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Starting Choose Your Own Adventure Post
Warnings: Drinking; cursing; Nathan being himself; fluff; mention of someone throwing up
âUhâŚYou know what,â You shake your head a little bit, a nervous smile curling your lips. âI think this is about as hard as Iâm gonna play. Might snag one more, butââÂ
âShots!â William calls from the kitchen. You shake your head as he pokes his head into the living room, smiling widely and expectantly, waiting for the groupâs approval.Â
âNone for me,â You insist, âIâm good.âÂ
âCâmon, donât be such a wet blanket,â Nathan urges.Â
âDonât be such a bully.â
Itâs a bat back that you don't plan on leveling, but it flies out of your mouth before you can stop it. His brows raise, a surprised smile twisting his lips. Your face heats with embarrassment, stomach squirming, but you press on, âIf I want one, Iâll have one. I donât want one.âÂ
â...Alright,â He concedes before he turns a smile toward William. âMore for us, man.âÂ
You can feel Dan looking at you, and you glance guardedly up at him. Heâs watching you with the same surprise that Nathan did, but he mouths, You okay?Â
You give a small nod, waving him off before raising your glass to take a sip. You glance behind yourself, eyeing the armchair there before you lower yourself to sit on the arm. The guys are already debating what kind of shots theyâre going to do, how many, how itâll go with the wine thatâs been chosen with dinner. Youâre rethinking every move youâve made since you arrived. Youâve done nothing but push back against Nathanâs requestsâfirst the boxing, and now this. Youâve got another few days there, and heâs probably right: a little ass kissing may be in order. How much more are you doing to push back? How long can you keep it up?Â
âYou hungry?âÂ
You look up to find Nathan watching you expectantly. You nod. This, at least, you can agree with.Â
âI am,â You admit. âThough Iâm sure Iâm less hungry than all of you.âÂ
âWell, you did have the hikeâNo, no, sit.â He waves you off from standing and giving him the chair as he lowers himself to sit on the ledge beside the armchair.Â
âYeah, I know,â You nod. âBut you all boxed, I didnât. Howâs Williamâs form, by the way?âÂ
âAwful.âÂ
âHeâs got some improving to do,â Dan agrees.Â
âI think between the three of us, we can straighten him out,â Nathan adds, nudging his knee lightly against your shin. You smile a little.Â
âI donât know about that. He made me carry half of his bags up here. You have me spar with him, I might pop him one and mean it.âÂ
âHe made you?â Danâs brows raise.Â
âWellâMade is a little strong, but he gave me that look and I was like âIâm gonna be around this guy for a while, I should probably just make niceâ.âÂ
âThat a strong suit of yours? Making nice?â Nathan asks before raising his glass to his lips. You bite back a rude remark, your eyes narrowing a touch.Â
âIt can be,â You concede with a shrug. Nathanâs eyes light up, his smile widening as he nods, leaning back against the dormant fireplace more fully. You find yourself holding one anotherâs gaze for a moment, hardly registering the chatter between Dan and William as Kyoko carries in a tray of shots. For the first time since you arrived, it doesnât feel contentious between the two of you.Â
It should. The man may as well be staring you downâbut his gaze is more appraising than combative. That should freak you out more.Â
Damnit, maybe you shouldâve had that shot.
You turn away from him as he stands to grab a shot from the proffered tray.Â
âAlright. Quick toast. Get up, câmon,â He urges, waving toward you, âGet in on this.âÂ
Maybe bullying is just second nature to him. Maybe he canât help it. Still, you get up, muscling into the cluster of them.Â
âAlright, Iâll be honest,â Nathan looks around to all of you. âWhen, uhâŚWhen I woke up with a hangover and three email confirmations that you guys would be coming, I dreaded it basically immediately. But,â He adds over Danâs guffaw, âSo far, this isnât that bad. Soââ He holds his shot glass aloft. âHereâs to the next few days. Team-building, teaching Will to box, and checking me for polyps.â
You let out a quiet eugh as the four of your clink your glasses. You take a sip of your drink, glancing over and watching Nathanâs head tip back as he does the shot.Â
âAlright,â Nathan nods the three of you toward the hall. âDinnertime, letâs go.âÂ
--Â Â
You are no longer regretting not having another drink. Youâre on your second, in factâand the guys are all on the fourth. Youâve moved from the sleek dining room to a lounge near your rooms. Youâre slouching on the opposite end of the couch from Nathan, eyes moving between the guys, and the Pollack on the other side of the room. Thereâs a flush rising in Nathanâs cheeks, a goofy grin pulling his lips up as he giggles at something Will just said (something thatâs almost certainly not funny).Â
You lean back against the couch, letting your gaze drift back to the Pollack. You rest your head on your hand, closing your eyes for a moment as you try to block out the hooting and hollering Dan and William are doing. Christ. How soon can you excuse yourself without looking like a total...What was it Nathan called you? A wet blanket? What are they talking about? You canât focus up. Youâre tired, full from dinner, andâŚAnd whereâs all the noise gone?
You open your eyes, peering around just in time to see Dan and William leaving the room, the door swinging shut behind them.Â
âWhere are they going?â You ask.Â
âGrabbing another bottle ofâŚSomething.âÂ
You glance over as you hear the creak of the couch, and feel the dip of the cushion beside you. You turn your head to see Nathan getting closer, your brows raising.Â
â...Doinâ okay there, Bateman?â You ask.Â
âIâm still Bateman? Not Nate yet?âÂ
âNot yet, andâŚLikely not ever,â You shake your head.Â
âWhat? Câmon, Dan calls me Nate.âÂ
âDan wants a raise.âÂ
âYou donât?âÂ
âI do, but Iâm not gonna get all cutesy and use a nickname to get it. Even if I was,â You add, shifting on your seat, âI wouldnât use Nate. Itâs been used.âÂ
âYeah? So what would you use?âÂ
It feels like a trap. Nathan is watching you with that sweet, warm look again. Itâs a little more muddled now, his eyes dark and clouded slightly from his budding buzz.Â
â...I donât know,â You admit. âDancing queen, maybe?âÂ
He snorts a laugh, reaching out to grab his beer from where itâs sitting on the table in front of you.
âYou seemed like a real partier,â You add, âI had no idea you could dance.âÂ
It had been quite the sightâNathan trying to teach Dan and William a few steps to a song that youâd never heard before. It hadnât gone particularly well, but theyâd given it a hell of a go.Â
âDidnât know I could box, either, didya.âÂ
âNo I did not,â You chuckle. âIâm learning a lot about you.âÂ
âSo when do I get to learn about you?âÂ
âThereâs not much to tell,â You chuckle.Â
âSomehow I doubt that. Iâm pushing back on your pushback.âÂ
âHowâs that going for you?â You arch a brow.Â
âLook, you either tell me about yourself or I dig through your search data.âÂ
âYouâre telling me you havenât already?âÂ
â...You either tell me about yourself or I dig through your search data a second time.âÂ
You chuckle softly, raising your glass to your lips and taking a swig before nodding. âAlright. Whaddaya wanna know?âÂ
--Â Â
âWaitâWait wait wait wait wait, hang onââÂ
You frown at the sound of Williamâs voice. Youâre sort of surprised heâs up. The guys had all tied one on last night. You glance at the time on your BlueWatch as you hop up the steps toward the patio. You spy the three of them outside, each kitted out with boxing gloves. You look over William, watching him brace his hands on his knees. You canât imagine how the three of them are awake right now, let alone boxing.Â
You cross your arms over your chest, brows knitting in concern as William straightens. He looks a little green around the gills. You open your mouth to ask if he wants some water, but heâs already taking off toward the edge of the patio. You wince, turning your head away a touch as you hear him throwing up.Â
âShake it off, man!â Nathan calls back toward him as he heads for the door. You raise a hand, giving a short wave.Â
âI didnât get the memo,â You wave a finger toward where Dan is rubbing Williamâs back.Â
âSâalright. You can always join us tomorrow morning.â Nathan leans in the doorway, mirroring your posture. âYou hungry?â
âYeahâBut I can fix something for myself.âÂ
âYou sure? Kyoko can make just about anything.âÂ
âIâm positive, but thanks.âÂ
âSure. You gonna make your special pancakes?âÂ
You smile a little, brows raising in surprise. You canât believe he remembered. He was pretty smashed when you told him about that. It had taken Dan and William a while to get back the night before, and you'd had more uninterrupted time than you'd ever had with Nathan. Â
âI might.âÂ
âYou mind making me some?âÂ
âThink you can stomach âem? I thought smoothies were your recovery breakfast.âÂ
âI can handle it.âÂ
âWell, weâll see.âÂ
âBacon, too.âÂ
âDonât get greedy, dancing queen.âÂ
You turn away from Nathan with a smile, heading for the fridge. Maybe the next few days wonât be so bad.Â














