Irresistible

FIVE

"Wait, so you didn't... you know.. fuck him?" Elijah's voice drops bluntly, his curiosity evident as his eyebrows raised expectantly. "And what's his name, by the way?"

Brooke shakes her head. "Nope," she says popping the 'p'. "His name's Brendan."

"So, what did you guys do after you left?" I ask taking a leisurely sip of my matcha as we all sit in our usual table.

"He actually took me out. Nothing fancy, just a late-night diner where we ate French fries until 3 in the morning, exchanging stories," Brooke replies, a soft blush coloring her cheeks as she recalls the memory.

"Oh my god, that's some straight out of a rom-com shit," Elijah exclaims, earning a playful elbow from me as I laugh along.

"That's honestly adorable," I chime in, genuinely surprised by Brooke's unexpected turn of events. "I thought for sure you were just going to head to his place last night."

"Honestly, me too. But guys," Brooke whines, her voice tinged with excitement, "I actually really like him. He's so different from anyone I've met, you know?"

Oh, trust me. I definitely know that feeling. I think but keep my mouth shut.

"Awww, Brookie's in loveeee," I coo, unable to resist reaching across the table and pinching Brooke's cheek affectionately.

Elijah groans, sounding half-amused and half-jealous. "How are you finding guys like these? Please teach me how," he mutters groggily.

"To be honest, I don't even know. They just seem to find me," Brooke says with a grin, her gaze locking onto mine, her face displaying a knowing look towards me.

"So... spill, Lilia! Who's the lucky lady from last night? That concealer isn't fooling anyone," Brooke laughs, her finger playfully pointing at the barely concealed marks on my neck.

I feel my cheeks heat up.

I swear I added like 20 layers of concealer.

"Good luck getting an answer out of her. I've been asking all morning, but she doesn't 'kiss and tell'," Elijah joins in, mocking my refusal to tell him any details while we were walking here this morning.

"I'm not telling you guys shit. It's a secret," I giggle, trying to deflect their questions.

The truth is, it's a secret because I have no idea who the woman I spent the night with was, but admitting that is out of the question.

"Ugh, so boring," Brooke whines, and Elijah gives her a high five in solidarity.

I roll my eyes at their antics, "You'll survive without all the details. Not everyone's life is a romantic movie like yours, Brookie," I retort, running a hand through my hair in a futile attempt to mask my unease.

A few minutes later and the subject of my hookup gets easily forgotten as we all start talking about different things. Brooke telling us about how her roommate used her toothbrush "accidentally". Now what the fuck?

Thirty minutes later, we're all left with empty cups, and Brooke rises to leave, gathering her phone and keys from the table.

"I also told Brendan that we would meet him and his friends at the new club in SoHo on Friday," Brooke announces as she heads for the door. "See ya, guys! Love ya!"

With her exit leaving no room for Elijah and me to respond, we exchange a glance, shrugging in silent agreement.

When have we ever turned down a night out? Especially when it involves checking out the hottest new spot in town, Paradise. It's supposed to be this huge opening day party. It's practically guaranteed we'd end up there anyway.