I walked out of my room the next morning to find Cody doing the same thing, only he was half naked with his toothbrush in his mouth. He didn't earn any reaction from me since I've seen like him this so many times. If Kat saw him in this way, she would've scolded him for it, but luckily for him, she's still asleep.
"Good morning," he managed to say regardless of the foam filling his mouth. I cringe and pass by him, muttering, "put some clothes on."
I went to the kitchen to prepare my mug of coffee. Cody came next to me by the sink to spit what in his mouth. He opened the tap, washed his mouth, and then closed it again, saying, "someone's cranky." I give him a dull look then ignored him. He doesn't know what's going on inside of me right now. He frowned and left the kitchen.
I stared at the coffee machine till it lighted green then I poured some of the steaming liquid into my mug. I take in the comforting aroma, and soon feel a bit more relaxed.
"oh, now I get it!" Cody yells from his room. He walks back into the kitchen with his phone in his hand, and the screen read "Avoid Nicole. Period!". Is he kidding me? He actually made a reminder whenever it was my period to stay away from me. Am I that scary when I'm PMSing?
"You're joking, right?" I ask with my eyes pointing at him, and he just shrugs. Does he really need a reminder to avoid me? I mean I do PMS, but I'm pretty sure I'm tolerable. If he doesn't think so, then perhaps he needs to know how a PMSing Nicole is really like. I sigh, "whatever."
"So I'm guessing you're not coming with me," he was pouring his own mug of coffee right now.
"Where?" I ask.
"Our usual coffee shop to hang with the guys," he shrugs a shoulder as he says that.
"Are you seriously forgetting what happened yesterday?"
"No, but I got over it, and they all did too."
"Tyler?"
"I'm sure he's already forgiven Jordan for his drunken mistake."
"Or not! Cody, he kissed Tyler's girlfriend, or she kissed him. The thing is that Tyler will never let that slip easily," I'm pretty sure I convinced him, only he looked in denial.
"They've been friends for years; Tyler would never ruin his friendship with Jordan for a girl, much less Amber." He was right; Tyler and Jordan are really close—much closer to each other than to any of us. I still doubt the fact that they would want to see each other now, though.
"Fine. Call the guys till I get ready," I walk back to my room with my mug in my hand. Before leaving the kitchen, I managed to grab the box of Cheerios from the counter.
"Hey, that's my breakfast!" Cody yelled, and I ignored as usual.
As I crunched on my Cheerios, I grabbed my ripped overalls and my white crop top, and then I pulled out my white Nike pair to match the outfit. As I said, I only go for casual and comfortable. After putting on my clothes and fixing my hair in a French braid, I admire the way I look in my mirror. To add a bit of edge to my appearance, I unbuckle one strap of my overalls before leaving my room.
When I went outside, Cody was already in a shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. He was bent down on a chair to tie his shoe laces. "Ready?" He asks, not bothering to avert his attention towards me.
"Yup," I drop the bag of almost empty Cheerios in front of him on the floor, "your breakfast." Just then he looked up at me, giving me the 'are-you-kidding-me?' look. I shrug and grab his car keys before opening the front door and leaving him behind. I jump in the driver's seat, ignoring the death glare he gave me.
"No Way!" He exclaims, and I insert the key in its right place. He turns around and opens the door on my side, "get out of my car, Nicole." I ignore him, twisting my hand and turning on the engine of his car.
"Nicole, I'm driving my own car." As the sound of the engine roars, I fix the rear-view mirror for me to see.
"Nicole—"
"Cody, I'm driving this time."
"It's my car—"
"Whatever; I wanna drive it. It's a five-minute drive anyway, so it doesn't matter. Now, close the door and get in, or else I'll leave without you," I look in front of me at the street, waiting for him to oblige. I know it's not even fair at all, but I'm on my period and I promised myself I'll PMS a lot when I'm around him. Call me evil, cruel, brutal, vicious; I don't care.
With a sigh of defeat, and a look that screams 'Gave up!', he turns back around to the passenger's seat, accepting his loss in this battle. What can I say, I always win.
Like expected, five minutes and we were heading to our table in the coffee shop. I high five Kyle and Dylan, and I fist pump Jordan, who's face was still bruised and lip was still cut since the party. I'm not surprised, though; it's only been one day so far. I reach out my hand to touch his face, "are you feeling better?" He smiles and nods his head. I look around to find an empty chair where Tyler should've been sitting on. Dylan must've noticed my frown, when he said, "He's sorting things out with Amber." At the mention of the devil's name, my fists coil and Dylan pulls me down to my seat between him and Jordan.
The waiter comes by, "Hey, boys," his eyes turn around the table, and when they catch me, "and Nicole." I smile back at him, "Hey, Eric, how are you and how's your wife?"
"I'm great. Actually, we're pregnant," he announces and everyone shows their congratulations.
"Oh my God! Congrats, Eric!" I jump from my seat and go to hug him quickly. Eric is a good friend of ours. He's 24 and he's been nice to all of us. He's a new husband of a young, pretty woman, whom he's been dating for more than four years. They were the definition of high school sweethearts, and it's been great between the two as we've been told. He works in the coffee shop for now, but he promised us that we'll see him in his own art gallery one day; he has amazing paintings and even though I know nothing about art, I was quite impressed with his work.
"Thanks, Nicole," he hugs me back, then pulls back for me to see him grin genuinely from ear to ear. I'm truly happy for him because he deserves to be happy himself. "Now, what can I offer you to drink; it's on the house," everyone cheers before ordering their drinks.
In the middle of our conversations and laughter, Dylan receives a call and he answers it cheerfully, "Hey, man, what's up?" It must be Tyler; he's the only one not sitting with us at the moment.
"What? Where?"..."Oh, okay, I'll be there."
I'm confused, so I frown at Dylan once he's off the line.
"Alright, guys, I have to go," Dylan declared.
"Where to?" Cody asks, interrupting Kyle's story.
"I'm meeting up with a friend." None of the guys seemed to care, while I was itching with curiosity. I was proved wrong when I heard Jordan ask, "Tyler?"
Dylan shook his head then tapped his hand on Jordan's shoulder twice before leaving us. I look at Jordan and whisper, "Don't worry, he'll get over it." He smiles at my reassurance and turns back to the guys. They were talking about some football game, and I was just tired of it. That's one thing I hate about being the only female in the group; there are certain topics in which I don't really have anything to say.
I decide to check my phone for any missed calls or messages, and I notice I got one missed call from...Ryan? I then remember he saved his number on my phone yesterday; he must've used my phone to call his number in order to save mine. I get up from the table, earning questionable looks from everyone. I just show them my phone screen, and they just go back to their talking.
When I became a fair distance away from our table, I answered the call and pressed my phone to my ear, "I didn't know you're that desperate."
"I didn't know you're that teasing," he snarks back.
"Teasing?"
"Yup. You got me waiting for your call all night last night," he says as a matter-of-fact.
"Oh, so you are desperate," I smiled awkwardly to myself.
"No, I'm just hopeful." Whatever helps you sleep at night, I think silently.
"So, why did you call me?" I realize too late that I sounded kind of rude and irritated, although I felt quite the opposite.
"Aren't you happy I called?"
"I'm glad you called. I was going to burst out of boredom back there."
"Well, I actually wanted to see you."
"Really? When?"
"How about now?"
"How about tonight?"
"Alright, I'll pick you up at 7."
"You don't even know where I live."
"That's why you'll text me your address right now," and with that, he hangs up the call.835Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEvTMn70dC
835Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oYyz9UfuX
I stood in front of my closet, wondering what to wear for my meeting with Ryan. I could easily choose an outfit if I know where we're going. What's worse is that I don't know if it's a date or not. What am I saying? Of course, it's not. I just met the guy, and we're going out as new friends. I barely know his last name, so it's definitely not a date. But what if it is?
I sigh and just follow my gut, which tells me to pick something simple. I went the easy way, pulling out my black skinny jeans, plain white shirt, and my navy blue hoodie. Ryan texted me, saying he was in front of the house. I kept my white Nikes on and headed quietly outside my room. On my way out, I ask myself why I hadn't kept my first outfit.
Cody's room blasted with music—I'm guessing My Chemical Romance—and I'm positive he won't hear me leave the house. I still don't take any risks when I sneak out of the house. The reason that I don't want him to know I'm going out with Ryan is that I don't want any kind of interrogation. Kat wasn't in the house, and even if she was, I know she wouldn't mind at all. Now that I think about it, she'd actually encourage it, since I don't have any other friends than the guys. Then again, Ryan is also a guy, so I didn't really make any improvement.
I really need to know some girls.
I step outside and greet Ryan, who was standing outside his silver car. He opens the passenger door and waits for me to ride in, and I raise my eyebrows at his civil action.
"Is this a date?" I mentally slap myself for how stupidly blunt I was.
"Do you want it to be?" He gives me a smirk, starting the car and driving off my driveway.
"I don't know; I was just asking." Way to invite the awkwardness over, Nicole.
"Listen, if you want it to be a date, then it is."
"It's not that I want it, it's that I'm just wondering if it was a date in the first place. It's not that I don't want to go out with you or anything, it's just that I'm not physically ready for it. I literally just grabbed whatever is in my closet. I didn't even bother getting a bag." When I hear him chuckle at my babbling, I muttered, "I don't think I'm dressed right for a date."
"Don't worry about it, alright. You're dressed just right for where we're going," he tells me with a light chuckle.
"So it's not a date," I just can't hold my tongue, can I?
He smiles at the road, completely ignoring my question.
We arrive at a bowling alley and we get our shoes. As I wait for Ryan to get the balls, I register our names in the scoring machine.
"Ready to lose, Nicole?"
"Believe me, I'm worried about you. I don't think it's healthy leaving you alone at night after I win," I mock him back. He thinks he'll win? Ha! I've won this once against the guys, and I'll win it again against Ryan.
He places two balls of different sizes and looks at me expectantly. I smile at him as I walk towards the ball rack and grab the bigger ball. My confidence was soon low when I felt how heavy the ball is. I struggle as I lift it, and I can see Ryan chuckle from my peripheral vision. Determined, I huff and still carry the ball to the rails.
I set my goal on a strike but when I attempt to throw my ball, my hand plays a little trick on me. The ball doesn't exactly roll in the middle but sways to the side and falls into the right gutter. Ryan's laughter echoes in the empty place and I scowl at him jokingly.
"That ball was awfully heavy," I complain. After the ball rolled back, he carried it confidently, showing absolutely no sign of struggle. He had bulky arms so it wasn't that hard for him to lift it and throw it stealthily on the lane.
"Strike!" He threw his hands in the air victoriously, and then he turned and winked at me. I roll my eyes at him and mutter 'whatever' before going to grab the lighter ball. I stand in the correct position and swing my arm back and forth, my eyes narrowed at the middle pin. Swiftly, the ball flies off, leaving my hand and aiming for the desired pin. One falls, and all the other fall in advance. I don't cheer or anything; I only stand straighter and turn around to give Ryan my own victorious smile.
"I'm not surprised," I say with a one-shoulder shrug. He nods with an impressed expression on his face then heads for his turn.
"I can see it's not your first time," he comments, bending down and focusing on the front pin.
"It's not; I've been here more than once with the guys."
"The guys?" He now walks away with yet another strike, allowing me to play my turn.
"They're my friends. We hang out all the time." I strike again of course and give him space for his own shot.
"You must be close then."
"Yes, we are. They're a huge part of my life. I can't imagine a life without them in it."
"Wow! Are you sure you're just friends?" I don't miss his hint, but I simply look at him with narrowed eyes and a small nod.
"No. We're more than friends. They're so close to me—just like brothers."
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