Page 6 of HER SISTER

Safe to say that Mili occupied my mind for the rest of the night, and trust me, it was completely against my own will.

I knew better than to get involved with her—so why couldn't I stop thinking about her?

Getting drunk didn't help, especially with her presence near me the entire night—well until she left to go God knows where.

I kept sneaking glances of her, which luckily she never caught on to.

Then again, sneaking glances, was what helped me notice the way she and Frankie eyed each other.

I wasn't mad. I was just... unsettled? I don't know. I hated that I even knew about them in that way. I honestly wish I could scrub the knowledge clean from my brain.

The next day, my hangover was so bad that I actually thought I was going to die.

I laid in bed the entire morning with a pillow smushed to my face, praying for a hangover cure—especially since I had that date with Cam tonight.

Then... I had an idea.

I live in LA so there's bound to be a cafe that sells pressed juice, tea, or coffee that helps aid in a hangover recovery.

Although I'd rather not have coffee—it's not my thing. But I'd love tea or pressed juice.

With that thought in mind, I got dressed in shorts and a cropped hoodie with my usual slides.

I threw my hair up into the neatest ponytail that I could conjure and ordered an Uber to the cafe I had researched.

Luckily, there's always Uber's nearby in LA, so the nearest one was only two minutes away, which gave me time to spray myself in a sweet perfume and head downstairs to the lobby.

After a short Uber ride, there I was at the local coffee shop named Verve.

It was the nicest cafe I had ever stepped foot in—and trust me, I'm not being dramatic.

It was light and airy, rustic yet modern, and the environment was quiet even if there were a few groups of people in there. Luckily, it wasn't too packed either.

I ordered their hangover cure pressed juice, which I felt incredibly grateful to have. I honestly didn't have much of a backup plan from here.

"Looks like we had the same idea," a voice said, sitting down beside me, which easily made my eyes dart up from my phone.

And of course, it had to be Mili—who was holding the same drink as me.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "You didn't even drink that much last night," I said, my tone entirely sarcastic, "You actually left early," I pointed out, recalling last night's events.

Mili raised a brow, sipping the juice from her clear to-go cup, "I see you noticed my absence."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I diverted my attention back to my phone where I scrolled through my Instagram feed.

After a few moments of silence, Mili said, "You know it's kind of rude to be on your phone right?" she sarcastically said, "We're actively having a conversation."

I laughed once, "I wouldn't call this a conversation."

A few more moments of silence grew around us, and I honestly felt like I won some type of challenge or game.

Well, that was until my phone was easily snatched from my hands.

I instantly looked over to a smirking Mili, "Give it back," I demanded.

Mili shrugged, sliding my phone into the pocket of her gray sweatshorts, "I think I might keep it until you decide to be respectful."

"Respectful?" I said, but internally I was urging myself to not make this into a big deal, "This is as respectful as it'll get. You forget we kissed right? Or correction, made out? The only thing we can really be is cordial. So stop trying to be my friend."

And there goes not making it into a big deal.

Mili tilted her head, "What kiss? Wait, we made out?" she said, making a sarcastic shocked face, "I really don't recall those events ever happening," she mimicked my words from last night.

I gave her a deadpan look, "Mili I'm serious."

Mili took a brief sip of her juice, "Me too."

I rolled my eyes with a huff, deciding to snatch her juice away. If she can take my phone, then I'll take her drink.

Mili's brows furrowed as I sat the to-go cup of juice on the other side of me, "You don't even need this," I pointed out.

"Yeah I do," Mili said, trying to reach over me to grab the drink back, but I only held it farther away.

And just like that, goosebumps prickled my skin at just the mere touch of her warm body brushing against mine.

Mili continued reaching for her drink, "You don't know what I did after leaving last night," she pointed out.

I raised a brow. "Enlighten me."

Mili tilted her head, still leaning over me with our faces merely inches apart, "If I do will you give me my drink back?"

I hummed like I was actually thinking about it, but I inevitably ended up saying, "Sure."

Mili shrugged, "I went out with a few friends at a nearby bar," she said as she continued to reach for the drink, "One of the friends turned out to have a thing for me so one thing led to another—"

"Yeah, you can have the drink back now," I said, handing her the drink back, which caused her to take the cup and resume her original position beside me.

Mili briefly sipped her tea, "You're the one who said you wanted to know," she reminded me.

I rolled my eyes, hating that the idea of her fucking someone else struck a nerve within me. I really hope my irritation wasn't obvious, "I didn't know what further details came after, so I figured I'd spare myself the visual."

I knew it was a half-lie.

Yeah, I didn't want to visualize her fucking another girl, but at the same time, the idea of it bothered me.

"Really?" Mili asked, raising a brow, "Because you seem more pressed than the juice they serve here."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "Pressed? Why would I be pressed?" I said, which only earned a shrug from Mili.

"I don't know. You tell me," she said, raising a sharp brow.

Maybe I was bothered, but that didn't necessarily mean I had to admit that.

"I couldn't tell you—because I'm not pressed," I said, pointing it out in a sarcastic manner.

Still, I knew it wasn't enough. The excuse just sounded like a bluff, and Mili would definitely call it.

"Then again, I'm into Cam. So if it were her saying what you just said then I would definitely be pressed," I said, knowing that the excuse sounded good enough.

I mean, the statement alone was definitely a bit much, but I had to say it to prove my point of not being bothered by what Mili does in her free time.

I also wanted to see if Mili was bothered by the mention of me with someone else.

But Mili only smirked, clearly indicating that she was unfazed, "Clearly, she's not the only person you're into," she pointed out, allowing her dark eyes to hold mine completely.

My blood suddenly boiled, knowing Mili now had the upper hand.

I hated that she always knew what to say and how to say it.

"It does mean that—but I guess we'll see how it goes tonight," I said, forcing my tone to remain unshaken and nonchalant.

Even if all I wanted to do was go off on her.

Mili stayed silent, strictly holding my stare.

But after a few silent moments, she seemingly said, "Yeah I guess so."

I smiled slightly, noticing she was short of words. I could tell as she sipped her juice that she was officially out of comebacks.

It was kind of shocking. Mostly, that I won whatever game we were playing.

However, I still wanted to dig it in more.

"Who knows she might be my first," I said, smiling slightly as I turned my attention to the front of the cafe.

Mili choked slightly on her juice, sitting the cup down on the table in front of us as she turned to me slightly, "You can't be serious."

I turned to meet her stare, tilting my head, "Trust me, she would be my first," I said, knowing that I definitely wasn't lying.

Mili shook her head. "I'm not talking about that Atiana," she said, and I couldn't miss the sudden tightness in her tone.

The use of my full name easily caught my attention since most people call me Ana as instructed.

"You deserve better than her for your first time," she said, clearly bothered that we were even having this conversation.

I narrowed my eyes at her, slightly offended by the way she was talking about Cam.

Yeah, me and Cam might not know each other, but I still found her attractive. I still liked her.

So, Mili talking about her in a negative tone only irritated me.

"You expect me to take advice from you?" I said, my tone coming off unusually cold and defensive. I already knew this conversation wasn't going to end well. "Someone who's slept with so many people you've probably lost track?"

Mili's jaw tightened, "Who I've slept with doesn't define me as a person."

Well... She's actually right.

But I had no other argument. Nothing else to provide that will declare me the winner of this argument.

I overplayed my hand and now I've lost.

I stared down at my lap, pursing my lips. "Sorry, that was out of line," I said, knowing I shouldn't have said that.

Mili sighed, reaching into her pocket. "Here," she said, placing my phone on the table and rising from her seat, "I'll see you around Atiana," she excused herself, walking away before I could even respond.

I felt my face burn with a harsh heat, feeling completely embarrassed that I had taken it to that level.

Mili seemed upset with me, but maybe that was a good thing.

Maybe it would help keep us apart.

—

"So what do you think?" Cam asked, overlooking the busy city of LA.

I stayed silent as I admired the city.

Cam took me to a hidden lookout by the Hollywood sign—setting up a picnic for the two of us right as the sun was setting.

The gesture was intimate and beautiful, but it somehow felt cliché, which diminished the mood for me.

Don't get me wrong. It was sweet, but some part of me wanted more.

If this was somewhere unique for her then where did that leave every other normal place that she suggests we go to? I mean we're in LA, there has to be cooler spots to go to.

I don't know. Maybe I'm self-sabotaging all of this.

Seriously, the gesture was entirely cute.

"It's beautiful Cam," I said, forcing the awe tone in my voice, "It was a good place to choose for our date..." I trailed off, realizing I didn't know how exactly to define what this was.

Were we just hanging out? Feeling the idea of us out?

"Or whatever this is?" I said, awkwardly finishing my previous sentence.

Cam chuckled, "Technically this is a date," she said, easily saving me from embarrassment, "And this was only the warm-up, I have more."

I almost let out a sigh of relief, excited that she had more in store. Something more unique.

"Well, this would've worked too," I said, and I cringed internally at how obvious that lie sounded.

Cam let out a laugh, "Yeah, you're a terrible liar," she joked.

I couldn't help but laugh with her, "Awful I know."