Catfish | A. Svechnikov

SEVENTEEN

I locked eyes with Alex, and instead of cowering away I decided to push my confidence and met his gaze evenly before an embarrassed smile crept onto my face and I was forced to look away. I then felt Jordan's elbow dig into my waist as she raised her eyebrows in an enthusiastic gesture, heating my cheeks even further. "Is this the hot Doctor you work with?"

This would not be easy if she was going to make a big deal of it.

"I guess so," he chuckled at my glowing cheeks, "But you can call me Alex."

"I'm Ke'Bryan." He said sticking his hand out for a handshake as Alex stood back in shock before taking it.

"Like Ke'Bryan Hayes? Like the third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates Ke'Bryan Hayes?"

"That would be the one, and he's all mine." Jordan leans on her boyfriend proudly, practically hanging off his chest. 

We milled by the bar for a while as the boys talked baseball and ordered more and more drinks. Autumn was shielded from the group by Jordan and me, which gave her the opportunity to just watch the interactions rather than try and embarrass herself by participating.

"AJ, bathroom?" Jordan asked, her arm already linked with Autumn's. I nodded briskly, grabbing her other as we wormed through the clusters of people. The crowd had doubled since I'd last looked around, it was thick with people ready to ring in the new year.

"I can't believe Ke' thinks I'm already drunk," Jordan said as soon as we entered the girl's bathroom, the music muted as the door closed behind us.

"You're totally not," Autumn said. "He's just being a douche because that guy down the bar bought you that drink."

"It's totally not fair!" Jordan whined. "It's not my fault that I'm so absolutely gorgeous."

Autumn rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh come on, you being really pretty is not the problem here. Being hot is a total asset here, you just gotta use it to your advantage. Right, AJ?"

"Totally," I agree. The three of us spread apart to let a few girls pass to use the toilet.

"Okay, so, can I talk about me for a second?" Autumn asked, distracting Jordan enough to smooth out her pissed-off expression.

"Sure, go," I said. "But I really do need to pee."

Autumn feigned an impatient look. "I saw a guy that was really, really cute and he was totally giving me the look."

"Really?" I said, my grin matching Jordan's from across from me.

"He had an X on his hand too so he has to be close to my age, right?"

"Good sign, maybe. Or maybe he left his ID at home." I tilt my head to the side looking at her.

Jordan gives me a tipsy look, her cheeks flushed red from the alcohol. "Who forgets their ID on New Year's Eve?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fair point."

"I'm taking that as a 'send it Autumn.' Unless you think it's crazy."

Jordan and I laughed and my bladder's overcapacity finally won out and I left to use the toilet stall. Like me, Autumn had never had a boyfriend before, as far as I was aware she never showed any interest in wanting to date.

When we returned back to the bar we saw that Ke'Bryan and Alex had moved closer to the dance floor. Dancing wasn't my expertise, despite how much I tried, but by ordering another drink I had the opportunity to do something with my hands instead of standing there awkwardly.

"It's good to see you out."

My clumsy hands almost succeeded in throwing my drink to the floor, but some internal force within me managed to pull me together enough to give Alex a smile. "You too."