Chapter 4

Logan

Was it necessary to leave me in the middle of the road with a stranger (who turned out to be a complete weirdo, by the way) that I had just met five minutes ago? No. Did I deserve it? Maybe.

But hear me out, here's what actually happened: so, I go into this tiny phone store looking for a phone number. After going inside and trying to speak with the person who worked there, I realize that I may have been over-confident in my language abilities; in other words, I suck at speaking Arabic and the guy couldn't understand a word.

I tried to make some hand signs to explain that I'm looking for a phone number, I really tried. But the dude kept thinking that I'm looking for an actual phone.

Thankfully, a cute blondie standing behind me turned out to speak English and helped me with the translation. She then flirted a little bit and we got carried away with chatting. Not that I was actually listening to what she was saying, because I was too busy thinking that there is a tiny possibility that I might get laid during my stay here.

So yes, forgive me for forgetting about my crazy psycho housemate who's waiting for me in the car.

Anyway, thankfully, it is a really small town and blondie knows Adam (because he's like the only doctor in town and the only person who's crazy enough to live in the woods) so she agrees to give me a ride. Halfway there, I start to realize that she's like, super Catholic and may have started planning our wedding in her head and that's how my plans of getting laid flew out of the window.

So, as I stand in Adam's driveway, trying to think of ways to quite literally flee for my life from Blondie here who won't stop talking, I notice Em's figure looking at us from the window. Oh, the smug look on her face.

You know what? Two can play at this game.

I place my palm on Blondie's shoulder before my lips curve into a smile. "Thanks so much for the ride home. I really appreciate it. Let me save my number on your phone."

She almost leaps. She hands me her phone and I type in Em's phone number that Adam put in yesterday.

I give her phone back and she pulls me into a quick hug. God, why does she smell like... bubblegum? For Christ's sake.

I wait for her to get back inside her car before I walk back inside.

Em's laptop is on the kitchen table and she's typing furiously. She barely glances at me before commenting, "I see you've made it back safely." She's suppressing a smile. Oh, this girl is evil. Pure evil.

Keeping my head held high, I shrug. "Yeah, I did."

An awkward moment of silence passes by before she decides to tease again. "So, did she invite you to Sunday mass for your first date slash parental meeting?"

I bite the inside of my cheeks. "You tell me."

She frowns before the realization starts to hit her. She looks at her phone before meeting my eyes again. "What the hell?!"

And then I do what any man with two brain cells would have done five minutes ago. I run.

-

Surprisingly, I end up getting a good six hours of sleep. Last night, Adam got shitty pizza that tastes more like cheesy bread and ketchup. I guess New York's pizza is going to be one of the first things that I miss here.

Adam and I played some video games afterwards and Emily didn't even show up. She just ate dinner in her room.

As she slams the drawer after getting her mug; I'm guessing that she's still pissed that I gave her number to Blondie. My bad.

"Good morning to you too," Adam mutters under his breath before pouring some coffee.

She rolls her eyes before taking a seat. For a split second, I just take her in; her messy brown hair wrapped in a lazy bun falls softly around her face, and her eyes are the brightest shade of brown, almost honey.

She's insanely pretty, in an effortless subtle way. She doesn't even try, and I genuinely don't think she cares either. It's kind of sexy. And then, all of a sudden, she looks up. Her eyes meet mine and for some absolutely strange reason, it feels like the air has been sucked out of me.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

My lips curve into a smirk. I grab my phone and snap a quick picture. The realization hits her as her jaw drops. "I'll make sure to show these to your future boyfriend."

"You're a dick. Oh, and your girlfriend is blocked."

I shrug. "Cool, thanks for getting rid of her."

She shakes her head, and Adam looks confused. "Uh, context, anyone?"

"Oh, nothing, just the usual. Your manwhore of a nephew has to flirt with any walking creature that has a vagin-"

"Never mind, I don't want to know," Adam quickly says. "For a split second, I thought that Mar got a hold of you."

I unconsciously cringe and Emily notices. "Who's Mar?"

Before I can say anything, Adam explains, "His supermodel girlfriend." In my defense, I blame my mom for everyone referring to Mar as my supermodel girlfriend. That's how she introduces her, in a mocking way of course. Which obviously sucks since modelling is Mar's real job. Whatever.

She rolls her eyes. "How cliché. Does she know that you're cheating on her?"

"A, Giving your phone number to a super Catholic chic is not called cheating. B, we're in an open relationship, not that it's any of your business."

She smirks. "Yeah? How is that going for you?"

I notice Adam trying to suppress a smile. "It's going really well, actually. You two losers can worry about your non-existent relationships." Or your weird dynamic that I don't understand.

"Say that to her, I'm in a happy, serious, and healthy relationship."

"With your boss," Em adds.

Holy shit. I knew he was gay. I knew it!

My jaw drops for a split second as an awkward silence takes over. Adam is the first to break it. "Did you just out me to my nephew?"

I mean I already knew to be honest.

Em purses her lips. "I think so."

I let out an awkward laugh. "Yeah, well, Noah owes me fifty bucks."

Adam shakes his head. "Whatever. Don't tell Jade."

"My lips are sealed."

I'm actually surprised that he's this chill about being outed.

"Have fun at work today," He plants a kiss on the side of Emily's temple, making her forehead soften. To be honest, their relationship is weird. It's weird in a I-can't-really-label-it way.

They're obviously not dating. Yes, they're friends, but they're also more? I don't know. Adam seems to be so gentle around her, almost as if he's parenting her. And she obviously respects him a lot. Like, I don't know, she does what he asks her to do; she showed me around yesterday because he asked her to. She's taking me to work today. That's weird, man. I don't know.

"And you," He points towards me. "Behave."

I mock-salute him. "Yes, sir."

Once he leaves, Emily turns back to me. "You're not wearing those slippers to work."

"They're called crocs, not slippers. And why the hell not? They're comfy."

She keeps staring at me as if she's waiting for me to tell her I'm joking or something. Which is why, I sigh and remove my crocs before grabbing my sneakers.

Once I put them on, my eyes meet hers again and she looks mortified.

"What?" I let out, wondering what the fuck did I do wrong this time.

"Please tell me you're going to wear socks."

I let out an awkward laugh. "Oh. I don't really do the socks thing. Saves laundry."

She gulps, closes her eyes and lets out a long exhale. "Why do I even ask?"

"It's true, you know? Socks are just a product of capitalism. We have been convinced that we need them, but if you think about it from an evolutionary perspective-"

"Oh my God. Please stop talking. I get it, you have the whole Peter Pan attitude going for you but I have not had enough coffee to continue this conversation," She grumbles before pouring some more Espresso.

"Peter Pan? What the fuck does that even mean?"

"Peter Pan Syndrome, ever heard of it?"

"No?"

She shakes her head. "Never  mind."

My eyebrows furrow together as I pull out my phone and google "Peter Pan Syndrome."

Peter Pan syndrome describes one's inability to believe that they are of an older age or to engage in behavior usually associated with adulthood.

"Seriously?" I manage to make out. "It's a fucking Disney movie. A really good one too. Why the fuck would someone be so cynical and make a psychological theory out of it?"

"To explain the behavior of people like you?"

"You're just mean."