy eyes. Dim, soft-yellow light glowing above us, a glass vase with fake red roses on the table, and those plush sofa-seat that basically screamed 'Romantic.'
We sat, and of course, the first thing she did was hiss at me. "Why are you doing all these?! Why lie about us being a couple?!"
I groaned. "Can you, like, not complain for one second? I did it to get privacy. You really wanted to sit in the middle of everyone while we talked about the party? With fifty people staring?"
She paused, then sighed. "...Fine. Still, you shouldn't have done that."
I smirked. Victory. "Relax, Nerd. Food's on the way."
She pouted but nodded, pulling out her phone. Cute glitter-butterfly case. Not what I expected from her, but...kinda fit her in a weird way. She started typing like crazy, her fingers flying over the screen.
"Who're you texting? Boyfriend?" I asked, leaning back with a sly smile.
"Shut up," she muttered, not looking up. "It's Mum. I'm informing her that I'm having lunch out."
"With your boyfriend. Add that part."
She looked up at me so fast I almost laughed. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under already.
A few minutes later, the bell on our table dinged, and I went to grab the tray. Two burgers, two fries, two Cokes. Standard.
When I came back, her eyes lit up so bright I swore I saw actual love in them. And nope, not for me—for the burgers.
Adorable.
The moment I set the tray down, she snatched her burger like a starving wolf and took a massive bite. Didn't even let me sit first.
Adorable.
"Mhm," she moaned with her eyes shut, taking another huge bite like it was heaven in her mouth. I leaned back, smirking, just watching her. She blinked, cheeks flushed, still with a mouthful of burger, and choked when she noticed me staring.
"Sorry—I was just...hungry," she mumbled awkwardly, taking smaller bites now.
Adorable.
"Have your own," she said quickly, eyeing my untouched burger.
Something in me softened, just a little. "Yeah," I muttered, picking up. I bit into it but my eyes didn't leave her. She was trying so hard to eat politely now—it was killing me.
Adorable.
"So," I asked casually, "what do your parents do then? Just curious."
She wiped her mouth, finishing her burger. "Dad's a businessman. Mum's an actress."
I raised my brows, pausing mid-bite. "Actress? Name?"
"Selene Velasco."
I nearly choked. "Selene Velasco ?!" My jaw legit dropped. "She's the most famous actress in Manila—no, scratch that— in the whole Philippines! You're her daughter?!"
She blushed faintly and nodded. "Yeah, Dad owns multiple companies. I've got two siblings— Liam and Luna. They're ten. Kurt's sister, Keira, is their classmate."
I whistled low. "Huh. Didn't see that coming."
She picked up a fry. "Tell me about your family."
My smirk faltered. Damn.That topic. I stalled, chewing slowly before leaning back with my arms behind my head, staring at the warm ceiling light. "....You really wanna know?"
She nodded.
Should I share it with her?
Only Kurt knows about it as he is my childhood buddy.
I don't know why, but I felt like sharing.
"Alright," I sighed. "Dad's CEO of a global investment empire. Mum's a socialist and philanthropist. First sister, Sera—lawyer in the US. Second, Bella—artist and gallery owner. Then there's me. The disappointment."
She blinked, surprised. I closed my eyes, "...
Dad wants me to be 'perfect'. We barely talk. Mum and Sera...they don't bother with me either. So yeah. Only Bella and my dog, Marlo, actually get me. Rest think I'm a burden. So yeah...mommy and daddy issues."
Her smile disappeared and she whispered. "That must be hard."
"Eh," I shrugged, popping a fry in my mouth, "That's why I hook up with girls. Keeps my mind off things."
She frowned slightly. "Have you ever tried, you know, a real relationship?"
My hesitated. Smirk gone. "...No. Never really loved anyone except Bella, Marlo, Kurt, Axel, Zeke and myself, obviously."
She nodded softly. "Makes sense."
We ate in silence for a bit before I asked, "You ever had one?"
She shook her head. "No. Never."
I eyed her up and down. "Nobody wants you, huh? Are you flat?"
She choked on her Coke, spilling a little. Then glared at me, wiping her lips. "Yes."
I squinted. Bold. Too bold for her usual insecure self.
Was she lying?
Maybe.
Flat or not, didn't matter. Weirdly enough, I respected the way she said it without flinching.
"Fair enough," I muttered, sipping my Coke, "You're not boring, though. Different outside school."
She smiled faintly. "Same to you. Not that boring either."
I leaned closer, smirking again. "Careful, Nerd. Keep talking like that, and I'll start thinking you are falling for me.
She smacked my hand that was placed on the table. "Shut it." But then, she laughed—this real laugh. I couldn't help but chuckle, too. But then, I really noticed her. Head tilted back. Hand on her stomach. Eyes crinkled.
And damn. I froze.
Her laugh.
Her smile.
That sound.
Almost soothing. Like a melody you don't wanna end.
After we finished, we walked towards the counter with the tray and handed it back.
"How much?" l asked, pulling out my black card.
"It's $39," said the counter boy, glancing at the screen.
"I'll pay!" Nerdy Granny said, already reaching for her card—but I grabbed her hand before she could.
"No need, babe," I smirked, leaning closer. "You can pay me tonight... in another way tonight."
Her eyes widened like I just dropped some scandalous bomb, and she stared at me. I just winked, slid my card to the boy, who was now blushing like crazy.
"Thank you, sir, ma'am," he stammered. Then he leaned closer, whispering like it's a secre, "We have a special gift for couples." He handed me a silver-black necklace with half a heart and handed her a golden-red necklace with the matching half. "Thanks for visiting. Come again."
We nodded and left, the kind of smile on my face that I never admit to having.
"It's cute," she said softly, holding up her necklace, "Shame we can't wear it."
"Why? We can wear it." I replied playfully, swinging my arm casually around her shoulder.
She stomped my foot, and I pretended to clutch my chest in horror. "Ouch! You hurt me, babe."
She shook her head laughing, and we strolled toward the first floor. "I gotta buy a gift for Max. I don't know what—" she looked up at me with the little smirk of hers. "You're a boy."
I blinked.
Wait...what?!
What did she mean?!
OF COURSE I'M A BOY!
I gave her a savage smirk. "Yeah, babe...thanks for the update. I already knew."
She chuckled softly and stopped, giving me that "you're trouble" look. "I meant... I know you're a boy, that's why you'd know what to gift Max."
I sighed dramatically. "Fine. Gift him a dress. He's a—" She smacked my arm mid-sentence.
"Alright, alright! Just kidding, Jeez," I said, smirking. "You can gift him a watch."
We walked into the store together and picked out a nice watch—with her pretending to know what she was doing, and me 'helping' her in my Lukie way.
"So, what're you gifting him?" she asked casually as we stepped out of the mall.
"A designer suit," I said coolly, putting my arm around her waist as if I owned her now.
"Oh," she nodded, "Nice."
We stopped for a moment, and I turned to her. "How are you getting home?"
"Bus," she smiled softly. "I wanna experience a simple life."
Bus?!
Seriously?!
IT'S ALMOST EVENING I
"No way," I said firmly, gripping her hand, "It's almost evening. You walk or ride a bus with this Dior bag, and you're gonna catch unwanted attention. Not to mention creeps on a bus."
Before she could open her mouth, I dragged her straight to the VIP parking lot and got her in the passenger seat of my Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster. Then I slid into the driver's seat and gunned the engine.
The ride was quiet at first, soft romantic songs playing in the background—until she wrinkled her nose and told me to switch it to rap. Not just any rap—songs filled with curses and 18+ words. Yeah, Miss Nerdy Granny shocked me with that one.
She gave her address and soon enough, we pulled up in front of her place.
Correction—her mansion. Damn thing looked like straight out of a magazine.
I hopped out, walked around, and opened her door for her. Gentleman points for me.
"Beautiful house," I said, flashing a wink. "Almost as beautiful as you."
She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck, but I caught the blush anyway.
"Thanks for the ride," she said sweetly. "When will you get to the party?"
"Six", I said. "You?"
"Same." She swallowed nervously. "Bye, then. Meet you there."
She started walking, but then paused, turned back and gave me the softest smile I'd ever seen. (Yeah, I got melted.)"You can just call me Mara."
I smirked. "You'll always be Nerdy Granny to me."
She scoffed and walked away.
"You can call me Lukie!" I yelled after her. "Though, 'baby' works too!"
"Shut it!" she called back, laughing.
And for the first time in years... I caught myself smiling.
Genuinely smiling.