Kashmir [BxB]

Chapter 32 - (Almost) As it was

Several weeks later

"No, I specifically said no hazelnuts! What- No he's not allergic! God, do I have to do everything myself?"

Nate hated hazelnuts, said they ruined chocolate. One hazelnut on his cake and he wouldn't like it, and god damnit if I couldn't even get him some welcome-home-cake. The bakery on the phone was incredibly unhelpful, and I sincerely regret just not asking Omar for a favor.

"Is this good, Kash?"

Dan is sitting on Kade's shoulders, both helping to reach the ceiling to put up the decorative garlands. They stretched from the kitchen doorway through the ceiling light, spreading like threads from a web across the dining room to make it look celebratory.

Perks of being in an apartment - it wasn't nearly as hard to decorate as a house.

"Yes! Thank you!"

My relieved sigh makes Kade smile as Dan proudly waves his fist in the air, being about a burst of laughter from James.

"Did anyone hear anything from Esme? She said she'd be here by now."

A collectively murmured no fills the room, immediately replacing my short-lived relief.

"I'm sure she'll be here, don't worry. I'll go call her.", Ravi assures me, putting a calming hand on my tense shoulder.

Today was the day Nate was coming home from the hospital, and everything needed to be perfect. For the past few weeks everything had felt off, incomplete without him, and today was the day things finally would start getting better again. The final piece of the puzzle.

If only Esme would show up.

She'd been avoiding me, barely speaking to any of us. You didn't have to be a genius to pick up on her troubled mood, but nothing we did or said seemed to bring her out of it.

The sound of the doorbell makes me jump in my place, startling Kade who almost drops Dan as he's trying to get his feet on the floor. Running to the front door, I peek outside to spot an unfamiliar face.

"Guys...", I whisper-scream, gaining the attention of the whole room, "Does Nate have a girlfriend he hasn't told us about?"

"Wait, what?"

Crowding to the front door, murmured whispers of who the girl could be fill the silence. She's really pretty with her dark eyes and curly, dark hair, contacting with her lighter skin as she rolls back and forth on the soles of her feet, looking around the facade of the house.

"Dude, check out her outfit!", Ravi hisses as he gets his turn of peeking outside, clearly admiring the vibrant display of colors. He suddenly stumbles back, eyes wide with a shocked expression.

"Thank you, I quite like it myself. Plan on opening the door anytime soon?"

We all freeze at her comments. Fuck, fuckity fuck fuck. She could hear us through the door.

"Wait, Presley? Is that you?"

Kade's frown is accompanied by a frown as well as a smile as he pushes his way towards the door, leaving the rest of us to stumble backward as he tries to get the door open.

"Yeah! You said you needed balloons so I thought I'd drop some off."

Wait, what?

Kade opens the door, exclaiming a happy greeting as he goes to hug the woman - Presley - who happily hugs him back.

"Guys, this is Presley. Presley, this is Ravi, Dan, James, and Kash."

Presley's eyes light up at the mention of my name, smiling broadly as she gives a little wave. The four of us stand quietly behind Kade, not sure of what to do.