BRIELLA CARTER
Over the course of the next few days, Noah and I restarted our relationship. We didn't jump into the romantic stage. Right now, we were genuinely friends.
After Noah claimed we'd get married, we stayed up almost all night talking about each other and our kid(s).
Noah was very curious about anything that had to do with the pregnancy or kids in general. He asked what had I been craving since the start, which was bananas. I absolutely hated bananas but it was my biggest craving at the moment. He asked what I craved the most with Sebastian -- chocolate.
Lots and lots of chocolate.
I could easily go through twelve bars a day. Now, chocolate is Sebastian's favorite sweet treat. Whenever Nikolas makes s'mores, he knows to make sure he leaves some chocolate for Sebastian and I.
He asked a ton more questions that I was happy to answer. I told him that if he ever had anymore questions that he could just text me and ask.
I ended up spending the night there, Noah offering me a batch of his clothing to wear to bed. I slept in Wyatt's room while Noah slept in his own -- well, he retired to his own room. It didn't sound like he got much sleep. He came into Wyatt's room at basically the top of every hour to check on me and then going back to his room. Not that the walls are thin, but I can be a very light sleeper when I am not used to being somewhere sometimes (and I mean very light, which I would say stemmed from having a child and not being familiar with my surroundings and so my detection is off) so I heard his extremely fast typing or the vague sound of his mumbling.
Or, he just typed really hard and mumbled really loud.
Either way, I heard him.
We both went to go pick up Sebastian the next day, who was more than happy to leave. According to my mother, Liam had a mask from halloween that Sebastian was scared of and once Liam figured that out, he spent all night and morning 'surprising' my poor baby with it. When we opened the door, Sebastian was basically waiting for us.
Noah had actually accidentally left his phone with Sebastian, which I can tell you now wasn't a good idea, because once it died, that was probably another form of Hell for them.
After that, Noah wanted to take Sebastian shopping and asked me to tag along since he 'wasn't good at this stuff and was nervous' so I did. His plan was to basically buy everything Sebastian touched, but I got him to only get half the stuff he originally planned to get.
Now, I am currently sitting at home with Sebastian sitting in his small sofa chair next to me. His uncles, Wyatt and Nikolas, are both making me decide what they should wear.
"First of all, no tie. You're going to the club."
"It's not a regular night at the club -- we'll be taking pictures."
"You're a model... I've seen you practically naked in some photos."
"You saw my Klein shoot? How'd I do? I was nervous."
"You did good. I liked it."
"Can we get back to the important issue here? What do I wear to our party?"
Oh yeah, today is Nikolas and I's 24th birthday and our party, planned by Wyatt and Ava, was at Noah's club. Which reminds me, on Noah and I's date a few months back, he told me that he and all his siblings owned the clubs and alternated nights, which would explain why Nikolas was always able to get inside the VIP area with his 'special connections'.
"Black or purple?"
"Well, the colors are black and gold." Wyatt deadpans.
"Seb, what do you think? Black or purple, huh?" Nikolas asks his nephew, crouching down to his seat. Sebastian, as if he was carefully reviewing the options, pushes a finger to his bottom lip and cocks his head slightly to the side.
"Black." His small voice says, smiling widely at his uncle.
"Genius in the making." Nikolas offers Sebastian a high five, which he gladly accepts, before returning back to his brothers side. Nikolas slides the button down over his undershirt before gazing up and down at me.
"Why do you look like you haven't even attempted to get dress?" He asks me with a blank expression. I laugh before shrugging.
"Because I haven't?"
"Can you hurry up? We are leaving in twenty minutes."
"You're still deciding what to wear!"
"Sorry to say it but you don't move the same way you did five months ago. Now, go upstairs and get dressed. I'll watch Sebastian."
I roll my eyes but go upstairs nevertheless. I am dressed in about two minutes since Nikolas and I were matching and I just watched him to choose what color we would be wearing tonight. I didn't care enough to put any type of make up on except what I usually do -- some clear lip gloss and mascara -- since practically all makeup makes my skin feel weird, especially lipstick. I hate the way that feels. I pin half of my hair up and leave the rest out. My hair was starting to get too long, so I make a mental reminder to cut it later. Once it gets past my shoulders, I always automatically crop it right back to my shoulder because it was the perfect length for me to do any type of styles with my texture.
I overlook my self in my mirror. I was wearing a black sleeveless dress that made me thankful for my boob size because if they were any smaller, this dress would be falling to my waist. It hugged my skin, which proudly showed off my growing baby bump. My cheeks were already looking fuller, especially when I smiled.
Not that I was complaining. I love being pregnant. The only problem I have a problem with is the swollen feet and morning sickness. I hated feeling nauseous and I hated when my feet got so swollen that it was painful to walk. If pregnancies excluding those two things then I would be perfectly content.
"Mommy." Sebastian's voice makes me turn. Instead of being in the door way near the floor, he was looking at me horizontally from the top of the door. He smiles, showing off his teeth and dimples before his small hands grip the threshold.
"Wyatt, don't drop my son or I'll kick your ass."
"Woah mamas, it's just me. I got him." Noah laughs, stepping into the doorway, bringing Sebastian to his hip.
"Happy Birthday!" Noah says. Sebastian attempts to repeat him, but his inability to pronounce certain letter prevented it from sounding remotely anything like what his father previously said.
"Oh, thanks. Hi. You look... nice." I say to the tall man currently standing in front of me with a wide Colgate smile. He was dressed similar to his brothers except his sleeves were rolled up and the first few buttons were undone. He had a gold necklace on and as my eyes migrate over to Sebastian, I realize he has a very similar one on as well.
Noah doesn't speak. In fact, he's dead silent and his expression as fallen. I look back over to Noah only to see him gulp and his face begin to slightly turn red.
"You.. you're.. fuck. You look stunning, Briella." He says, licking his lips before shutting his eyes. I stifle a laugh after thanking him for the compliment. Noah reopens his eyes, shifting Sebastian to the other hip.
"They think it'll be better if we all just rode together."
"Okay."
"How was your day?"
"It was good," I say, turning towards the mirror. "I spent most of it thanking people for birthday wishes and listening to Wyatt and Nik argue. How was yours?"
"It was great. I spent it all studying and then making sure everything goes smoothly tonight." Noah says, removing Sebastian's hand from his mouth. Sebastian only pushes it back towards his fathers mouth.
"Studying what? Are you going back to school?" I question, looking over at Noah and Sebastian. Sebastian was pulling cookies out of air and attempting to get Noah to bite it while Noah only held his head back and shook.
"Pregnancy, babies, and parenting. You know, the works."
"What have you learned?" I say teasingly, just to quiz him. He lights up at the question, moving Sebastian to sit next to him on the bed.
"Did you know that your heart grows while your pregnant? I didn't. Also, babies can cry while they are in the womb. The taller the female is, the more likely you are to have twins. You're pretty tall. Your joint loosen during pregnancy and more pregnant women develop diabetes versus those who aren't pregnant. Babies can taste certain things while they are in the womb and you're not supposed to sanatize their pacifers seventy thousand times a day because it helps them build an immune system."
"Wait, what? Rewind back to the diabetes bit."
"Yeah, during the pregnancy the placenta makes hormones that may develop a blockage that builds up the glucose amount in your blood. Don't worry, your pancreas can usually make enough insulin to handle it." Noah explains, pulling a cookie out of his shirt pocket and giving it to Sebastian.
"You have cookies in your pocket."
"They're his." He smiles, pointing towards Sebastian who was now biting into the cookie.
"If you guys are done then I'd like to get a move on because Ava will kill us if we are late and we all know Nikolas and Briella are never on time to save their lives. Noah, either." Wyatt says from the doorway as I grab my clutch and car keys. Noah stands, grabbing our son and his cookies, before waiting for me. "Let's go then. Liam is here already?"
"He's been here since Noah got here."
"Oh, why didn't you tell me?"
"That's what this knucklehead was supposed to do when he got up here."
"I got distracted." Noah shrugs while Sebastian offers me his now soggy cookie. I cringe, shaking my head politely. "No thanks, lovey."
We exit my room and I close the door behind us. We all file down the stairs to see Liam with his stuff and Nikolas running a hand through his hair with his phone pressed to his ear.
"Here, give Sebastian to Liam. Liam, he has milk in the fridge in the blue cartoon. He'll only drink that kind and heat it up for twelve seconds in the microwave. He has yogurt melts, cookies, and cereal in his cabinet. If you get pizza or chinese or whatever, he can have it but in small portions. He'll eat the crust but not pepperoni. Also, don't put that mask on because I can see it in your bag. If we aren't back by like ten-ish then just put him in his crib and say goodnight and close the door, don't stay in there with him. Got it?"
"Blue carton, blah blah blah, small portions, blah blah blah, close the door, blah blah blah. Got it." Liam says, dropping his stuff as he takes Sebastian from Noah's arms.
"Okay, money for dinner is on the fridge. Be safe. I love you, baby." I finish by pressing a kiss to Sebastian's braids.
Noah says bye and takes the car keys from me. We all exit, piling into the car.
"Ava said she spilled a bottle of whatever down her clothes so she went back home to change but we are already an hour late," Nik gets cut off by Noah, Wyatt, and I.
"How are we a hour late?" We all ask in unison.
"Because I thought it started at eight but it start--,"
"It starts at seven, like I told you earlier, Dickwad." Wyatt says, referring to their argument earlier. Wyatt was in part of planning so he would know and since there were no official invites -- besides a phone call and maybe text -- there was no way to double check without facing Ava's wrath for irresponsibilty.
"Anyway, if we aren't there by the time she gets back, she is going to kick our ass."
• • •
"Well, she's pregnant so no alcohol for her."
"That sucks. She's my favorite drinking partner."
"I still don't get why you didn't invite Carmen."
"She's busy.. plus you know she hates New York. I don't think she'll ever step back into this place." Wyatt says, shaking his head as he throws back a shot. Nikolas makes a comment about how he shouldn't be drinking and Wyatt only responds by drinking the shot that was poured for me.
Noah sits next to me with his own drink, sipping it while he quietly observes the rest of the club. Nikolas was currently readjusting his birthday crown... again. As soon as we walked in we were given a crown and a tiara to put on. He continuously adjusted his while mine stayed perfectly in my hair.
"I'm going to go get a drink." I say, standing and smoothing my hands over my baby bump. Noah stands next to me, asking if I want him to come with me. I decline his offer, making my way to the main area of the club. It was hot and sweaty and me being pregnant was not making it any better. Having it at a club maybe was not the best idea but just because I was pregnant didn't mean I couldn't have fun. Where else would we have it? A daycare?
Yeah, no thanks.
People say happy birthday and congratulate me on the way to the bar, making me force a smile on my face and thanking them.
I wasn't in the mood for a party. I wanted to go home, under my covers, and sleep. Maybe eat a burrito. I don't know what is was. Earlier, I was totally up for a party. Even though I was pregnant and couldn't drink, there were still other ways to have fun at a club but I just wasn't having any.
"Yeah, can I have a sprite please? No ice and a lime on the side." I ask the bartender closest to me. He nods, turning around and grabbing a glass before filling it with my drink. He returns a moment later, sliding it across with a smile.
"So you're the birthday girl." He says, smiling up at me as he wiped the counter. I nod, taking a sip of my drink as I looked at everybody having a good time. Nikolas had made his way down, talking to somebody I recognized as his cousin while Marlon was stumbling down the stairs with Ava.
"Yeah, the birthday girl." I say, shrugging. I look at the tender, a young guy with brown hair and a lanky body. He looked like a brown haired quiff-era Luke Hemmings, minus the lip ring and blue eyes.
"You're pregnant? Duh, sorry, that was a dumb question. Of course you're pregnant." he stammers, passing me a plate with lime slices on it. When the hell did he even cut these?
"Huh?" I laugh, sucking on my lime.
"You're the only person here that ordered a nonalcoholic drink tonight. I heard the whispers of somebody being pregnant." Well, I mean, I am the birthday girl so hopefully the whispers weren't just somebody being pregnant. I mean, everybody that is here is here to celebrate Nikolas and I.
"Yeah, I am."
"You know when you're due?"
"July. Towards the end."
"This your first time?"
"Nope, I have a one year old."
"Sorry if it seems like I am prying. I guess I'm used to people telling me their life stories. I'm a bartender." He says and we share a laugh. I'm honestly fine with it. It was just talk and I'll probably never see him again.
"You're fine."
"There's four type of people in a club and you seem like none of them." He says, leaning against the bar.
"What are those four types?" I question. He chuckles to himself before looking across the bar. He leans in closely before whispering. "You see the black haired girl at the end of the bar, sipping a martini?"
My eyes wander the bar before landing on who he was talking about. "Yeah."
"She's a total crier. Give her one too many drinks and she'll cry about how her daddy left when she turned three, her senior boyfriend she had as a eighth grader hit on her, and how she really shouldn't have this next drink but is going to do it anyway." The waiter, who I have learned is named Max, says, tucking something into his apron.
"You know that how?"
"Well, she was here last night with the owner."
"What are the other three types? Also, a refill, please."
"The guy with the white shirt on, reaching for his drink," Max says, turning swiftly to fill my drink before returning my glass to me, "He get angry easily. Once the alcohol gets into his system, it's over. He'll be yelling, fighting, and eventually have to get carried out."
"Next we have the flirt. This is a girl, or guy, that flirts with the bartender, making sexual jokes in an attempt to bring them home. A.K.A the girl in that black dress that only goes over one shoulder and the guy talking to Emma down there."
"Lastly, you have the quiet drunk. They just sit and order drinks while reminiscing about whatever it was that they did wrong and how they were going to fix it."
"You don't look like you fit any of those." I say to him and his eyes get wide.
"Actually, I forgot one. There's five types of drunks. The last one is the party animal. Usually their catchphrase is 'let's dance', or ' lets go party!'." Max says in a high pitched voice. I laugh, shaking my head as I stirred my drink.
"I could see you as the party animal, maybe the quiet one."
"I could see myself as the quiet one. I stay to myself a lot." I admit and he agrees for himself.
"Me too. Partying isn't really my thing."
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" I question, not trying to be rude, but genuinely because he was holding a whole conversation with me.
"Oh, I'm not on duty. I was just helping Emma because that douche was getting touchy. Now, I'm just keeping you company until my boss comes around." He shrugs.
"Oh." I hiccup.
"Are you married?" He questions and I shake my head, looking down at my hand as if there would be a ring there. "Nope, not married."
"Oh... is the father --fathers, perhaps-- around?" Max stammers and I wasn't really paying attention because Noah had caught my attention from across the room. He was simply just looking out to everybody, flipping his hand through his hair, and yet my mind seemed to be captivated.
"Huh?"
"You said you have a one year old and you're pregnant so I jus--" Max stammers and I laugh.
"Oh, yeah the father is around. He's up there." I say, pointing up towards where Noah was.
"So you're together?" Max questions. Were we together? Not technically but I guarantee if I was considering somebody else it would be a problem, as well as him.
"Something like that. His brother is also the birthday boy." I say, looking to where Noah was now coming down from, as if he heard us talking about him.
"Kaden?" Max asks, suprised. I shake my head, watching as Noah's eyes scan the crowd before moving to the bar and then to me.
"No, Noah." I correct.
"Noah? No wonder I've never seen him with any of the girls. You've got him on lockdown." Max laughs, grabbing something for one of the other tenders and passing it to him.
"I wouldn't say thats the reason." I laugh, looking towards the other people at the bar. It wasn't crowded, mostly because everybody was either at a table or the dance floor.
"It is. Noah's a great guy and boss. Absolutely love him. Kaden is great too but Noah is nicer." Max laughs.
"Kaden's is just a facade. I think he's nicer behind closed doors." Kaden was an absolute sweetheart and always has been, so hearing that Noah was nicer was surprising to me but Noah was nice. Speaking of, Noah was currently making his way over here.
"Probably. He just always seems pissed off. He rarely comes out of the mirror room but Noah is usually out and making sure nobody is bothering us. I work the regular shifts but those three are party-tenders." He says, nodding towards the other three people behind the bar.
"You okay?" Noah whispers into my ear, making goosebumps spread across my body. I nod, sipping my drink while Noah nods towards Max.
"I thought you weren't working tonight?"
"Emma said she was nervous because some of the guys were being dicks." Max says, tossing something into the trash before coming out from behind the bar.
"Why didn't she tell me? Who?" Noah questions, running a hand through his hair. I watch him quietly while Max speaks.
"Down there with the cold one." Max points and Noah nods.
Noah walks away, heading straight towards the guy. Max turns back towards me. "I'm going to go check on my friends. Have a nice night, Max." I say and he nods.
"You too. Happy birthday, again" He smiles while I make my way to Nikolas, who was now standing alone in the corner.
"What's wrong?"
"I guess I'm not in the partying mood anymore. I'm really getting old. I don't even know half the people here, honestly." NIkolas grumbles, looking across the room.
"Me neither. We should just go get pizza or something."
"I've been drinking. A lot. I just did twenty-four shots."
"You're going to die from alcohol poisoning." I scold, hitting his chest. He only slumps further into his seat.
"Oh please! Don't act like you didn't knock out a whole football team."
"I'm a lightweight. I didn't knock out a whole football team. I still don't know where you get that story from." I laugh. Nikolas has been holding this story against me since we were in school. I have no idea where he got it from but he'll bring it up everytime I say something about him drinking.
"Where'd Wyatt go?" Nikolas asks me, pulling a cookie out of his pockets. What is it with Noah, Sebastian, and Nikolas and these cookies in the pockets?
"Not sure." I shrug, reaching for a piece of his cookie. He pulls it away and I can automatically smell why.
"He's drunk." Nikolas nods.
"No, he's not. I was just talking to him. Maybe a little high." I say, nodding towards his cookie. This wasn't a cookie that Sebastian had, right? No, idiot, Noah wouldn't let that happen.
"No, trust me, he is drunk. I just listened to him ramble about his hair."
"When did he even have the time to get drunk?" I question, catching glance of Wyatt going into a room and closing the door.
"I don't know. I only saw him with one-- two-- drinks. Wyatt shouldn't even be drinking." Nikolas says, grudingly, as if he wasn't drinking well before the age Wyatt is now.
"He's twenty." I say.
"He's on medication. That basically means get drunk and only have to get two drinks. Besides, the legal drinking age is twenty-one." Nikolas says, pulling his phone out of his pocket and flashing the screen towards me. "I got to take this." Nikolas says, disappearing. Noah appears just as Nikolas is leaving.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Noah asks me, pulling me to the side. It get slightly quieter over here as we both look at the sea of people in front of us. Honestly, Nikolas and I don't even know the half of them and I think this was more for Ava, as a coping mechanism for her divorce, than it was for us.
"Truthfully?" I question, looking back up at Noah as he sips his drink. He nods, looking back down at me.
"Truthfully."
"Honestly, my feet hurt, the smell of all the alcohol and Wyatt's weed is making me nauseous, and I'm craving italian ice." I blurt, rubbing my belly as I looked back up at a amused Noah.
He, for starters, smelled really good. On top of him smelling really good, he looked really good. Noah's hair was wild and even without him styling it, it still looked perfect. His outfit only tied his whole look together.
Actually, I changed my mind. He looks like a fuckboy and I don't like it.
"Let's go." He shrugs, placing his cup on the table and turning me towards him. Now, I was pretty tall but even with me being tall, he was still taller that I had to look up at him.
"What?" I question. He smiles before shrugging.
"Let's go. You said the smell is making you nauseous."
"Ava will kill us." I alert him, scanning the crowd for her. If she even smelled that we were talking about leaving she would have our head.
"I told her having it here was a bad idea anyway. Hop on." Noah says, crouching in front of me.
"What?" I laugh and Noah stands up straight, thinking against what he was previously thinking.
"Your feet hurt, love. Is the music too loud? Are you going deaf? Pregnancy tends to do that." He cocks his head to the side, much like Sebastian, and crosses his arms while saying this. I roll my eyes, finishing my drink and placing my cup down.
"It's fine. I'm fine."
"So, you don't want any italian ice?" Noah says, smirking at me. He totally knew that would do it for me. I flick my tongue up and lick my top lip, nodding. "Italian ice does sound good right now."
"Exactly. Let's go." He says before bending and hooking a leg under my knees, picking me up bridal style. I let out a laugh as he goes down the stairs, making me tighten my arms around his neck for support. He chuckles, his grip on me never wavering as he carries me through the thin sea of people.
"We need car keys!" I laugh and he looks at me, confused.
"Don't you have them?"
"I didn't have any pockets so Marlon is holding them... he's right there." I say, nodding to where Marlon was talking to Ava.
"I think they're a thing." He whispers as we watch them laugh with each other. "What?" I question, sitting up some. He readjusts his grip and I mumble an apology. "They've been hanging out a lot lately. They went out for lunch like twice a week for the last month and a half."
"You're joking." I deadpan, scrunching my face as if it would tell me whether or not what was just said was the truth.
"No. Chris asked me about him." Noah says before going towards Marlon and Ava. Ava sees us first, laughing before making Marlon turn towards us.
"You too look comfy."
"We could say the same about you two. Car keys?" Noah says and Ava whispers something to my brother. Her brother and I and my brother and her. Life works in fun ways sometimes. Obviously I know about Marlon's Ava crush that he's had for the past year and a half and obviously since she was married he didn't act on it but he was definitely doing so now.
Marlon fishes them out of his pocket before handing them to us and ordering us to be safe. Noah leads us out to where we parked before opening my door and sliding me into the passenger seat. "Haven't you been drinking?" I question, realizing I should be in the drivers seat.
"Water and tea?" He gives me a confused expression before shutting the door and jogging to the other side. I buckle my seat belt just as he slides into the car, sticking the keys in and immediately rolling down the windows.
"My lip feels swollen." Noah mumbles and I look over. "Let me see."
He turns towards me and I shake my head, alerting him that they were fine. "Maybe they just feel swollen because I need a kiss."
"Nice try."
"I thought it was a pretty good one." He chuckles, steering onto the street.
"You and Sebastian are just alike. It's kind of unfair." I pout, rubbing my belly. Hopefully this one was just like me because I'm tired of taking care of Noah 2.0.
"How?" Noah laughs and I shake my head, rubbing my belly. "I held him for damn near ten months just for him to come out to look and act just like you."
"He barely has a personality yet." Noah says, quickly looking over at me. Little does he know, Sebastian has had a personality since the day he was born.
"No, he definitely does. He's a goofball, like you. At first I thought he adapted it from Nikolas but I guess it's just a genetic thing. That thing you just did, Sebastian does that all the time."
"What thing?"
"The whole 'a kiss will make it better' thing. The only difference is that he can't say the words but he wholeheartedly knows how to do the actions. He'll fake cry in a corner somewhere until I go over, ask what's wrong, and then give him a kiss. He doesn't even cry like it's literally just him making noises until someone questions it." I explain and Noah laughs loudly, throwing his head back slightly before shaking it.
"Your kisses have superpowers."
"That's what you both seem to think." I say and we both go quiet for a moment. Noah strums his hands against the steering wheel while I look at the New York streets.
"I think Sebastian's more like you than you realize. Just not in the way you think." Noah says suddenly, making me turn towards him in my seat.
"How so?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. Noah shrugs, thoughtfully looking out to the road.
"Well, for starters, I've noticed your room was like really clean, like not even a hair out of place. Sebastian is a toddler and a boy. They're usually the messiest. Trust me, I've had three younger siblings and two of them are boys. They don't care where their toys and stuff go, when they're done playing with it, they're done. Not Bash though. He cleans up after himself and you don't even have to tell him. He hates when he only has one sock on. It's either both socks on or off. That whole hat problem he has -- you know what I'm talking about -- that is totally you." Noah laughs slightly and I shrug. Yeah, I guess that was me.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I am. Plus, he has your big ass eyes and head." Noah jokes and I roll my eyes.
"Oh shut up."
"Just saying." Noah laughs, pulling the car over in front of the pizza shop. "And, he flicks his tongue up whenever he hears something that makes him happy, like you."
"I don't flick my tongue up."
"Okay, Briella. I just watched you do it when I said we were going to go get italian ice." Noah says, exiting from the car. I undo my seatbelt before attempting to get out on my own. I step into the cold air while Noah appears next to me. "You didn't bring a jacket? It's February in New York."
"I did bring a jacket but it'll make my outfit look weird."
"I don't care. Go put it on."
"I'm fine." I say. I wasn't cold at all. Noah rolls his eyes before grabbing my hand and walking me to the shop.
"You know what I just realized? We are getting italian ice during winter. You'll get sick." Noah says, pulling open the door. I thank him before walking in front of him.
"Ava is blowing up my damn phone. I think she just realized we left." He chuckles, unpocketing his phone.
"What did she think we were doing?" I question.
"Playing hookie. You know she had those hearts in her eyes, she wasn't paying attention to us." Noah jokes, pulling his arm around my waist and pulling me closer. I laugh before directing the attention to the man standing in front of me. He pulled his hat to the side before dusting his hands on his apron and smiling at us.
"Dining?"
I shake my head while Noah mumbles something about how he looks like a high schooler. "No, we'd just like some ice."
"What kind?"
"I don't want any. I'll have some of hers." Noah says, pulling away from me. I look over, seeing him pressing his phone to his ear while slightly pacing the small shop. I turn back to.. Jospeh and give him my order. "Just give me a small raspberry please and thanks."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
He nods before telling me the due, in which Noah randomly appears with a bill before going back to his phone call. I roll my eyes but pass Joe the bill before collecting change. He moves to scrapping my ice into the cup. He passes it to me with a napkin and spoon before turning and going back into the small kitchen.
I turn back to Noah, just in time to see him tucking his phone away. "We should get you home."
"What's wrong?" I ask, noticing his mood change as he frowned. He takes the cup from me, shoveling a small bit into his mouth before giving it back to me. "Sebastian is crying."
"He's a baby. Besides, Liam hasn't called me." I say, pulling out my phone to see if I had any missed calls or anything.
"He called me."
"Since when does he have your number and why?" I ask, suspcious of Noah and my brother talking. Why would Liam go to Noah before he went to me?
"I gave it to him just in case he ever needs anything. I told him to call me instead of you tonight." Noah shrugs.
"How many times did he call? When did this relationship blossom?"
"Just this once, tonight. And that night at your mothers. I gave him my number but I wasn't sure he'd actually use it." Noah says, opening the door and guiding me to the car. He pulls open my door and I climb inside. He stands there and holds my cup while I fasten my seatbelt.
"What'd he use it for?" I question my brother and Noah's relationship and he turns to me with a smile. "That goes against client confidentiality." He says, passing me back my ice. I bring more to my mouth while he closes the door and jogs to the other side.
"Oh shut up. Is he okay?" I question as he slides into the car. Noah looks at me and observes before nodding.
"Yeah, he's okay. He just asked for a ride." Whew. I would hate for my baby brother to be low and think he can't go to anybody about it.
"Today? Of course today, why else would you both arrive at my house at the same time?" I say in realization before putting more ice into my mouth.
"Are you mad?" He asks me softly and I shake my head.
"No, I'm not mad. I'm just curious." I say, passing the cup of ice back to him once I realized I don't want anymore. He takes it from my hands before speaking. "What about Cameron?"
"Who is that?" I ask, racking my brain for somebody I know named Cameron. Absolutely nobody came to mind.
"As a baby name, love." Noah chuckles, starting the car.
"It's cute." I say, shrugging. I reach for my water bottle from earlier and bring it to my mouth while Noah turns towards me. My phone rings and I click the volume button, not bothering to see who it is.
"But?" He prys, giving me a look. He raises his brow and I force myself to turn away because all I can fucking see is Sebastian Michael.
"I didn't say there was a but." I laugh and Noah looks down at my phone as it rings for a second time. It was Liam or my mothers ringtone so I wasn't really concerned.
"Sounds like there is. Who is calling you? You should probably answer."
"They'll survive." I say, flipping my phone only to see its Wyatt calling. "See," I say as his face disappears from my screen, only to reappear moments later. This time I answer with a roll of the eyes. "Hello?"
"I got her! You totally owe me twenty bucks." Wyatt says, laughing loudly before focusing his attention back to me. I look over to Noah, who was watching me intently, before looking back out to the street. Wyatt was definitely drunk.
"Can you come get Nikky and I? I'm, personally, fucked. Nik is holding it together but Mom keeps asking certain questions and we are both going to snap plus Noah was the designated driver! How do you leave when you're the driver? Wait... you two weren't just having sex... right? Nik! You made me call her while they were doing it. Images of Noah's dick just flashed in my mind and I... Where's the bathroom?" Wyatt speaks loudly into the phone and by the background it only sounds like things are just getting started.
"We totally forgot about Nikolas and Wyatt." I whisper, holding the phone away from my face. Noah looks at me with wide eyes before we both burst into laughter.
• • •
this was just a filler !
Okay, this is important! If you are a fan of Wyatt, for starters, he has his own book. It's called Plan C(armen) about him and, if you remember, his best friend. She was mentioned a couple chapters back, actually, the first chapter that Wyatt was brought into.
Please go check that out. I've already completed the book (its only about 7 chapters) and now im posting. Currently 'chapter' one is already up and I am about to post chapter two.
That book does tackle mental health and suicide awareness in a way because that is something very important to me so please do me this huge favor and check it out and leave some feedback.
this chapter was a filler though i just want to build the relationship up a little more before these next few chapters.
But, yeah, please give Plan C a try because it truly is important to me. Thanks.
daisy.