[ This chapter is dedicated to Down_RiverDIVA for being the top 3 fan of our story. Thank you for all your support!]

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Jess walked briskly away from their table because she was having a hard time breathing. She needed to distance herself from her father.

Her aunt must have known this would happen, that's why she didn't get them a private room. She pushed the bathroom door open and marveled at how it looks so zen.

The bathroom light was giving a soft yellow glimmer on the wall, mirrors in silver frames were hung on over the black granite countertop.

The bathroom smells of a bamboo forest after a downpour of rain. She took a deep sigh and entered one of the empty cubicles and sat down on the closed toilet seat.

She closed her eyes and tried to listen to her heartbeat, counting them slowly as she did some breathing exercises.

She didn't know how long she stayed inside the bathroom stall before she found herself ready to get out. She passed by the lavatory counter and reapplied her lipstick. She smiled at her own reflection in the mirror, "Don't get yourself in jail tonight, Jessica Joy," she told her image in the mirror.

She chuckled lightly before she left the bathroom. She has been gone long enough. Poor Luke has to entertain her father in her absence.

She was deep in thought and didn't give much attention to her surroundings so when she turned around the corner out of the bathroom corridor she bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry -"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I'm going."

"Seems like you do, Miss Zimmerman."

She looked up at the man who she bumped into and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, "Stefan, it's been a while."

"Indeed, it's been a while. Are you here with Noah?" he asked, smiling broadly at her.

"Oh, no. I'm with my friend."

"Good. You shouldn't hang at Noah," he said, chuckling.

Jess flinched with what Stefan said for it doesn't sound like just a simple comment. She must be overthinking about it but what he said sounded like a warning.

"How about you? Are you on a date?" She returned his smile, shoving the strange feeling at the back of her mind.

He grinned showing his boyish charm. "How do you know?"

Jess stared at Stefan's blue eyes and grinned back, "What could be the reason for you being here if not to impress a girl?"

He threw his head, laughing, "I learned from the best. I mean, Noah took you here once for dinner, am I right?"

There's that odd tone of him again. He was smiling at her, clearly teasing her but Stefan's tone does sound like a warning. His words also seemed to have some underlying meaning.

Telling her that he learned from the best about impressing a girl which was clearly pertaining to Noah, or was she just being paranoid. But what could be the reason for her paranoia?

It could be because Stefan is Noah's favorite cousin, and if anyone knew Noah's secrets, it would be Stefan. And she knew for a fact that Stefan, despite being a man, loves gossip. And now, that she's dating Noah, she couldn't help but overthink.

She wondered if Stefan would tell her of Noah's secret rendezvous.

"Sorry, Little Miss Jessie, I have to go back to my date," he grinned at her. "Hope to see you again, soon." He said before turning his back on her.

She cocked her head following him with her gaze. 'Did he just call her Little Miss Jessie?' She was thinking of how Stefan could know the name. Was it from Noah or Lucille? She was still thinking about it while she walked back to their table where Luke and her father were waiting.

She was about five tables away from their table when she heard a restaurant employee say, "Mata kite kudasai." Jess's head turned to the person talking, and a crease appeared in between her eyebrows.

She saw Stefan going out of the restaurant but unlike what he had said, he wasn't on a date. Unless he was into old men.

Jess cocked her head, thinking of a reason why Stefan would lie to her on being on a date.

But Stefan right now is the least of her worries because when she approached their table, she could see that her father was already drunk.

Luke saw her and relief washed over his face. He mouthed, "Thank God."

"Nugget, my sweet little pea. Where have you been?" he grinned at her, his eyes were glassy, clearly intoxicated.

He turned his eyes to Luke, "You know why I call her Nugget?"

"No," Luke replied, shaking his head.

"Because, when she was born she was such a small baby." He shifted his eyes to Jess who took her seat back, "You were this small, Nugget," he said, putting his hands in the air, showing Luke how small she was.

Despite her annoyance of finding him drunk when she just stepped away for a few minutes, she couldn't help but smile at how her father was telling Luke stories of her childhood.

"Why did he drink too much?" She turned to Luke when she realized how drunk her father was when he kept on repeating the same story over and over again.

"He was reminiscing about your mother, and before I realized he had already finished the bottle of sake. I didn't know he was bad with alcohol. I mean, it was just a small ass bottle."

She heaved a deep sigh, pulling her card, and handed it to Luke, "Please, settle our bills."

"Sorry," Luke patted her shoulder before he walked to the cashier.

"Don't be angry with your friend. He's a good son."

"I'm not angry, Papa." She stood up and moved to the chair next to him. She poured him a glass of water. "Please, drink this. Then let's go home, okay?"

"Nugget, I told your friend that you look like your mother." He raised his hand and caressed her face. "My Nugget, so beautiful. Just like your mother."

"Come on, now. Drink the water," she said in a stern voice. But if her father wasn't so drunk he would hear the tremble in her voice.

Sebastian drank the water and slowly stood up from the chair.

Jess quickly got on her feet and grabbed her father's elbow. "Let's get out of here. If you make a scene I would tell aunt Joy and you would never hear the end of it."

They met Luke near the exit and when he handed back her card to her, he said, "Our bill was already settled."

"What?"

A restaurant employee bowed down to them and thanked them for coming.

"Who paid for our bill?"

"Mr. Meyer paid for it, Miss Zimmerman."

She pushed her drunk father to Luke who was eager enough to assist Sebastian as she took her time thanking the restaurant employee before they left.

***

"Careful with your head."

Jess, who was sitting behind the steering wheel, listened to her father's incoherent mumbling as Luke helped him get into the backseat of her car.

"Thank you, Luke." she handed him some tissue paper to wipe the sweat on his forehead.

"Oh, no worries. I had a good time," he said, grinning like a wolf who just swallowed Little Red Riding Hood.

"I really don't know what I'm gonna do with the idea of you having a crush on my father." She squinted her eyes on Luke who was still grinning.

She moved the rearview mirror and checked her father, slumped on the backseat, asleep.

"You can invite me again for dinner where your father gets drunk and I have to carry him on my shoulder." He wiggled his eyebrows on him as he smirked maliciously.

"Eww, Luke stop!" She grimaced, starting the car.

When they were out of the parking lot, Luke asked her, "Who was the Mr. Meyer that paid for our meal?"

"Noah's cousin."

"Noah was in Matsugen too?"

"No, his younger cousin."

"Why? What's wrong? Did this cousin say something to you, like, you aren't good enough for our dear Noah."

Jess snorted. "As if," she rolled her eyes at Luke's silliness.

"Yeah, you can buy Noah." he chuckled. "But I have a feeling you don't have to buy him. You can get him for free."

Jess laughed out loud at what Luke was saying. It was a stupid joke between them every time they would go out and go clubbing. They would put a price on every guy they saw. The better-looking the guy, the higher the price.

"If we are going to put a price on Noah, how much would you offer for him?" she asked giggling.

She was having a good time imagining Noah as someone she would buy that she has forgotten the fact that Stefan lied to her and she has no idea why he had to do that when they weren't close enough to care who he was with.