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Thirty Two

"Hey Alex, a couple of the guys are going to the pub after their shift. Want to go?" Charley asked.

They had spent the last two days hanging around her house, venturing out only to grab some food. Despite not going out much, the siblings had enjoyed each others' company, laughing and playing board games. Alex had finally caught up on sleep enough to feel human and Charley was ready to see her friends again.

"Yeah, sure. Could be fun. Besides, I could use a beer. Michael gonna be there?"

She nodded, "Of course!"

Alex pursed his lips. He didn't get a good enough read on him the first night at dinner and was looking forward to getting to know him more. He had to make sure his younger sister was taken care of now that she was living halfway across the world.

An hour later, the two siblings walked down to Campbell Parade with Emma in tow.

With it being just before 7 pm, the group was the first to arrive. Alex found a table while Charley grabbed a round. Slowly, the boys all trickled in with Mouse, Jackson and Jake arriving first.

"Heya hot stuff," Charley beamed, kissing her boyfriend.

Mouse smiled and held his hand out to Alex, "Good to see you again, mate."

Alex shook his hand and nodded before taking a gulp of his drink. As the boys arrived, Charley introduced each one to her brother. She didn't expect Alex to remember each of them, but she couldn't help it. She was excited her brother was visiting and wanted to introduce him to everyone she could.

"Oi, how ya going mate? You must me Charley's brother!" Whippet called out, approaching the three of them.

Turning to her brother, Charley smiled.

"Al, this is Ryan - he goes by Whippet - and that sorry looking bloke is Daniel," she pointed to the door as Beardy walked in. "I've known these guys since I first lived here."

"Ah, I've heard a lot of stories about you guys. Nice to put a face to the name," Alex smiled as he shook their hands.

Charley squinted her eyes at her brother. She couldn't help but notice he was a bit  friendly toward Whippet and Beardy than he had been towards Michael. Shrugging, she chalked it up to being all in her head. Maybe she was just so worried he wouldn't like Michael that she saw it that way.

After a while, the drinks were flowing and everyone was letting loose. Mouse and a few of the boys had off the next day, allowing themselves to indulge a bit more than they normally would.

Jesse shouted out over the music, "I say we do shots in honor of Alex visiting!"

A round of cheers erupted. Jesse and Jake made their way to the bar for the shots while Mouse made his way over to Charley. Snaking his arm around her waist, he pulled her close to his body and swayed to the music with her. The couple danced together, bodies pressed against each other, smiles on their faces.

"It's nice to see Charley so happy," Emma commented to Alex.

She had noticed he was watching Mouse dance with his sister and recognized the look in his eye. He had the same look he got back when they would all go out and guys would hit on both her and Charley. It always ended with him scaring the guys off.

"Hmm?" He asked, leaning his head closer to Emma without taking his eyes off the couple.

"He makes her happy, you know," Emma reminded him. "He treats her good and would give her the world."

Just then, Jesse and Jake made their way back to the group with shots for everyone. Charley held out a shot from across the group, motioning for Alex to come grab it. Furrowing his brow, he shook his head, refusing. Charley shrugged and tossed back both her shot and the one intended for Alex. Alex swallowed a gulp of his beer and looked at Emma who just finished her own shot.

"Does everyone always drink so much here?" He questioned, a hint of judgement in his voice.

"Mate, these boys had a stressful week and most of them don't work tomorrow. You'd drink too if you did what they did!" Emma laughed, patting him on the shoulder before walking away.

Alex wasn't a big drinker, enjoying a couple of beers here and there but that was it. Being surrounded by lifeguards who were drinking more than he approved of wasn't the type of fun he had in mind. He wasn't too pleased seeing his sister drunk as well.

"Al, come dance with us!" Charley called, motioning him to where she was dancing with Mouse, Whippet and Harrison.

Reluctantly, he made his way over to them. Approaching the group, he saw Mouse and Charley dancing uncomfortably close again. He wanted to like Michael, really. The more he got to know him though, the harder it was to find something about him he liked.