“Absolutely not.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Noah!”
Noah holds his hands high. “Fuck, sorry. I was only joking, jeez.”
Why does he keep me around if he acts like this with me? What did I do to make him dislike me so much?
I narrow my eyes and point a finger at him. “And this is why you aren’t allowed to join in the conversation with the adults, dickwad.”
“You guys confuse the fuck out of me,” Noah grumbles, downing his beer.
“And yet, you’re still here twenty years later,” I muse, a finger to my lip. “What does that say about you?”
“That he’s just as needy as you are, tips, he just won’t admit it,” James pipes up, hiding his smile behind his bottle.
“Ding, ding, ding,” I shout. “We have a winner.”
Noah rolls his eyes, but I see the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. He knows we’re on to him, so he can try and hide it all he wants, but he’s just like the rest of us. We’d be lost without each other.
Maybe if I ask him to help me, he won’t hate me so much anymore?
“Oh, Noah, I forgot. You got any time for me next week? I need to run something by you,” I say, all hints of joking gone.
Noticing the change in my demeanor, he nods. “Yeah, shoot me a text, and we’ll sort something out.
I spend the rest of the night getting so drunk that they do indeed need to carry my ass out at closing time.
Sometimes I don’t know whether being me is a curse or a blessing.
Chapter Fourteen
THEO
Fuck, my head is pounding. Whose stupid idea was it to go out drinking on a school night?
Oh wait. Mine.
I’d face palm myself, but I don’t think my head can take it. Sitting up just enough, I reach for the Advil on the side table, then swallow them down with a glass of water.
Who left that here?
I’m gonna go with James. He’s such a sweetie. Insert heart eyes.
Ooooh, I’m sappy this morning.
I wipe a tear that’s collected from my lash line and sniffle. Alcohol always makes me emotional the next day. I really don’t know why I do it to myself.
Dragging my ass out of bed is a chore, but the shrill of my damn alarm tells me I really need to get up. I very rarely take a sick day, but with the emotions from Blake being back threatening to swallow me,I’m really fucking tempted to call in. Then I remember how much joy it brings me to ruin her day and career with my gifts.
I’m pretty sure she’s due for her next one, anyway.
Turning the shower on, I wash quickly, the steam waking me up to something a little bit more human. Dressing in my power suit perks me up even more. I have different suits depending on my mood, because honestly, I need the extra boost when I’m mentally feeling like shit. I’d surmise it’s also what women do when they don’t feel great—hair, nails, new outfit.
The cut of this one fits me like a glove, tailored to my muscular frame and large build. At 6’4”, I’m a force to be reckoned with on a good day. My long blond hair sits on my shoulders, though nine times out of ten it ends up being put in a man bun because I can’t be fucked to have it in my face, and I’ve been told my piercing blue eyes are what draw people in. One particularly drunk encounter told me they look like the sea on a summer's day, the sun reflecting off the water and making it brighter. I’ve never forgotten that.
Insert fake sniffles and a fake tear.
