Array
(
[text] =>
Hey everyone! So I’ve decided to release one chapter a week, I think this works best with my schedule and also allows me to focus more time on writing an even better chapter for you guys. Hope you all enjoy Chapter 5 and thanks for reading! The picture is Neal’s parent’s mansion if you didn’t know.
~ NEAL ~
To my surprise I was not hungover and there weren’t any gaps in my memory from last night. As I got out of bed, I yelped loudly when I nearly stepped on Jean who was sleeping. Jean woke up in a frenzy, and flailed her arms, knocking me back on the bed.
She rubbed her fingers gently against her temples, and sighed in annoyance. “Hangovers are actually the worst.” “I wouldn’t know.” I replied smiling. “Hey, that is not fair that I get one and you don’t.”
“I think it was those 10 extra shots you took that did the trick.”
She paused and nodded her head, “Ya that makes sense,” she replied while rubbing her forehead. “Hey what’s that?” She said looking down at my hand. I quickly shoved the sticky note in my jeans.
“It’s nothing,” I said all too quickly.
“God you’re a terrible liar.” She said with a curious grin on her face. When we came downstairs my parents were already getting ready for work. My mom was rushing off to her law firm and my dad making his way to the hospital.
“We missed you Neal, sorry I couldn’t talk much yesterday, I had this huge case to finish up.”
“Ya I get it.” There’s always another case or another surgery that distracts them from getting to know me… their son. As usual, I brushed it off like it was nothing and let them get to work.
“Bye Mr. and Mrs. Wright.” Jean said, waving.
“Bye Jean.” They replied back.
“Good to have you back Neal.” My dad said as he closed the door.
As soon as I heard the door close, I swung my head down in defeat. “It’s okay, they still love you… they’re just busy all the time, that’s all.” Jean said reassuringly.
“Thanks.” I mumbled.
Trying to change the subject Jean blurted out “Anyways, you should call Bartender McDrinky and thank him for giving us a ride.”
“Wait, he was the one that gave us a ride?”
“Well how else do you think we got home?” I didn’t know, I just assumed Jean got a taxi since I already blacked out at that point, I thought. Before I could react, Jean grabbed the note from my pocket, dialed the number on her phone, and shoved it in my hand. While the phone was ringing, Jean mouthed a taunting “good luck,” as she walked away. I gave her a scowl and flashed the middle finger at her. She let out a smirk and I rolled my eyes, waiting for him to pick up.
“Hello?” he said curiously.
“Oh, hi um…” I didn’t want to say it but I didn’t know his real name. “McDrinky,” I said ashamed.
He let out a huge laugh. “So you finally called me back.”
“Ya, so uh thanks for the uh ride.” I said, my voice shaking.
“No problem.”
“How did you know where I lived?”
“It took me a while but your friend finally gave me clear directions. I may be a bartender but I suck at translating drunk talk.” I snorted a little and thanked him for getting me home safely. “It’s not everyday I get to drop someone off as cute as you.”
I blushed intensely “Thanks, but anyways I have to go and kill Jean, but it was really nice meeting you uh…”
“It’s Devin,” he replied.
“Nice meeting you Devin.”
“You too Neal.”
“Wait, how did you-”
Devin interrupted saying “Jean gave me your name.”
“Right,” I said laughing nervously. “Well it was nice talking to you Devin.”
“Ya, you too.” he said, with slight disappointment in his voice.
“Wait!” I shrieked, a little louder than I had hoped.
“Ya Neal?”
“Maybe since you… ya know saved me, I could thank you in person.
“I’m not sleeping with you Neal.” Devin replied coldly.
I almost died of embarrassment. “No! T-that’s not what I meant! Uh I just uh wanted to know if-”
“I’m just messing with you Neal. I’d love to go out to eat.” He said roaring in laughter. I sighed in relief.
Still chuckling a little Devin said “I’m only working the night shift today, so if you want to, we can go out and eat in a couple hours.
“Ya that’d be great!” I replied excitedly
“So I’ll text you the details later then.”
“Great,” I said, trying to manage my excitement. “Oh wait, I’m actually calling you on Jean’s phone, so I’ll give you my real number. After I gave him my number, I hung up and I saw Jean turn the corner and skip towards me like she just won the lottery. “You’re really bad at eavesdropping.” I muttered.
“I wasn’t trying to hide the fact that I was eavesdropping,” she said proudly.
“Well that’s comforting.” I replied.
As I made my way to The Smokin’ Patty Devin’s sea colored eyes met mine. He was wearing a button down long sleeve shirt. More than a few of the buttons were undone, revealing his muscular chest. He also wore blue jeans that still seemed to show off his perfect body. After a few more glances at his muscles, I managed to avert my eyes back to his face. Devin’s beard was well groomed and he was wearing a man bun, which typically I didn’t like, but he surprisingly pulled it off.
I was scared that maybe we wouldn’t get along like we did at the bar, cause I was drunk. The fear soon disappeared once we started talking though. We chatted for what seemed to be hours, cracking jokes and recalling my embarrassing drunk moments. “So who’s this guy that I have to beat up for breaking your heart.” Devin asked. My laughter soon stop and I was once brought back to the hurtful reminder. A lump began to form in my throat, and I started to think about Bruce again. I tried to focus on our conversation, but Devin’s words became muffled. All I could think about was Bruce and the internship, and it again hit me all at once.
I excused myself and rushed to the bathroom. I leaned my palms against the edge of the sink and closed my eyes, trying to relax my spinning head. After a few minutes I gathered myself and walked back to the table. A grin appeared on Dean’s face when I walked back in, and I returned it with a weak smile. He was oblivious to my melt down…thank god. “For a second there I thought you left me.” Dean said jokingly. I chuckled a bit, grateful for the slight comic relief.
“So when can we do this again?” Dean asked.
“I’m actually only in L.A. for the remainder of the week. I live in Oxford.” Dean’s face went dark, as if a shadow had casted it’s way into his mind. He quickly brushed off my words and his expression followed soon after.
“Well then, let’s make the most of today.” I looked down, my eyes filled with regret for not telling him sooner. I apologized, obviously feeling a bit guilty. “It’s alright.” he said encouragingly. Dean let his hands fall on my shoulder and he leaned closer towards me. He slowly guided his rough hands up to my face, rubbing his thumb across my left cheek. He gave me a comforting smile that almost instantly relaxed me. I looked up, blushing a little and we leaned closer together. He bit his lips in anticipation, and I could feel his cool breath starting to meet mine. Before our lips could touch, a thud on our table interrupted our close encounter.
I quickly pulled away from him, and looked up to see a scowling waiter, pointing to the checks on the table. I rolled my eyes at the waiter and sighed in annoyance. He looked back at me in shock, as if it were the first time he’s gotten an eyeroll. We each gave him our checks in awkward silence, after rummaging through our wallets for our credit cards. After the waiter left we sat for a while, none of us saying a word. I did everything to avoid his gaze, but it was like trying to avoid the gaze of a cute puppy.
I never thought I’d be so relieved to see the waiter again. He handed me and Devin our credit cards, and walked out, without so much as a smile. “I was expecting more of a, thank you for eating at the Smokin’ Patty, and have a good day, but walking away works too.” I said sarcastically. Devin let out a loud chuckle, and I smiled in relief knowing that the awkwardness was gone.
As Devin dropped me off at my house, he cleared his throat and said “Sorry for ya know… trying to kiss you.
“No, you don’t have to be sorry, if anything the waiter should have apologized for the interruption.”
“So you don’t regret me trying to kiss you?” he said with a beaming smile.
“No, I don’t.” I laughed.
“Good, cause I’m gonna do it again.” This time, very quickly, Devin grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me in. His lips met mine in intense passion. His tongue lightly grazing mine. As I closed my eyes I pictured that it was Bruce’s lips that were touching mine, and I quickly pulled away in shock and guilt.
Devin looked at me in confusion and said “Am I that bad of a kisser.”
“No, the kiss was great,” I just wanted to share that kiss with someone else.
“I wish I could see you again, but I’m busy the rest of the week.” Dean said.
“It’s okay McDrinky,” I replied jokingly.
Devin smiled in return. “It was nice meeting you… and kissing you Neal. Good luck in Oxford.”
“Good luck here in L.A.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and said Bye Neal, with hurt in his voice, as his lips parted from my cheek
“Bye Devin.” I said as he got back in his car and left.
I woke up the next day feeling more shitty and guilty than I ever have in my life. Devin was a great guy, but the truth is, I felt more spending 3 minutes with Bruce than I did spending 3 hours with him. I suddenly heard a knock on the door, followed by a “Hello?” I jumped up in surprise, recognizing the voice immediately. I almost tackled Imani as I gave her a huge hug. God, I needed her right now. “Sorry” I said, pulling away as I watched her regain her footing from my surprising embrace.
The second she met my eyes, she frowned, “What’s wrong?” I told her about how I got drunk and met Devin, and how we went on a great date. I told her about my break down and the almost kiss, and then the real kiss. After I explained everything to her, I asked “Why can’t I just be happy?”
She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows, giving me that almost motherly expression I knew all too well. “You really like this Bruce guy, huh?” she asked. I nodded. “Just because you didn’t get the internship doesn’t mean you can’t see him. Pick yourself up, find him, knock down his door if you have too, and tell him how you feel. You worked hard not just for Bruce but for yourself, and you owe it to yourself to tell him how you truly feel.”
“Your right.” I said confidently. “I have to pick myself up and get on with my life. So what if I didn’t get the internship everything happens for a reason. After a long silence I muttered, “Geez, what would I do without you?”
“You’d be fine… probably” she said with a kind smile. She looked at her watch and yelped “Oh shit, I gotta go or I’ll be late for work! Sorry I gotta run, but I’m glad I got to stop by before you leave for Oxford on Saturday.”
“Me too.” I said. Before she left she turned and gave me one last smile, then disappeared, the door closing behind her. Even though I was sad she was leaving, I felt more confident and hopeful than ever. I was finally ready to conquer any challenge thrown my way. As I got up to go take a shower, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and picked it up. I saw it was an Oxford number, and I answered the call immediately.
“Hi Mr. Wright, it’s Dean Griffin.” my eyes widened with curiosity. One of the inductees of the Banner Labs Internship dropped out. Seeing as you were next in line to receive the Internship, it would only be fair to offer this position to you. Will you accept the internship at the Banner Labs Researchers of Science Department… Mr. Wright?”
I felt a wave of excitement, confusion, and disbelief hit me all at once. I started to get light headed, so I sat back on my bed. After a long pause I somehow managed to get back up and stammer the word “yes.” in response.
[text_hash] => 4f09fcad
)