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Drinks

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Chapter 18: Drinks (Adam's POV)

It was getting late now and while some of us were still at the table talking and having some drinks, the others had left. 

Emma, Ava, Sebastian, and Georgia were all sent up to their rooms. Apparently, minors can't be at the table even though they can't drink. Both of Emilia's grandparents and mine as well are gone too. Some of our aunts and uncles left a few minutes ago with our parents. 

Now, it's just Aspen, Remy, Toby, Emilia, Brett, and me. "Should we all call it a night too?" Remy asked. 

Toby shrugged and finished the little bit that was left of his last drink before mumbling, "Goodnight, everyone," and then leaving. 

"Let's go, baby," Aspen said, standing up with his hand in Remy's. He seemed a little tipsy, to be honest, judging from his expression and the way he's been clinging onto Remy. They left as well, rocking their locked hands back and forth while doing so. 

"I guess we should call it a night too," Emilia said, looking between Brett and me. 

"I don't know. I'm still down for a few more drinks if you are," Brett shrugged and then glanced at me. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to." 

I watched him for a minute before opening my mouth to say something but never got to. 

"Actually, I'm sharing a room with someone," Emilia cut in, standing up. "I don't have the keys either and I would hate to wake them up to get the door. So, maybe we can get drinks later, Brett. It's almost midnight anyway and you have to go to your hotel too." She glanced at me before offering him a small smile. 

He nodded, "All right. We should catch up tomorrow, it's been an awfully long time since I last saw you." 

She hummed, pushing her chair in and then looking at me. "Are you coming?" 

I nodded wordlessly and stood up, pushing the chair in as she rounded the table. 

"Bye," Brett called out. 

"Goodnight," she replied, walking ahead of me. 

I glared at the back of his head, muttering, "Asshole," under my breath before facing forward and catching up to Emilia. 

We stepped into the elevator together and as the doors closed, I turned to look at her. She knew I was staring and without looking at me, asked, "What?" 

"Don't you two seem cozy," I scoffed softly. 

"What?" She turned to me, her brows furrowed in confusion. 

"You and Brett," I said. 

"Brett? I haven't seen him since the last time you saw him, Adam. I don't know how cozy we could possibly be." 

"You two seem pretty cozy to me." 

"He's a guest for the wedding and his uncle is my aunt's boyfriend. What do you want me to do?" 

I shrugged, "Maybe not flirt with him." 

She paused. "I wasn't. But actually, even if I was, I don't need to explain it to you and you have no right to tell me not to. I can flirt with whomever I want." 

"Of course, you can, but Brett? Seriously?" 

"Seriously what? There's nothing wrong with him. You're the one who doesn't like him, not me. I always thought he was cute," she shrugged and then stepped out as the doors opened. 

I huffed, following her out. "You can do much better than Brett." 

"What's wrong with him?" she questioned, glancing at me. 

"He's just... You can do much better than him, that's all I'm saying." 

"You have someone else in mind for me? Want me to give someone else a shot?" 

I watched her as I unlocked the door and held it open for her, letting her walk in first. "Are you trying to rile me up?" I asked, closing the door and following her in. 

She glanced at me as she stopped by her suitcase, taking her heels off. "Watching someone flirt with me or watching me flirt with someone should not rile you up, Adam." 

"Why not? I'm your friend. Am I not allowed to have an opinion on who hits on you or who you hit on?" 

"You haven't been my friend for the last five years." 

"Well, maybe I want to change that," I replied, blocking her way to the bathroom when she turned around with her pajamas in her hands. 

"Well," she sighed, bringing her eyes up to mine, "maybe I don't want you to change that." She took a step forward, her body barely brushing against mine. "Maybe I don't want to be your friend anymore." She raised her eyebrows at me and then stepped aside and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. 

I rolled my eyes, throwing my wallet onto the TV cabinet and then taking my phone out, tossing it on the bed. 

She is definitely trying to annoy me. 

I figured she would take a while changing and getting ready for bed so, in the meantime, I slid my belt off and rolled it up, tucking it into my suitcase. I took my shoes off, leaving them under the seat, and then unrolled the sleeves of the black button-up I was wearing. I took out a pair of sweatpants and normally, I wouldn't wear a t-shirt to sleep. 

I've always slept shirtless apart from the nights I've spent at Emilia's. But I have to share a bed with her now and it would definitely get awkward, so I took out a black v-neck spare shirt that I brought along. 

I unbuttoned the black shirt I was wearing and shrugged it off my shoulders. It came off inside out so I straightened it out and began folding it up. I was still unbuttoning my pants when the bathroom door opened. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I muttered under my breath and looked at the door. 

She came out wearing her pajamas, this time a lavender-colored silk set, but she still had her makeup on and her hair pulled up tight. 

I threw my shirt on top of my suitcase and turned to face her, feeling a little frustrated from everything. From seeing her and Brett together, from her defending him in the little arguments, from not even having enough privacy to change in my own room. 

She stopped walking abruptly and blinked once, staring at me wide-eyed. "Um," she cleared her throat, quickly looking away from me. "I uh, I forgot..." 

I sighed and opened her suitcase, grabbing the makeup bag and tossing it to her. 

She caught it, bringing her eyes back up to mine, taking her sweet time as she did. If she noticed that my pants were unbuttoned, she didn't say anything. But she definitely noticed my naked upper half and didn't say anything about that either. 

What is she supposed to say anyway? 

Her eyes trailed from my hips, up to my abdomen and chest, coming back to my own eyes. She held up her bag. "Thanks." She spun back around and rushed into the bathroom, closing the door a little harder than before. 

I finished changing and then pulled the t-shirt on, going and sitting on my side of the bed, waiting for her to come out so I could brush my teeth then I realized she was taking a bit longer too. 

What if she thinks I'm still changing? 

I stood up and went to the bathroom, knocking on the door. "You can come out if you're done," I mumbled. 

The door swung open and she stared at me, her toothbrush in her mouth. She gestured for me to walk in so I did and stood beside her, both of us brushing our teeth in front of the sink that was not big enough for two. Her makeup was wiped off and her face was washed, some of her hair a little damp around her face. She finished brushing her teeth and while I continued, she checked her reflection and carefully let her hair down, wincing a bit before running her fingers through her hair. 

I watched her through the mirror as her hair remained puffy. 

She looked like Hagrid if he was ginger. 

I bit back a laugh and rinsed my mouth out while she left the bathroom. When I went back out, turning the lights off, she was plugging her phone on charge with her hair pulled back into a braid. When I reached my side of the bed, we both faced each other and just stood there silently, waiting for someone to get into bed first. 

She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear before shrugging. "Should we put pillows in the middle or something?" 

My brows furrowed. "Don't be stupid. We've never done that." 

"Um yeah, because it was normal to share a bed when we were younger." 

"You're the one making this weird. We'll just make sure we're not touching or too close. It can't be that hard." 

Her eyes narrowed but she chose to keep her thoughts to herself and nodded slowly. "Fine. Let's see." 

I shrugged and we both sat down. 

She slid her legs under the covers as I did the same and then we just sat there in pin-drop silence. She shifted suddenly, startling me a bit. "I'm going to sleep." She leaned over, flicking her lamp off, and then lay down, taking one pillow and putting it between us. 

I laughed dryly, looking at her over it. "Are you serious?" 

She huffed, facing me and propping herself onto her elbow. "Just let me do it for my own sake. I don't trust myself, okay?" 

I lifted a brow at her. "With what? What are you going to do? Touch my pinky by accident?" 

She held my gaze and then huffed. "Just shut up and go to sleep, Adam." 

I rolled my eyes and turned to my side to turn the lamp off before rolling onto my stomach, tucking my hands under my pillow. I waited for five or ten minutes, maybe even more than that but I couldn't fall asleep. 

Emilia on the other hand was knocked out. She wasn't moving around like she was while she was awake and her breathing was even. Emilia is generally a light sleeper, as in she wakes up very easily if she's disturbed in the slightest, but she also falls back asleep pretty quickly if she can get past it. She stirred a bit when a few people walked past our room, hitting the door on the way while I could hear faint drunk laughter going by. Emilia moved, shuffling a bit in place before moving closer to the pillow she kept between us. Her arm came on top of it and she pulled it closer, resting her cheek on it while keeping her arm thrown across it, bringing her hand right in front of mine. 

I lifted my head, looking at her for a moment. I released a quiet breath, propping myself onto my elbows and resting my head on one closed fist, watching her. This is the first chance I've gotten since I saw her again to just look at her without her eyes questioning me. My eyes dropped to her hand as she formed a fist and then relaxed it again, resting it on the mattress. 

I peeked at her before using my free hand to grab hers, aiming to move it back to her side, but once I grabbed her hand, she held mine back and then refused to let it go. I held my breath, trying to free my hand but froze when she mumbled something sleepily and held on tighter. I rolled my eyes and lay my head back down, closing my eyes. 

I'll put it away soon.

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Chapter 18

I have no little A/N for this chapter so let me just ask y'all:

how's it going?

next chapter: team