Love With No Filter - Book 1

21: INEZ

She told me she was staying here to sort out some business but she hasn't specified what it is that she's doing. She goes home tomorrow, so tonight, Stacey, Ami and I are going out for dinner.

I look back at Nick briefly to see his eyes fixed onto me. He's smirking. God that smirk.

Inez: Can you stop staring?
Nick: No.
Inez: Oh, my bad, let me rephrase. Stop. Staring.
Nick: That's cute.
Inez: What's cute?
Nick: You thinking you have control over what I do.

I lift my eyes up off the screen and glare at him. I mouth the words "fuck you" in his direction. There's a glint of amusement in his eyes before he very openly and non discreetly mouths infront of anyone watching, "fuck me yourself."

Shit. My thighs clench even more as I take in what he just said. We're in a meeting! Anyone could've seen that.

As if on cue, my eyes dart to every member of the team, making sure there was no one to witness this encounter. Thankfully, everyone was either fully invested in what Lance was saying, or half asleep.

I decide that the rest of the meeting, I would keep my eyes on the projector, avoiding eye contact with Nick at all cost. However, it's difficult to concentrate when I feel blue eyes glued to my face.

***

"Cheers to a great week in New York with my girls!" Amelia says joyfully as we clink our champagne glasses together.

"Cheers!" Stacey and I say in unison.

I'm pleased that Amelia and Stacey got on so well. It's like my two worlds colliding. My only wish is that Ami could stay in New York and didn't have to leave for DC first thing tomorrow morning. New York was made for her.

Amelia has always been a party girl. In college, I was the more responsible one out of the two of us. I had my fun, but I was always the one to help her into a cab at the end of the night. Unfortunately, her being a lightweight wasn't something we could do anything about.

She has this amazing aura around her and a bright smile that's contagious. It's hard to not feel joyful when in her presence. Much like Stacey.

However Stacey has a much more calm persona. Whilst Amelia relates to the party side of me, Stacey relates to the relaxed clean girl side of me who likes walks in the park and sharing a glass of rosé whilst we talk about books.

All in all, I'm very lucky to have both girls in my life. It's just a shame Ami couldn't stay longer. I should convince her to move out here, buy a small apartment and live her life on the edge, but it would be hard to drag her away from her reasturant and her current "seeing where things go" relationship.

However, the more I think about it, the more I think I'm trying to convince myself not to leave New York. I have just under four months left of the internship and in the short amount of time I've been here, I've grown to really like the busy city atmosphere.

It's a nice change from DC. Whilst I loved it there, I was never truly able to escape my haunting past until I left the state. DC held great memories, but it also reminded me of my childhood.

Walking past my old elementary school reminded me of the times my mother never left the house to pick me up.

The post office and bars reminded me of the many part time jobs I had to work longs shifts for once I turned sixteen so I could supply for me and my mother.

Shopping in the mall reminded me of when I used to spend my weekends in the diner, waiting for people to leave their half finished burger after eating so I could salvage the left overs to fill my hungry belly when my mother couldn't be bothered to get out of bed to buy me food. Not like she could afford it anyway. She didn't have a job.

DC reminded me of her.

My mother. Lauren Charleen. The women who made me believe I was impossible to love. After all, if your own mother couldn't love you, who would?

"What's wrong Inez, you look upset?"

I shake away my thoughts as Stacey's words register in my mind. Taking a sip of champagne, I smile at her, "all good. Just thinking about how much I'm gonna miss this, hanging out the three of us."

"Tell me about it! I'm gonna miss you bitches so much." Amelia squeals, throwing her arms around Stacey and I so fast I nearly drop my glass. We then share a knowing glance and we both knew I'd be hauling her into a cab tonight.

"Maybe you should slow down on the drinks Ami." I say and Stacey nods in agreement.

"No! This is the last time I'm going to see you girls until after thanksgiving. You sure I can't convince you to come back to DC and spend thanksgiving with me Inez?" She sounds hopeful and I hate that I'm about to squash it like a fly under my shoe. I wasn't planning on going back to DC any time soon. Last week was a moment of weakness.

"I'm sorry A, flights are too complicated. I'll be fine, I'm spending the holiday with Stacey and her dad anyway." I smile at the other blonde. Stacey didn't know much about my past but after finding out I'd be home alone for thanksgiving, she quickly suggested that I spent it with her and her dad. And when I say "suggested" I mean forced.

"What about Nick? You gonna leave him all alone to make turkey for one? That's just sad Nez." Amelia groans, holding her stomach as if to indicate that the alcohol intake was catching up to her.

Stacey's quickly hands her a glass of water, forcing the liquid down her throat. I rub her back chuckling, "he's with his family. And even if he wasn't, there's no way I'd spend the holidays with him. I despise him."

Whilst the words leaving my mouth were true, they couldn't have sounded more of a lie than ever before. I truly did despise him, but the thought of Nick spending the holidays alone made my heart ache. I didn't like him, but I'm not cruel. And annoyingly enough, I find myself starting to care for him.

My stomach drops at the thought. No. I don't care for him. Taking a long swig of my champagne, I try to drown any feelings of care I may have towards my sworn enemy.

A/N
Word Count: 1779
Sorry this is kinda just a filler chapter but yeah I hope you enjoyed!!
Thank you so much for the support it is much appreciated! More updates coming soon!!
Lots of love
- E <3