Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Three

"I need a place to live," Nathan stated bluntly.

"What happened to the place you live in now?" My friend asked, slowly reaching for his beer.
I studied Nathan, waiting for an answer.

"The person who I was renting from decided they wanted to move back in," Nathan also grabbed his beer, taking a large sip of it. "I have until next week to move out and I don't have enough to get a place of my own."

Leaning forward, I said, "Why can't you and your current roommate find a place together?"

Pointing at me, Darian nodded his head in agreement with my question.

Nathan sighed loudly, "Because he moved in with his girlfriend," crossing his arms and pouting like a child, he muttered under his breath, "That jerk."

Darian gave me a sideways glance. "Do you want to talk about this outside?"

Nodding my head, both Darian and I stand up, making our way out of the bar. When we get outside, the autumn breeze combs through my hair and my breath is seen when I exhale into the night sky.

Darian is the first one to speak. "It's okay if you don't want him to move in. He can be a jerk and hard to handle."

"Darian," I started and then paused. I wasn't quite sure what to say. Darian and I had just got our footing, we were getting along, and just started classes. What if Nathan moving in messes all that up? Would Darian hate me if Nathan and I had disagreements or would he hate me if I said I didn't want him to move in? Taking a deep breath and then licking my lips I said, "He's your brother. Where would he go if we say no?"

My roommate ran his hand through his blond locks. "I don't know... My parents sure as hell won't take him in. They'll say he's too old to be living with them and lecture him about it and then I have to hear about it."

I glanced at him, biting my lip. "How old is he anyway?"

Darian let out a chuckle, looking up at the night sky, "He's turning twenty-three in December. Crazy right? I'm the younger sibling and I have more of a head-on my shoulders than he does."

I nodded my head in understanding. Out of everyone who could relate to Darian, it would probably be me. My sister was older than I was, yet she still acted as if she were sixteen. My mind started to wonder about how this would all play out. How would Kieran react if he heard I was living with another guy, who was most definitely not gay? He would be livid. Which was absurd, but nonetheless would cause an even bigger strain on our already strained relationship.
I glanced at my friend, his eyes dripped with worry. I couldn't say no to Darian's family. Sure, I just met Nathan and it will probably cause more problems than solutions when it came to Kieran and me, but if it were my sister who needed a place to stay I know Darian would say yes in a heartbeat. Turning to Darian, I said, "Well, we do have an extra room in the apartment. I know we said we would wait until next semester before we got a new roommate, but he's your brother."

Darian's blue eyes widened and I could see the relief he had felt. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," I nodded my head in finality. When I got home, I would tell Kieran the news and hopefully, he wouldn't get too upset. "But please try to get him to stop flirting. I have Kieran and he's most likely not going to be too thrilled of the news that Nathan is moving in."

"Of course," Darian agreed and then enveloped me into a tight hug, "Thank you so much, Audrey."

"No problem," I smiled at my friend. Despite the troubles it may cause, I was happy to help my roommate and now friend.

Together, we went back inside the pub, and back to Nathan, who was still sitting in the booth. When he noticed our return, he eyed us anxiously. "So, what's the verdict, Doc?"

Darian looked at me, inviting me to tell his brother the news. I sat down in the booth, took a deep sip of my beer, and loosed a breath. "You can move in, we have an extra room, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Nathan gave me a wicked grin, showing off his pearly whites. "Thank you, sweeth-"

Darian slammed his hands on the table and both Nathan and I flinched at the abruptness of his action. "Shut up, and listen."

My friend, who was still standing, leaned over and pointed at his brother, "You will not flirt with Audrey, you will not party until the brink of dawn," wagging his finger, as a mother would to a misbehaving child. "You will not be a slob. You will contribute to paying rent and groceries. You may be my brother but you aren't getting any freebies."

Looking at my friend, I let out a small snort. Here was Darian, who was visibly smaller than Nathan and visibly younger, telling him off like a child. And here was Nathan, sitting there, arms crossed, taking it like he's used to Darian scolding him.

"Fine," Nathan grumbled. "I won't flirt with Audrey. But if she flirts first, there's no telling what I'll do next," Darian's brother finished with a wink.

I gagged internally. Like that was going to happen. There was no way in hell I would fall for my friend's brother.

Darian sat down beside me, finishing the rest of his beer in one sip, he muttered, "I'm going to need something a lot stronger than this."