Auld Lang Syne

Chapter 14

Nik's eyelids dropped. "How could I," he said, "when you're always bringing him up?"

"He's my best friend, Nik. And he used to be yours."

"Used to be," Nik muttered, turning back to busy himself with laying out the table.

It was a clear signal that the topic was closed, but I had never been good at adhering to signals. "Look," I said, "if I have to put up with Nadine, Lux, and Wolf, you can handle having Ansel around."

Nik's head swiveled round, eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to strike a bargain with me over our friends?"

"Over your friends," I corrected.

And – why not? It was three for the price of one. He was getting one hell of a deal.

The clink of cutlery sounded louder than it needed to – he had dropped them all onto the table with a crash. "Fine," he said. His head was bent, dark locks of hair shielding his forehead and half of his eyes. "He can come – if you can get him to agree to it."

I grimaced. He had me there. If Nik's disdain towards Ansel was obvious to all who saw them within the same vicinity, then Ansel positively radiated hatred whenever he laid eyes on Nik.

But Nik's still-fresh admission to fix the group had given me an idea. What if I did the same for him and Ansel? What if I fixed the best-friendship I'd had a hand in breaking apart?

For a calm, clear moment, I basked in the thought of a future where happily-ever-after was possible. Then reality dawned.

If Nik and Ansel patched things up, if they ever got to hashing out the past, the rug would be stripped off my accidental lie three years ago. Ansel would know that half of our friendship had been built on false pretenses. I would lose him – the only person who had stood by me as the debris had settled around us.

If I was smart, I would keep Nik and Ansel far, far away from each other.

Then I smiled grimly. Here I was, three years on, letting Nik back into my life after having sworn to never give him the opportunity to break me again.

If I was smart, I would walk out of here right now. I would go back to my safe dorm room, sit down at my desk, and throw myself back into my thesis paper. I would focus on my future.

I glanced towards the door.

Taking a deep breath, I headed for the table and stopped beside Nik. He looked up at me with a smile. "Want to help me make your special cream cheese dip? I always forget what you put it in that gives it that unique flavour."

I managed to roll my eyes and smile back at the same time. "And I've told you a million times," I said. "It's turmeric powder with a generous amount of camembert."

I reached out and took the bowl from Nik.

***

"Why am I putting in so much effort to make food for people I don't even like?" I let go of the spatula, but it remained standing, impaled on the thick creamy mixture. I cocked an eyebrow at Nik. "Aren't you worried I'll slip in some poison?"

Nik snorted. "You wouldn't."

"Why, because I'm too nice?" I was thinking of Valentine's assessment of me – right before I'd tossed Lux's all-important papers into the bin.

"Nice?" Nik's brow furrowed. He paused, seeming to give the concept some thought, before shaking his head. "No. Because if you did that, you'd be poisoning me as well. And you wouldn't do that."

"Who says I wouldn't?" I groused.

Nik only laughed.

I gripped the handle of the spatula and got back to work.