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5:00 rolled around, and April and I were both getting ready. As soon as she got out of the shower, I got in. April knocked on the door and asked if she could brush her teeth. I let her, and she asked me what I was planning on wearing. "I don't know," I answered. "Doesn't really matter, does it?"
"Harrison texted me that it was a nicer place," she told me.
"He texted you?" I asked, peaking my head out from behind the curtain.
"Yeah," she said.
"When did you get his number?"
"When he asked us to dinner. It only makes sense."
I rolled my eyes and went back to my shower. "I still don't care what I'm wearing," I told her.
"Well I do," she said. "You're going to look cute."
"I'm going to wear jeans."
"You are not. You're going to wear a dress and you're going to like it."
"Can't make me."
"Chris."
I stuck my head out from behind the curtain again. The shampoo started to drip down the side of my face. "Have I said yet that I can't stand you?" I said. "Because I can't fucking stand you." April smiled and spit the toothpaste into the sink, then left me alone in the bathroom.
When I finished my shower and went into my bedroom, I saw that April had laid out two outfits for me: one was a black dress, the other a black romper. "Gee!" I yelled to her, knowing she was in her room. "Glad you gave me options."
"I love you!"
I decided on the romper. It was cute but also kind of sexy. Not that i wanted to look sexy for anyone in particular. Sometimes it was just nice to look sexy for myself. And that was exactly what I told April when she wolf whistled at me. She was wearing a red dress that I knew to be her I'm-gonna-get-some dress. "If you bring him over, don't keep me up all night," I told her.
"I won't make any promises," she said with a wink.
"Ugh," I shuddered. "I hate thinking about you having sex."
"No one's asking you to think about it."
We plugged the address Harrison gave us into my phone and headed off. It was about a twenty minute drive, and it looked like it was a nicer area of town. When we pulled up to the house, I saw that I was right. Because this wasn't a house. This was a mansion . Once I pulled up to the gate (yes, gate ), April and I both stared up at the house in awe. I pulled up to the intercom and was met with a voice that said, "Name?"
"Uh, I'm (Y/N)," I said. "And I'm with my sister April. We're here to meet Tom and Harrison?" There was silence on the other end, but the gate opened and let us in. "I hate this," I told her. "This is creepy."
"Creepy?" April repeated. "Are you kidding? They're rich! This is amazing!"
Harrison and Tom were waiting outside for us. I parked the car in their driveway and got out with April. She approached Harrison with a quick hug, and I trailed behind, awkwardly sending him a wave. Tom had his arms folded across his chest and looked like he wanted to be anywhere except with us. He and Harrison were both wearing the same outfit- black slacks and white button-up shirts. Tom's sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, just like they had been the first day we met, but Harrison's were down to his wrists. Tom's hair was gelled smoothly, but Harrison's was fluffier and less put-together. Those two facts alone were perfect examples of the stark differences in their personality.
"We'll drive, yeah?" Harrison said.
"Okay!" April agreed. Harrison led us to the three-car garage and opened it. In it sat three black vehicles: a Rolls Royce, an Audi, and a Porsche. Mine and April's jaws both dropped, and Harrison chuckled.
"Have a preference?" Harrison asked.
Before either of us could say anything, Tom said, "We're taking the Audi." I rolled my eyes at him, not really caring if he saw. He did. "Is that a problem, princess? " he asked, a smirk growing on his lips.
"Dude, I swear to god-"
" Dude? " Tom repeated.
"Would you prefer motherfucker? "
"(Y/N)!" April said, slapping my arm.Tom, however, just laughed. It was the first time I had heard the sound, and it threw me off guard. It looked like it did the same for April.
"Such a dirty mouth on such a pretty girl," Tom winked. This earned a roll of the eyes from both me and Harrison. April seemed stunned silent.
"Let's go," Harrison said.
The four of us got into the vehicle and headed off to the restaurant. Harrison told us the name of it, but I had never heard of it and neither had April. When we got there, it looked like a little hole-in-the-wall place. When we got inside though, it was like a whole different world. The lights were low, and the decor was fancy. Right away, I felt like I didn't belong. We had to push through a crowd of people just to find our way to the booth Tom had reserved.
We sat down at the booth in a secluded corner of the restaurant. "Hello Mr. Holland, Mr. Osterfield," the waiter said as he approached our table. "The usual to drink?"
"Please," Harrison said at the same time that Tom nodded. "April, (Y/N)?" April and I both asked for waters. I was surprised with how quickly our drinks came back to us. In fact, everything happened quickly. I hadn't noticed until we were already being handed our meals not even twenty minutes after ordering them. I swore that was a record for any restaurant I had ever been to. Tom and Harrison seemed unphased.
"What is it you guys do?" I asked them both. "Like, I don't mean to be rude, but the big house? The fancy restaurant just for a couple of strangers? You've clearly got no problem throwing money around."
"(Y/N)!" April said. She was getting annoyed with me, I could tell. At the same time, I didn't care.
"Real estate," Tom said.
I snorted. "Real estate? Seriously? That's what you're going with?" Tom shrugged and took a sip of his drink- whiskey on the rocks.
"I'm going to go touch up my lipstick," April said, standing up from the table. "(Y/N), come with me?" It was a command, but she phrased it as a question. I rolled my eyes but followed her anyway. As soon as we were in the bathroom, she turned to me with a huff. "Will you quit being such a bitch?" she said.
"I'm not!" I said.
"Oh fuck off," she said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm just looking out for you. I don't trust these guys."
"I can look out for myself."
"I know that, but-"
"But nothing! Quit being so mean to them. They're nice guys."
" Harrison's a nice guy," I said. "Tom-"
"I think he likes you," she said with a shrug. As my jaw dropped, she turned to the mirror and actually started to reapply her lipstick.
"You're kidding me, right?" I said.
She shrugged again. "You know how boys can be. They're rude to the girls they like."
"In elementary school ," I said. "Besides, what kind of boys will be boys bullshit is that?"
"I think you should just cut him some slack," she said. "Give him a chance. He may be a little off-putting, but you're not exactly little-miss-sweetheart either."
"I'm not little-miss-sweetheart because assholes aren't my type."
"Give me a break." She rolled her eyes. "You almost exclusively date assholes."
"And I'm trying something new."
"That's what you said before you fucked Chris."
"April, I swear to god-"
"I'm teasing!" she finally laughed, bumping her hip with mine. "Relax. God, you really need to get laid."
The rest of the dinner wasn't too painful. Tom mostly kept his mouth shut, which I was grateful for, but it felt like Harrison and April were in their own world. I didn't want to pull out my phone because I hated when people did that, but I was getting bored. For lack of anything better to do, I started people watching. A lot of the customers were like Tom and Harrison: put together and rich looking. My eyes were currently trained on a booth across the restaurant. In it sat three men, all probably in their 30s. They were hunched over, talking to each other in hushed voices.
"It isn't nice to stare," Tom said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I huffed. "Maybe if you struck up a conversation with me, I wouldn't have to find entertainment somewhere else."
"Conversing is a two-way street, sweets," he said.
"Sweets?" I repeated. "That's what you're going with now?"
"I'm just trying things out," he said, hiding his smirk behind his whiskey. "You haven't been satisfied with anything else."
"Because my name is (Y/N)," I said, my fist clenching. "It's not that hard."
"I'm more of a nickname kind of guy myself," Tom said with a shrug.
"Oh?" I said. He was baiting me, I knew, but I was bored so I took it. "And what're your nicknames?"
"I don't have nicknames," he said. "I go by four names and four names alone."
"And they are?"
"Tom, Mr. Holland, sir, and boss."
"Boss?"
"Yes?" he said, teasing me again. I rolled my eyes and drank from my water.
"Alright," I said. "So what are Harrison's nicknames."
"Harrison?" Tom said, glancing at his friend before looking at me again. "H, Haz-"
"So original," I said. Tom shrugged.
"I can't exactly call him peaches," he said.
" God ," I groaned. "If you listen to anything I say to me, let it be that I never want you to call me peaches."
Tom chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you that one, petal."
"Petal?"
"Cut me some slack."
I wasn't having fun with him. No way.
"So I can't give you any nicknames?" I asked.
"No you cannot," he said.
"And what'll you do if I do?" I asked. I hesitated, then added, " Tommy? " Tom's jaw clenched, and he downed the last of the whiskey in his glass. He looked me in the eyes -they were darker than they had been all night- and licked his lips.
"If you call me that again," he said, "I'll make sure you know why I go by sir."
"Alright, I think we're ready to go!" I shouted, clapping my hands to get everyone's attention, while I grabbed my purse to leave still staring at Tom.
April was smiling widely, clearly not aware of the conversation she just broke up between me and Tom. I, however, was very annoyed with the guy in front of me. not having a clue how to move forward. It was as if Tom had already forgotten, because he stood up and tossed his napkin on the table, harshly might I add, Harrison, April and I stood up from the table as well and followed Tom out to the car.
The ride back to the mansion was silent, and I wasn't surprised when Tom headed straight inside when we arrived. Harrison whispered something to April, and she giggled and nodded, then waved him off as he went inside. "He's not coming back with us?" I asked, walking over to my car.
"I'm actually going to stay here with him," she said, kicking her feet against the ground. I raised my eyebrows. "What?" she said. "It's fine. It's not like you've never had a one night stand at some other guy's house."
"Yeah, but those guys were normal ," I said.
"Listen," April huffed, "you've done it, okay? You did your big sister job. Thank you. I appreciate it. Now please, just let me go. You know our SOS text."
"Of course I know our SOS text."
"Alright, then relax unless I send it."
I rolled my eyes but hugged her anyway, placing a kiss to her cheek. "Be careful," I told her. "Have fun. Be safe. I don't want to be an aunt."
"Jesus," April laughed, giving me a little shove. "Go! Enjoy your wine and vibrator."
"I will."
I sat in the car until April was safely in the house. Safely . Why couldn't I shake the feeling that being with Harrison and Tom and being safe were mutually exclusive?
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