Keep Me In | DR3 | BOOK 1

24 - Catching Up

I may be hard-headed in my decision to not give Daniel and I an honest go, but there wasn't much that anyone, even Noah, could say to change my mind.

--

I did the entirety of the week doing what I did best, burying myself in work. I wanted to start the year off on a strong foot, and if deflecting from the complicated state of my love life was my main motivation, then so be it. And hey, while I was at it, maybe things would sort themselves out.

I was maintaining regular contact with Mason; we texted daily, and we even took the time to do an evening facetime on Wednesday night. He was kept busy by school, already having papers to write and pages to read in his first week back. I told him about my week; I had sold a car, and Rory bought 2 for inventory. From what Rory has told me, Daniel and Alana had been keeping up with each other as well, though Daniel was needed at McLaren as they revved up for the MCL35M unveiling coming up in the next couple of weeks. The season didn't officially start for 2 months, but Dad had told me they were deep in the planning stages when it came to testing and strategizing.

"At least it's moving," Noah pointed out from the passenger seat as we rolled back to London in the slow crawl of Friday night traffic on the M4.

"I'm in no rush. Especially if it means we get to spend quality time together," I smiled jokingly.

"Well I haven't got all the time in the world tonight, you know."

"And why would that be?"

"I've got a date," I turned to Noah, mouth agape as I smacked his arm.

"You didn't tell me! How could you ever leave that out!" I said. My tone was accusatory, though I had a smile on my face. Noah was just as unlucky with dating as I had been, we joked we would just have to end up marrying each other, as we always seemed to attract an odd bunch.

"I didn't want to jinx it, it's another Tinder date," he sighed. No good has come from a Tinder date yet, for either of us. I shrugged, trying to keep the mood positive.

"Well maybe this will be a good one. She'll break the streak of freaks," I let out a chuckle. "Let's see her," I turned my eyes to Noah's phone as he held out her Instagram. She was a cutie, shoulder-length black hair, big brown eyes, and a picture-perfect smile.

"Her name is Amanda, we're going to The Ivy. I brought it up and she said she'd been there before and likes the food, so that's hopeful."

"Noah! You have to text me tomorrow and tell me how it goes, alright?"

We spent the rest of the 45 minute drive home planning his outfit, conversation topics, we even fit in a little role play. I told him more about Mason and I's first date to the Café in Cap d'Ail, what we had talked about, how he acted. Noah got nervous on dates, and so I wanted to make sure he was prepared and comfortable before he went tonight. It was also an excuse for me to talk about Mason, which I loved doing. I smiled as I dropped Noah off at home, watching him walk with a little extra spring in his step.

I gave the valet the key to my Range Rover, throwing him an extra bill and a nice smile to ensure he would handle the truck with care. My drive to Mayfair had ended up taking me 20 minutes, which had probably been the same amount of time it would have taken me to walk from my home, but my laziness in combination with the chill of the night had gotten to me again. I walked through the familiar doors of Nobu, a favorite of Dad's (he liked that it was basically the same everywhere), and notified the hostess I was meeting someone who had already sat down. She nodded as she pointed me in the right direction. Normally a hostess would walk you to your seat, however, we came here often, and so most of the front-of-house staff were familiar with us. I thanked her before she offered to take my coat. I denied politely, not minding hanging my grey trench on the back of the chair.