Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

May lifted her head in confusion at the sound of the voice, and after her somewhat blurry vision finally

made out that it was Erin sitting next to her, she started bawling, “You’re finally here, Erin!”

Erin patted her shoulder to coax her before helping her stand. A few of May’s friends also helped her

out. “I’ll leave May in your care then,” one said.

Erin nodded and showed her appreciation for that. “Thank you for taking care of May for me!” she

exclaimed.

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When Erin and Sean walked out of the karaoke place, Erin’s cell phone started ringing again.

She then instructed Sean, who was standing next to her, “Answer the phone for me. I can’t take the call

while I prop my cousin

up.”

Sean was immediately in a good mood when he heard her orders. To think that she actually trusted him

that much to allow him to answer her phone for her. He grabbed her handbag and fished out her phone

from inside. The caller ID showed the

name “Chandler.”

A trace of curiosity flashed across his pupils as he picked up the call.

“Do you even know what time it is, Erin? Tell me, what time is it now?” the man on the other line barked

immediately after

the line connected.

It made Sean speechless for a short while.

“Say something!” Chandler barked again. He was sitting in his study the whole time while he waited for

Erin to return. It was agonizing for him to wait until ten, so naturally, he couldn’t wait to bombard her

with a million questions over the phone.

“It’s me, Chandler. It’s me,” Sean teased.

Chandler, who had been standing in front of the study’s floor–to–ceiling window, had an icy gaze as he

probed, “How come you have her phone with you right now?”

“Erin can’t answer the phone right now,” Sean replied vaguely, deciding to toy with him for a bit.

“You’d better get her to answer the phone right this instant,” Chandler huffed.

An image of Erin and Sean doing the dirty flashed through his mind for a split second, and it was

already enough to make his blood and emotions surge beyond his control.

Even Erin could hear Chandler’s low roar over the phone. It prompted her to tighten her hold around

May’s waist and shoot a glare at the prankster Sean. She then swiped her phone out of his hands and

replied in an upset tone, “What are you angry about, Chandler? Aren’t I just a little late coming home?

Something happened to my cousin, so I had to go pick her up. I’ll be back at the latest by eleven.”

As Chandler listened to her explanation and even heard a few car horn honks in the distance, he

gradually stopped frowning. He could sense that she was upset, so he thought for a while before

asking, “Do you need me to pick the both of you up?”

His shift in attitude also helped Erin calm down. “You don’t have to. I’ll have Sean send us back,” she

said.

Chandler frowned slightly at the fact that she said the word “us.” It seemed to him like she had decided

to bring her cousin.

back to the villa.

“What happened to your cousin?” he probed.

Erin explained, “She just got dumped, so she went and got herself wasted. I feel like staying with her

for the night, but if you don’t want her staying at the villa, I’ll bring her to a hotel and not return to the

villa until—”

“Bring her back here,” Chandler ordered, immediately ending the call.

Erin later handed her phone to Sean and said, “Let’s go.”

Sean seemed pretty surprised when he learned that Chandler had agreed to her idea of bringing her

cousin back to the villa. ” Who would’ve thought he’d actually make an exception for you? You know,

even as one of his three best friends, I still haven’t had the pleasure of spending the night at his place.

He’s really giving you the special treatment, huh.”

“Less talk, more opening the car door, please!” Erin cried.

Sean pressed a button on his car key, and the doors to his sports car opened automatically.

“Damn it, how could I have forgotten that your car only has two seats inside?” Erin grumbled.

“No worries. With how thin the both of you are, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as you don’t mind

squeezing together!”

Sean chuckled.

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Erin looked up and asked, “But what if someone sees us and flags us down?”

Sean waved his hand indifferently and replied, “What are the odds of that happening? It won’t happen,

I’m sure, so get in the car already.”

In the end, Erin decided to help May get into the car. So, while May leaned against the car window, she

sat on the side closer to Sean. The car’s front portion instantly became a little crowded with that

arrangement.

Since Erin was sitting close to Sean now, he could smell the fragrance emanating from her hair, making

him feel a bit flustered. He cleared his throat and reminded her, “You’d better fasten your seatbelts.”

Once Erin did what he said, he started driving the car at a steady speed.

During the drive, Sean’s voice had turned somewhat hoarse. And since Erin was sitting beside him,

she had to lean slightly forward to fit in the seat. His gaze could easily sweep to her chest area, which

made him involuntarily gulp a few times.

Even after shifting her body left and right, Erin still felt uncomfortable in her seat. She was starting to

regret not taking a taxi, but since she’d gone with this decision, she had no choice but to endure it for a

while.

Sean couldn’t help but feel his body getting hotter as he recalled the time he saw her blow–dry her

clothes in his bathroom. He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice the traffic light turning red.

“Red light!” Erin shouted.

It prompted him to slam the emergency brakes, causing Erin and May to jolt forward. May, passed out

drunk, was soundly asleep. Erin, though, was scared as she turned her head toward him and yelled,

“Do you even know how to drive?”

After all, her cousin was still in his car, so Erin naturally felt responsible for her safety.

Just as Sean was about to apologize, his gaze fell on her bare skin laid out for all to see after the first

two buttons of her chiffon dress had come undone.

Following his line of sight, Erin looked down at herself and let out an embarrassed shriek, “Eek!”