PERIPHERY | NH |

SIX

Niall

"Damn, Niall. Rough day?" Anthony looked slightly worried as he poured me another shot of whiskey.

He watched me with raised eyebrows as I picked up the shot and slammed it back, placing the empty glass back on the bartop."I guess you could say that."

I guess? No, I fucking know.

Not only could I not remember a single thing from being around Hunter for the majority of my day, but I almost kissed her when I asked her to come out with me, at least that's what I wanted to do.

What the hell is wrong with me?

The rules, Niall. Remember the goddamn rules.

"Alright, tell me about it." Resting his arms on the bar, Anthony looked at me. "It's not like you haven't laid it all on me before."

This was true. On more than one occasion Anthony has heard me talk about anything and everything. From failed relationships to rants about neighbors not picking up after their damn dogs, he'd heard it all.

I was drunk.

Way drunk.

"Okay, say you set up some rules.. But you don't want to go by those rules anymore.. What do you do?" My voice is raspy, my accent thicker than normal. "I don't want to break them because that would be bad, so what if I just bend the rules.. Juuuuust a liiitttlllllleeee?"

Holding my hand out, I bring my pointer finger and my thumb together, not close enough to touch but close enough to show Anthony how close I felt to losing any and all the resolve I had built up over the years and throwing it down the drain for one person and one person only.

Hunter Gray.

That fucking woman was going to ruin my life if I couldn't figure out how to control my thoughts and the way my body reacted whenever I was around her.

She was so different from any other woman I'd ever worked with.

As much as it makes me sound like an arrogant asshole, I literally cannot remember the last time I asked a woman to go out somewhere with me and they turned me down. She turned me down for her fucking laundry.

Her. Laundry.

"Well how important are these rules?" Pouring me a glass of water and sliding it across to me, I gave him a scowl. "Drink up. I already know I'm going to have to call you a cab or some shit.

"Technically, they are legal rules." Circling my brain back to the stupid NDA Hunter had signed, I rolled my eyes. "So if they are broken there could be lawsuits and legal fees... It can get messy."

I watched as he pursed his lips, chasing his answer around his mind. "So if you break the rules that's what could happen... But if you bend the rules, what happens there?"

If the rules with Hunter were bent, it would mean nothing severed the contract. That not only would I make it out without the legal ramifications of my actions, but so would she.

"If that happens and nobody knows they were bent, then it's almost like it never happened. Like what ever existed wasn't even true — let's call it an illusion." Taking a long drink of my water, I mentally slapped myself for even thinking any of this in the first place. "By my own calculations.... Sounds like the better option."

Truth be told, both options were bad ideas but I'd been trying to get the quiet bookworm out of my mind for weeks now, unable to get rid of the thoughts that seemed to cloud my vision.