CHAPTER 350: WHEN YOUR UBER IS A BILLIONAIRE

Micah pushed the restaurant door open, stepping into the cool evening air. The faint smell of grilled meat still clung to his jacket, mixing with the sweet mint he had just popped into his mouth. He stretched his arms lazily overhead, letting out a satisfied sigh as his roommates walked behind him, still bickering like children.

"Don’t even start with me," Nick said, patting his stomach with both hands. "You totally ate half of the meat when I went to the restroom."

"I didn’t!" Eddie argued. "You just ate so fast and then blamed me. I even gave you some of my ribs, you greedy, ungrateful brat."

Micah chuckled under his breath, totally enjoying the drama he had created. He was the one munching down the grilled meat when Nick left the table, not that he would say it.

Distracted, he blew a bubble, the gum expanding round and glossy in front of his lips. He let it stretch wider and wider, grinning smugly, until, pop! The bubble burst right into his face, sticky strings plastering against his cheek and nose just as his eyes landed on a familiar figure.

Just a few meters away, parked at the curb, was a black car. Behind the wheel sat Clyde, his head lowered, looking at his phone.

Darcy, walking close beside him, was the second person to spot Clyde. He followed Micah’s gaze, and his expression darkened slightly. Why was Clyde here, waiting outside the restaurant like this? Did Micah call him?

Micah wiped the gum from his face and jogged straight to Clyde’s car. He bent down toward the rolled-down window, grinning in disbelief. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Clyde’s head snapped up immediately. His stern expression melted slowly to warmth. "Emile told me. I came to pick you up."

Micah grinned goofily. He wasn’t one bit bothered that Emile had betrayed his whereabouts. He had nothing to hide from Clyde anymore. He leaned forward, putting his elbows in the window frame. "Hmm... but we already called for a ride."

"But I can bring you wherever you want, free of charge," Clyde replied.

"That’s a hard bargain to pass up," Micah said, smiling widely until his eyes turned to crescents.

Clyde reached across and pinched his cheek lightly, the touch both affectionate and annoyingly smug. "Hop on then."

Micah pushed his hand away with a mock glare, straightening up. He made his way around the hood of the car toward the passenger seat. But before his hand could close on the door handle, the hairs prickled at the back of his neck. He could feel it, stares boring holes into him.

He turned his head, and there it was, his nosy roommates were all standing in a little cluster on the sidewalk, gawking with eyes full of gossip. Heat rushed into his face. Great. Just great.

After a whole week of not seeing Clyde, he had finally run into him, and he totally forgot there was an audience. His gaze shifted to Darcy.

The dark-haired boy stood slightly apart from the others, staring with an unreadable expression. There was no obvious anger, no clear disappointment, yet somehow it embarrassed Micah even more. He coughed lightly, breaking the awkward silence.

"Um, guys, I’m going first. See ya!" Micah said, totally skipping who Clyde was, and hopped into the car. "Just go! Quickly."

Clyde didn’t object or insist on offering polite greetings to the others. He started the car and drove away, not caring even about his own nephew.

On the sidewalk, Emile tsked, shaking his head. Anyway, he had had enough entertainment for the night, already feeling stuffed by their display of flirting and affection.

Nick burped all of a sudden. Emile couldn’t hold back and chuckled under his breath. "Too full?" he whispered while leaning toward him.

Nick looked at him with eyes full of questions. "Huh?"

Darcy glanced at Emile from the corner of his eye. His face revealed nothing, but his chest tightened faintly. He wasn’t sure who Emile’s family was, or how he had ended up at Micah’s birthday. But he felt the boy knew something about Clyde. Or at least recognised him.

He looked again at the empty space where the car had just been parked. Micah never dismissed him so easily before. His heart felt heavy. Like he was slipping from Micah’s priority. He didn’t like it. Maybe he was too close to Micah, so close that the boy no longer noticed him.

Their ordered car finally arrived. They climbed in. "Who was that man?" Eddie asked, twisting around to look at the others.

"Probably his family, right?" Nick guessed.

"Didn’t he seem familiar though?" Eddie mumbled.

Emile remained silent, gazing out the window with a knowing look, lips twitching faintly. Darcy also didn’t comment. He just stared at his hands clasped tightly in his lap.

Nick smacked his hands together suddenly. "Aha! He was the guy from the forum post, wasn’t he?"

"Really? Just because of the blond hair?" Emile argued.

"What do you guys think?" Nick asked Emile and Darcy. He found Micah leaving Darcy behind really surprising. They were always together.

"He is a family friend," Darcy replied this time.

"Oh, so you know him?" Nick asked, eyes wide.

Emile turned his head to Darcy, arching an eyebrow. So, had he met little Uncle already? Interesting. Maybe that was why Clyde had come to pick up Micah. It appeared he wasn’t that clueless and sensed the danger of his rival.

"Yeah. I met him last week." Darcy replied flatly. "After Micah’s birthday banquet."

Nick glanced at Darcy’s dark expression, then exchanged looks with Eddie. The temperature in the car seemed to drop. Darcy sat stiffly, his dark eyes fixed out the window, an unmistakable chill radiating from him.

Nick and Eddie shivered as though the air conditioning had been cranked up to freezing.

Inside, they silently cursed Micah for ditching them and leaving them trapped with this block of ice. Please, they didn’t want to die young!