I bit my lip from retorting back and went back to eating. I was starving. I stabbed the hash brown on my plate, breaking it into pieces, a bit too violently, when I felt something brush my leg, making me jump.
My eyes met James's as he looked up and I glared at him. I was probably looking like a witch since he looked away taking a massive gulp of water. It was a foot that was tapping, or kicking, or moving and it was annoying me every time it brushed my leg.
I slouched in my seat as simply as I could, trying to move my leg away. My fingers grabbed the table cloth, slowly pulling it up and gathering it in my hands. I looked up but the others were busy in their own worlds.
Darius? I looked from the leg enclosed in blank pants to the man back at the table talking away like he knew nothing. I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips, letting go of the table cloth, leaning over and nudging him.
"Stop."
"Stop what?" he asked, clearly confused.
"Tapping your –"
And James chose that moment to gate crash the conversation. "Where's your ring?"
I looked at my left hand that was holding the fork. Why did he care?
"Oh, I have it," Adrian volunteered, putting his hand up for us to see. Then he stuffed another slice of sausage in his mouth. Was he eating since we got here? Did he refill his plate?
"Why do you have it?" James looked curious.
Can I punch him already? I met Darius's eyes and he shook his head. Did I say it out loud? No, I didn’t, which means he probably knew what I was thinking. "She knocked it down the sink," said Adrian. James scoffed as he smirked, mouthing 'typical' at me. If Darius's hand wasn't on my knee in a strong grip, as if to warn me, I would have jumped over the table and stabbed James with the fork and replaced his eyes with the tomatoes.
"Well, you better get a new ring,” James continued, whether intending to say it to me or to Darius. “If I were you, I would find a big ring. Girls like big things."
I raised an eyebrow. What, did he think he knew me that well?
James bragged some more. "I would get someone the biggest diamond possible. It’s important, you know. Shows how much you love someone. Also, it means you can afford it. It’s what people do nowadays."
"So you have no brain and are a sheep," I whispered, moving my food around the plate. Adrian choked coughed. I gave him a questioning look. Was I loud?
By the way he was trying to hold back a laugh, I was.
"Don't you think so, Ivory?"
I looked up. Oh, so now he was talking to me. I raised an eyebrow. "Totally."
Of course, I would like the biggest French diamond created… not. I completely disagree. Size does not mean how much you love someone. If you love someone, you won't get the biggest diamond. You will get something that both of you will love.
I looked at Darius, feeling his stare on me. "What?" I asked quietly. He shook his head and turned to speak to the others. I sighed in resignation. Was breakfast over yet? Can I go?
As though he read my mind, Darius put his napkin on the table. Yes, time to go home.
"Well, see you tonight then, gentlemen."
I took my napkin off my lap and looked at him. "What's happening tonight?" I asked.
"Boat cruise," Adrian supplied as he stood up stretching and patting his stomach. "I'm full." I would be surprised if he wasn't. He was feeding an army in there.
"Let's get you to the hospital," Darius told Adrian. Remembering Adrian’s finger, I looked at his hand. It looked bad. Darius held out his hand, helping me up.
I asked him, "A boat cruise?"
"It's for charity. Do you want to come?"
I scoffed. "Are you kidding?" If it was a party, count me in. Out loud, I said, "Of course I'm going. Let’s go, Adrian." Without waiting for his answer, I grabbed his arm. Hopefully the doctors or anyone can get the ring off without amputating his finger.
"My finger still hurts," Adrian complained, sounding more like a little child than an adult.
"This is why you don't wear other people's rings," Darius reminded him as he walking ahead of us. I turned Adrian's hand in my palm. His finger was slowly starting to return to normal. After waiting for an hour for a doctor, it took another solid hour to pry the ring off and return it to Darius.
There was no way I was putting that on.
"Where are we going?" I asked, catching up to Darius.
"We can look around."
The emergency clinic was just beside a big shopping plaza that we had to walk through to get to the car park. I looked around the windows and stopped when something caught my eye. It was a pet shop with the cutest husky I had ever seen.
"Dairy."
Darius stopped, turning around, his eyes focused on his phone. "Hmm?"
"Can we?"
He looked up. "Can we – Oh," he said, looking at the pet shop. He nodded and I felt like a teenager as I rushed past the crowds to the store. Adrian groaned behind us, whining how this was wasting his precious time to get ready for tonight’s party.
I knelt down at the glass window and looked as the puppy ran around the stall.
"It's so cute," I said, placing a hand on the window. The husky was pure-bred with the bluest eyes and thick white and grey fur.