Love After You

Chapter 9

Jake leaned against the wall in his flat, talking with Kevin.

There was a decent-sized gathering, around ten to fifteen people, and his flat wasn't huge, so it felt like a packed nightclub.

Some of Adams' cousins were there, as well as family friends like Amanda.

Greg, his roommate, was currently sitting in his bedroom with the door securely shut. He hated this sort of thing and groaned audibly when Adam had told him the plans.

The music played—not too loudly, but loud enough to dance to if you wanted.

He did not want to.

He was on the first floor and kept glancing out his window for any signs of her.

He knew how pathetic it was, but she said she'd be here at 6.30. It was now 7 p.m.

Kevin was talking to him about something he had no interest in, but he kept turning his head and nodding along like he agreed.

Where was she?

Was she okay?

"- don't you think?" Kevin asked.

Jake gave him a frown, then nodded his head. "Ugh, yeah."

Kevin carried on like nothing had happened, completely oblivious.

Jake sighed and finished his drink, turning away from the window again when the street was as barren as it had been two seconds earlier. He tuned into Kevin, trying his best to listen.

"-Like I told my mother, I'm fine. I'm happy on my own; I don't need a girl. This bachelor lifestyle is for the best anyway, am I right? You can get laid anytime you want and don't have to deal with the nagging of a girlfriend." He laughed.

"Have you been laid recently?" Jake asked.

Kevin froze for a second and took a sip from his drink. "Well, no. But that's besides the point..."

Jake tuned out again. He flicked the blind one more time, looking down at the dark street below that was lit dimly by the street lamps. Where was she? He tried to materialise her green raincoat running along the pavement, hoping if he thought about it hard enough, she'd appear.

"I bet you're getting all the action now that Emily is out of the picture." Kevin stated, drawing Jake's attention once more.

"Not really, just focusing on work right now."

Kevin scoffed. "Well, it isn't exactly hard for you, is it? Look at you. You could have any woman you wanted with a flick of your finger."

Jake shrugged, not sure how to reply to that. He knew he wasn't ugly, but he didn't believe his statement. He was moody, he definitely worked too much, and he didn't like kids. Sure, he wanted his own one day, but not anytime soon. Emily was the perfect girlfriend like that; she, too, wasn't ready for kids. But she wanted everything else—the wedding, the house, the man...

"See," Kevin continued when Jake didn't respond. "Look at Amanda over there."

Jake glanced at Amanda, who was swaying her hips in time to the music as she sipped her drink through a straw. Her eyes were burning into his. She was a family friend; she wasn't related to Adam but had always kind of been there. He was well aware of her crush on him, but he wasn't interested.

"She's desperate for you."

Jake chuckled and looked away from her.

Amanda was pretty—stunning, actually. But she didn't tempt him. No one did.