Page 34 of Rumi: The Hawthornes

“That depends… what are we drinking?”

Chapter 7

Rumi

“Come in!” Iyelled, throwing back a shot.

Nova peeked her head inside the door and then opened it wider so she could move through it. “You started without me!”

“Figured you wouldn’t mind,” I replied with a laugh, pouring a shot for her. “Tequila?”

“Gross.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she walked toward me, but picked up the shot glass anyway and threw it back. “It’s going to be a tequila kind of night, huh?”

“It’s been a hell of a week,” I muttered. Everything was fucking topsy-turvy. Emilia was back and I had a nephew and Micky was losing his shit and on top of all that I couldn’t stop thinking about Nova for two seconds.

“You have a nephew,” Nova sang, dropping onto the couch beside me. “Yay!”

“Thought I’d have a couple more years before that happy event,” I replied, toasting her with another shot.

“Hey, at least he’s not yours,” she joked. “How’s Micky holding up?”

“Who fuckin’ knows.” I fell back against the couch. “Still in love with Emilia. Fightin’ it.”

“Well, that’s not a surprise,” Nova said, pouring herself a shot. “He hasn’t dated anyone since she left.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean he was hung up on her.”

Emilia shot me a look of disbelief. “I think it’s sweet. It’s like he was waiting for her.”

“He hasn’t been waiting for her.”

“What would you call it?”

I didn’t have to answer, so I took my shot instead.

“I get it, though,” Nova said, curling her legs up on the couch. “She took off on him. I wouldn’t trust her after that, either.”

“I think there were extenuating circumstances.”

“Okay, wait,” she said, holding up a hand. “Do you think he should start back up with her or not?”

I thought about it for a moment. I’d been replaying that exact question in my mind since Emilia had come back. “I think that sometimes two people are just meant for each other,” I replied finally. I shrugged. “Fighting it is pointless.”

“That’s adorable.” Nova grinned.

“Shut up.”

“You waiting for your soulmate, Rum?” she asked teasingly.

“Oh, fuck you.” I laughed.

“I kind of agree with you,” she said with a smile. “I mean, not about two people being meant for each other or whatever—but I think he should try and work shit out with her.”

“You do?”

“She came back,” Nova said with a shrug. “That’s got to mean something, right? If he still loves her, it’s not like he’s losing anything if he tries.”

“Self-respect?”

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