Page 87 of HER SISTER

The next morning, I was back at Mya and I's apartment.

Mostly because I needed to change and get ready—besides, Mili had to head over to the gallery anyway, so it seemed like the best idea.

The LA air was warm and the sky was blue whilst the sun managed to shine perfectly.

It felt like the perfect day to do brunch and maybe even go shopping or do something downtown.

Was this brunch a double date?

Because it's beginning to feel that way every time I think about it.

Honestly, I felt really happy to know that Mya found someone, even if I never expected it to be Ryder.

At this point our whole friend group consisted of couples—but at the same time, they were already couples before the friend group had formed.

Like Damon for example—he was already dating Arielle when he met Mya, and then he seemed to bring Arielle along to the hangouts with Mya and Frankie.

Then Arielle brought Marco along since they were already friends through Bio.

And then Marco brought in Willow—and so forth.

It just all seemed to coincidentally happen like that.

Ironically, I liked it like that, even before Mili—the couple dynamic was never too strong or made me feel like I was imposing.

"Your dress is so cute," Mya said as she looked down at my short flowy white dress.

I managed to curl my hair and pull some of it back and out of my face into a small braid while minimal makeup remained on my face.

"It's giving Beverly Hills."

I looked over to Ryder with an amused smile before looking back to Mya, "He's been hanging out with you just a little too much," I said as we walked down the tan sidewalk.

Mya laughed, "He's not wrong though," she pointed out, suddenly looking down to my Louis Vuitton bag gifted from Mili—to my Hermé's slides, "LA has definitely influenced you."

I dramatically parted my lips, "Um okay I don't know how to take that," I said as we merged to the left of the sidewalk to let a group of people walk past.

Mya laughed again, "It's totally not a bad thing—it looks good on you," she quickly reassured me.

I hummed suspiciously, "Yeah okay—"

I suddenly looked down to Mya's flowy white halterneck to her matching skirt before glancing over to Ryder who wore a white button-down and cream pants.

"It's giving... you guys like to match," I said, trying to come up with the best thing.

Ryder smiled, "Okay, so we're going to act like you and Mili haven't matched before?" he pointed out.

And I couldn't help but purse my lips into a smile.

"Right... and you know we all purposely matched," Mya emphasized as we finally approached the brunch spot.

I jokingly rolled my eyes, "Sorry I'm not as good as Ryder when it comes to that," I said as we entered the restaurant.

And automatically I could smell fresh bacon and coffee.

The restaurant was jaw-droppingly beautiful.

A clear BoHo theme was present—from the white and forest green colors to the light wood tables and white marble floors.

There were even perfect green plants lining all around the restaurant.

The windows were large and allowed for ample light to spill in—even on the second level above us.

Unsurprisingly, there were already a lot of people seated with plates of food or flutes of mimosas conversating with one another over the low delicate music.

"Mya?" a girl suddenly called out as she rounded the corner, "Hey," she greeted her, opening her arms for a hug.

And I couldn't help but purse my lips to prevent myself from laughing when Mya only gave her a skeptical look.

I seriously cannot with Mya right now

Ryder nudged Mya as if to tell her to just hug her—especially with the growing awkwardness around us all.

Mya suddenly leaned forward, side hugging the blonde girl—whose blue eyes looked like they had swallowed the ocean whole.

She was really pretty and she seemed nice.

Why didn't Mya like her?

"How's Mili? She's been off the radar recently," the blonde suddenly said.

Never mind I take back what I just said.

Mya's dark eyes suddenly looked at me, "Ask her girlfriend—she's the one who spends the most time with her," she said, and her words almost seemed personal.

Seriously, who is this?

The blonde's eyes met mine, and suddenly her smile seemed forced, "I didn't know she was dating anyone," she admitted.

I hummed, "Now you know—" I suddenly looked around the busy restaurant, "—Are you going to seat us or..." I trailed off as I looked back to her.

The blonde didn't hesitate to nod a few times, "Oh yeah, of course," she said, suddenly walking around the hostess podium to tap on the tablet a few times, "I'll put you in my section."

I narrowed my eyes, as if we wanted to be in her section.

Ryder drew in a deep breath as soon as he glanced over to me, clearly picking up on the tension.

The blonde grabbed some of the thick leather menus, "Don't worry, you're in really good hands this afternoon—" she suddenly looked to me before saying, "I'm Lana by the way."

I forced a smile even if I wanted to drag us all out of here and tell Mili to meet us somewhere else.

But at the same time, it would make our waitress think she had some sort of one-up over me just because she knows my girlfriend.

"I really thought Ana was about to throw hands no lie," Ryder snickered to himself as the blonde waitress walked off to her other table.

Mya laughed slightly, shaking her head to herself as she looked down at her menu, "I would too if it was someone you had slept with," she told Ryder.

I hummed about to agree—

Until I had realized what she said.

"They slept together?"

Mya suddenly looked up from her menu, "I thought you knew? You seemed like you did?" she questioned, clearly not realizing that I wasn't aware of the details.

I drew in a deep calm breath, hating that my blood pressure was rising at such a fast rate.

It seemed to make Lana's previous words irritate me a little deeper—from asking about my girlfriend to pointing out that she didn't know she was dating—to even seating us in her section, probably knowing Mili was going to meet us.

"Mili should really give you a list of who she's been with," Mya determined.

My brows raised, "There's a list?"

"Okay!" Ryder suddenly interjected, looking past us both as he said, "Where are the mimosas? We probably shouldn't be discussing this sober."

Mya's definitely met her match for sure.

"Let's get a line of shots then because I think I need to be a little blacked out to have this conversation," I said, knowing Mili's past wasn't something I necessarily wanted to think about.

Much less talk about.

Mya laughed slightly, "But then you won't remember..." she trailed off when I raised a brow, "Oh okay, I see now," she laughed yet again.

I looked past Mya when I noticed Lana walking toward us with four flutes and an ice bucket that held a bottle of champagne and a glass pitcher of orange juice.

"I assumed Mili would be joining so I brought four glasses," Lana said as she carefully set everything down on the table.

I hummed, clearly unamused as I grabbed one of the glasses, "Nice of you to think of my girlfriend," I said as Lana began preparing our mimosas.

The blonde only smiled, "Of course," she said, and as soon as I realized she was being genuine, I could conclude that she was naturally blonde.

Because I was being completely sarcastic.

I mean, is that Mili's type?

Blondes?

Frankie was blonde, and even if Alyssa's hair was more of a dirty blonde or very light brown, it was obviously dyed.

I took a long sip of my mimosa—maybe we should've had an ex's talk.

I mean, the only person that came up on my list was Kiara.

That was it.

But apparently, Mili has more than just one or two people she's slept with.

And I knew that—I knew what she was known for before even going there with her.

But it doesn't make it any easier—I mean, she even traveled around for a little while... what did she do in her free time in other countries?

I took another long sip of my mimosa, hoping that the bubbly alcohol would push my overbearing thoughts away.

But it wasn't hard to admit that I didn't know much about her past.

All I knew was Alyssa and Frankie—and now Lana.

Would I just see Mili's past hook-ups everywhere I go like some ghosts that were destined to haunt me?

I took yet another long sip of my mimosa, contemplating if I really should take a shot right now.

Classes are canceled for student conferences tomorrow, so I could definitely get away with drinking and not worrying about homework or due assignments.

"Okay let's slow down just a little there," Mya said before I could bring my flute back to my lips for another long sip.

Ryder laughed, "Coming from the one who has us take rounds of shots back to back," he joked with her.

Mya only rolled her eyes at him, "Not too much," she said, clearly joking back, which earned a laugh from him as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

And I couldn't help but smile slightly, completely forgetting about Mili for just a moment as I witnessed the two in their own element.

Mya suddenly looked past me, "Well my sister just arrived, and I know she'll agree with me," she pointed out, giving Ryder a smart look.

I suddenly turned my head, tuning out the pair in front of me as I watched my girlfriend enter further into the bright restaurant.

She looked as beautiful as ever—from her long straightened hair to her glowy face and soft lips, I couldn't possibly take my eyes off of her.

Especially with the white tee she wore which matched her white and cream-colored graphic jeans that hung low on her waist.

Mili suddenly looked over to the blonde approaching her—and I swear I felt something inside of me snap.

Of course, Lana's about to try and talk to her.