"His name is Liam," Abbey says with a big grin on her face.

I look at her with raised eyebrows.

"That's all?" I ask in amusement.

"He's thirty-two, a British ecologist, and super courteous," Abigail raves. Her happy face is so contagious, I can't help but smile along.

"How did you meet him?" I slide off the counter and start ruffling through the box with all the cheap Christmas decorations in it. Jack left it here and instructed us to accessorize the Diner with it.

"I met with Hailey and her new lover Benjamin at Nora's yesterday. Liam is a friend of Ben and he invited him for a drink." Abbey pulls out a red and green chain of lights and starts untangling it.

"So, you met Hailey's new lover?" I ask with a surprised face.

"Yea, he's nice," Abbey simply states and climbs on top of the counter to wrap the chain of lights around the hanging lamps.

"Nice?" I laugh. "Nice is just another word for boring!"

Abbey shoots me a blaming glance, but then laughs along.

"I don't know. I mean I've met him for the first time, but I can tell by the way he looked at Hailey that he's totally adoring her," she then says, and takes the second string of lights which I hold out to her.

I absentmindedly watch her arranging the festive decoration. It's somehow funny that all of a sudden everyone of our little friend's group seems to start dating. Except for Sadie, who hasn't found the right woman for her yet. And Nora. My heart aches as I think of the hurt in her beautiful blue eyes when I told her about Jackson. I wish I could take the pain away from her.

"Livie?" Abbey's snapping finger in front of my face makes me jump and brings me back to the empty Diner.

"Huh?"

"I just said that I don't know what's the point in decorating the Diner now. I mean it's only one week until Christmas. If anything, we should've decorated much earlier," Abbey rants.

"You know Jack!" I roll my eyes.

"Speaking of Jack, do you have any idea already what's up with him? The past weeks, he was barely present and acted even weirder than before," I question my best friend.

Abbey who just finished wrapping the fairy lights around the lamps jumps off the counter again and smooths her skirt.

"I don't know either. Maybe we overthink this, and Jack's just being his usual despicable self." She shrugs.

"Yea, maybe," I agree. I feel that something's up with Jack, I just can't put my finger on it, and I am not keen on talking about him anyways, so I change the topic.

"Are you still down for tonight?" I ask, and eye the shabby plastic Santa I just fetched out of the box.

"Of course, I am," Abbey retorts and playfully nudges my arm, "It's about time to have a proper lady's night again, right?"

I give her a big smile and nod. She's right, it's been two weeks since all five of us came together the last time.

Abbey and I spend the rest of the day with arranging Jack's ancient decorations, and as only a very few guests find their way to the Diner, we manage to leave Jack's shortly after 4pm. We set out straight for Nora's even though it's quite early.

"Hey you two!" Nora greets us when we enter the bar. She wears her ebony hair in a low messy bun today, which is rare. Her face is free of any makeup, and she has dark circles around her eyes.

I'm not sure if she told the others about Jackson yet, so I motion Abbey to take a seat before facing Nora again.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask her in a low voice.

Nora sighs and nods.

"I will be," she says with a sad smile. "It's not that I'm not used to the drama with Jackson, but this time he screwed the pooch!"

"You can call me anytime if you need someone to talk to, you know that, right?" I squeeze her hand and give her an empathetic smile.

"Thank you, Liv. I really appreciate it," she retorts, and then looks over to Abbey who is immersed in her cell phone.

"Do me a favor and don't tell the others about Jackson. I don't want to talk about it yet," she asks me with a pleading look.

"Of course, not!" I assure her and give her a last smile before walking over to our little booth.

"What did you two talk about?" Abbey asks without looking up.

„Nothing important," I mutter. I'm a terrible liar and I hope that Abbey won't ask again.

She just nods, and then smiles at her phone while frantically typing.

„Let me guess... Mr. lover lover?" I tease her as she puts her phone away.

Abbey chuckles and looks at me with glowing cheeks.

„He'll pick me up!" she squeaks nervously and starts picking at her fingernails.

"What, now?"

"In two hours," she corrects me.

Nora who just came over, places two glasses of white wine on our table.

"Did I hear that right? Are you talking about your flirt from yesterday, Abigail?" she asks and slides on the bench next to me.

"Maybe," Abbey retorts with a secretive smile and takes a sip of her wine.

Nora and I exchange meaningful glances.

"He invited me to his house for dinner," Abbey tells us with excitement clearly audible in her voice.

"That's nice of him," I state and chuckle at her restlessness.

Nora and I watch as Abbey's euphoric look changes into a horror expression.

"Shit!" She cusses. "I don't have anything to change into, and I haven't showered since I overslept today. There's no way I'll meet him in my working clothes!"

She looks at me in desperation.

I raise my eyebrows and then laugh with a head-shake.

"Go ahead. Go home and get dressed up!" I roll my eyes and make a shooing motion with my hands.

"Are you sure?" Abbey asks, but already grabs her bag and quickly downs the remainder of her wine.

"Yea, I will chat with Nora until Hailey and Sadie arrive," I confirm with a giggle.

Abbey leans over the table and places a kiss on my and Nora's cheek.

"You're the best, I love you!" With that she rushes out of the bar.

Nora and I laugh at Abbey's strange behavior.

"Do you know him?" I ask Nora.

"I've only seen him a couple of times, but he seems nice," Nora states.

A regular guest who's sitting at the bar calls out for Nora, to order another beer. With a deep sigh, she gets up and casually walks over to the bar. I use the time alone to get my phone out of my bag to check if I have received any new messages or missed calls.

I spot one text from Zach.

*I went for a drink to Aria's. She said that she might've found a suitable apartment for me. I won't be late.*

As much as I hate myself for it, my heart sinks when I read his message. Does it have to be Aria out of all people? I take a deep breath, trying to push the rising jealousy away, and type a quick reply.

*Okay. See you later.*

I quickly send him a heart emoji behind. Last thing I want is to come across as jealous. Not again!

An hour later, Sadie and Hailey enter the bar. I'm happy to see them and pull both into a tight hug.

"Hi guys. It's so good to see you!" I state and slide back onto the bench.

Sadie gives me a warm smile and then looks at the empty place where Abbey's usual seat is.

"Where's Abbey?" she asks with a frown.

I tell them about her change of plan, and they both giggle.

"Liam obviously made an impression on her," Hailey jokes, and then adds, "He truly is a nice guy though."

"I'm sure he is," I retort. "How is it going with your Benjamin?"

Hailey shoots me a meaningful look.

"I won't go into it, but I can tell you walking has never been harder for me than the past two weeks," Hailey explains with a mysterious wink.

Sadie and I burst out laughing at Hailey's saucy remark.

"Stop laughing. This man has the greatest stamina I've ever experienced. And what this mouth can do," she raves on in a low voice and rolls her eyes with relish.

"Speaking of Benjamin..." She looks at me and Sadie with flushed cheeks and chews nervously on the inside of her lip.

Sadie frowns and shoots me a bewildered glance. I shrug and shake my head. I'm as confused as she must be. I think none of us has ever seen a nervous or blushing Hailey before.

"Spit it out already, Hailey," Sadie orders impatiently.

Nora arrives with three more glasses of wine and places them on the table. She takes my empty one and shoots us a weary smile before walking back to the bar.

"I might have asked Ben to come along with us to Vancouver," Hailey mutters barely audible and grabs her glass to down half of it in one gulp.

I try to suppress a laughter and I can tell by Sadie's face she's amused as well.

Hailey eyes us with a frown for a moment and then offers, "I can still tell him that we want this to be an only girls thing, since it was your birthday present, Livie."

"I don't have any problems with that." I shrug and add, "It's a nice opportunity to get to know him, isn't it?"

"Are you sure?" Hailey beams at me.

I laugh and nod.

"Oh my god, this is going to be amazing!" Hailey is wild with excitement. "I will book another room as soon as I'm back home, since we've booked one double and one triple room so far."

She gets out her phone and starts typing away frantically. Suddenly, she looks up and faces me with even more excitement.

"What?" I ask her warily. Her demeanor starts to scare me a little.

"What if you ask Zach to come along as well?"

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. To be honest, this thought has crossed my mind a few times before. Especially, since I learned that Zach's birthday is on the first of January, but I don't think I would've worked up the courage to ask my friends, since they have planned it as a girl's trip. But now that Hailey brings his new lover with her, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't bring Zach along.

"Well, I think I could ask him. Then I would be able to spend his birthday with him," I retort with a radiant smile. Then I remember Sadie.

"Are you okay with it as well?" I ask her. I don't want to disregard any of my friends.

"Of course, I am. It's your birthday present and you can bring along whoever you want. Besides, the more the merrier, right?!" she replies with an honest smile.

I beam at both my friends and we raise our glasses.

The rest of the evening we spend with chatting and joking around. By 9pm I'm slightly drunk and ready to call it a day. I hug Sadie, Hailey, and Nora goodbye and leave the bar. On my way home, I wonder if Zach's already back from his visit at Aria's, and immediately the jealousy fights its way back into my brain. Again, I banish it and try to focus on the exciting news that he could come with us to Vancouver.

When I open my apartment door, no Zach is to be seen. I take off my coat and boots and head for the kitchen unit to pour myself another glass of wine. Luckily, I have an opened bottle in the fridge. I sink onto my sofa and put my feet up. For a few minutes, I just sit there, sip on my wine, and try to focus on my anticipation for Christmas and our trip to Vancouver. I wonder if I should invite Zach to spend Christmas Eve with me. I don't think he has any other plans, and neither do I. Usually, I head for Vancouver over Christmas, but since we go there a few days later anyway, I won't spend it with my family this year.

About half an hour later, Zach still hasn't returned, and I'm starting to get impatient. I pick up my phone and dial his number. It's going to his voicemail after a few seconds.

I sigh and empty my glass. I keep telling myself that he probably just didn't hear my call and get up to take a shower. Once completely undressed, I hop into the shower and let the hot water coat my body. I prolong the shower as long as possible and slip into the sexiest underwear I can find to make sure to surprise Zach when he comes back. I grab one of his t-shirts and slip it over my head. His pleasing scent invades my nostrils and leaves me craving for him even more. I blow dry my hair and then pour myself another glass of wine.

It's already ten thirty when I hear the key in the lock. A moment later, Zach stands in the door frame of my living room. A big grin appears on his face, as soon as he spots me.

"Hey," he greets me in a deep voice and steps closer.

I get up from the sofa and wait until he stops in front of me. He leans down and softly kisses me. The taste of whiskey lingers on my lips as he pulls away again.

"Are you drunk?" I ask him in amusement.

"A bit tipsy, just like you are," Zach counters mischievously, and wraps his arms around my waist.

I chuckle and meet his hazel eyes. They warmly stare down at me.

"I missed you," Zach mutters and buries his face in the crook of my neck. I gasp as I feel his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of my neck.

"Zach, wait," I gently push him away. "I want to tell you something first."

Zach takes both my hands in his and then his eyes wander down my body.

"Is that my t-shirt," he asks huskily, and frowns.

"Yea, I hope it's okay that I'm wearing it?" I give him a shy smile.

"I don't know," Zach states, and tugs at the seam of the white shirt. "I don't know if I can handle this sight," he adds and sneaks his cold hands under the shirt to my bare belly.

I chuckle and tilt my head.

"Whatever it is what you want to tell me... I'm afraid, it has to wait," he states hoarsely and rests his forehead against mine.

His hands start roaming over my body and I gasp as I feel him squeezing my butt.

"I guess it can wait a little longer," I agree in a whisper, and press my lips against his hot mouth.

*****

Next chapter will be a little (or big) bonus chapter. Hope you enjoy!😏🦋

Please comment and vote.✨

Katie ❤️