Love At First Text ✔️

Her

"Do you think your brother will be alright if I bring Nat to his birthday party?" Zoya asked, stirring the fruit in her gin about with her straw.

The pair had upscaled from their usual bar, seemingly having made it more of an event, as compared to a few drinks in solidarity as Eden recovered from dinner with her parents. There had still been no sign of Noah, and when Eden questioned if they had spoke to him, the only response had been a stony silence. She hadn't even dare suggest that they come to Noah's birthday themselves, because the reality was, they would say no and ruin Eden's mood, or say yes, and ruin Noah's.

Eden twirled the stem of her wine glass between her thumb and forefinger so that it spun slowly along the bar. "I'm sure he'd be fine with it."

Zoya pinned Eden with a weighted stare. "Are you fine with it?"

Eden couldn't help but roll her eyes, lifting her Aperol Spritz to her lips to take a sip before she spoke. "Zee, if you want to bring a date, of course I'm fine with it. I'm happy for you. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

It was true. Though it had not been outwardly confirmed, Eden suspected that their upgrade on destination for their Sunday evening drinks had come because of Nat. It wasn't a bad thing – unusual, because Eden had to make slightly more of an effort. She'd gone for a dress. It looked more like a blazer, a dark stone colour tight to her waist with a belt of the same shade. She'd had to wear heels too, for Zoya was, and she couldn't have managed that extreme height difference all evening. They were strappy, tied in a bow just before her calf, completely black aside from the gold metallic trim around the sole. They matched her bag, so she at least looked coordinated.

Eden was convinced it was still too cold to dress such a way, but the bar was warm, so she had forgotten about the previous goosebumps along her legs. Besides, it was nice to have a reason to dress up, and even nicer to have her tattoos on show. You could only see the mandala piece on her foot, the triple '2' angel numbers above her knee, and a slight peak at the one that stretched down from her hip, but she was fond of having them out for once.

"What about you? Are you going to take a certain text recipient?" Zoya queried, hiding her grin behind the rim of her gin glass.

"Sebastian? No." Her smile fell. "We've met a grand total of three times. Had a single not-a-date day out, and a single not-a-date lunch. There's absolutely no way I'm asking him to come to a party as my actual date, to be interviewed by my brother, his friends, and my cousins all night."

Zoya groaned, wafting her hand as if Eden's blunt dismissal was in her way. "Fine. But they were dates, whether you want to admit it or not."

The door opened, and a gust of cold air assaulted the girls who were sat on the tall stools at the bar. Eden suppressed a shiver. "Can we go sit at a table? I'm sure Nat will find us."

Zoya dismissed her too quickly, grabbing at her phone which vibrated on the surface of the bar. "Not enough room. We need a booth."

"What do you mean, 'not enough room'?" Zoya ignored her, typing away on her phone. At a loss, Eden flagged down the bartender. "Can I get an espresso martini please? And as many shots as that deal includes, if that's alright?" She pointed at the calligraphy on the black board behind him, listing the prices.

"Sure." He smiled at her, and she watched as he began mixing the contents of her cocktail together. The door must have opened again, for Eden fell cold once more, and she wished whatever shots she had just ordered were in front of her now, because she needed a way to warm up.

"Eden!" Eden looked to her right, surprised by the call of Zoya, who she had not seen move from beside her. Her friend was gleaming – a type of a conniving grin, one she wore only whenever she was doing something bound to get in trouble. She was holding Nat's hand, hurrying over. Eden was far more curious at the people that were still funnelling through the door, each of them strangely familiar.