Chapter 121: Outing

While in the car, Mina's heart began to race. It was not another panic attack, but she had come to the sudden realization that she was going to be alone with Luna and her, most likely rich, friends. This meant that she would probably meet with Miss Lisa at some point during the night.

In the dark about their relationship, Mina wanted to know how close the women were. There was a good chance that Luna had only invited her in order to allow Lisa time to mentally torment her. She needed to figure it out, but she did not want to be too forward, and make her companion suspicious.

"Luna and Lisa are similar names. Are your families close?" Not surprised that Mina was worried. Luna answered the indirect question directly.

"Lisa has not attended one of our gatherings in years. There is no reason why she should randomly show up tonight. Also, L. I. names were in vogue when I was born. My father wanted to name me Lisa, but our mother refused." Luna told Mina that her mother wanted to name her Luca after her father, but thanks to a suggestion from her nan, they named me after the full moon instead. "Had it not been for my nan, Lisa and I would have shared a name," she said. "Also, our families are not close. In fact, they are more like rivals." Curious, Mina continued to ask Luna about her friendship with Lisa, but it ended with an awkward silence instead.

Luna was silent. Mina had asked her a perfectly valid question for which she had no answer. Thinking about it now, the friendship between herself and Lisa was not one sided in the beginning. It was only after they entered college that they drifted apart, and Luna had not considered the fact that maybe their friendship was never real to begin with. She could not help thinking about how many times Lisa abandoned her or said she did not have time, yet as soon as Mina entered the equation, Luna reached out to Lisa immediately. Seeing the conflicted look on Luna's face, Mina apologized.

"I'm sorry. I should not have asked. I also have friends like that, but at least once a month we make time to talk over the phone. I didn't know that you and Lisa had only just reconnected after years apart," Mina said. Luna felt a little consolation from Mina's words. Some friends did not need to constantly keep in touch to remain close. Maybe it was like that for herself and Lisa.

----

Ian paced in his study.

"What was she wearing?" he asked. Zane who was watching him walk back and forth did not say a word. Compared to Luna, Mina was dressed rather conservatively. "Do you think she is doing it intentionally?" Ian asked almost as if he were complaining.

"Ian, it's not her fault that she is beautiful. I actually didn't find her outfit as enticing as your making it sound," Zane lied. The truth was that if it were him in Ian's shoes, he probably would have followed her, but Luna had not actually told them the name of the bar they were attending. All she told them was that they were skipping dinner and meeting her friends there.

"Would it be too much if I called my sister's bodyguard and asked him where they were?"

"How would you explain your presence?" Zane answered. Ian's phone rang and disturbed the silence in the study. He glanced at the device and breathed deeply. He was still mildly annoyed with Lisa. Her actions had caused him to see her differently and while he knew he was wrong first, Lisa did not. Ian ignored the call but a few minutes later the phone rang again.

"Hello, Lisa" Ian said but there was no voice on the other end.

"Li Lee?" Ian questioned and only then did the person speak.

"I must be bothering you," Lisa said.

"No, I just have a lot on my mind. What is wrong?" Ian asked. Lisa wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to tell him that since she found out that damned woman moved in with him, he had started calling her by her full first name every time he addressed her. He had not done that in nearly nine years.

"I'm trying to reach your sister, but her phone is off, so I was worried. Is she around?" Lisa asked.

"No, she went to the quarterly gathering for your class. She isn't home." Lisa was quiet again.

"Did she go alone?" She asked. Ian did not lie. "I didn't know she still attended those functions; I would have gone with her," Lisa lied.

"You can still go; she hasn't been gone for long."

"Will you come with me?"

"I'm with Zane," Ian said.

"Then, he can come too."

"Li Lee, I don't think that is a good idea."

"Please?" she begged. "We have never been to a bar together. It will be fun." Ian reluctantly agreed. He did want to go; the problem was that he did not want to go with Lisa.

----

Zane sat quietly as Ian spoke to Lisa and from what he could tell, Lisa was trying to find out the whereabouts of Luna. When he ended the call, Ian ran his fingers through his hair and sat back in his chair. He did not look happy.

"What did she want?" Zane asked.

"She wants me to accompany her to her class function."

"Why did you say no? Is that not the same place you want to be?" Zane questioned. It was good in theory, but Ian did not want to make use of Lisa in that way.

"And when Lisa asks me why I can't take my eyes off of Mina, despite the fact that the girl is likely to ignore me, who do you think will suffer most?" Zane shrugged.

"That could have been avoided had you just listened to me and cut things off with Lisa before you tried to do anything with her," Zane scoffed.

"I wasn't thinking clearly. I thought if I gave her my all, things would change between us."

"And how is that working out for you?" Zane asked sarcastically.