"He WHAT?!" Ava yelled, her eyes wide and a piece of pizza hanging out of her mouth.
"Levi asked me out," I repeated, stirring my soda with the straw.
She finished swallowing the piece of pizza in her mouth before speaking again. "So, what did you say?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat in the booth.
"I told him that I would think about it."
It's been a couple days since Levi had asked me on a date after our lunch at Panera. I was so shocked he had asked me out that I kind of mumbled something along the lines of 'uh-i'll-think-about-it-haha-see-you-at-work,' before getting into my car and driving off. When I thought back on it, I felt kind of bad for the way I reacted and he probably was confused and took that as a no.
Which, if I am being honest, I'm not sure if I like him in that way. Yes, he's sweet and good-looking, but he's also my boss and my soon-to-be brother-in-law's best friend.
"Why didn't you say yes?" Ava asked me.
I shrugged. "I got nervous! Also, I don't even know if I like him that way." I sipped my soda, sighing. "Plus, we work together. If it doesn't work out, it'll be really awkward."
"That's true," Ava mumbled, picking at her pizza as Luka, who was finally on break, slid into the booth next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"What are you two talking about?" he asked.
"Levi, the older, sexy man asked her out on a date and you know what she said? She said she would think about it!" Ava told him and he laughed.
"Nova, just be honest and do what you feel is right for you," Luka said to me.
"Thanks, Luka." I smiled.
Ava's face lit up like she just suddenly remembered something. "I just remembered!" she exclaimed. "Halloween is coming up. I was thinking we should throw a party at the guys' place. I thought it would be fun to get all dressed up and drink."
Luka nodded his head. "Sounds good. I already spoke to Everett about it and he said he's down for a party at the apartment. Nova, what do you think?"
I nodded my head. "It sounds cool, I'll definitely be going." Halloween is my favorite holiday. There's just something about dressing up as anything you want that just makes me feel so happy. Also, you get to see people show up as ridiculous costumes and watch them get shit faced which is also really funny.
After I finished eating, I had to head to work and said my goodbyes to Ava and Luka. Arriving at work, I internally prepared myself to face Levi in the kitchen. I wasn't sure how to act after I basically ran away from him after he asked me out.
Entering the kitchen, I spotted Levi chopping something at the prep station, his back to me. I walked over to the lockers for the employees and slipped on my apron. "Hey, Nova," I heard Levi say.
I turned my head slowly. "H-Hey," I greeted and cursed myself for stuttering. He didn't seem to mind or notice though as the kitchen doors swung open and another employee walked in. After that, we didn't have much time for conversation as the place got busy with hungry people.
By the end of the night, I was wiping down some tables out in the dining area, lost in thought, when I sensed someone walking up to me. I turned my head and saw that it was Levi.
"Hey," he said. "Could we talk?"
I nodded my head. "Sure. What is it?"
He leaned against the table and crossed his arms, looking at me. "So, about how I asked you on a date, I'm sorry if that was too sudden for you."
I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it."
A smile formed on his lips. "Well, I was just wondering if you had an answer?"
I stared at him. Honestly, as I mentioned before, I wasn't sure if I liked him in that way or not. However, I couldn't deny that he's good-looking and a nice guy, so I figured going on one date wouldn't hurt, right? I mean, it's not like he asked me for something serious, just a date. One date.
"My answer is yes, to one date," I said and smiled. "I'm actually going to a Halloween party at my friend's place, would you like to go with me?"
"That sounds fun," he said. "I would love to go with you."
"Then I'll text you the details."
He smiled and grabbed the rag in my hand from me. "Sure, looking forward to it. You can head home now, I'll see you later."
"Thanks."
The day of the party, I arrived early at Everett and Luka's place to help Ava with the decorations and setting everything up. This year, I decided to dress up as a vampire, because why not? For my makeup, I did a smokey eyeshadow look, deep red lipstick, and also added some fake blood dribbling down from the corner of my mouth. I also did some fake blood splatters underneath my eyes to add a nice touch. My outfit was all black: a black crop top and black high waisted jeans and I wore black knee-high combat boots. Honestly, I felt pretty powerful in this costume.
"Wow, you went all out, huh?" Ava asked me when she saw me. She dressed up as a sexy nurse and had glittery eye makeup done. "You look good!"
"Thanks. I bet Luka's loving your outfit, huh?" I said to her and she blushed.
"As a matter of fact, yes, he is," she said, beaming. "I also love him in his matching doctor outfit! Anyway, here." She held out a roll of orange crepe paper streamer to me. "Let's get these streamers hung up!"
After a while, when we finally finished the decorations and getting the snacks and candies into bowls, the guys arrived with the drinks. "Hey, Nova," Luka said, pushing up the fake glasses he wore on his nose. "You look awesome!"
"Thanks!" I said. "Where's Everett?"
"Here," Everett's voice rang out as he walked in. I blinked at the sight of him. He wore an oversized, slightly poofy white shirt with a black sash tied around his waist and a pair of dark pants. His hair was done the way it always was, slightly messy in a way that looks good. Since the shirt was loose and a V-neck shape, the top of his chest was visible, his collarbones sharp and on display for everyone to see. For me to see.
"Um." I swallowed slightly, barely registering that Ava and Luka were heading towards the kitchen, leaving us alone. "What are you supposed to be, exactly?"
He stared at me before holding up a fake sword. "I'm a pirate."
"Oh." I nodded. "Cool. You look... cool. I guess."
He didn't say anything for a moment, and just as I started to panic internally, wondering if I shouldn't have said anything at all, the corner of his mouth lifted as he smirked.
I stood, frozen, as he stepped closer to me, my eyes widening. He stopped just in front of me, looking me up and down before speaking. "You don't look so bad, either."
"Um, thanks?" I said but it sounded more like a question. Also, my voice came out more like a squeak, and I could feel my heart rate accelerating at the feel of his body heat from how close he was to me.
I stood still, waiting for him to move away but he didn't. My heart only sped up that much more because of that and I couldn't meet his eyes, but I could feel them staring down at me, burning holes into the top of my head.
A familiar voice rang out from the hall, footsteps coming closer to the living room, and my body moved on it's own, shoving him away from me. His eyes widened as he stumbled backwards and the person came into the room.
"Everett, I was looking for you!" Savannah said, smiling before turning to me. She dressed up in a pirate outfit as well. "Oh, hey, Nova! You look awesome."
"Thanks!" I laughed loudly, trying to cover up the awkward tension in the air. "Anyway, I'm gonna head to the kitchen and see what Ava and Luka are up to, bye!"
I ran into the kitchen to see Ava and Luka munching on snacks and drinking. "Hey," Ava said to me before her eyebrows scrunched as she watched me try to catch my breath. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, holding up a hand. "I-I'm fine. I just need to sit for a moment," I said, plopping down onto one of the stools in the kitchen. "Also, I need a drink."
Once the party was in full swing, I had already drank a bit to let loose and mostly forgot about that moment in the living room with Everett. Seriously, what is he thinking? If Savannah hadn't come, I wonder what would have happened. Probably nothing, right? Right?!
Later into the night, more and more people arrived to the party, mostly our friends from high school and some of Luka and Ava's friends from college. Right now, Ava was chatting with some girls from one of her classes and Luka was stationed at the beer pong table, laughing and getting competitive.
Levi, who had arrived about thirty minutes ago, stood next to me in the living room, watching the guys play and I was sipping on my drink. His left arm rested around my shoulders, holding me close to him. Even though I was supposed to be having a good time, for some reason, I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Like something wasn't right, and I didn't know why.
"Hey," Levi said, peering down at my face. "Are you okay?"
I nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm fine." Turning my head to look up at him, I smiled. "How about you?"
"I'm happy to be here with you," he told me, smiling.
I stared at him. Hearing a guy, especially the one I'm supposed to be on a date with, say this to me should be making me happy. And it is, but not completely. Not in the way where my heart should be skipping a beat, or making butterflies swarm around in my stomach.
It's not the same way Everett has been making me feel lately.
With this sudden realization, here with Levi's arm still around me, I could feel my heart pound as I panicked internally. Why am I thinking about Everett? Why did I just realize that now when I am on this damn date with Levi, the one I should be thinking about!
For the rest of the night, I drank more than I should have to forget about whatever feelings were beginning to stir up for Everett, the one person I never thought I would be thinking about in this way. Because of this, I ended up blacking out as the night went on.
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The clock ticked forward, inching towards twelve a.m.
Savannah, who had stopped drinking a couple hours ago to sober up, walked up to Everett and took one of his hands into hers. "It's time for me to get going," she said to him, standing on her tip-toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you later?"
Everett smiled lazily back at her. "Yeah. See you later, get home safe."
He watched as she walked away before taking another swig of his drink. He wasn't drunk, but he did drink enough to be feeling good. Right now, he stood against the wall in the living room, lightly nodding his head along to the music.
"Hey," Luka's voice said. Everett turned to him, raising a brow. Luka was drunk, wobbling a little but otherwise was fine. "Listen, I think you should go take care of Nova."
"What's wrong?" Everett asked.
Luka nodded his head towards the center of the living room, where Nova was dancing a bit enthusiastically to the music, moving her head from side to side, her hair swishing around, then suddenly shouted at someone for bumping into her, making her stumble. "Why don't you take her to lay down? She isn't really listening to anybody, not even Levi."
"And you think she'll listen to me?"
Luka shrugged, stumbling a bit from the movement. "It's worth trying."
Everett nodded, finishing his drink and tossing the plastic red cup into a nearby trash can. He walked over to where Nova is, and Levi looked at him. "Hey," Levi said to Everett. "She had a bit to drink, as you can see."
"Why didn't you stop her?" Everett asked, slightly annoyed.
"I didn't want to ruin her fun." Levi glanced at the time. "I suppose I can leave her to you, then? I should really get going now." He looked at Everett. "You're her childhood friend, so she'll be safe with you, right?"
"Right. Now, you can go. I'll take things from here," Everett told him. He waited until the older guy disappeared through the crowd of people before turning to Nova. "You," he said. "Come with me."
Nova stopped dancing and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?" she asked. "I'm having fun here." Her words were slurred and he sighed before scooping her up and carried her. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Everett didn't answer her as he toted her to his room, pushing the door open with his elbow since it was left open slightly ajar, and kicked it shut once they were in. He walked over to the bed and dumped Nova onto it, her body bouncing up from the bed before falling down onto it. "You could be a little more gentle," she grumbled, though not complaining anymore about being hauled off like that. He watched as she tucked herself in before sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"You need to rest now," he said to her. "Sleep here tonight."
"Then where are you going to sleep?" she asked, staring up at him.
"On the couch when everyone leaves, obviously."
She just grunted in response, pulling the blanket up to her face and snuggling up. The two of them fell quiet, the only sounds being the muffled music coming from the living room.
Everett could feel himself growing tired as well, not really wanting to wait until everyone left to be able to sleep, but he had no other choice. He stifled a yawn as he stretched, when Nova opened her mouth to speak, breaking the silence. "Just sleep here," she said. "I can tell you're tired."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Sleep together in my bed? You're okay with that?"
She rolled her eyes. "I don't care. We grew up together, so it's not like it's weird. Besides, I doubt the party is going to be ending any time soon."
She was right about that one. Everett thought a bit before he decided that he was too tired to be even mulling this over. He got up and walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in, pulling the blanket over himself and laid back, sighing. The bed was nice and soft, just what he was looking forward to all night long.
Nova turned in the bed to face him. "I can't sleep," she said.
He turned his head to look at her. Her eye makeup was starting to melt off and the fake blood that she had dribbled from the corner of her mouth earlier was smudged. Despite her words of not being able to sleep, he saw that her eyelids were drooping.
Without thinking, he reached a hand over to her face, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, his hand grazing her cheek. Just as he was pulling his hand back, Nova spoke in a soft, sleepy voice, "Your hand feels nice. It's warm."
His hand twitched slightly at those words, and he stared at her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slowing as she was falling asleep. A feeling he couldn't describe brewed in his chest. He told himself it was the alcohol in his system that led him to resting his hand on her cheek for the rest of the night until he finally fell asleep himself.
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Author's Note: Things are kind of moving along a little slowly for Everett and Nova :P but this is the beginning so that's good news! Hope you guys enjoyed reading and please remember to vote if you liked it, it let's me know that you would like to read more :)