Chapter 9
Chapter 9 The Anderson familys staff were impressively efficient .
Once Noelle picked her room , they immediately got to work cleaning , making the bed , and setting up her daily essentials in the room shed chosen By DTM .
everything was ready After a quick shower , Noelle sended into the soft , new bed and dialed Nicolas She waited , but nothing happened .
The call didnt go through , and before long , it was dise was disconnected due to a timeout .
Noelle stared at her phone , frowning slightly , her heail tilting in confusion .
This didnt make sense , It is only 9 PM .
she thought .
Nick shouldnt be asleep this early .
Maybe he didnt hear it ! She dialed again , but the same thing happened call dropped due to a timeout .
Noelle stared at the screen , silent .
Most people would think if someone didnt pick up twice , they were probably busy and would just wait a while before calling back Some might wonder if the other person was avoiding them and besitate before calling again .
Bum Noelle wasnt like most people .
She was stubborn , relentless , and wouldnt stop until she got what she wanted .
So , if he wasnt picking up , shed just keep calling .
She believed there was no way hed ignore her forever .
She dialed again .
Disconnected again .
But she wasnt stopping the dialed once more .
Still no aruwCE Without missing a beat , she called again .
After dozens of attempts , just as Noelle was about to hit call number 99 , Nicolas finally picked up .
Hello His voice came through deep and smooth , a little raspy like hed just finished something physically intense .
Nick Hearing his voice made Noelles face light up .
Finally ! You picked up ? Nicolas let out a low laughs , still a little out of breath .
I swear , you little troublemaker ..
if I didnt pick up , were you really planning on calling me over and over like some kind of psychol noticed the calls .
Nicolas had just wrapped up his first round of hunting During the event , his phone had been on silent , so he hadnt even When the hunt ended and he finally checked his phone , he nearly had a heart attack when he saw the dozens of missed calls , Yeali ! Noelles voice rang out , bright and mischievous .
I knew youd pick up eventually ! Am I the only one thinking this , or does she have a bit of a crazy streak ! he thought .
Nicolas chuckled , then teased , Youre just gonna keep a keep calling me and not do anything else ? No way , Nick , youre such an idiot , Noelle replied , hier one playful .
She continued , sounding oddly serious , My phone has this auto dial al thing .
I can just set it to dial and leave it, and still have time to do other stuff Nicolas paused for a moment .
Well , well .
Looks like the little aithead has a bit of smarts after all .
Taking a deep breath , he asked , Why arent you asleep at this hour ? Whats up with the call ? Tm bored Noelle replied casually .
She rolled over on the land , her legs lazily kicking in the air .
Nick , what are you up to right now ? Hunting 1/3 Chapter 9 Hunting ?! Noelle shot up in excitement .
Nick , can I come ! I wanna hunt too ! You ? Nicolas laughed low and anused .
Sure , why not ? He gave a casual response bur then added , But do you even know how to Before he could finish , Noelle cut him off , practically bouncing .
Tim coming to find you now ? And with that , the phone clicked off with a sharp thunk .
I Nicolas stared at his phone , blinking Wait , did I even tell her where I am ? This little scatterbrain He didnt rush to call her back .
Instead , he was curious to see how long it would take her to realize she hadnt asked for the address .
Minutes ticked by , but there were still no calls .
So she really hasnt realized she forgot to ask for the address ? How the hell does she plan on getting here ? Nicolas thought , irritated .
Justas Nicolas was about to deal her number , a voice called out , pulling him from his thoughts Nicolas , whats up ! .
He turned to see his best friend , Oscar Walker , and Declan Turner .
Oscar was the loud , outgoing one , while Declan was quiet and composed .
Behind them were two women Oplielu Walker and Celeste Reed Ophelia was Oscars younger sister , and Celeste was her best friend .
Tonight , the five of them were teamed up for a game of hunt .
The targets werent animals , but people .
It wasnt a deadly game just a shooting game with model guns .
The bullets wouldnt hurt anyone , but theyd mark them .
Anyone who got hit was out .
Teams could have anywhere from five to eight people , and there were usually four or five teams at once .
The last team standing won .
Im on the phone , Nicolas replied casually , his eyes still glued to the black screen of his phone , lost in thought .
Seriously , where is that little scatterbrain ? Why hasnt she called yet ? he thought , a little annoyed .
Oscar , ever the gossip , noticed Nicolas was waiting for something , clearly expecting a call .
He leaned in with a smirk and asked .
So , is it true ? I heard someone saw you out with a super cute girl at a restaurant today .
Whats the deal ? Already switched girlfriends again ? Celeste , who had been standing next to Ophelia , froze Ophelia imunediately shot her brother a playful scold .
Oscar , stop being an idiot .
Nicolas is just playing the playboy for show .
He doesnt have a girlfriend .
As she spoke , she gave Celeste a shove , pushing her toward Nicolas with a mischievous grin .
Nicolas , if you need someone to pretend with , why not pack someone who knows the deal ? Ive got just the girl for you shell play along perfectly Ophelia , seriously , stop messing around .
Celeste , her face flushed with embarrassment , quickly ran back to Ophelias side .
But she couldnt help sneaking a shy glance at Nicolas .
Her eyes shimmered with a mix of admiration and hope , Ophelia flashed a big grin .
What ? Im not messing arounil Celeste is way better than all those other girls .
Nicolas , seriously , shes perfect for you .
Are we here to play a game or set up some blind dates ? Oscar teased .
Hey , Ophelia , how about setting me up with someone ? Ophelia rolled her eyes .
You ! Who would dare set you up with anyone ? Youre the ultimate playboy Then , she turned back to Nicolas with a playful grin .
What do you think , Nicolas ? How about giving Celeste a try ! Nicolas stood there , looking effortlessly cool with his usual half smile , lips pressed together , clearly showing no interest in responding .
Celestes hopeful gaze slowly faded as she realized he wasnt going to bite , Just as Ophelia was about to push for her best friend again , Nicolass phone rang once more .
This time , he e picked it up immediately .
Hello ? even need to guess who it was Nick … A soft , almost sulking voice came through , and Nicolas didnt ev