Page 44 of Aftersome
They didn’t belong together.
“I think nowadays that’s his go-to look.”
Trevor dropped his head on a chuckle. Blond hair like Hayes’s fell over his brow and with a quick sweep of his hand, he pushed it back.
“You’re not wrong. I’m assuming he’s been the way he is for a while now?”
My appetite was officially gone now with all this Mal talk. So grabbing my margarita glass, I leaned back in the booth and buckled up.
“You could say that. I think he was born with a… complex personality. Angry at the world for his problems.” I wanted to continue, but it all sounded too cruel. In all honesty, I didn’t know why he was the way he was. I was sure there were certain factors that molded him, but even now after all these years, he was still the same.
Maybe even worse.
“Mal is just Mal.” I met the intense stare of Trevor over the brim of my glass. “And I don’t think there’s a chance he’ll ever change.”
I took a long, much-needed sip of my drink until the sweetness of it caused me to pull away.
“How long ago did you two date?”
His question caused me to choke. I was struck by a coughing fit that lasted a couple minutes until finally, I felt like I could breathe again.
“Are you okay?” Trevor looked concerned as he went around to my side of the booth and slid in.
Patting my chest, I couldn’t help but laugh at my ridiculous reaction. I must’ve looked crazy, too, because now I gained the attention of a few other tables that surrounded us.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” I repeated as Trevor laid a worried hand on my shoulder.
“Are you sure?” He looked me over with his brows bunched together and anxious eyes. I hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten to me until I felt the brush of his thigh against mine. I doubt he had meant anything by it, but uneasiness swept through me.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry.” I scooted away from him until we were no longer touching. “It’s just… Mal and I never dated. We were never really friends.”
His head tilted in confusion.
“Oh, I didn’t realize…” He chuckled. “Just, the way he was acting made me think that you two were a thing.”
I shook my head.
Though on the outside, others might have seen us as scorned lovers, we were anything but.
“No, he’s just someone I once knew.”
We went on talking for a little while longer. He asked a few basic questions about me, all the while he remained on my side of the booth. I didn’t have it in me to tell him to go back onto the other side, but I was now wishing I had.
“What do you mean you can’t cook?” Trevor teased as he put his beer bottle up to his mouth.
“Can't is a little too broad of a word. Like there could be a little wiggle room of a chance, when I in fact have no chance of ever being a decent cook.”
We both laughed together, a friendly energy passing between us, and for once, it felt nice being in the company of the opposite sex without feeling the pressure of anything romantic.
“Oh, come on, you can’t be that bad.”
He continued to tease me about my inadequate cooking skills, until we were roughly dragged back to reality by an infuriated voice.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
Shit.
Not again.
