Chapter 75: Not for Now

“Rock, paper, scissors—” All three hands came down at the same time.

Sara had rock while Gwen and Emily had both chosen scissors.

There was a moment of silence before Sara immediately raised both hands in victory.

“Yes! Mine wins.” Gwen stared at her hand as though it had personally betrayed her, while Emily simply sighed and accepted the result.

I looked toward the emerald jacket and deep-red shirt Sara had chosen for me before picking them up again.

“Fine. You won.”

Sara smiled as I went back into the changing room.

“And don’t change anything.” I told her I wasn’t planning to, then changed into the outfit again.

By the time I came out, Gwen and Emily had already accepted their defeat, although Gwen still looked at the midnight-blue suit once before telling me, “Mine was better.” Sara immediately disagreed.

“Apparently rock-paper-scissors says otherwise.” Gwen pointed out that rock-paper-scissors had nothing to do with fashion, but Sara didn’t care anymore.

She had won.

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time.

The emerald jacket was still much brighter than anything I normally wore, but the black trousers and dark vest helped.

The deep-red shirt stood out beneath it, and the small gold details Sara had added worked surprisingly well.

When I looked toward her, she was already smiling.

“Happy?” I asked.

Sara nodded.

“Very.”

After that, we changed nothing else.

The girls kept the dresses and accessories I’d chosen for them, and I kept Sara’s suit on.

I also had the other two suits packed before we went to the counter.

Sara noticed almost immediately and asked, “You’re seriously still buying all three?” I nodded before handing over my card.

She started to object, but I spoke before she could.

“Meeting gift. All of it.”

Emily looked toward the bags being prepared.

“All of it?” I nodded again.

“Everything you chose, everything I chose, and the other two suits.” Sara opened her mouth, probably preparing another argument, but Gwen shook her head.

“Don’t bother. I told you this would happen.” Sara looked at her.

“You could at least pretend to be on our side.” Gwen smiled.

“I was. Then I learned it’s easier to let him pay.”

Once everything was finished, the bags were sent to the car so we didn’t have to carry them.

We left the store and continued toward the hotel Gwen had chosen.

It wasn’t long before the building came into view, and I pulled into the entrance before handing the car over to the valet.

The moment we walked toward the entrance, I noticed Sara and Emily looking around.

Gwen had already been here once, so she didn’t seem nearly as interested in the building itself.

One of the security guards stepped forward, and just like last time, I handed him the black card from my pocket.

He checked it for barely a second before his posture changed.

“Welcome back, Mr. Sterling. This way, sir.”

Sara looked at Gwen as we were led away from the main lobby.

“You didn’t mention this part.” Gwen smiled slightly.

“I wanted you to see it.” Emily looked toward the private elevator waiting for us and asked, “Do normal guests use this?” I answered, “Probably not,” before stepping inside with them.

The elevator took us directly upward, and when the doors opened, several members of the hotel staff were already waiting.

The same manager from our previous visit walked forward and greeted me.

“Mr. Sterling. Welcome back.” His eyes briefly moved across Gwen and then toward Sara and Emily before returning to me.

“If we had known you were coming, we would have prepared in advance.”

“No need,” I told him.

“We’re only here for lunch.”

“Of course, sir.” He led us toward the same private dining area on the upper floor.

Large windows covered most of one wall, giving us a clear view of the city below.

Sara slowed slightly when she entered, while Emily walked toward the window before stopping herself and returning to the table.

Gwen simply smiled as if she’d been waiting for their reactions.

The manager personally pulled out their chairs before handing each of us a menu.

He remained nearby while we chose our food, answering anything Sara or Emily asked without making either of them feel uncomfortable.

Once we finished ordering, I looked toward him and added, “Normal portions are fine today.” Gwen immediately laughed, remembering the last time.

The manager gave the smallest smile before nodding.

“Certainly, Mr. Sterling.”

Even after the other staff began bringing our food, the manager stayed nearby and personally checked each dish before it reached the table.

Sara watched him leave after everything had been served before looking toward me.

“Does this happen everywhere you go?” I shook my head.

“No. Sterling owns part of this hotel.” Emily stopped with her fork halfway toward her plate.

“Of course you do.” Gwen smiled.

“That was almost exactly my reaction.”

We started eating, and for the first few minutes the conversation stayed on college.

Sara and Emily told Gwen more about what she’d missed during the last three days, while Gwen complained that they were making it sound like she’d disappeared for a month.

I mostly listened until the conversation slowed down.

There was something I’d been curious about since meeting the two of them, so I looked toward Sara.

“What about your family?” She looked at me, clearly not expecting the question.

I added, “I know almost nothing about either of you. You’re Gwen’s friends, so I thought I should probably know more than your names.”

Sara looked down at her food for a moment before answering.

“There isn’t that much to tell. My father vanished.” The way she said it made me pause.

She continued before I could ask.

“He didn’t die. At least, nobody knows if he did. He just disappeared one day and never came back.”

Gwen’s expression softened.

It was obvious she already knew, so she didn’t interrupt.

I asked Sara, “No contact at all?” Sara shook her head.

“Nothing. No calls, no letters, no explanation. Just gone.” She gave a small shrug, but it didn’t look as casual as she wanted it to.

“After enough years, you stop expecting someone to walk through the door.”

I nodded slowly before looking toward Emily.

“And you?” Emily seemed almost embarrassed by how ordinary her answer was after Sara’s.

“Mine is normal.” Sara looked toward her and asked, “That’s all you’re giving him?” Emily smiled slightly.

“What else do you want? I have a mother and father. We argue sometimes, we eat dinner together, they ask too many questions about college. Completely normal.”

“Sounds nice,” I said.

Emily looked at me for a moment before asking, “What about yours?” Sara also looked toward me, while Gwen became noticeably quieter.

She knew enough about my parents to know there wasn’t going to be a particularly warm story.

“Strict,” I answered.

Sara waited for more before asking, “Just strict?” I thought about it for a few seconds before nodding.

“That’s mostly what I remember.

They were rarely around, so most of my memories are them telling me what I was supposed to do whenever they were there.

What I should study, how I should behave, what I shouldn’t spend money on, who I should meet.” I glanced around the private dining room before adding, “But I got all of this afterward, so I don’t exactly see it as a bad deal.”

Nobody answered.

I looked between the three of them and realized I’d managed to make lunch depressing without even trying.

Gwen’s expression had changed the most, and even Sara didn’t seem to know what to say.

I picked up my glass.

“Okay. Enough family questions.” After taking a drink, I looked toward the three of them.

“This is supposed to be your trip anyway. You three should mainly be talking. Not me.”

Sara’s expression slowly returned to normal.

She glanced toward Gwen before looking back at me, and a small smile appeared.

“Fine. Then I have a question about Gwen.” Gwen immediately became suspicious.

“Why do I already not like this?” Sara ignored her and looked directly at me.

“Are you her boyfriend?”

I stared at her for a moment.

“Seriously?” Sara nodded, completely serious now, while Emily looked interested enough that I knew she wanted the answer too.

Gwen had stopped eating entirely.

I looked toward Gwen and then back at Sara.

“She’s too young. So no. Not for now.”

“Not for now?” all three of them said at exactly the same time.

I blinked before looking around the table.

“Why did all three of you say that?” Emily recovered first.

“You’re underage too.”

“That’s not really the point,” I replied.

Gwen was still staring at me, and I decided not to look at her.

“Right now, I don’t think I have time for a relationship anyway. Maybe after a year or two.”