Am I beginning to fall for him?

Anne's House***

Anne was lying down on her bed, trying as much as possible to sleep but the image of Carl's hot body she accidentally saw in his room kept replaying in her head whenever she closes her eyes.

"Why can't I get that stupid picture off my head" Anne muttered.

She thought about how Carl's sexy lips were close to her lips and if Carl's grandma didn't interrupt them, they would've probably kissed.

Anne, thinking about that beautiful moment made her touched her lips.

"Why can't I stop thinking about him?" she whispered to herself.

Anne placed her hand on her chest to feel her heartbeat and it was calm. It wasn't beating fast like the time Carl was on top of her. She closed her eyes and all she could see was Carl's handsome face smiling at her.

Anne opened her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

'what is happening to me? …Am I beginning to fall for him?' She thought to herself with a sad look on her face.

The last thing she wants right now is to fall in love again, most especially falling in love with Carl.

Anne's phone vibrated right next to her making her snap out of her deep thoughts. She picked up her phone and saw that It was 'Mr. McAlester' calling her phone. That was how she saved his number.

Anne smiled to herself seeing that it was Carl calling her. She was just thinking about him.

"I wonder what he wants," She said before answering the call.

"Hello Anne," Carl said in a deep voice on the phone.

He was on his balcony staring at the bright moon and the shining stars. He has also been trying to sleep but he couldn't because was thinking about Anne, that's why he called her.

"Hi, Carl, what's good?" Anne said.

"Nothing much, I'm sorry for calling you late at night... I can't sleep and I felt like talking to you" he said softly on the phone. The time was past 10 pm but he still felt the urge to call Anne.

"It's okay, I can't sleep too," She said.

"Are you thinking about something?" Carl asked.

Anne paused for a while, there was no way on earth, she could possibly tell Carl that she was thinking about him.

"Umm, no... no, I wasn't thinking about anything." Anne nervously said.

"Are you sure?" Carl asked because of how she answered.

"yeah," she responded.

"Hmm... well, I on the other hand have been thinking about you..." Carl confessed.

Hearing those words from Carl made Anne gulp. She hates men so much but Carl was becoming too affectionate for her liking. It was pretty hard for a woman not to fall for his charms. What came into Anne's mind was to end the phone call before Carl say those three words.

"...Please don't hang up... please! I know you don't like to talk or listen to anything that has to do with love, romance, and relationships. But don't you think it's best if you let go of your past and give your heart a second chance?

Sometimes people come into our lives to teach us a valuable lesson while they're some who come into our lives to make us feel loved and appreciated. Trust me they're still good and genuine people out there" Carl said.

"Hello, Anne are you there?" he asked because of how quiet she was.

"Yeah, yes I am" she replied, listening to what Carl was saying.

"Anne, I want to be that person who will make you feel loved and appreciated. I want to be that man in your life that'll give you nothing but happiness. Anastasia, I love you not only for who you are but also for who I become when I am with you. Your presence makes me happy and your beautiful smile drives me crazy." Carl let out everything in his mind.

A shiver went down Anne's spine hearing those sweet words from Carl. On top of it all is that she started feeling butterflies in her tummy which caused her to smile. Anne was more than lucky that Carl was saying those sweet things to her on the phone. Assuming she was standing right in front of him, she would've melted no matter how strong-hearted she thinks she was.

Anne let out a soft sigh. She remembered how she gave Carlos her heart and he did nothing but broke it into pieces. She really loved that man and gave him her all but in the end, he made her regret everything. Anne who was smiling began to get extremely pissed.

'No! I can't let myself make the same mistake again' Anne said in her head with a cold expression on her face.

"Uh, hello, are you still there?" Carl said.

"Did you remember when I told you that the only thing that'll keep our friendship going is if you keep on being in the friend zone?" Anne said to Carl firmly on the phone.

Carl shut his eyes and exhaled softly "I remember" He said in a low tone.

"Good! I'm not looking or searching for love and I don't want to be loved either..."

"...Anne, everyone deserves to be loved" Carl interrupted her.

"...CARL PLEASE!!" Anne said huskily. "Just let me breathe okay? If you still want our friendship to survive then don't preach about your false feelings to me, ever again!"

"False?? Anne, what I feel for you is real, I'm not preaching" Carl was assertive.

"I don't care! good night" Anne said coldly.

"…Wait! Please don't hang up… Our friendship is very important to me and I don't want to ruin it again. I'm terribly sorry for upsetting you." Carl begged.

"I'm not upset... I just don't want you to push too hard because it won't get you anywhere. I want you to move on and forget about me" Anne said emphatically.

"Alright," Carl said under his breath with a sad look on his face. He felt so hurt and rejected.

"Good night Anastasia," he said and Anne ended the call.

Carl took a deep breath. He thought about the moment when Anne was in his house earlier today. He had the urge to kiss her so badly but at the same time, he was scared of what would happen next. What if she had slapped him out of anger for kissing her?

Carl touched his cheeks at the thought of that. He knows that Anne is definitely capable of that. Besides, the first day they met, Anne slapped him.

Although, while Carl was on top of Anne, he read her body language and he felt like she wanted to kiss him too. That was what gave him the courage to try his luck.

Nevertheless, now that Anne has warned Carl to move on and forget about her, he is willing to take things slowly. He's ready to wait until Anne finally falls deeply in love with him.

***Back at Club 21***

Treasure took the mic from AJ's hand and slowly walked up to the middle of the stage. Her eyes wandered around the clubbers who were waiting for her to sing. She tried as much as possible not to feel shy in her half-naked dress.

"Just sing man, just sing!!" AJ whispered with gritted teeth, hoping that Treasure won't embarrass him.

Treasure took the mic close to her mouth and sang the song 'This is what you came for by Calvin Harris ft. Rhianna'

Her voice began to shake when she uttered the first word of the lyrics, and the clubbers murmured amongst themselves. If it was a normal Friday night, they would've booed the singer off the stage but Treasure who is now Tracy was looking as sexy as hell and it made the clubbers, both male and female fixed their gaze on her.

Treasure remembered what Nicki told her

'Take your mind off the crowd. Do it like you're the only one there'

Treasure began to sing the song like she was Rhianna performing at a concert but her voice sounded more like Ariana Grande. Treasure who is normally a shy person became so confident while performing. She also forgot about the revealing outfit she was putting on. Right now, she was just having fun. It was like the audience was feeding her so much courage by the way they were all dancing and vibing to the music.

"TRACY! TRACY!! TRACY!!!" the audience kept chanting her name as soon as she finished the song. She indeed has an incredible voice.

Treasure smiled at the audience and went backstage where Kim, AJ, and Nicki were.

"You were amazing back there," Nicki said and hugged Treasure.

"Thank you, Nicki, I remembered what you told me, and voila!" Treasure said and they both laughed as they pulled from the hug.

"I told you all my sister was an awesome singer," Kim said proudly.

"Yes, she is and I can't wait for your next performance Treasure or Tracy, whatever name you call yourself," AJ grinned.

"Next performance??" Treasure looked at AJ with squinted eyes.

"Of course? You got any problem with that?" AJ replied.

"Wait, what is going on here? I thought this was just a one-time thing," Treasure said, feeling confused.

"How could this be a one-time thing? Didn't you read the contract before you signed?" Kim said to Treasure.

"I didn't because he took my glasses," she said vehemently, pointing at AJ.

"Speaking of which, here are your nerd glasses?" AJ said, giving Treasure back her glasses.

"AJ why am I having another performance?" She asked after receiving her glasses.

"You have to perform at this nightclub, every last Friday of the month for two years straight until your contract expires. And the good news is, you get paid handsomely after each performance," AJ explained.

Treasure slapped her forehead in frustration. If she had read the contract before signing, she would've probably backed out of the job. AJ knew that Treasure was forced to do this that was why he wanted her to sign the contract without reading it.

'So I'm going to have live performances dressing like a slut just to raise money' Treasure thought, shaking her head.

"Wow!" Treasure exclaimed in disbelief.

"So that was why you intentionally took my glasses so I won't be able to read the contract," She said, glaring at AJ.

Meanwhile, Kim rolled his eyes not understanding why his sister was overreacting.

"Hey! Don't start regretting okay? Just as I said, you're going to get paid handsomely and you might as well become popular. Didn't you see how those lunatics chanted your name? And besides, don't act like you didn't enjoy your performance on stage" AJ said.

AJ was right, Treasure enjoyed performing on stage. She had never had so much fun like that for a long time but her main focus isn't having fun, she wants to graduate from college and become a reporter.

"Okay, how much is my sister getting paid?" Kim asked AJ.

"You'll see?" AJ said as he started pressing his phone.

Beep Beep!

Treasure had a notification on her phone and she checked it and saw a credit alert of $25,000. Her eyes shone with disbelief and her mouth was wide open in surprise at seeing such an amount.

"Treasure, what??" Kim asked her because of how shocked she looked holding her phone.

Treasure didn't say anything but showed Kim the credit alert on her phone and Kim yelled "WE ARE RICH!" and he kissed Treasure on the cheek.

"You're welcome" AJ grinned.

"You just have to do exactly as I say and money like this will keep coming into your account… People will start paying me to see you show off your talent and it'll benefit the both of us" he added.

"Treasure, listen to AJ, and let's do this, I know you want this money. Think about how our lives would change…" Kim begged Treasure.

'This money is more than enough to clear all my debts in school and Kim will no longer have to steal money,' Treasure thought.

"Fine! I'll keep entertaining the people who come to your nightclub but whenever I'm dressed like this to perform, you three MUST refer to me as Tracy not Treasure" She said firmly, looking at Kim, AJ, and Nicki, fiercely like she was threatening them with her eyes.

"Whatever," AJ said and left them to the beer parlor to party.

"Okay, Tracy, whatever works for you, until next time," Nicki said to Treasure and also left.

"so you wanna start living a double life, Can you handle the pressure that comes with it? Or you think you're Hannah Montana" Kim said to his sister.

"It's just once every month for two years, I think I can handle it." Treasure assured.

"Kim, now that I'm going to be working here, I want you to swear to me that you're never going to steal or rob banks, ever again," She said to Kim in a high tone.

Kim placed his right hand over his heart like he was saying a pledge. "I swear on my life, I'll never steal again" he lied with a straight and honest face that looked so believable.

However, Treasure believed Kim and she felt happy inside of her that her brother will change his ways. She had no idea that Kim was a pro-liar and that no matter how much money he gets, it wouldn't stop him from stealing.