Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Seventeen

"Happy birthday!" I heard Darian shout from the hallway.

"Dude," I heard Nathan groan. "Shut up, it's not even noon."

I laughed to myself as they began to bicker. Getting out of bed, I started to get dressed. Today was Nathan's birthday, and of course, he's having a party. Part of me didn't want to go, seeing as we have barely talked since my date with Jude a couple of days ago, but I knew Darian and Samara would be disappointed in my absence.

Putting on some high-waisted skinny jeans and a green off-the-shoulder sweater, I started to make my way to the kitchen.

Darian was at the counter, beating some eggs and sizzling some bacon. He looked at me and gave me a warning look. "It's Nathan's birthday and I woke him up, so be nice."

I rolled my eyes as I sat at the round kitchen table that was right beside our balcony door. As I looked outside and saw the snow come down on the Toronto skyline, I gave a small smile. "I'll be on my best behaviour."

Right on cue, Nathan stumbled into the kitchen, his hair messy, and stubble showing, clearly forgetting to shave the night before. He scratched his head as he looked around the room, when he saw Darian making breakfast he smiled to himself and took a seat across from me.

"Happy birthday," I said as I watched him stare at the bacon longingly.

He looked at me, confused, seeing as it was the first time I spoke to him positively since he had been giving me a hard time about my date with Jude. Looking to see if there was any hint of sarcasm on my face and finding none, he nodded his head. "Thanks."

"Do you want some coffee?" I asked, pointing to the coffee maker with my thumb.

"Sure," Nathan said.

I got up from the table and grabbed three mugs from the cupboard, assuming Darian wanted a coffee as well. As I pressed the START button, Darian crept up behind me. "You guys are being so awkward."

"It's not like I can help it!" I whispered back, flicking him in the shoulder.

Darian rubbed his shoulder and sighed. "Why are you guys mad at each other again?"

His question made me stop. To be honest, I didn't really understand why we were mad at one another. After our little talk once my date was finished, there just seemed to be some sort of animosity between Nathan and me. He would barely talk to me or even look at me as if I had done something that really offended him. Maybe he was still upset that Darian was the one who told him about my date, but I wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Darian gave me an expectant look. I rolled my eyes and simply said quietly, "Because he sucks and so do I."

My roommate rolled his eyes and started bringing the food to the table. "Breakfast is served!"

Grabbing the coffee, I too, made my way to the table.

As we began to eat, Nathan stopped mid-bite and smirked. "So Audrey, are you bringing Jude to the party?"

Darian inhaled tightly and gave his brother a pointed stare. Setting his fork down with a gentle calm, he said, "Audrey and Jude will not be attending your party together. And since Audrey is too stubborn to admit it, I will."

Nathan placed his half-eaten slice of bacon down on his plate and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and tilting his head like a curious puppy.

I kicked Darian under the table, but he kicked me back with a smile and returned speaking to his brother. "Jude asked her to your party yesterday in efforts to make amends since the particularly awkward ending to their date and she declined his invitation."

"Darian!" I whined. "I didn't want you to tell anyone! Samara will be mad at me."

Nathan chuckled and stared at me with a smirk. "Now why would you decline a date with the man you confessed to wanting to date in the first place?"

"I told you I only said Jude because I knew the person I wanted to be with wasn't an option!" I hissed, wanting nothing more but to smash my eggs in his pretty little face. He knew the date didn't go well yet he kept pushing the subject. It was driving me crazy.

"Well then, who do you want?" Nathan challenged, cocking his eyebrow. I felt myself go pale as I realized what I just said and unsure how to answer his question.

Darian put his head in his hands. "Please, can we solve this like mature adults? Yes, Audrey, your date sucked and Nathan made a big deal about it. And yes, Nathan, Audrey did say she wanted to date Jude, but after that date, I wouldn't want to date him either. So can we let this go?"

In sync, Nathan and I crossed our arms and huffed out the word, fine.

We carried on with breakfast, although it was very awkward. Nathan and Darian carried out most of the conversation, mainly because I didn't want to intrude, but also because I was afraid to say the wrong thing and spark another fight.

After breakfast, Darian left the apartment because he was going to set up Nathan's party at Justin's house, seeing it was the biggest in the friend group. Meanwhile, I stayed behind and cleaned up.

The dishes were done and the leftovers were placed in the fridge when I got a phone call from Samara.

"YOU SAID NO TO JUDE?"

I rolled my eyes and headed towards my room. "It wasn't right, Sam. It didn't feel right."

"Was the date really that bad?" She sighed in defeat, clearly saddened that my first date back in the game was a bust.

Closing the door behind me, I sat on my bed and stared at the floor. "He didn't think that writing was a real job, I know that's little and stupid, but it's my dream. And then he brought up Nathan..."

"Why did he bring up Nathan?" Samara asked, her voice filled to the brim with confusion.

This time, I let out a sigh of defeat. "He thinks I have feelings for him."

"Well do you?" my best friend questioned.

I leaned back to lie on my bed. "I don't know. Maybe? I'm just so confused and I don't know what to do."

"I understand," she paused for a moment. "Come to my place to get ready? Maybe it will help you clear your head."

"Sounds great," I replied, sitting back up. "See you in a few."