While Jacob was reading the bestiary in the gazebo, he heard the sound of a car pulling up outside his mansion. He closed the book and stored it back in his pocket dimension before heading toward the iron gate.
There, he found Allison about to call him on her phone. She wasn't alone—Lydia was sitting in the passenger seat.
Jacob opened the gate. "Morning, girls. Allison, go ahead and drive in."
Allison parked her car in front of the mansion, and both girls stepped out.
"Good morning, Jay." Allison greeted with a warm smile. "What are you up to today?"
"Not much." Jacob replied. "Just relaxing and doing a bit of reading."
Lydia looked around, clearly impressed. "Good morning, Jacob. You didn't tell me you were rich."
Jacob chuckled. "I don't like to show off."
Lydia hesitated for a moment, then said. "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I didn't know about your parents until Stiles told me. If I had, I wouldn't have stopped you from hitting Jackson."
Jacob shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I just hope your boyfriend doesn't try to provoke me again—for his own sake."
Lydia snorted. "He's not my boyfriend anymore. I broke up with that pig last night."
Jacob grinned. "Good for you. I never understood why a smart girl like you was with someone as stupid as him."
Lydia sighed. "Everyone makes mistakes. And Jackson was mine."
"Well." Jacob said. "Let's not waste another breath talking about him. You girls want to come inside?"
"Before that." Allison said. "I brought my bow. Thought I'd show you some of my skills."
Jacob's eyes lit up. "Really? Then let's head to the backyard."
Allison retrieved her bow from the car, and the three of them made their way to the backyard. She demonstrated her archery skills, effortlessly hitting the tree she was aiming at.
Jacob watched, clearly impressed. "Wow, you're really good. Let me give it a try."
Allison handed him the bow. "Here—be careful, though."
Jacob nocked an arrow and pulled the string, but he tugged a little too hard, nearly snapping the bow in half.
"Stop! Stop!" Allison shouted, alarmed. "You're pulling too hard! You'll break the bowstring, or the whole bow!"
"Sorry." Jacob said sheepishly. "Didn't think it'd be that easy to pull."
Allison rolled her eyes. "It's not. You're just freakishly strong."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Jacob said with a grin.
He tried again, this time more carefully, but missed the target completely.
Allison smirked. "You're doing it wrong."
"Then how about you show me instead of standing there smirking like an idiot?" Jacob shot back playfully.
"You're the idiot." Allison replied, laughing.
She stepped behind him, wrapping her arms around his to guide his posture and aim. The two of them started laughing and enjoying themselves as she helped him adjust.
Meanwhile, Lydia stood a few feet away, biting her nail and glaring at them. She was clearly annoyed, and jealous. She wanted to be the one that close to Jacob.
After a few tries, Jacob started getting the hang of it, landing solid hits on the tree.
He handed the bow back to Allison. "Give me another day or two, and I'll be better than you."
Allison pouted. "You're only getting better because I'm a great teacher. But… I have to admit, you've got talent."
Lydia crossed her arms. "Can you two stop acting like I'm not here?"
Allison chuckled. "Do you want to learn too? I can teach you."
Lydia smiled slyly. "Okay, I want to learn. But I want Jacob to teach me."
Allison frowned. "I think I should be the one teaching you. Jacob can barely hit the tree."
Lydia ignored Allison and took the bow from her. "He's good enough for me."
She nocked an arrow and tried to pull the string but struggled. "Ugh, this is hard. Jacob, come help me."
Jacob, never one to refuse, stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her to help guide her aim. Lydia didn't try to hit the tree at all—she was too busy enjoying Jacob's closeness. Every time she missed, she asked him to help her again, using the training as an excuse to stay close.
After watching them for a few while, Allison finally had enough.
"That's enough." She snapped, stepping in between them. "Lydia, come help me gather the arrows."
Then she looked at Jacob. "Can you go make us something to eat, please? I'm starving."
Jacob raised an eyebrow, sensing the tension, but nodded. "Sure."
He headed back inside the mansion.
Once Jacob was gone, Allison turned and glared at Lydia. "What was that?"
Lydia blinked innocently. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. You weren't trying to learn archery—you were all over Jay, flirting the entire time."
Lydia smirked. "Was I that obvious? But why do you care? You're not his girlfriend."
Allison blushed and scowled. "That doesn't matter. I like him. And I'm calling dibs."
"Dibs?" Lydia scoffed. "You can't just call dibs on a person. I like him too."
Inside the kitchen, Jacob, who had been listening with his supernatural hearing, was grinning like an idiot when he heard that they both liked him. But when the conversation started to heat up, he muttered. "Shit… are they going to fight?"
"I knew him first." Allison argued.
Lydia raised her hands. "Okay, let's not fight. How about we let him choose? Fair and square."
"You mean, just ask him which one of us he likes?" Allison asked skeptically.
"We can't do that." Lydia said. "He'll probably say he likes us both or something dumb like that."
Allison narrowed her eyes. "Why do you think he'd say that?"
"Because he's a pervert." Lydia said bluntly. "I saw how much he was enjoying it when you hugged him earlier, and he was definitely being handsy when he was teaching me."
Allison frowned. "So what should we do then?"
"Nothing." Lydia said. "Let's just stay his friends for now. But we have to make sure the other girls at school stay away from him. I'm sure you've noticed how they all look at him."
Allison snorted. "Yeah. They all look at him the same way you do… bitch."
"Hey." Lydia said, offended. "That was uncalled for."
"What? Am I wrong?" Allison snapped. "You had a boyfriend, but you're still drooling over Jacob. Doesn't that make you a bitch?"
Lydia shrugged, unbothered. "I don't know what to tell you. I've never been this attracted to someone before. It wasn't so bad when I first met him, but the more time I spend with him, the more I can't stop thinking about him."
She looked at Allison. "And judging by the look on your face, you feel the same way."
Allison looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Lydia smirked. "Come on, don't tell me you haven't dreamed about him at night."
Allison blushed and blurted out. "You dreamed about him too—wait, no, I meant you dreamed of Jay before! What was your dream about?"
Lydia grinned. "Tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine."
Allison cleared her throat. "I… don't want to talk about that. Let's just gather the arrows and go."
"Come on, tell me." Lydia teased.
"No." Allison said, cheeks still red.
Lydia suddenly asked. "Wait, Allison—are you still a virgin?"
"That is none of your business!" Allison shouted, then turned and ran off to gather the arrows, flustered. Lydia giggled and followed her.
Inside the kitchen, Jacob, who had been listening with his enhanced hearing, grinned. 'Damn, my charm ability is really working—and the system still says it's not strong enough. I really want to hear those dreams they had about me.'
He shook his head, musing to himself. 'I don't know how I'm going to convince them to accept being in a harem… but maybe the best way is to tell them the truth about the supernatural—and about what I am. Then just hope for the best.'
He pulled out some pizza from his pocket dimension, along with one of the rotisserie chickens he received that morning, and placed them on the table. Then he grabbed a few bottles of Coke from the fridge and set everything up.
Soon, Allison and Lydia came to the kitchen. After washing their hands, they sat down at the table.
Lydia looked at the food. "When did you order pizza?"
Jacob replied. "Before you girls came to my place. I was planning to eat it for lunch."
"All three boxes?" Lydia raised an eyebrow.
"I eat a lot." Jacob said with a grin.
Allison pointed to the chicken. "Did you cook that?"
"Nope, ordered it. Stiles and Scott stayed over last night, and we had chicken for breakfast. Now stop asking questions and let's eat."
As they were eating, Lydia picked up a Coke, frowned, and asked. "This is regular Coke? Don't you have diet?"
Jacob shook his head. "Nope. I have a sweet tooth. I don't buy diet."
"Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
Jacob shrugged. "Not at all. And if you don't like the Coke, there's some Naked Juice in the fridge. Get it yourself."
After they finished eating, Lydia glanced at Jacob and asked. "Can I call you Jay too?"
Jacob smiled. "Sure."
The three of them cleaned up the kitchen together, then settled into the living room to watch a movie. They spent the rest of the day laughing, talking, and hanging out until the evening.
Allison checked her phone. "I should go. My mom just messaged—she wants me home."
Lydia stretched and said casually. "I think I'll spend the night here."
Allison whipped around. "What? No, you can't."
"Why not?" Lydia asked with a sly smile. "It's not like Jay minds, right Jay?"
Jacob nodded. "I don't mind the company. There are plenty of rooms. You're welcome to stay. "
Lydia gave Allison a smug look. "See? You can stay too if you want."
"I can't." Allison muttered. "And you're not staying either."
Lydia pouted. "But I don't feel like going home."
"Then you can come to my house." Allison offered. "Sleep over there."
"Okay." Lydia said. "But on one condition."
Allison narrowed her eyes. "What condition?"
"You have to tell me about that dream. If you don't… I'm staying here."
Jacob perked up. "Wait—what dream? Can I hear it too?"
Allison's face turned bright red. "NO! Lydia, let's go!"
She grabbed Lydia's arm and stormed toward the door, dragging her along. Lydia burst into laughter as they left.
Jacob opened the gate for them. As they drove past him, both girls leaned out their windows and called. "Good night, Jay!"
He smiled. "Good night, girls. See you Monday at school."
Then he closed the gate, walked back into his mansion, and played some video games before finally calling it a night and going to sleep.
To be continued... 😊