live a little - j.birch

e p i l o g u e

7 YEARS LATER

"so you'll definitely be coming tonight?" leahs voice sounded nervously through the speaker of my phone, which was on loudspeaker as i straightened my chestnut brown hair. i couldn't help but lightly glare at the colour, being completely bored of being back to my natural colour. leahs question made me huff out a breath as i thought back to last night, completely moving on from the internal thought process of my completely and painfully average hair.

"oh definitely lee. it's not everyday that our little nicky will be turning 20." i chuckled, still picturing the younger boy as his pre-teen self rather then his now adult form. he always would be little nicky, no matter the age. "plus i need a reason to blow out jacob, he's so fucking boring i think i might explode if i have to talk to him two nights in a row." i grimaced at the thought of the man i was beginning to see. we had been on a couple dates as he was my bosses son and she thought we would be a good pairing. i was just trying to find a way to end it gently with him so my job wouldn't be in peril. leah giggled into the phone, having heard all about my horrid dates with the man.

he was utterly boring, constantly talking about his horse riding experiences and private school life. he was the definition of a nepo baby, only having luxuries because of his dad being a screenwriter and his mum being a private therapist. i was his mums assistant, a job that wasn't the dream but was definitely good work experience. though i didn't think that experience would entail smiling politely to stories of yachts and 'wild' nights which never even scratched the surface of entertaining, let alone wild.

"well if you're sure then we're having the party at mom and dads, they're going to a hotel for the night. but i need to warn you—" leah's voice cut out as another call was coming through my phone. seeing the name 'jacob' light up the screen made me groan over the rest of leah's words, completely drowning them out.

"i gotta go lee, the boring asshole is calling. wish me luck." i pouted at the phone but quickly shouted bye before answering jacob.

"jacob, hi!" i answered with fake enthusiasm, placing my straighteners down once i was done with the last strand. working as an assistant made me develop a skill of seeming either neutral or positive even when i wanted to rip my hair out from my head.

"hey issy, how're you?" i cringed internally at the nickname he gave me. he didn't get that i didn't like the nickname, even though i told him the first time he called me it. he claimed it meant he had something to call me that no one else did, but failed to realise no one called me it because i didn't like that nickname.

"i'm good, i was meaning to call you actually." i adjusted my black silk robe that i was wearing since leaving my shower before starting to lay out the makeup i needed to use. i never was one to lay it on heavy, so i just pulled out the stuff to do my eyebrows, mascara and lips.

"oh really? thinking about me, are you?" he flirted, a little chuckle following his question. i rolled my eyes, knowing he couldn't see me but forced out a laugh.

"i guess you could say that. it was bad news though, it's my best friends little brothers birthday today and she's invited me to his party." i began my makeup, leaning forward in my chair to get a better look in the mirror at myself. the phone went quiet for a minute, and a small part of me hoped he had lost connection.

"oh that's great, you speak so much about your friend it'll be nice to put a face to the name." i paused, furrowing my eyebrows at my phone.

"what do you mean?" i questioned, confused at what he meant. i tried to keep my tone bubbly as he still was my boss's son and i couldn't have him make me lose this job. he definitely screamed of crybaby brat, so the possibility was a very real one. he laughed at my confusion.