Andrew visibly relaxed, but continued to be on his guard. It took Nathan longer. What had Nathan been about to say? My stomach churned as an insane curiosity swept through me. And what was he so angry about now?
“Okay, then,” Caroline said, looking between all of us. “We ordered another round of drinks back at the table. Join us, Drew?”
Andrew’s gaze moved down to me as if he was searching for something before answering. “Sounds great, Carrie.” His familiar good natured grin lit up his features. He swept me up in his arms for a hug then extended his hand outward, indicating for me to go first. “After you, Lila.” It was apparent he didn’t trust Nathan enough to let me walk in front of him.
My steps wobbled a bit, the alcohol getting to me more. Nathan’s hand reached out to mine, steadying me. I looked up to find his emotions secured back in place, his anger stifled for the moment, hidden away, stewing beneath. His fake smile was plastered in place, and inside I cried out for the real Nathan to show himself again. I wanted to know him, not the pretty picture he presented to the world. Brief glimpses were not enough to satisfy me.
God, we were the perfect pair with the way we handled ourselves.
It would be nice to be normal, not to have to keep the act up all of the time. To end the masquerade.
Somehow the nightmare escalated as I ended up sandwiched between Andrew and Nathan. The most awkward place in the world to be—at least for me. Trapped between the guy I used to date, and the guy who was secretly fucking me into oblivion. It didn’t help that Nathan’s hand had returned to my thigh under the table.
Andrew hiked his thumb toward Nathan. Subtlety be damned. “Okay, so who’s this newbie?”
We all laughed then everyone launched into the whole Vivian debacle that led to Nathan being my new partner in crime. Oh, if they only knew how true that was in reality.
The waitress came by with the round Caroline ordered. I got one sip in before a hand grabbed it from me.
“You don’t need that,” Andrew said.
My glare was icy as I grabbed the glass back from him, taking multiple large gulps until the majority of the liquid was gone. “Don’t mess with my drink, Drew. I need it.”
“No, you don’t.”
“It’s the only way I can sleep, okay?” I admitted in a huff, and rubbed my eyes. I was so tired, exhausted to the point of tears. Add in the downers of the booze and I was about to burst. “I just want to get some fucking sleep. I can’t fucking drink every night, so let me sleep tonight. I can get more than a couple hours in and my brain will shut down.”
Caroline thankfully jumped in, which was good because I didn’t want to go into it any further. “Her insomnia’s back.”
Nathan was already staring at me, I could feel it. My attention moved down to where his hand was, the skin tingling beneath.
“All right, off topic Lila. I’m not interesting enough. Next topic,” I rambled, trying to steer the conversation away from my depressing self.
Andrew snorted. “I see you still love to be the center of attention.”
I rolled my eyes, which caused my whole head to spin. “Yeah, yeah. Drunk, depressed, center-of-attention-hating, stupid, ugly…” I choked as the words began swirling in my head. I tilted the rest of my drink back, trying to drown them out.
“Okay, enough.” Andrew took the glass out of my shaking hand. “I think it’s time to get your drunken ass home.”
I let out a whimpering sigh. “I drove.”
“You definitely aren’t driving. I can take you,” Andrew said.
Nathan’s fingers dug into my thigh, and I could swear I heard him growl. “I can take her home.”
Everyone at the table turned to stare at him, myself included.
I couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped. “Oh, Caroline, I forgot to tell you.” I placed my hand near my mouth to block people from hearing as I whispered across to her. “The asshole lives in my building!”