Lake (Trinity Academy 3)

The idea of somewhat flies right out the doors as they open and the Falcon, Layla, and Preston, yell, “Welcome!”

Lee darts in behind me which has Mason pushing Kingsley out of the elevator while he gestures for the group to cut it.

I place the suitcase in the door so they won’t close, then turn to Lee who’s peeking down the hallway, watching my friends walk toward her suite.

“It’s all a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?” I ask and taking a chance, I place my hand on her shoulder.

She nods while swallowing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to hear yelling when the doors opened.”

“They’re all just excited to meet you,” I explain.

She takes a breath and lifts her chin with determination on her face. “I’ll try hard to adapt faster to the way you do things here.”

“You’re doing a great job already,” I encourage her.

Then she does the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She holds up her small fist and smiling, she says, “Fighting!”

I’ve heard the term in the dramas I’ve watched, and know it has a similar meaning to you can do this or good luck.

I imitate her gesture and grinning, I say, “Fighting.”

It has her smile widening, and for the first time, it shows in her eyes, making them sparkle like black diamonds.

I move my hand and placing my arm around her shoulder, I nudge her out of the elevator. I feel the need to warn her as I pull the suitcase behind us. “There might be some more hugging, and when they get really excited, they all talk at once.”

“Okay.” She nods, taking in the information like a dry sponge.

“Another thing, if you hear Mason and Kingsley snapping at each other, don’t worry. It’s the way they express their love for each other.”

“Okay.” I grin down at her because somehow I’ve crossed over from being the strange, new guy, to being the only one she knows.

“Mr. Chargill’s first name is Mason. His girlfriend is Kingsley, with the blue eyes,” she quickly checks with me to see if she got it right.

“Yes.” I pull her to a stop outside the door by the shoe cabinet Preston ordered for her. “You’re going to meet Layla, she’s Falcon’s girlfriend.”

“Falcon. Is that Mr. Reyes?”

I nod. “The other guy is Preston. I think he’s most excited to meet you.”

“Why?” she asks, her eyes widening slightly.

“He’s really clever, and since he heard you were coming, he’s been studying everything about Korea.”

“Okay.” She instantly relaxes, then glances at the door.

“Oh, Preston also got a shoe cabinet for you.”

I step out of my shoes and place them with the others, and when I turn back to Lee, there’s an emotional look on her face.

She steps out of her heels and places them next to mine. When she shuts the cabinet doors, she rests her hand on top of it, tilting her head to the side.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

She takes a deep breath before she turns to me and nods. “I’m just touched by the consideration you and your friends are showing me. I didn’t expect any of it.”

“Are you ready?” I ask, just to make sure. I don’t want to push her too fast.

“I’m ready.”

“Fighting,” I whisper which has her smiling again.

When she steps into the suite, Kingsley begins to bounce with excitement, clapping her hands. “Do you like it?”

“Damn, woman!” Mason growls. “Give her time to actually look around.”

“Shut up,” she mumbles back at him.

An amused chuckle sounds up from next to me, and I take a step to the side so I can lean against the wall while I watch Lee’s reaction to everything.

Preston darts forward and bowing at the waist, he says, “Annyeonghaseyo. Mannaseo bangapsseumnida.”

Lee’s smile softens to a grateful look as she bows. “Annyeonghaseyo.” When she straightens up, she switches back to English, which is good because saying hello, it’s nice to meet you just about covers the extent of what I’ve learned when it comes to complete sentences. “It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for the shoe cabinet.”

“You’re welcome. I’ve ordered a grill so we can have Korean BBQs, and I wasn’t sure which beauty products you prefer so I got a variety. Just let me know if there’s something else you’d like from Korea and I’ll order it for you.”

When Preston stops to take a breath, there’s absolute silence as Lee just stares at him, a look of awe on her face.

Then Kingsley asks, “Why don’t you order stuff like that for us?”

Preston frowns at her. “What could you possibly need. You have enough candy in your suite to last me an entire lifetime.”

I smile because it’s really good seeing Preston come out of his shell.

“What beauty products did you get?’ Kingsley asks, and I notice how she keeps sneaking glances at Lee, giving her time to gather her emotions.