The night came and went in a flash. Naturally, Althea wasn’t going to stay the night, so we both returned back to our respective beds to rest up from the long day. Althea came in early in the morning, seemingly unaffected by our awkward exchange the night before.

Just like any other weekend, Althea rested on my couch and began her usual drama binge. There were times where she would shop or browse online stores, but for the most part, Althea remained comfortably still in my living room.

It was a nice feeling. A young beauty in my grey apartment, adding a little bit of colour into this boring pandemic life. Occasionally, we would talk about current affairs or random gossip from her school or my work.

It was a peaceful time…

Alas, there were those that wished to bring hurricanes to my humble abode.

“Hello! I’m back!”

At precisely four in the afternoon, I heard a knock on my door. And it didn’t take a genius to guess who it was.

“Len… You’re here...”

“Yeap! And I brought company!”

“Desir, long time no see!”

A sweet, melodious voice called out from the corner of my door. I glanced over with folded arms before exhaling everything I had. A gorgeous woman leaned her back against the wall while her brown eyes stared right into my soul. An impish smile was plastered all over her face, making her seem like the succubus queen herself.

A decanter shaped waist that proved too perfect to be true. Immaculate, ochrous complexion that made skin-care models cry in shame. A pungent perfume that signalled the coming of Spring, overpowering the winter’s cold. And lastly… That signature amber hair…

There was only one person in the world I knew who possessed all those traits.

“Sienna… What are you doing here?”

“I heard that I’m getting a sister-in-law, so I wanted to take a look.”

“She’s not my girlfriend...”

“So you say,” Sienna chuckled. “I’m here to verify that fact.”

“Len, what did you tell her?” I glared at my friend of sixteen years.

“I just told her that you were harbouring a girl. Sienna got excited, and she insisted we come over to meet the young lass.”

“You...”

If it were two days ago, I would have denied it tooth and nail. I might even attempt to hide Althea in my room until they went away. But right now, I’m just too tired to do anything. So it was better to let them meet Althea and verify that there was absolutely nothing going on between us.

“Come in...”

“Oh, is she already inside?! Strike one!”

Sienna shone her pearly teeth and pushed my shoulder aside. Similarly, Len put on a face as if he were a kid getting a gift on Christmas and skipped right past me.

Hah… This is going to be troublesome…

Heaving out a large sigh, I dragged my feet back into the apartment. Althea was already standing up in the living room, nervously eyeing down the erratic couple that had come to disturb our peace.

“Wow… She’s prettier than I’d thought!”

“H-Hello!”

“Hi! So you’re the rumoured girlfriend!”

“E-Ermmm… I-I’m not...”

“Hehe, don’t need to be shy! My name is Sienna! What’s yours?”

“Ermmm,” Althea bolted her eyes away from Sienna and shot a pleading look towards me.

Hah… This stupid couple… How are they that good at making people feel uncomfortable? Is it a couple trait? Still holding my head up, I replied stagnantly: “Her name is Althea. Please don’t overwhelm her with questions; she’s a shy kid.”

“A kid that’s this beautiful? Hah, you’ll have to come up with a better explanation, Desir.” Sienna giggled as she pointed at Althea.

Well, the lady had a point. Sienna was a beauty in her own right, but she wasn’t comparable to Althea’s otherworldly glamour.

The best way to describe the two was… Sienna was an Amazonian, gifted the perfect body from the gods. Her above average height made her tower over most women and was comparable to the average man. Crafted with the perfect curves, Sienna could easily be scouted for super modelling gigs, and no one would bat an eyelid.

On the other hand, Althea didn’t have the ample bosom or the long legs of Sienna. However, while she lacked the feminine bewitchery of a succubus, Althea possessed an Elven grace that could beat any silver screen star. A heavenly beauty that would stop any guy in their tracks. A pinnacle-tier smile that would beguile the most ascetic men.

They were both attractive in their own ways. But if I had to choose one…

No, why would I choose any? I’ve sworn off relationships!

Sighing, I once again explained: “Listen here, Althea and I are just neighbours. She needed my help, so I’m cooking her meals. That’s the full extent of our relationship. We really aren’t dating.”

“Then why is she here now? It isn’t dinner time.”

“My internet is better than hers. So it’s more convenient for her to stay here until dinner.”

“Hmmm… I’ll hold off on the verdict for now...”

“What verdict?”

I slapped my forehead in denial. Looks like it’ll take some time to convince Sienna. Hah… This all began with that troublesome blonde. I shot a death glare at my supposed best friend, but he turned away and began to blatantly whistle poorly.

Maybe I should put this brat in a chokehold…

“Anyway, Desir! You’ve yet to make dinner, right?”

“... yeah.”

“Good! Let’s go out for dinner! The four of us! It’ll be a double date!”

“Like I said, I’m not dating-...”

“Yadda, yadda, yadda… It’s just dinner. Does the semantics really matter? Besides, it’ll be my treat! There’s no demerit for you, right?”

“...”

“Althea? What do you think? Would you like to go out to dinner with this big sister?”

“O-Okay...”

Taken by surprise, Althea muttered out a positive response without taking the matter to heart.

This is why I didn’t want Len to find out… Once Sienna got involved, there was no way I could beat her in a logic contest. Throughout my university days, I could always get away with bullying Len. But when Sienna came into the picture, I would always be defeated. She’d even got Althea to agree to her little excursion.

In some aspects, Sienna was a bigger threat to me than Len.

With nowhere left to run, I begrudgingly accepted: “Okay...”

“Hehe, don’t worry! I know a perfect French restaurant. It’ll be perfect for us!”

In the end, Althea and I were dragged out from our comfortable rest and were dragged into the hurricane that was Sienna.

❖❖❖

It didn’t take too long for the four of us to reach the restaurant. Given that the taxi ride was relatively short and that there were very few people on the roads due to the pandemic, we were able to begin our early dinner in peace.

“When you said that you were treating, I didn’t think that you would bring us to this fancy restaurant...”

I marvelled at the extravagance of the room that I was just brought to. High-hanging crystal chandeliers glittered the ceiling—white tablecloths with towels folded into the shape of swans decorated each and every table. French music played in the background, bringing a tinge of romance to the beautiful room.

The word luxurious came to mind, but even that was too little to describe this gorgeous restaurant. By my side, Althea was also spellbound by the unnecessary decadence of the place. She tugged my sleeve and asked: “Isn’t this place expensive?”

“Haha, who cares? We’re not paying,” I chuckled as we took our seats. The girls sat on one side of the table while Len and I shared the other.

Sienna smiled and handed me one copy of the menu: “The Boeuf Bourguignon and Escargots here are impeccable. I think you would like it, Desir.”

“Hoh? Since you’re endorsing it, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Ah, and Althea? Do you mind if we split a Bouillabaisse and Ratatouille? I can’t eat that much.”

“O-Of course!”

“Also, we can go half and half on the Chocolate Soufflé and Crème brûlée. Trust me, the Soufflé here is incredible. I’ve been to France, and I’ve yet to taste a chocolate dessert that can top this restaurant’s Soufflé.”

“!!!”

Althea’s face lit up after confirming Sienna’s orders. It seemed like the girls were more familiar with French cuisine than I was. Either way, we placed our orders according to Sienna’s recommendations and now that there was finally some quiet…

“I’m not sure how much this smelly Desir had told you about us, so let us introduce ourselves again. My name is Sienna, and this here is my boyfriend, Len.”

“H-Hi… My name is Althea… Desir’s neighbour...”

“Really? There’s nothing else going on between the two of you?”

“O-Of course not! Desir helped me when I’d fainted on his doorstep, and he’s helping to cook for me now. There’s nothing else other than that.”

“Hmmm...”

Sienna started studying Althea’s face as if she was looking for the slightest chinks in her armour. Though, Althea… you should be more firm in your denials. If you look jittery like that, it seems like you’re hiding something.

Sighing, I came to Althea’s rescue: “See? Are you satisfied now?”

“Hah… Sure, sure...” Sienna became visibly disappointed as she waved her left hand in my face. “Well, either way, I could gain a new friend! I’ve always wanted a same-age sister!”

“Same age? You’re an aunty compared to her.”

“What did you say to me, punk?”

Sienna clenched her fists and pointed them in my direction. Snorting, I raised my hands in surrender. It was true that Sienna didn’t have many female friends, particularly those of similar age.

Sienna was a direct person and wasn’t afraid to confront someone whenever she sees that something was wrong. Also, she had a tendency to tower over others like an Imperial Queen. Topped off with her modelling beauty, Sienna was an intimidating person for other girls to mingle with.

Well, at least there was someone here capable of befriending the stunning beauty now.

“Hah… Ignore that Buffon, Althea.”

“Ermmm, Miss Sienna?”

“Just Sienna is fine.”

“O-Oh, okay… Sienna, are you a model?”

“Hmmm? What makes you think that?”

“J-Just...” Althea flusteredly looked away, not knowing the right words to say. “Y-You were so pretty, so I thought...”

“Well, aren’t you a sweetie? Len, you should learn a thing or two from her.”

“What did I do?!”

“Hehehe, exactly! You did nothing.”

This sort of teasing was routine for the couple of seven years. It was so cliche that it was almost sickening to watch time and time again. Though, it did feel nice to see Len getting admonished by someone, even if it was his lover. At least I’d got some payback.

“To answer your question, I’m not a model. But I do work in the world of high fashion.”

“High fashion?”

“I’m a designer,” Sienna replied casually. “I work in Edora.”

“Edora?!”

Althea instantly gasped and snapped her head towards Sienna. Her emerald eyes sparkled with ecstasy as she looked like she had found gold.

Curious, I asked: “Oh? You know the company?”

“Of course! Edora is one of the most coveted modern brands! They sell the best dresses and women's clothes on the market! Their winter catalogue this year is particularly fantastic!”

“Oh, I had a hand in that collection. One of my coats made it there.”

“Seriously?!”

At this point, the girls started to enter their own world. I was wholly ignorant of anything women related, so I could only sit back and let them talk it out. As I turned to my right to ask for water, I could see Len’s stupid smile staring right at me.

“What?”

“You know… I’ve always dreamed of this day.”

“What day?”

“The day that we can go on a double date together.”

“Hah… I’ve told you a million times, Len. Althea isn’t my-...”

“I know, I know. You’ve made it crystal clear. However, it’s hard to imagine that you’re not dating even though the two of you are so close.”

“... It’s just because of the pandemic. Althea has no one else to turn to, so she’s relying on me. Once the restrictions are over and her parents return, I’m sure that we will return to regular, friendly neighbours.”

“I wonder if that’s really the case…”

Len muttered silently before returning his gaze back to the chattering women. The pair had already changed topics from Sienna’s jobs to Althea’s shoes. There was a shining smile on both their faces, a warm sight to behold.

“Whatever the case, I’m glad that there’s now someone to keep you company.”

“Hah… You...”

I gave up on changing Len’s mind and decided to concentrate on my meal instead. Well, Sienna said she was treating, so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I ordered a little more, right? That’s the least I could do for some revenge.