OFF-SIDE

𝖊𝖕𝖎𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊

They've been together for almost a year, I don't like the guy that much, and as much as I'd always claimed how much I hated Adrian, I never did, if it was my place I'd have preferred if she chose Adrian over that fucking asshole, but she claims how happy she is and that she's fine, of course, I don't believe the "fine" part but I've been keeping an eye on them, and as far as I know, he's been good to her, and what matters, after all, is my sister's happiness, not my comfort.

Layla's face lights up when she sees me, I smile too, and she immediately stands up just as we walk towards her, I pull her to me, my arms wrap around her shoulders and I caress her back, she whispers in my ear "be nice to him." Obviously referring to her goddamn Boyfriend, "I'm not going to promise you." I say raising a brow when we pull away, she groans and rolls her eyes, then she greets Octavia with the same energy, but when her eyes meet Adrian's, it feels like something shifts in the air, she smiles but it's not very genuine, more like..nervous, "hey." She says and he takes a few moments before giving her a "hey." back.

Their interactions are barely noticeable anymore, the tension between them is thick, and no one can deny it, everyone just chooses to ignore it, because it'd make everything awkward, considering the fact that Layla and Adrian have to deal with each other's existence whether they like it or not,

When everyone takes their usual seats, we get more comfortable as we wait for the last two to join us, we've been coming here at this restaurant for probably over two years, it became our place because it's been so hard for us to stay at someone's house after we moved in together, my eyes slowly takes in the fucker who's been tapping his finger on the table for two minutes, he smiles stupidly at me and I fight the urge of punching him, just for Layla, I keep reminding myself, for Layla.

"You okay, bro?" He asks, raising a brow at me, I grind my teeth together and sure enough, Octavia notices it, she puts a hand on mine and squeezes it like she always does, silently telling me to not say something absolutely stupid, I run my tongue across my teeth considering how many appropriate replies I have for this fucker, well none

"I'm not your bro," I reply calmly, Adrian's lips lift a little, it's almost invisible but the more time you spend with him, the more you start noticing those little things, but Damien's reaction is far from what I expected, his smile just widens as he pulls my sister closer to him and my fingers visibly itch to grab his throat, his eyes are challenging, like he's reminding me that my sister is his girlfriend or something, well go fuck yourself bro.

Octavia leans down so she can whisper in my ears, "he's not worth it." She whispers softly and I turn my attention to her, slowly forgetting all about him and just staring at her, at her beautiful big eyes that are a mix of green and yellow, or the way her lips rise when she realizes that I'm staring, she always does that, my hand goes to her face, caressing her soft skin, just watching how the light is making her brown skin glow, making her look mesmerizing, she always does and she's all mine.

A snap of fingers pulls me back, and my attention goes to the fucker sitting in front of me, Damien smiles again "stop it you love birds, you have a fucking home to do this at." He says and I glare at him, "well, just because you're miserable with your love life and cannot experience this, doesn't mean you should ruin other's time, don't be jealous bro." Adrian interrupts not bothering to look up from his phone, the corner of my lips lifts and Damien's face falls but he drops it, well well a win for Adrian once again.

"Please don't tell me we're late!" A feminine voice joins and we turn around to see Victoria and Nikolai approaching us, and well with their little guy, Ronan is almost a year and a half, he clutches his father's hand while they walk towards us, "I won't tell you then." I mutter and Victoria makes a face at me, Nikolai stares at me for a beat then narrows his eyes for some anonymous reason, giving me a look that says don't talk to my wife

Well, not surprised at all, "Nas!" The little guy approaches me, pronouncing my name wrong as he always does, I pick him up and place him on my lap, "hey, big boy." I tell him and he grins, he's been loving being called that lately, he runs his hand through my hair, absolutely messing it up but I don't mind, I love him, maybe more than his father.

I laugh when he makes a weird face at me, and slowly I feel someone's eyes on me, I turn around to see my beautiful wife staring at me with a look I've never seen before, she's smiling so big it aches to look at her from how stunning she appears, she leans in close enough for just me to hear "I'll give you babies one day, Nash Spencer." She says and I smile, a weird sensation lingering through my stomach, the good type "and I'll wait till you're ready love." I whisper, we've discussed this topic a couple of times, and it was clear that she wasn't ready for it yet, and that was okay, we won't rush, she mouthes I love you, I say it back then pull away not wanting their attention to land on us, again.

Ronan eventually gets off me and starts playing with some toys Victoria brought him, Victoria keeps talking about some of the situations he put them in, it's funny if we're being fair, but she's mad that we're laughing, saying that it was serious back then, Layla says what's been happening in her life right now, she's been going to therapy last year and it's been helping her so much, and I'm so glad, Damien somehow joins although I don't know who told him that we care, Octavia talks about her work lately, Nikolai stays silent just watching his wife's every movement, I'd have made fun of him back then, but now I understand, Adrian's reactions towards Damien are the funniest thing to experience, it's fucking entertaining, mostly because Damien loses those arguments, eventually I join them too, telling them about how my career has been going, although I'm sure they've heard, and well that's how the night goes, filled with pure happiness and laughter, maybe sharing some of our struggles too, and helping each other, just like we always used to, and just like we always will,
it feels like old times
Like we're 22 and meeting each other for the first time
But we're not, we're older, stronger, more experienced, And most of all,
We're no longer strangers.
Those five people (without Damien of course) are the most important ones in my life.
And I'd do anything for them, I'm sure they'd too.

Thank you all for everything.
Apologize for making the chapter too long, but well it's the last one anyways.
A vote is really really appreciated 🫶
OFF-LIMITS is gonna be abt Adrian and Layla