Captivate me

Why's he so stressed?

Donavan and I ate our breakfast and I freshened up a bit in the bathroom. Don gave me some clothes from Anais, they fit me perfectly. As we started to watch TV we hear the front door open. Loud laughter reaches us and we look at each other. Don raises his eyebrows and says:"I'd say Dad is back."
Entering the living room is a well built, stylish man. A smile plays on his lips as he approaches us. First he hugs Don and pets his shoulder, then he turns to me and holds out his hand. I shake it while he introduces himself.

"Hey, I'm Patrick, I work at Noel's studio, he already told me that a friend of Don will be here. But clearly forgot to tell me that it's a stunningly beautiful woman." I smile shyly at him and brush a strand of hair out of my eyes.

"Thank you, I'm Emily." He settles on the couch next to me and we start a cozy conversation.

Noel comes out of the kitchen, bringing beer and my G&T with him. When I look up into his face, he looks stressed out. Has something annoyed him? He hands Patrick his beer without even looking at him and opens his own before half draining it. Patrick leans towards the table to give me my G&T.

"How did you know I'd drink the G&T?", I ask him curiously while I take the glass from him to take a sip. I had no idea how much I needed this now. I feel instantly more relaxed. Alcohol isn't really my thing usually. I can't tolerate much and don't like loosing control. However I can never say no to a gin and tonic, especially one made by Noel.

"We lads only drink beer and you seem to have so much depth that something slightly bitter goes very well with your sweet appearance." I blush at his words.
"You're very poetic, I like that." I smile at him and touch his arm. That's also what's so interesting about Noel. He always seems so grumpy, but he's quite sentimental and soft hearted. He doesn't often show it to other people, but it is clear in his songs.

Someone clears their throat and I look up. Noel is staring straight at Patrick. It seems as if his fingers want to crush the can he's holding. They are already turning white. I've never seen im so tense.

"You alright Dad? You seem a bit... off?", asks Don while opening his second beer.

"Yea, yea, I'm good, just stressed because of the game, they have to win today." Noel says and tries to sound as calm as possible, while looking at the telly, but I can feel that something is up with him. I continue to speak with Patrick, he's actually a really nice guy. As Noel get's up to get himself another beer, I decide to follow him.

In the kitchen, Noel isn't standing at the fridge as expected, but at the sink. He's digging his nails into the marble surrounding. His arms are stiff and his face is bitter. I step closer to touch his arm. Then he suddenly turns his head to me and I feel nervous, he looks at me with such a disappointed expression. Narrowing his eyes he says: "I thought you were interested in my son and not some jerk of a man you don't even really know."

"What are you talking about? I'm not interested in either one of them and believe me, Don's not interested in me at all. We're just really close friends. That, I can promise you."

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