Page 17 of Reeling in Love

I tiptoe out to the kitchen. Nora’s probably still snoozing, so I set up the coffeemaker, but don’t start it. Then, I take a quick shower and start reading the news. In some time, I hear a shuffling from the other bedroom, so I set the coffee for brewing and scramble some eggs.

By the time Nora is ready, breakfast is ready and served. She’s wearing blue jeans and a pink tank top grazing just above her shining naval ring. I’ve seen her in this attire multiple times. Then why does she look sexier today? Or was she always like this? No wonder everyone in the office stares at her when she comes and goes. How come I never noticed it before? And why am I getting these sick thoughts about my childhood friend, who will always think of me platonically? Is it because of what Paula said? Nah! It’s probably because I haven’t had sex for around ten days. Maybe animal sex with Paula wasn’t a bad idea after all.

“My my,” Nora says, rolling her eyes. “Morning to you, Gabs. Don’t do these things or I’ll get so used to it I might decide not to leave.”

I feel an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of my stomach. Is that a flutter? Jesus! I’m turning into some cheesy hero from a silly rom-com instead of the hot, sexy, cool dude I am. As if I care whether she stays. I see her giving me a cheeky look, and I have to stop myself from becoming a Cheshire cat.

“You know you can stay as long as you like, right? But don’t get used to this. Tomorrow it’ll be your turn to make breakfast.”

She groans and takes a seat. “I wouldn’t bet on that,” she scoffs and scrolls through her phone, catching up on her social media. With her head still bowed, she takes a bite. “This is good. Even the humble scrambled eggs taste nice when served on these beautiful white plates. Why am I seeing them for the first time?”

“Mom bought them a few weeks ago.”

“Ah, that explains it.” She takes a photo of the plate, posts it, and then keeps her phone away. “Now, let me focus on the food.”

My phone rings. I pick it up and see Mom’s name flashing on the screen. I curse under my breath. “Talk about the devil.”

But this is not the time I want to talk to her. Not when Nora is sitting here enjoying the meal I cooked looking as sexy as a model.

I message Mom that I’m busy and will call her later and then continue to marvel at the beauty Nora has become. She was always pretty. I’ve told her that multiple times over the course of so many years we’ve been friends. But I never thought of her as ‘a girl’ if you know what I mean. And since last night, all I can think of is her as ‘the girl’.

I shake my head.

“What happened? All okay? You seem weird,” she says, kicking me on the shins.

“Nothing. I need to get laid and so do you. So this evening, after work, we’re going on a bar crawl and finding ourselves or each other some sexy partners for the night. What say?”

“I’m in. Enough of this relationship stuff. It’s time for some good and irresponsible times.”

We finish our breakfast and drive to our office.

“I hope you decide to stay. I mean, Ryan is not even thinking of taking up the investment from Dumas. So you needn’t worry, y’know,” she says as we walk in through the doors just before we part ways and she leaves to meet her team.

I know, but I need to do what’s right for me and my conscience. Plus, it’ll be good to put some distance between me and her.

I see Ryan and Eva in a meeting with the coders and wave to them. Ryan immediately marches to the door and gestures for me to join them.

There’s a new game that they’re discussing—a blend of gaming and learning, not for schools but for the end customer. It’s more fun with learning as a side benefit. A mixture of what MooreGames has been doing and what Eva is trying to do. It’s interesting but I can see that it’ll require a significant investment in terms of increased headcount.It’s still at a nascent stage, but it shows promise and the entire team is full of energy and excitement as the discussion ends after about an hour.

Although I’d thought of distancing myself, I can’t help but get excited by the idea.The coders file out of the room, talking animatedly. Eva follows them.

“I’m glad to see you back in action, Gabriel,” she says as she leaves the room, squeezing my shoulder a bit.

Ryan and I are the only ones left. He closes the door and sits down.

“Spit it out. And don’t you dare give me bad news,” he says, giving me a death stare. “I can see there’s something on your mind. If Gerard Dumas is the source of the unease, I suggest you throw it out of your system, man. I’ll not let my trusted team split because of him. I don’t need money like that. And you know it. Right?”

When he says it like that, I cannot help but feel guilty about my thoughts. But I know in my heart that it’s the right thing to do.

“I’m joining the family business,” I say. Ryan opens his mouth to speak, but I raise my palm. “Hear me out first. Please.”

He nods and takes a seat opposite me, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes boring into me.

“You know Mom has been pestering me to join the business. They’ve set up an office in Boston now so I can easily work from here and travel to Paris once in a while. It’s a big business and can help me grow and learn as well. What Gerard said is not wrong. I need that kind of exposure.”

“But what about MooreGames? We’ve been together in this. What if the person Gerard suggests can’t understand the way we function? And what about me? Even I don’t have experience of running an extensive business. Should I leave too and hire someone else to run the company?”

I smile. “If you keep growing the way you are, you might have to do that in a few years.”

---