Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Twenty-Six

Samara and I were sitting at a table in our usual Starbucks by the university. School started a couple of weeks ago and my friends and I have no classes together. None. So to make up for not seeing each other as frequently, Sam suggested we get a coffee and some lunch at least twice a week but since she made that suggestion, we have been seeing each other every day.

"So, guess who is officially off the market," my best friend hummed as she took a sip of her coffee.

I thought for a moment but couldn't think of anyone in particular. Scrunching my eyebrows, I looked at my friend. "Who?"

"Me!" she squealed, clapping her freshly manicured hands together. "Hayden finally made it official. I mean, we went out on a few dates but he wouldn't commit so I went out with Xavier from my journalism class, which drove Hayden nuts. Afterward, he said that he didn't want to be with anyone else and finally asked me to be his girlfriend."

I grinned, happy that my friend had gotten herself a boyfriend. I knew she had a huge crush on him, but aside from that, she never had given me many updates until now. "Well, that's great! I'm happy for you."

"Thanks!" She replied, still smiling like crazy. "Speaking of which, have you and Nathan made it official?"

I smiled to myself, thinking of mine and Nathan's date. Since then, we haven't gone out on super fancy dates, but we have a lot of movie nights and small dates at Ed's. "Well, no. We haven't confirmed it," I said, using air quotations around the word confirmed, "But when I date, I don't usually date multiple people. As of right now, Nathan is the only guy in my life."

"But are you the only girl in his?" She asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"I-" I started to say but I cut myself off. Was I the only girl in his life or was he still seeing other people? I shook my head at the thought. After all the careful planning that went into our first date and the others that followed, there was no way he'd be seeing other people. "I think so. I mean, I haven't seen him with anyone else."

Samara smiled. "Good. Because if he hurts you, I'll kick his ass."

We both laughed after she said that. I had no doubt in my mind that she would, even if he simply looked at me the wrong way, he'd be a goner with Samara. Cutting our laughter short, Sam's phone began to ring. When she saw the name on her screen, her face lit up. "Hey, what's up." The voice on the other end spoke and Sam's smile grew wider and wider as they went on. "Sounds good, see you at seven!"

She hung up the phone and carefully placed it on the table. "We're going on a double date."

"Who is?" I asked, confused. Like ten minutes ago she was going on about Hayden and now she's going on a double date?

Sam rolled her eyes. "Me, you, Hayden, and Nathan. Hayden called Nathan before he called me and apparently your man already agreed to it."

I gulped slightly. A double date. With Samara and Hayden. Despite our successful first date, I had never been on a double date, and usually, those have a reputation of being awkward, which I really hope it wasn't.

***

Later that night, I attacked the punching bag as hard as I could while Nathan walked around me in circles, inspecting me. Getting dizzy at his actions, I sighed. "Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Nathan mused.

I rolled my eyes and waved my hand in a circle. "You know, the whole walking around me in circles, it's distracting."

Nathan crept up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I can be more distracting if you'd like."

His breath on my neck caused me to shiver and I sunk into him, feeling the hardness of his chest. I closed my eyes and sighed. "As much as I'd like that, we haven't been here in a while and we should practice."