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Authors: Aidan Willows
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disbelief. “For fuck’s sake, Niki. That’s the reason you’ve been ducking me? So you got a little wasted. It’s no big deal.”
“From what I can remember, I did more than just get a little wasted. It’s vague, but I remember the horrific dancing and then being carried up to your room and I think… did we talk? I remember some sort of talking happening. I say really stupid stuff when I get tipsy. And, I think… I think I might have tried to kiss you?” I said softly, cringing at the blurry memories.
An unreadable expression crossed Jake’s face but he just shrugged.
“You didn’t do anything. I put you in my bed and you asked me to stay with you and then fell asleep.”
Relief flooded through me at his response. “Really?”
He picked up the fork and started stabbing at the potato salad on his plate. “Yep. Nothing at all.”
CHAPTER 7
Jacob
Liar. You’re such a fucking liar.
Tell her what happened.
I decided to ignore the little voice in my head.
Niki was more relaxed around me than she had been in months, and I wasn’t about to screw that up by telling her the truth.
She peered curiously at me as if she suspected I wasn’t being honest. Avoiding her stare, I focused my attention on the plate in front of me as memories of the night came back to me.
New Year’s Eve.
The alcohol isn’t working. Why isn’t the alcohol working?
My plan to drink away my problems was failing miserably. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something just didn’t feel right at work. And if I was being honest, I hadn’t felt happy in a long while.
It didn’t make sense because I had achieved all I wanted to in my career, and life was generally good. I had no reason to complain. I was pushing myself hard at work, but that was nothing new. I’d always been a hard worker, but lately it had been increasingly hard to muster up any kind of enthusiasm at the restaurant.
I was turning into a miserable asshole, and I hated myself for it. I threw back another shot of whiskey and waited for the buzz to hit me.
Looking around the room, I saw that everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves at the impromptu New Year’s Eve party that had somehow ended up being held at our house.
As usual, Josh and Alex were the instigators of the party, and I wondered how the hell they had managed to persuade Nate to agree to it.
Loud, snorting laughter caught my attention, and I looked up to see Niki finish the drink she had in her hand. Addie made her sit in a chair, gave her another drink and said something to her before walking away with an empty tray.
No. Off limits for you, Jacob. She’s not interested.
Each morning, I had started going to the bakery to get my usual fix of coffee and incredible cinnamon roll, earlier than usual, just to spend twenty minutes alone with her before the usual morning rush began.
The ritual had become the best part of my day. The conversations between us were always pleasant, but all my attempts at flirting with her were never reciprocated.
I assumed, this meant she knew I was interested in dating her, and the abrupt responses to my flirtations were her way of showing that she definitely did not harbour any romantic feelings towards me.
I’d seen her briefly in passing around town after she’d moved here, but it had only been over a month since I’d officially met Niki, during Thanksgiving. It had also been a month of me developing an ever-growing infatuation, which only seemed to get more intense each time I saw her.
My last relationship had been over three years ago. I had been too busy at work to focus on anything else, and I hadn’t felt like I was missing out on anything until I met Niki.
I had spent a couple of evenings, and the rare day off, with my siblings at Niki and Liya’s house, just hanging out and usually watching movies.
The more I got to know Niki, I knew that it wasn’t just a physical attraction that I felt towards her.
“From what I can remember, I did more than just get a little wasted. It’s vague, but I remember the horrific dancing and then being carried up to your room and I think… did we talk? I remember some sort of talking happening. I say really stupid stuff when I get tipsy. And, I think… I think I might have tried to kiss you?” I said softly, cringing at the blurry memories.
An unreadable expression crossed Jake’s face but he just shrugged.
“You didn’t do anything. I put you in my bed and you asked me to stay with you and then fell asleep.”
Relief flooded through me at his response. “Really?”
He picked up the fork and started stabbing at the potato salad on his plate. “Yep. Nothing at all.”
CHAPTER 7
Jacob
Liar. You’re such a fucking liar.
Tell her what happened.
I decided to ignore the little voice in my head.
Niki was more relaxed around me than she had been in months, and I wasn’t about to screw that up by telling her the truth.
She peered curiously at me as if she suspected I wasn’t being honest. Avoiding her stare, I focused my attention on the plate in front of me as memories of the night came back to me.
New Year’s Eve.
The alcohol isn’t working. Why isn’t the alcohol working?
My plan to drink away my problems was failing miserably. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something just didn’t feel right at work. And if I was being honest, I hadn’t felt happy in a long while.
It didn’t make sense because I had achieved all I wanted to in my career, and life was generally good. I had no reason to complain. I was pushing myself hard at work, but that was nothing new. I’d always been a hard worker, but lately it had been increasingly hard to muster up any kind of enthusiasm at the restaurant.
I was turning into a miserable asshole, and I hated myself for it. I threw back another shot of whiskey and waited for the buzz to hit me.
Looking around the room, I saw that everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves at the impromptu New Year’s Eve party that had somehow ended up being held at our house.
As usual, Josh and Alex were the instigators of the party, and I wondered how the hell they had managed to persuade Nate to agree to it.
Loud, snorting laughter caught my attention, and I looked up to see Niki finish the drink she had in her hand. Addie made her sit in a chair, gave her another drink and said something to her before walking away with an empty tray.
No. Off limits for you, Jacob. She’s not interested.
Each morning, I had started going to the bakery to get my usual fix of coffee and incredible cinnamon roll, earlier than usual, just to spend twenty minutes alone with her before the usual morning rush began.
The ritual had become the best part of my day. The conversations between us were always pleasant, but all my attempts at flirting with her were never reciprocated.
I assumed, this meant she knew I was interested in dating her, and the abrupt responses to my flirtations were her way of showing that she definitely did not harbour any romantic feelings towards me.
I’d seen her briefly in passing around town after she’d moved here, but it had only been over a month since I’d officially met Niki, during Thanksgiving. It had also been a month of me developing an ever-growing infatuation, which only seemed to get more intense each time I saw her.
My last relationship had been over three years ago. I had been too busy at work to focus on anything else, and I hadn’t felt like I was missing out on anything until I met Niki.
I had spent a couple of evenings, and the rare day off, with my siblings at Niki and Liya’s house, just hanging out and usually watching movies.
The more I got to know Niki, I knew that it wasn’t just a physical attraction that I felt towards her.
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