Emily caught the ball with her forearms.

Jae ran after it. He had to reach the bleachers before it did so he could hit it back to their court. His legs and arms pumped, moving with all their might. Once he achieved his goal, he turned around, ready to meet the ball.

He shuffled his feet. He dug the ball from almost above the ground for more power. It would need a hefty amount to get it back to court.

Logan had been ready. Alex had been too. They both occupied the sidelines, waiting for the ball. It was unpredictable which direction Jae would aim it to.

Logan dashed for it. It headed for his area of the court. He quickly received it with his wrists, flying it over the net.

Jaime received the ball with a toss. Angie passed it with another toss to Lilly. Then, Lilly spiked it over the net.

Logan jumped, blocking the ball.

It landed on the floor.

The game ended with a score of 25-24.

“Well done” Jaime clapped. It was interesting. None of the other players complained about Emily overusing power. Instead, they found a way to make it work.

If they had to do more sets, Emily would faint. Half the time, she avoided the ball. The other half—well, more than half, she sent it towards the bleachers. It happened quite a lot when her aunts served the ball.

“How do you plan on celebrating?” Angie mused.

The rest of the teenagers panted, sweat dripping down the sides of their faces and their backs. It had been quite the exercise for the boys. They did a lot of running, almost comparable to their basketball training.

Alex, on the other hand, handled most of the rapid ball toss between her and the other court—as if they wanted to tire her out.

Well, it wasn’t a new trick in the book.

“I’d rather sleep until the party starts” she groaned.

Emily handed her team bottles of water. She figured it was the least she could do after all the trouble she caused. Since she focused on cheering, she never thought about practicing volleyball. She felt pretty satisfied to be on the sidelines.

“I think I’d like to go back to that spa,” Emily craned her neck. Out of everyone, she seemed to be the only one who remained tense throughout the game. Her muscles wanted to sleep.

“We haven’t had lunch yet” Jaim glanced at a nearby clock. Then, she grinned at the youngsters, “Tell you what. Since you won, I’ll treat you to free lunch. How does that sound?”

“You mean you weren’t planning that already, grandma?” Alex asked jokingly. She recapped the bottle of water. She had finished the whole 500ml of it.

Jaime tsked, “Cheeky brat.”

“I love you too!”

“I think that’s settled” Hachi cut in, “Meet us in the lobby in one hour. Emily, dear. Try not to take too long in the bath.”

“It’s not my fault that I’m like Uncle Ethan who liked to soak in it” her daughter defended.

On reflex, Alex squeezed her eyes shut. She really could never erase that image from her mind.

Angie laughed at the sight of her. It didn’t take a lot to guess what it was about. Alex opened her eyes at the sound of her mother’s laugh. She glared but it only made Angie smile innocently in return.

All of them walked out of the sports center. The grownups took the lead. They began talking about their youth, the highlights of their previous matches and the mistakes they made. They laughed at the memories.

“Since when did you play volleyball?” Alex asked Logan.

He had a towel around his shoulders, his hands holding its ends. The strands of his hair had changed directions, some stuck out more than others.

He walked directly behind her. Alex had to peek over her shoulder to see his face.

Logan cocked his head to the side, reminiscing, “Mother loved volleyball. She’d watch the matches on TV in the living room. I remember that’s how I took an interest in it.”

“That’s because Logan liked to sit on her lap so he’d be there too” Jae snorted and wiped a snot with his towel, “Mother would make commentaries while they watched because Logan kept asking why she yelled or why she groaned.”

“Why is he on the basketball team then?” Emily joined the conversation.

Jae sighed, “Well, since mother died, dad always got upset at things that remind him of her. He’d watch any sports team of the school but not volleyball. Logan is just too thoughtful to do that to him.”

He clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder, smiling with pride.

“You make it sound like I’m a saint” Logan rolled his eyes, “If I joined, dad would be upset. It’s that simple.”

“Too bad” Alex interrupted, “It would have been fun to watch you lose to girls in a mix match.”

Logan scoffed, shrugging off the hand on his shoulder. He walked a bit faster so he could see Alex’s expression. He hovered his head over her shoulder and next to her face. His breath brushed her skin.

“Just because they’re girls doesn’t mean I’d take it easy on them” he taunted.

Alex smirked and gave him the side eye, “Bring it on, Parker.”

Logan grinned, “I thought you weren’t a girl.”

Everyone reached the entrance of the hotel lobby that led to the sports centers. The adults quickly bid goodbye and went to their respective suites. Emily turned around to wait for Alex, Jae standing next to her and doing the same thing but for Logan.

Alex stepped back. She and Logan stood a foot apart. Mocking green eyes tried to stare her down with his snarky remark.

She merely shook her head, staring at the ceiling, “I did say it’s a mix game, Logan. 5 boys with 1 girl and 5 girls with 1 boy. I am that one boy. Nobody else needs to know.”

Alex scrunched her nose and patted his shoulder. Then, she walked towards Emily. They headed for the right side of the lobby where another entrance led to their side of the building. They chattered about what to order for lunch. Since their team won, they thought their grandmother would have no excuse but to grant them.

“Well, look who’s happy” Jae snickered in a booming voice. He wrapped an arm around Logan’s shoulders, leading the way to the left side of the lobby.

Logan made a face like he didn’t know what his twin meant and pulled the arm off, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He quickened his pace. He knew that tone of voice Jae used. It almost sounded like Max’s whenever he found a new thing to tease the other person about. Logan didn’t want to go through with it. He couldn’t really shake off Jae since they stayed in the same room. At least, when he’d go to the bathroom, his twin wouldn’t disturb him, right?

“Sure you don’t” Jae snorted, “So tell me do you regret not kissing her when you both fell down during the contest?”

The elevator dinged once it was on the ground floor. Several people came out while Logan and Jae stood to the side, keeping the path clear for them. Once all of them had left the elevator, the brothers entered, taking it for themselves.

“I think I’d rather not kiss someone when hundreds of eyes were on us” Logan replied smoothly in nonchalance. It really would be weird to do so—even if he didn’t know them.

Jae nodded, absorbing his answer. He folded his arms across his chest and glanced at the floor numbers. Then, he slowly leaned down sideways. His eyes still on the numbers, he whispered, “So if no one would be watching, you’d kiss her?”

He peeked at his brother’s ears. They started to turn pink. Before he could say something again, the elevator opened at their floor and Logan made his escape.

He walked out first, waving a hand in the air without looking back, “Ask me again when you get a girlfriend.”