Chapter 211
"His back hurts, Ida, " Jasper slowly sipped his water from the bottle.
The moon was out as they sat on the balcony, looking down at the large compound.
Ida looked down and frowned; it was Cody, sitting under a tree with his hand touching his back.
He kept looking, watching how Cody arched his back to relieve his tight muscles.
"A massage would do him good, don't you think?" Jasper questioned, still sipping his water.
"It's not my business, Jasper, stop trying," Ida replied, looking away from Cody.
"Mm, I hear you; however, it looks like it's someone else's business," Jasper walked closer to the balustrade.
Ida looked up, frowning his face harder as he saw someone squatting in front of Cody.
"You can say that it's just Pole, but I can also tell you that Pole is a charmer. I've seen the way he looks at Cody these days, he's -"
"If he's so charming just go date him, then?" Jeremiah walked toward Jasper with a nonchalant expression.
Jasper frowned as he saw Jeremiah approaching him, "Maybe I would. He's got a sexy body, I might add," He replied, casually staring at Jeremiah.
Ida wasn't listening to what they were bantering about, his eyes were locked on Pole's hand that was gently massaging the back of Cody's hand, and the smile Cody was giving Pole made his heart hurt.
"Goodnight, guys," he said and walked out of the balcony, leaving Jasper and Jeremiah alone.
"Do you enjoy torturing people?" Jeremiah asked Jasper, leaning on the balustrade beside him.
Jasper shrugged, "I'm just trying to make him realize that his decision sucks. His feelings are still very obvious, and it doesn't make sense that he's up here and Cody is down there when they should have been in bed by now," he said seriously.
Jeremiah sighed, "It's not our business, Jas; we should respect their decision. They're both adults, and they know what's best for them," He replied.
"Jas?" Jasper narrowed his eyes at Jeremiah.
Jeremiah frowned, "That's your name, Jasper is too long," He stared at Jasper's face.
"Coming from someone whose name is longer," Jasper chuckled.
"Then call me J," Jeremiah suggested.
"No, bro..." Jasper moved and stood in front of Jeremiah, "I'm Jasper to you, and you're Jeremiah. No shortened names between us, I don't want you getting ideas about me," He smirked at Jeremiah and patted his cheek before walking out.
Jeremiah stood there, blinking in confusion, "Getting ideas about him... wait! Jasper!" He hurried out of the balcony to meet Jasper who was walking along the long passage and toward his room.
"What?" Jasper asked as he turned to look at Jeremiah.
"What did you mean by getting ideas about you?" Jeremiah raised a brow at him.
Jasper sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you, since you're pretending not to know," He pushed his bottle of water into Jeremiah's hand and folded his arms.
Jeremiah held it without problem, "So?" He asked.
"So, I'm sure you know how everyone thinks that there's chemistry between us just because we were enemies at first, and now we're kind of like friends, so they all assume that we're growing feelings, but we're not, right?" He narrowed his eyes at Jeremiah.
Jeremiah tilted his head to the side and frowned, "For me, no. You?" He questioned.
"No. That's why I don't want shortened names, Jeremiah." He moved closer and held his bottle of water in Jeremiah's hand but didn't take it out at once, he looked into Jeremiah's eyes and said, "I don't want to get too comfortable, Jeremiah, I don't want to get in a situation where I can't get out," He smiled at Jeremiah and slid his water out of his hand.
Jeremiah stared at Jasper's retreating figure. He didn't fully understand Jasper's answer, does it mean he was scared of getting too close to him because he might fall in love with him?
A smirk appeared on his face, he was suddenly thinking of experimenting on what Jasper was saying.
It would be interesting to see how Jasper tries to resist his charm. He wasn't actually planning to love Jasper, he just wanted to mess with him.
With a new plan in mind, he went inside his room, tomorrow was the day they all went for their fitting, and he would start his teasing from there.
**
Ida was awake, monitoring Cody until he retired into his room.
Sleep was far away from him as he kept thinking about Zeno's words.
He wondered if staying friends was actually the wrong decision; maybe not, now that he was friends with Cody, he could do whatever he wanted without fear of offending anyone or hurting anyone's feelings; he could also relate with Cody on a neutral level, no need to be careful about his words or actions now, they were nothing.
He suddenly heard a knock on his door, and his heart started to beat faster, he knew who it was, and he wasn't expecting to see him before bed.
He slowly got out of bed and walked toward his door; he took a deep breath before he pulled it open.
"Hi, Ida," Cody smiled, a normal friendly smile.
Ida's hand tightened around his door handle as he stared at Cody's perfect face and smile... it should have all been for him, but he lost it the moment he chose to be friends.
"Hi, Cody, need something?" He asked, feeling his pulse pulsing faster as the seconds went by.
Cody nodded, "I'm sorry for disturbing you, I know it's quite late, but I was just thinking about tomorrow's plan, we -"
"No, it's fine, I don't mind, we can just do it," Ida said, suddenly feeling nervous as he spoke to Cody.
"No, Ida, you misunderstood me. I just wanted to tell you that I won't be paired with you. I know the boss and Zeno had already paired everyone, but I know how awkward it would be between us so I found someone to switch with," Cody explained.
'Of course, it's always about staying away from me,' Ida's heart sank.
"If that's what you want," Ida replied in an even tone.
"Great. I just wanted to let you know so it doesn't come as a surprise to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Ida," Cody smiled at him and turned away.
"Um, wait," Ida suddenly stepped out of his door and grabbed Cody's hand.
Cody paused and turned, his eyes staring up at Ida in silent expectation. "Yes, Ida? Do you need to ask something?" His voice turned tender as he spoke.
Ida cleared his throat and released Cody's hand, "Well, I was wondering... the new partner you chose, who is it?" He asked, staring at Cody's face.
Cody sighed, disappointment flashing in his eyes, "Does it matter? It's Pole, Ida. Goodnight." He bit his lips and immediately turned away from Ida, heading to his room.
Ida felt like a hand was squeezing his heart from within; he had seen the unshed tear in Cody's eyes. It wasn't the first time, he'd seen Cody's teary eyes almost each time he held a conversation with him, and it left him shattered and blue.
Was friendship really the best if both of them kept hurting inside each time their eyes met?
With another layer of sadness added to his sorrow, he went back to his room, embracing the cold, lonely sheets that welcomed him with their pale, spiky arms.
The next morning, Ida was the first to stand beside the SUV that would be driving them out for the fitting. He couldn't sleep last night, the thoughts of Cody and Pole haunted his sound till sunrise, and now, he couldn't wait to monitor them throughout the day.
Suddenly, the gate opened and a car drove in, slowing down when it reached his front.
"Hey, up early?" Zeno asked as the window rolled down, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Ida.
Ida wanted to reply but he saw the look on Zeno's face and figured out that Zeno must have heard something.
"What's up, Boss? From your gym?" Ida asked, avoiding Zeno's search for some tea.
Zeno rolled his eyes and drove the car away, parked, got out, and walked back to Ida.
"Firstly, don't piss me off," Zeno leaned beside Ida on the SUV, "Secondly, today's gonna be a tough day," he smiled at Ida.
Ida frowned, "What do you mean?" He asked.
Zeno shrugged, "Nothing serious. Just another day of you watching your 'friend' get closer to someone else," he subtly pointed to the door where the other guys were coming out from.
Ida looked and saw the people he'd been waiting for; Cody and Pole were behind the twins and Andre. Pole was smiling as he kept speaking to Cody, they looked to be in their world.
Zeno sighed a long sigh, "Well, you see, if you don't want him, someone else wants him, and, out of sight, out of mind. You better start making a move to get your man back; Pole doesn't play games; he seems determined with Cody," he whispered beside Ida and stepped away from him, "Have fun, Ida; I'll go see how my Papi is doing," He waved to Ida and walked away.
As Ida watched Zeno greet the other guys, he couldn't tell which pissed him off the most, the fact that Sebastian and Zeno were on the verge of giving him diabetes with how sweet they were, coupled with Zeno's unending flex of his love for Sebastian, or the fact that Zeno was right about Cody.
It was really going to be a tough day for him.
"Hi, Ida, sorry I had to steal your partner from you," Pole said as he approached Ida, smirking at him.
Ida stared at him for a few seconds, "It's okay." He said and walked to the other side of the car.
No, it wasn't okay. He wanted to hold Cody and draw him away from Pole. He couldn't, friends don't do that.
"Come on, guys, I hate to be the one driving, let's get this over with," Andre beeped the horn as she got in the driver's seat.
The car left the compound with Ida sitting alone on the last seat, his eyes never looking away from Cody.
Staying friends really sucked, how long before he got over his feelings?
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