After her class ended that day, Irani went to the gym to look for Drei. She waited for two more days before deciding to give Drei back his umbrella.

Before she went to the gym, she checked herself first in the restroom of their college building. She made sure she looked presentable. She was wearing a peach dress and a pair of wedge sandals.

She also fixed her hair in a half ponytail and applied lipgloss and light makeup on her face.

“Hello,” Irani greeted the guard at the entrance of the gym.

The students were allowed to watch the practice games of their varsity team, except of course if the coach implied a closed-door practice.

She immediately spotted Drei when she got in. He was sitting on the bench while wiping his sweat with a white towel.
Some players were dribbling. His other teammates were practicing their shooting.

Irani stilled when she saw Red. He was practicing his three-point shoot together with Blue. Her eyes went to his arms which were exposed because of the jersey he was wearing. His arms were really ripped.

“Hey, Irani. What are you doing here?"

Irani didn't realize that Drei was already near her. She blinked her eyes and smiled at him. "Hi, Drei," she greeted him. "Uh, I just came here to give you back this," she handed him the umbrella. "Thank you again for the other day."

"Oh, you're welcome,” Drei answered with his soft smile.

She was about to return his smile when she noticed a ball coming towards her. Her eyes widened in panic. But before the ball hit her, Andrei already blocked it. Then he pulled her closer to him.

"Are you okay, Irani?" Drei asked her in a concerned tone.

She blinked her eyes before she looked at Drei. “I’m okay," she said with a small smile.

She then realized how close they were to each other. Andrei was holding her both of her arms, her face was only a few inches away from his chest. She smelled nice even if he was covered in sweat.

She cleared her throat when she felt her cheeks heat up."Uh, yeah. I'm okay, Drei." She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He smiled back. At that moment, Irani felt her heart pounded inside her chest.

"Sorry. The ball slipped in my hand.”

But then Irani's smile disappeared in thin air when she heard that familiar voice behind her. She immediately turned to face Red.

The asshole was already a few steps from her and Andrei. He picked up the ball from the ground.

Irani's eyes slanted at him. But then Red just gave her one of his annoying smiles.

“Mendoza, the captain’s looking for you outside,” Red said, cocking his head to Andrei.

Andrei let go of her arm and gave her a small smile. “Irani, I’m sorry I have to leave you,” he said.

“It’s okay, Drei,” she answered, smiling at him. “Go ahead.”

The moment Drei left, she turned to Red with slanted eyes.

"I knew you purposely did that, Red!" she snapped at him, glaring at him. “You really an asshole, yeah?”

Red just freaking raised one of his brows at her. “What? Do you really think I’d pull that stupid stunt? You always assume things, shortcake..." He then smiled annoyingly.

Irani pressed her lips together. “I told you to stop calling me that!”

Red just grinned. “Why are you so mad right now? You should be thanking me instead. Just because of this ball, you had a moment with Mendoza.”

Well, he was right, but he didn’t want to admit it to his face. So instead of saying something, she just rolled her eyes at him before turning his back.

But before she could take a step, he already called her. "Wait right there, shortcake."

“What?” she said, forcing herself to look at him. “What do you want?”

“I already thought of a favor I want to ask from you,” he said with a smirk. "You owe me one, remember?"

Irani took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn’t lose her cool here. Andrei was just around. “What do you want, Red?”

He smiled. "I want you to eat with me after practice. Don’t leave and wait for me.”

Her lips parted at him. “What? You want me to… date you?"

“Date?” He muttered, then an annoying chuckle escaped his lips. "You’re really assuming, shortcake. I just want you to eat with me, okay? That's not a date."

Irani felt her cheeks heat up in embarassment. But she tried to remain unaffected in front of Red. “Then you should make it clear, Red. Why would you want to eat with me if you don’t have an HD for me.”

“HD?” he asked, his brows furrowed. "What's that?"

She raised her brow. “Hidden desire.”

Red laughed in amusement. “Really, shortcake? Maybe you’re the one who has a hidden desire for me?”

“Ha? In your dreams, Red.” she snorted at him. Urg. This monkey can really push her buttons. “Why do you want to eat with me? Why don’t you ask your girlfriends instead? Stop bothering me.”

Right. He has a girlfriend! How dare he ask her to dine with him when he’s in a relationship!

“I want to be with you,” he answered while looking at her eye.

Irani stilled when he suddenly turned serious. His eyes were like piercing into hers.

But then because he is Red, this smirk came back just a few seconds later. “You’re going to pay for the two of us.”

Irani scoffed. Of course, that’s what he wanted. He wanted her to treat him.

Why? Irani? Are you expecting something else from him? A part of herself asked her.

Irani pressed her lips together in anger. But then she knew she had no choice but to say yes to him.

“Fine,” she muttered under her breath. She rolled her eyes at him before going to the bleachers. She sat there and waited for the practice to end.