Soulmates & Twin Flames

14 - The Stupidest Man Alive

"So, are you ready to date yet?" Olga asks as she puts down her water bottle, and pulls a dart out of the board at our usual speakeasy.

I roll my eyes, and as they roll, they linger on Nate, who is sitting at the corner table between two models. I only notice him because he is tall, and his head sticks out of the crowd. And his green eyes are impossible to miss... It has nothing to do with me wanting to date him. Because I don't.

"You don't want him, my ass," Olga says into my ear, trailing my gaze at him.

"I don't even know if I like him that way, Olga. I'm good with the way things are."

Okay, Nate is fun. He is deep, a good listener, and an amazing secret keeper. I might have been a shitty friend and slipped him something about Olga missing her period last week, and he hasn't said anything to Daniel.

"One date," she insists.

I roll my eyes again. Nate grins at me from afar and sips his beer.

"He dates multiple girls." I turn to the dart board and try to aim. "If I date him, we'll be together for a few weeks, and then he's going to leave."

"Why would he leave?"

I sigh. "Because he'll miss having orgis."

Olga narrows her eyes and crosses her arms. "He's been in monogamous relationships before. He can do it again."

"No," I say and throw a dart at the target. It misses.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm going to fall for him, he's going to leave me for some socialite, and it'll be Roman all over again!"

Olga grabs my shoulders and forces me to look her in the eye. "Roman was never yours in the first place, remember?"

"Yeah," I say, but it sure doesn't feel that way.

"A double date then," she suggests. "Invite him to your birthday party."

I give her a blank stare. This doesn't sound too bad, actually.

Everything on Olga's face beams at the same time. "I'll go tell him."

"No, I'll invite him. You make sure I have my chocolate ice cream cake." I throw another dart at the target and raise my hands in victory. Bullseye!

With my newly gained confidence, I squeeze my butt between the guys around our table and sit across from Nate.

"Nice shot!" he says, giving me a high five.

"Thanks." I eye the girls around him and start shaking my legs. This is harder than I thought it'd be. I've rejected the guy too many times. What if he's moved on? What if these new girls aren't flings and he actually likes them? What if—

"What is it?" he asks, leaning forward. The girls' hands drop from his shoulders.

I chuckle and shuffle my bangs. It's suddenly hot in here, and I'm zapped back to my teenage years—wiggling, blushing, and sweating in front of my crush. Why does it have to be this hard?

I exhale and straighten up, looking straight into Nate's eyes. Fuck it, I'm in my mid-twenties. I can do this. "It's my birthday this Friday. I'm throwing a small party at my place. Would you like to come?"

His face softens when he raises his brows in surprise. "Of course, Abby. How old are you turning?"

"Twenty-five."

"Delicious." He grins.

He is an idiot. I've just asked an idiot out. I bite my lip and look away. He taps his fingers on the table and smiles.