“Is it me or are you trying to get me to cancel this lunch?”
“I'm not trying to get you to do anything, Evelyn. It's just a piece of advice.”
“I'll keep it in mind.” I glanced out the window and tried my best to admire the beautiful day it was, but I couldn’t make myself feel the least bit happy about this lunch date, not with the way Nathan looked at me.
“Do you like this guy?” he asked.
“He's just a friend.”
“He doesn't do just friends. He has fuck buddies.”
I scoffed, ready to head out. “I'll see you later, Nathan.”
“I'm sure you will.”
***
I shifted, nervously looking back at Josh who sat across from me on the booth. He smiled, probably thinking that my nerves were because of him when in reality they were because of the man I'd left behind at the university.
“I don't remember you being the quiet type,” Josh said jokingly. “Something on your mind?”
Someone else.
“No, just thinking about all the school work I have.”
“Professor Lanthorn isn't all that bad,” Josh said. “Philosophy is a hard class but he isn't horrible, he does have debates every now and then though so be ready.”
“I noticed,” I muttered. “I hated being put on the spot like that.”
He took a sip of his Sprite, smiling afterward. “You did fine.”
The conversation was easy to maintain with Josh, as I knew it would be. He was always very talkative and attentive, that was exactly what made him quite a ladies’ man back then. He seemed to have changed as if he'd matured.
Everything was different now, with everyone I used to know. I couldn’t help but feel sad about the years I missed here, the old friends I stopped talking to and lost communication with.
“Are you seeing anyone?” Josh asked, the flirt in him suddenly appearing.
“Not really, no,” I replied.
I needed to get out there, try to get to know other guys before I made a stupid decision. Regardless of what I wanted to tell myself, I knew that what I felt for Nathan was growing. Hannah may have been a bitch but she was still my sister, I still cared about her. That would be the ultimate form of betrayal.
Josh and I spent the rest of the day together at the park, talking about how much his life had changed and how mine had remained the same. I managed to forget about Nathan for that time, felt like a regular girl who wasn't crushing on a married man.
“I'd really like to get to know you more, Evelyn,” Josh said when we pulled up to my sister's house. “If you want to, of course.”
“I would,” I smiled back at him. He walked me up to the door and placed a kiss on my cheek before leaving.
With a sigh, I walked into the house, the silence my only greeting. The bottom floor seemed to be empty so I went upstairs, stopping when I was at the top of the staircase. I looked back at Nathan's room, shifting on my feet before gaining the courage and walking towards the door.
When I received no answer after a knock, I opened up the door quietly.
“Nate?”
The door to Nathan's bedroom opened and I saw my sister standing there in a small silky robe, her hair down and makeup freshly done. My stomach dropped, but this was the reality. He was married and no matter how fucked up things were between them, that didn't mean that they were failing in the sex department. I heard the water in Nate's bedroom running, my eyes flying in that direction.
“What did you need with my husband, Evelyn?”
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head.