Page 99 of HER SISTER

"So this is Jaden and Jalen," she motioned to the two light-skinned guys who were obviously twins.

And almost immediately they both sent me a comforting wave and smile.

Cher motioned to the guy with dark hair and light eyes, "This is my boyfriend, Davis," she said before motioning to the brunette with wavy dark hair and dark eyes, "This is Sloan—" she introduced the woman who sent me a warm smile, "—And this is her girlfriend, Karter," she introduced the other brunette woman who had lighter eyes with her hair pulled back.

I sent everyone a friendly wave and a smile, "It's nice to meet you all," I said as Cher motioned me to sit.

Jaden quickly slid down to make enough room for me at their table where I already seemed to feel welcome.

"Hopefully Cher hasn't scared you away already," the other twin named Jalen joked.

I couldn't help but laugh when Cher gave the man a narrowed look, "That's funny because I was actually warning her about you," she said.

And before Jalen could form a rebuttal, the woman named Sloan suddenly said, "So are you from here Ana?"

Automatically I shook my head, "No, I'm actually from Florida, but I'm studying at UCLA right now," I explained.

Karter's brows raised as she leaned her head on Sloan's shoulder, "I heard UCLA is lit," she said.

I nodded a few times, knowing that I had had fun, aside from the midst of drama, "It is honestly. You have the hills parties, bars, clubs—you also have really good food and places to go outside of LA," I said, trying to explain the diversity of California as a whole.

The man named Davis nodded, "We should go over spring break," he determined.

Almost automatically, Jaden nodded, "Yeah, that would be so fucking fun," he said as he took a sip of his drink.

I smiled, "If you guys did come, we could always link up—my friends would love you guys," I said, which easily earned a few nods from Cher.

"Oh hell yes, we definitely should," Cher said.

I felt my smile grow, realizing that I was actually making friends right now.

It feels nice to know that another world exists outside of everything I built.

"So do you guys go to school too?" I asked, realizing that they looked to be around the same age as me.

Maybe they go to NYU?

Sloan nodded, "Yes, we're actually on our last year at Harvard," she said, and almost immediately my brows shot up.

"Harvard? Oh, you guys must be smart as hell," I determined as I looked around at them all.

Davis laughed as he popped some chips into his mouth, which I later realized was cool ranch Doritos—

Where did he even get those from?

"You could say that, but the twins can be a little slow sometimes," Davis joked, and it was clear that this group definitely joked with each other a lot.

Especially when the twins managed to flick Davis off openly.

Cher shook her head at their antics, "So, Ana, what brings you to New York?" she questioned.

I hummed as I took a brief sip of my drink, "UCLA has these semester trips, so I'm here to basically tour the New York Times," I explained, easily earning nods from everyone, "What about you guys? Isn't Harvard in Massachusetts?" I said, suddenly realizing where we were.

Karter suddenly nodded, "Yeah, we all actually grew up in the Hamptons, so we're just visiting for the weekend," she explained, and automatically my brows raised yet again.

The Hamptons?

Oh, so they got money-money.

I suddenly looked over when I noticed a waitress holding a round of shots for us all to take from the platter.

And they get down like my friends?

Good to know.

I suddenly took one of the shots as I helped pass down the remaining ones while Cher seemed to do the same.

Soon we were clinking our glasses together and throwing back the burning liquid.

Which seemed to happen a few more times as we all conversed about random topics.

"So Ana, are you with anyone?" Cher asked with a playful smile, and it was obvious that she was just curious.

But even still, the straightforward question alone managed to catch me off guard.

Mostly because I wasn't quite sure how to answer it.

Sloan playfully rolled her eyes, "Here Cher goes," she determined, which earned a laugh from Karter who was currently trying Sloan's drink.

Meanwhile, Cher only seemed to shrug, "A girl has to know the tea—and you looked a little bit too in your thoughts over there," she told me.

However, before I could respond or ask what that even meant, Jalen suddenly rolled his eyes and said, "Cher swears she's the love whisperer after the whole Sloan and Karter thing."

I suddenly looked over to Sloan and Karter curiously—and almost immediately, Karter managed to say, "We pretended to be in a relationship for a bet."

And just like that, I seemed to be even more surprised.

So maybe Mili and I didn't have it so bad drama-wise.

"For over six months, mind you," Cher added as she shook her head in amusement.

I couldn't help but laugh slightly, "Okay... what?" I questioned, clearly taking in the new information.

Sloan only shook her head before anyone could explain, "Hold-on, hold-on—you never answered Cher's question."

Cher suddenly nodded a few times, "Yeah, tea for tea," she said, which clearly meant I wasn't learning about anything until I spilled my own tea.

I let out a dramatic sigh, "I had a girlfriend," I finally admitted.

Karter and Sloan both suddenly clapped to themselves before doing some weird dance as they sang out We won, We won.

I tilted my head as I watched not just the twins, but Cher and Davis pass over twenty dollar bills each.

I'm confused what did they win?

Sloan happily counted the money as Karter said, "We knew that you were into women and no one wanted to believe us, so we made a bet."

I couldn't help but laugh, "So bets are a big thing with you guys?" I said, clearly amused by all this.

Davis nodded, "Hell yeah—we just bet on how fast a raindrop could fall down the window," he said, easily earning another laugh from me.

"Or that time with Kloan and the bicycle," Jaden added as he took a sip of his drink.

Kloan?

Bicycle?

What?

"Kloan is Karter and Sloan's dog," Cher filled me in.

But it only seemed to leave me more confused, what did a dog do with a bicycle?

Sloan let out a content sigh as she handed Karter the stack of twenties, "Now back to Ana," she determined, easily pinpointing everyone's attention on me.

And just like that, I was telling them everything.

From juggling Mili and Cam.

To sneaking around with Mili behind my best friend's back who just so happened to be Mili's sister as well.

I even explained all the recent events, and what led to where we are now.

In exchange, Karter and Sloan seemed to explain this bet they made in high school, which inevitably led to them falling in love with each other.

However, they seemed to have more than a few break-ups and they even seemed to get with other people as well.

All in all, hearing about their relationship seemed to give me hope about mine.

"I'm just so happy to meet someone so emotionally mature," Cher gushed as she subtly side-eyed Sloan and Karter, which easily earned a laugh from me, "Seriously, taking a step back was such a good idea, Ana."

"Nah but I still can't get over how her sister found out," Jaden chuckled to himself.

Davis nodded with him, "Nah for real, in front of everyone is insane. I think I would've passed out," he laughed slightly, and I couldn't help but internally agree, knowing that I almost did.

Karter shook her head, "Her mom knowing is crazy too," she said as she managed to nudge Davis whom she laughed along with.

Sloan hummed as she sipped her drink, "I just think it's cute how you guys stuck together through it all," she said, subtly side-eyeing her girlfriend who only awkwardly pursed her lips.

"Here we go with this one," Cher shook her head to herself.

And I knew exactly what they were referring to, especially since I had been queued into everything.

I seriously felt a part of this group already.

Karter pressed a kiss to Sloan's cheek before kissing her lips, "I love you though," she told her.

Sloan didn't hesitate to kiss her back, "I love you more," she said, and almost immediately everyone groaned in annoyance.

I couldn't help but furrow my brows, "What am I missing here?" I questioned.

Karter only hummed as she continued to stare at Sloan, "Nothing, just that I love her more," she said.

Sloan narrowed her eyes, "It's crazy that you say that, especially since I love you more," she emphasized, and suddenly I knew why everyone was groaning.

They did say that they were a competitive kind of couple.

Mili and I are the type to just agree to disagree and move on.

"Ana let's go grab a drink by the bar shall we?" Cher suddenly offered as Sloan and Karter began bantering.

I didn't hesitate to nod, "Sounds amazing," I determined.