Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Thirteen

It had been a few days since the tumultuous thoughts I had about Nathan in the bar and I hadn't really stopped overthinking Nathan's behaviour since. For whatever reason, it was really getting to me. Ever since Samara declared I was ready to date, he acted as if he were holding his breath and just waiting for something bad to happen, as if he were worried that my next relationship would be as dramatic as the last one. I sat at the island in the kitchen with Jude, having a cup of coffee, while Hayden and Nathan were sitting in the living room, playing some video game, where everyone was dying or shooting people when the door flew open.

Nathan immediately paused the game, jumping up in a protective stance, as if he were ready to clock whoever came inside right on the face.

"Behold humans, Alex has arrived!" My sister shouted, throwing up her hands in the air. She stood there, hands still in the air with a big smile on her face. She looked almost the exact same since I last had seen her. Her skin was a little bit more tanned and her blonde hair seemed slightly lighter. The only thing that hadn't changed was her eyes, they were still as blue as the forget-me-nots mom used to plant in our garden back home.

"What the actual fuck, Alex?" I yelled. My hand flew up to my heart as it continued to beat ridiculously fast. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Oh," Nathan grinned as he relaxed. "Princess, it's not nice to swear at your sister."

Hayden looked up at Nathan and scrunched his eyebrows. "You swear at Darian all the time."

Nathan rolled his eyes and smacked the top of his friend's head. "Shut up."

Alex looked between Nathan and Hayden, unsure how to respond.

I rolled my eyes at my sister and pulled her into the kitchen. "Just ignore them, that's what I do."

My sister laughed and continued to look at the boys on the couch. She studied them for a few moments before she whispered, "I didn't think when you broke up with Kieran, you'd replace him with two hotties." She caught sight of Jude who gave her a small salute as a greeting and she winked. "Make that three. Damn, my baby sister does good!"

Luckily, neither of the boys heard her - aside from Jude, as they were completely immersed back into their game of shooting people. I silently thanked the Lord for that as I gave my sister a pointed glare. "I am not dating any of them, but thanks for the approval."

"Can you give me and my sister a moment?" Alex asked Jude, who simply nodded his head and moved himself to the living room, watching the boys play their game. She gave me her signature mischievous smile. "But if you could, who would you want to date?"

"I can't choose!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "Samara is interested in Hayden, Jude is a friend, and Nathan is completely off-limits because he's Darian's brother."

My sister shrugged, causing her silky hair to fall off her shoulders. She stared at me intently, a stare I have always hated because it always felt like her eyes were staring into the depths of my soul. "Well, let's pretend for a few minutes that they aren't off-limits. Let's pretend that Hayden was someone that you bumped into on the way to one of your boring lectures, Jude was someone you met at the bookstore who helped you pick your next favourite book, and Nathan is someone you met at that local pub you always go to. Who would you choose?"

I sat there and pondered for a few minutes. If I don't think about this now, Alex will not let it go the whole time she's here, which could be a few hours or a few days, I have no clue when it comes to her anymore.

There really wasn't much to say about Hayden. He was nice, but he was also Sam's unofficially. I would never pull an Abigail and go pursue someone I knew my friend liked behind their back, that wouldn't be right. Plus, I didn't like him that way at all.