Coming Back Home

Chapter 10

"She works with Nat," Eli said as he walked back towards the kitchen.

He was blissfully unaware of anything that had been going on.

"Yup, I just saw Eli picking Natalie up at work a few times," I said, trying to recover from the awkwardness.

"Oh got ya," Trevor said, "hey do you both have to deal with the same bitchy coworker you've been telling me stories about?"

God damn it Trevor, I'm sure this would go over well.

Natalie looked over at me and raised an eyebrow and I quickly looked away.

"Uh no...hey Trevor, can you come get me a drink in the kitchen?" I asked, giving him a glare and trying to communicate the necessity of my request.

A slight look of concern came across his face, and I knew he had sensed the urgency.

"Yeah sure, follow me. We'll be right back out guys," he said.

Thankfully, Trevor's apartment wasn't as open as mine, so we had some privacy in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" He asked me in a whisper.

"So that coworker I was just telling you about..." I said.

"Yes?" Trevor said as he looked at me expectantly.

I motioned out to the living room where Natalie was sitting and watched as the realization came across his face.

"My brother's girlfriend is the bitchy coworker?!" He asked.

"Sure is," I said as I put my hand over my face.

"Fuck," he said quietly, "I really messed that one up huh?"

"No, you're fine," I said, shaking my head.

"Well you can go back home if you need to, I'm sure this has to be awkward for you," he responded.

"Oh yeah, it definitely is...but I'll stay, I can handle it," I responded.

"So my brother's girlfriend..." Trevor continued, trying to make sense of everything, "is the bitchy coworker...who you used to be best friends with...who you also used to have the hots for slash maybe still do have the hots for...do I have that all straight?"

"Yup that pretty much covers it," I said.

"Wow, okay...are you sure you're good to stay?" He asked.

"Yeah, it'll be a good test to see if she's actually going to act any differently towards me," I said with a small, forced grin.

"Alright," Trevor said with a determined look on his face, "we got this."

We walked back out to the living room where Eli and Natalie were sitting on the couch. I took a seat in one of the chairs and tried to look like everything was normal.

We all talked for a while as Trevor went in and out of the room finishing up dinner. I could tell that Natalie was also doing her best to make things appear less awkward. I'm sure Trevor had picked up on it, but hopefully Eli hadn't.

Although for all I knew, Natalie could have already told him the whole story and he was well aware of the struggle we were both currently having.

Trevor finished up dinner and everyone seemed relieved to not have to sit there and make small talk. I didn't say much during the meal, Natalie and I both let Trevor and Eli do most of the talking.

As soon as we were done eating, Eli helped us clean up and then got ready to go.

"Sorry I have to take off early, I'll talk to you guys soon," he said as he walked towards the door.

He walked by Natalie and gave her a quick kiss before he left.

"Well...." Trevor said after Eli left, "guess it's just the three of us!"

I could tell he was trying to make light of the situation, but he wasn't exactly helping.

"You guys wanna have a drink or something before you take off?" He asked.

"I actually need to get going soon too," Natalie said.

"Yeah I probably shouldn't," I said in agreement.

I wasn't sure if Natalie actually had to go or if she was just avoiding the situation, but I didn't blame her either way.

"Hey Madison, you know you should show Natalie your place before she leaves!" Trevor said excitedly, "it's all new and exciting...you know."

I turned and glared at him and he shrugged slightly. I wasn't sure if I wanted to slap him or thank him at this point.

"Oh I mean - I guess I could, only if you want to stop over," I said, turning to Natalie.

She looked between Trevor and I, obviously sensing something was going on.

"Um, yeah sure, I have time for that," she said.

My eyes widened momentarily before I was able to regain my composure. Can't say that I was expecting that answer.

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