Page 81 of Nodus Tollens
“No, you’re not wrong, Blue.” I threw her nickname at her and watched out of the corner of my eye as her whole body went stiff. I didn’t expect that reaction from her, so I slowly shifted my head to the side, hoping she wasn’t upset.
“My name is Wren.” She spoke as her eyes gradually connected with mine. Just like at the hospital when I had first caught her watching me, I was sucker punched straight in the gut. By her wholesome beauty, and I still was, but this time, her name sent a flare of emotions within me. For so long, I’ve ached to know her name. I’ve longed to know at least something of the girl who has wrapped herself so deeply around the parts of me I swore no one would ever have.
Until her.
“You can call me Wren.” She corrected with flushed cheeks and averted her eyes to the bartender, who was currently flipping bottles as if he were the main character in Cocktail.
“Don’t like me calling you Blue?” I lifted a brow. Still staring at her, but now at her side profile, I traced over the curve of her pert little nose down to her plush mouth. I couldn’t tear my stare away from her, no matter how hard my head demanded me to.
“You can call me whatever you want, I suppose…but I prefer Wren.”
Huh. Interesting.
“Hayes must not have gotten that memo then.” I grumbled.
Her eyes cut to mine.
“I don’t mind when he calls me Blue.”
Of course, she didn’t. She probably loved that nickname just like she loved…
Fuck, I couldn’t even finish that sentence.
“Just me, then?” My tone turned sour as I called over the bartender for another drink.
“I never said that. It just sounds…weird when someone else calls me Blue.” She confessed. I then noticed her lift her hands from the bar top and slowly drop them onto her lap.
“So, I should just give you your own nickname, then? Is that what you’re getting at?” I chuckled for the first time tonight as the bartender slid over a beer bottle to me. I could still feel her heavy stare on me. The weight of a thousand stares was nothing compared to hers. I was beginning to feel uneasy, even though I had enough alcohol in me to sedate an average-sized adult.
Alright, maybe I wasn’t that drunk, but I fucking wished I was.
“That’s not exactly what I was getting at…”
Another bout of laughter struck me at the confusion in her tone.
“Whatever you say, Doe.” The nickname manifested out of nowhere, escaped from the confines of my head, and fell past my lips. It fit a hell of a lot more than Blue did. Delicate and graceful, I imagined her as a timid little doe. I was the prey, the big bad beast who had caused her to run off just before I could catch her, and even now, she had that look where she might flee again.
“Doe?” She questioned.
I reached for my beer and grinned happily at her bewilderment. I’d let her figure that one out on her own because, to me, it was pretty straightforward. But, hey, if she wanted to pretend like that day never happened, then so be it.
“Anyone ever tell you that it’s rude to ignore someone.” She spun her chair around to where her knees were now barely grazing the side of my thigh. My attention had quickly shifted to her legs, but it was the annoyance in her tone that had my interest piquing.
“Plenty of times, Doe, but I don’t give a flying fuck what people think about me.” I took a long sip as her stare penetrated me like two laser beams. “So don’t get it twisted. Hayes and I may be best friends, but we sure as shit aren’t anything alike.”
I came off as an ass, but that was just who I was. I was about as real as they come, and if that made me a dick, then so be it. I expected a roll of the eyes or at least a snarky retort. Instead, she surprised me.
“You have more in common with him than you think.”
A laugh turned into a scoff as I shook my head. This girl knew nothing about me, and yet she believed that Hayes and I were alike. Even to strangers, it would be obvious we shared no similarities. Our appearances varied drastically, while our temperaments were on complete opposite sides of the spectrum. Our love of hockey was the extent of what we shared.
And now, we had something else in common. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but when it finally sunk in, I let out a silent curse. A certain blonde who had unknowingly stolen a part of Hayes and me.
Fuck.
“Yeah? Like what?” I asked as I pretended the revelation didn’t affect me.
“Do you care about him?”
