115


    "I mean, he was drunk, so he said that out of the blue."


    Luke''s frown eased as he said,


    "Oh. That''s okay then."


    Ava nodded her head and looked away from him. She bit her bottom lip, not knowing where to start.


    She felt him touching her hand. Luke held her hand and asked,


    "Do you want to say something? I am your friend before I be your lover. You can share it with me."


    Ava looked at him and took a deep breath.


    "Luke, there is something I really want to talk about."


    "Yeah, sure."


    "Luke, I can''t-"


    Aya was interrupted by a ringtoneing near them. Ava turned around to see a boy running toward them, handing Luke a bag. The ringtone wasing from inside the bag.


    That was Luke''s bag. He thanked the boy before pulling out his phone.


    Ava could see the name of the person who called. It was his father''s call. Luke received the call.


    "Hello, Dad."


    Ava lowered her head as she moved her feet across the floor She could hear his father''s booming voice speaking to him.


    "Yeah, Dad. I remember what you saidst night. But I believe I can do it."


    After a short conversation, Luke hung up the phone. He then turned to Ava and said,


    "Sorry for that. So what were you saying?"


    Ava looked at his worried expression and asked,


    "Is everything okay?"


    "Yeah, of course."


    "Last night, you left suddenly."


    "The boys wanted to talk to me about the match, and then I was about to enter the house again. However, the guards stopped me. I almost picked up a fight with


    them, but then my dad called me, and I had to go back home."


    Ava listened to him carefully. By his looks, he looked very serious.


    "What happened to you, Luke? You don''t look fine today."


    He lowered his head and muttered,


    "Tomorrow is the final match."


    "You should be happy about that. I believe you will win the match."


    Luke lifted his gaze to look at her. He smiled at her sadly.


    "I worry that my father will not let me continue in this field if I do not win. He threatened to send me overseas if I lost the match. I don''t want it. It is my dream to y basketball."


    Ava could see his painful eyes. He really loved basketball. She remembered how he fought for her withn and was injured a few months back. That time he could not y for long time and looked upset.


    "I am confident you will win, Luke."


    Luke nodded his head and grinned at her. "With your wishes, I can do anything. I have no desire to go overseas. I want to live here with mom and dad. I don''t know why my dad doesn''t want to listen to me."


    Ava averted her gaze away from him and muttered,


    "Luke, I-"


    Once again, she was interrupted. However, this time it was the coach who interrupted her.


    "Luke, return to practice. It''s not time for having a chit-chat with your girlfriend."


    Ava was stunned by the coach''s words. Luke smiled at Ava before getting up from the bench.


    "Vam going back to practice. We will talkter. Maybe we will talk tomorrow after the match. You wille to watch the match, right?"


    Ava rose to her feet and replied,


    "Yes, I will."


    She wanted to talk to him today. But, after ncing at others who had stopped ying and were waiting for their captain to join them, she let out a sigh and decided to speak with him tomorrow.


    "Good luck, Luke."


    "Thank you, Ava."


    With a smile on her face, Luke went back to his practice.


    Ava stared at him. He yed extremely well. He had won the practice matchst


    time, so she assumed he would win and achieve his dream.


    After a while, Ava turned to leave the basketball court. As she passed by the


    court, she overheard others discussing the match.


    n will win the match without any doubt."


    "Of course he will. He doesn''t even need to practice."


    "I heard he changed the time of practice. He arrived here early in the morning to


    practice and left an hour ago."


    "He is probably very busy."


    "Today is his birthday. I think he and his friends have ns."


    "I wish I could be part of the Power Gang.


    While listening to the boys and girls, she walked towards the campus''s other gate.


    ''So Stephen was in the middle of practice when Dad called him,'' she thought.


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    $


    Ava came to a halt when she realized she had yet to take her phone from Ronald,


    She started to look for Ronald until he found him in the cafeteria with Paul.


    "Hi, Ava."


    "Hi. Steph said you have my phone," Ava said.


    Ronald lifted his brows when he heard her. He said,


    "Yeah, I have."


    "Okay. Please give it back to me. I am roaming around without my phone," Ava uttered, extending her hand toward him.


    A smirk appeared on Ronald''s face, which caught her off guard. Paul let out a chuckle.


    "Actually I had," Ronald muttered.


    "What do you mean?" Ava asked with a confused look.


    Ronald''s smirk deepened as he replied,


    "My best friend took your phone away. You can get it back from him, you know."


    Ava was taken aback. "What!"


    Paul nodded his head as he spoke,


    "We are not sure where he is. You can do a search for him. He has your phone."


    Ava gave Paul and Ronald a disappointed look, then left the cafeteria.


    She recalledn telling her that he would be outside the campus. She gritted her teeth and mumbled,


    "This boy!"


    She left campus and went outside to look around. Ian was nowhere to be found.


    She felt annoyed. Where could she find him right now?


    At that time, a bike approached from the other side and came to a stop beside


    her.


    She was shocked by the sudden action. The bike, which was ck in color, gave


    off the impression of being extremely luxurious as if it were reserved exclusively for the bad boys.


    She stepped back from the bike.


    As she took a quick nce at the helmet, she noticed that the boy was removing


    it.


    n?"


    She eximed as soon as she realized it was him.


    He motioned her to get on his bike and said,


    "Didn''t I tell you that I have my ways to get you toe back to me? Let''s go. I


    freed up my entire schedule for the day to spend with you."