Written in the Sand: Book 1 of the "Written" duology

Isn't this Love?

Walking up the stairs just as the sun dipped out of sight in the sky, I opened and unlocked door, and found a frowning Hamish sitting in the living room.

"Where were you today?" He asked curiously, in a friendly but prying manner; like a friend wanting to know where I went off to.

"I went to this bar called... what was it," I tried to remember, snapping my fingers. "Blade and Chalice?" I said questioningly at first, trying to remember the name. "Yeah, Blade and Chalice," I said, fairly confident I got the name right.

Hamish gave me a look before shrugging his shoulders. "Great place to hang out," Hamish commented.

"You know the place?" I asked before I thought it through. Hamish gave a curt nod. "Yeah, I go there quite frequently actually, with Randall and Lilith. Sometimes we go there to celebrate things, other times to hang out," He gave a slight grin, obviously thinking back on fond memories, and taking a sip of his drink.

"I also went with Randall to a couple of thrift shops today," I said as I gave him a slight smile. Hamish gave a nod, and gestured to my clothing. "I can see that," He said, giving a soft and unawkward smile.

My phone chirped just then, ruining the moment. I looked down, pulling it out as a number shown on the screen with a text.

'Wanna get some drinks Friday night? ' It read.

Trevor.

I typed in a "yes" reply and looked back up to see Hamish studying me. "What?" I asked, nervously laughing, like I had done something wrong.

"Oh, nothing," He said, with amusement in his eyes. "It's just that you're smiling and blushing-" He cut himself off before he said anything more. I rolled my eyes, sitting on the couch. Hamish tensed, his breath hitching. There was at least three feet of empty space between us, so why was he acting like this?

My phone chirped again.

'I'll meet you at B&C around 7,' It read.

I smiled again, typing "See you then". This time, Hamish had a pretty clear view of my phones' screen, and gave a scoff, his eyes going wide in disbelief.

"Okay, what is it?" I asked, looking at him, my smile vanishing.

"Nothing," Hamish replied in a somewhat clipped and tight tone. Like he always says this as a 'go-to' response.

"No, there's something and I want to know what it is," I said, demanding an explanation. I'm tired of people not telling me shit.

Hamish gave a sigh. "Yeah," He finally said. "There is something, and it's bothering me like a thorn on my side. I know we were drunk, but-" He cut himself off, he had a look of a three-year-old knowing that he had been caught lying, but didn't want to say it.

"Go on," I prompted, intrigued on where this was going with this.

"You were the one girl that I slept with after-" He cut himself off again, his voice getting choked up. "The one that I let my guard down with and you're already lining up a date? The day after you said it was a mistake. The day after we slept together, nonetheless," He pointed out, gesturing between us.

"You think I'm lining up for another date?" I asked, my tone accusing and barely higher than a whisper.

"I do," He confirmed, his features stone cold. Hamish looked at me that way for a minute before He gave a sigh, looking defeated, and said quietly. "I thought we had something,"

My heart was torn.

On one hand was someone who gets me and knows what it's like to live a secret life; someone who might even care about me instead of trying to use me. The other was someone fresh; someone new who didn't understand the complex part of myself. Someone disposable.