Chapter 5: At The Teahouse

Knock, knock.

Soren and Lexi both turned their heads toward the sound of someone knocking on the front door of their house.

"I'll get it; it's probably Brooke," Soren insisted while walking toward the door to answer it.

"Ok, babe," Lexi answered from the kitchen.

"Who's there?" Soren asked through the door.

Shortly after Soren said this, a familiar voice replied from outside, "It's me, Brooke." 

Without a moment's hesitation, Soren proceeded to open the door, revealing Brooke standing there.

"Hi, Soren," said Brooke in a cheery tone while smiling warmly.

"Well, hello," Soren greeted her casually while he reached up to run his fingers through a couple of strands of his raven hair.

Brooke continued smiling as she walked past Soren and entered their house, eager to see Lexi. Brooke was wearing a sexy red romper with red heels. It accentuated her long, wavy, chestnut brown hair and alluring hazel eyes.

"Lexi, are you ready?!" Brooke called out.

"Yep, and I'm wearing the newest outfit that I just got," Lexi said after she walked out of the kitchen.

"Dang girl, looking good!" Brooke said as she looked over at Lexi.

"You too!" Lexi complimented back before running over to hug Brooke.

"Wow, you smell good, too!" Brooke said as a sweet floral aroma reached her nostrils, which Brooke assumed was from a brand new perfume that Lexi was wearing.

"Get out of here, shoo," Lexi playfully teased while laughing. 

"But I'm being completely serious; you do smell really good. I'm jealous, anyway. Shall we get going?" Brooke replied while wearing a mischievous grin.

"Hell yeah!" Lexi cried out ecstatically.

Not long after Lexi uttered those words, she went over to give Soren a goodbye kiss on his cheek. As soon as the besties approached the door, Soren called from behind teasingly, "No funny business, you two, while I'm not there."

"No promises, but if there is, it'll probably be me," Brooke jokingly replied, giving Soren a mischievous look as she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"As long as it isn't Lexi, then I guess I don't mind," Soren said while giving them a wink as Lexi and Brooke both ran out the door. 

It wasn't long before Brooke unlocked her red Camaro, and they both hopped in. Without wasting any time, Brooke slid into the driver's seat and inserted the key into the ignition. With a single turn, the car's engine roared to life. Brooke's eyes flickered with excitement as she eagerly tightened her grip around the steering wheel, ready to take off. 

"Soren seemed pretty happy, don't you think!" Brooke said, beaming with happiness.

"Yeah, it's probably because he's waiting for me to leave so he can hang out with his friend," Lexi chuckled.

"Nah! He adores you! Don't be silly," Brooke said with a reassuring smile.

Brooke then glanced over at Lexi mischievously, "You can tell me all about the other night when we get to the TeaHouse! Enough talk about Soren; right now, let's listen to some jams," Brooke said with a smile while turning on the car's radio. The vehicle soon started to vibrate from rap music from within its interior.

Before long, Brooke cried out excitedly, "Here we are!" as she drove her red Camaro into the TeaHouse parking lot before pulling into a vacant parking spot at the end of the parking lot.

"Wow, it seems a little busy, and it's only midday," Brooke grumbled, as she noticed that there was a limited number of parking spaces available when they first arrived.

"Isn't that a good thing though? It just means that it's a popular place. It's known for the best elegant tea out there," Lexi said confidently.

"You make a good point. I never like to park real close to other people anyways to avoid possible scratches and dents from the people who are pulled next to me," Brooke replied while shrugging her shoulders.

Lexi swiftly shook her head while crossing her arms before saying, "I don't understand why some people just don't respect other people's property." 

"See? That's why you're my bestie~ you understand so well. Now, let's get going," Brooke said, already imagining how deliciously sweet the tea she would order would taste.

Brook and Lexi then exited the car and began walking through the parking lot. Brook then paused for a moment before turning around to set the alarm on her car. As they reached the front door to the TeaHouse, there was a cute guy with raven hair and a semi-casual appearance awaiting them.

"Let me get the door for you lovely ladies," smiled the stranger as he politely held the door open for them to enter.

"Thank you so much!" replied Brook and Lexi with happy smiles as they walked inside.

"My pleasure!" responded the stranger.

Once inside, they waited for a server to seat them since customers can't just go and sit where they want. As they waited patiently, an attractive blonde guy appeared. "Good afternoon, ladies. Is it going to be a table for two?" the server asked in a cheerful tone.

"Yes," replied Lexi with a smile.

"All right, then, follow me. My name is Dane, and I'll be your server today," Dane said with a happy smile as he guided them toward their table.

After a couple of seconds, Dane stopped in front of a booth before he turned to look at them. "Is a booth okay, or would you prefer a table?" Dane asked.

"Oh, a booth is perfectly fine," Lexi said since she was just happy that she and Brooke didn't have to wait a long time to be seated, which meant that they could order drinks a lot quicker instead of waiting for a seat to be available for them.

"Perfect," Dane said, relieved. He had hoped that they wouldn't ask for a table, as it would have meant a longer wait for Lexi and Brooke.

Brooke didn't hesitate and claimed her spot on the left side of the booth since that was her favorite spot to sit all the time, while Lexi took her usual spot on the right side. Lexi and Brooke typically always sat like this when it came to a booth, and they weren't sure when it started becoming a tradition for them to do.

Dane looked Lexi in the eyes as he handed her a menu. "Here is a menu for you and for you," he said. But, despite giving Brooke a menu, he still maintained eye contact with Lexi.

"I will be back in a few minutes to take your order," Dane said before he walked off.

"Thank you so much!" Brooke and Lexi both said.

"Dang girl, you seem to attract all the men. Why don't you save some for me?! Greedy little....!" Brooke teased as she laughed.

"I'm not sure what you mean?" Lexi said as she raised her right eyebrow at Brooke.

"You're telling me that you didn't notice Dane staring at you the whole time," Brooke said as she leaned closer to Lexi and nudged her shoulder with hers.

"You know I have a boyfriend, right? His name is Soren, and that's probably why I don't notice any other guy when they're trying to be flirty with me," Lexi said as she pouted at Brooke, who only chuckled at her.

"How could I ever forget about Soren? I just think that it's cute how these guys seem to just throw themselves at you," Brooke said while giggling.

"Pipe it down, Brooke. I don't want him to hear you!" So you better start looking over the menu so you know what you want before he comes back," Lexi said as she frowned at Brooke.

"Yeah, you're right. If he heard me, then our server might end up staying at our table longer. Now, what drink was it that I wanted?" Brooke innocently said as she looked down at the menu.

"Trying to be innocent won't save you. Also, I think I'm going with a large iced matcha latte. Have you decided on your drink?" Lexi asked as she peeked over at Brooke's menu to see what drink she was looking at.

"A large iced chai latte sounds really good. I'm going to go with that,"  Brook replied with a smile.

"Oh, look, he's coming back, and just in time," Brooke said with a sly grin.

"Shhh, if he hears you, I swear!" Lexi grumbled quietly to Brooke.

"Are you ladies ready for me to take your order?" asked Dane as he continued to stare at Lexi.

"Oh, we're more than ready," Brooke said before she playfully nudged Lexi's shoulder again. "I'll have a large iced chai latte, please," Brooke said in a happy tone.

"Oh, and I'll be having---" Lexi started before Dane quickly spoke up.

"Let me guess, a large matcha latte?" asked Dane with a smile on his lips

As soon as Lexi heard that, she quickly looked up at Dane. Her eyes instantly locked with his blue eyes. Lexi couldn't stop the heat that rose to her cheeks as a soft blush dusted her cheeks.

"How did you know what I wanted?" Lexi asked suspiciously, and for some reason, why was it that everyone seemed to know something she didn't?

"Lucky guess. You just look like the type of girl who loves matcha," smiled Dane.

Lexi looked over at Brooke since she wanted to break eye contact with him just for a moment since she was sure that her blush had slightly darkened.

"Wow~ that was such a good guess. You must be pretty lucky," Brooke teased Dane, while Lexi looked like she wanted to murder Brooke.