Chapter 6

Nari

It was amazing to finally let go and party with my friends. We'd planned this night out from graduation, but we were all so busy settling into the next phase of our lives, working or further studying. Months had gone by before we finally got our acts together.

My two best friends sat on either side of me. We were all British-born, but our parents were immigrants. Zofia's parents were from Poland, and Moonpie's parents were from Nepal. Moonpie's name was Mohana, but her high school nickname stuck, and I loved it. I guess it's what made us stick together within our larger group. Our background and warped sense of humour.

"Is your brother still annoying, Moonie?" I asked as she brought a fresh round of drinks to the table. It was almost as if she had two Dads. Her older brother was always on her case about something.

"What do you think?" she grumbled.

"I thought he would have outgrown that by now," Zofia frowned as Moonpie passed us our drinks.

"He was asking me what time I would be back tonight, and I don't even live at home anymore," Moonpie said as she sat down.

She was the flirt in our group, and she was damn good at it. I could never get away with the tiny skirt and crop top she wore. It was cream with a black overlay of lace. We had similar long, straight hair, though.

"So, I met someone," I said with a smirk and sat back to watch my friend's reactions.

Zofia's jaw dropped in shock, and her eyes widened until I thought they would pop out.

"An actual man?" Moonpie asked suspiciously, with her eyes narrowing on me.

"Get the fuck out of here," Zofia said as she flicked her auburn curls over her shoulder and leaned over the table, almost spilling her drink.

"Is it a real man?!" Moonie screeched.

"It's a book boyfriend, isn't it?" Zofia said, looking as if she was about to cry.

"Nope, a real man," I said with a giggle.

"How long have you been dating? What's he like? Where did you meet him?"

"Never mind that shit, Z," Moonpie said. "Have you lost your virginity?"

I slapped her arm as I looked around, but the music was too loud for anyone to hear.

"Motherfucker. How are you so strong?" she said as she vigorously rubbed her arm.

"No, I haven't. We have only been dating since Monday."

"It's Friday," Moonpie said with a scowl before she put the straw in her mouth.

Zofia still looked shell-shocked. I didn't blame them since I had been adamant that I was done dating and would only focus on studying.

"How could you keep this from us?" Zofia said with a pout.

"I wanted to tell you both in person," I said with a grin.

"Can we celebrate when you get your cherry popped?" Moonpie said with a snicker.

"Ugh, I cannot lie. I'm so damn horny around him it's killing me," I said as I leaned into the table to try and put the straw into my mouth, but it kept jumping away from my mouth. I needed the liquid courage to tell the rest of my story.

The girls chortled as they watched me grab the straw and stuff it between my lips. We went out for a meal before we came to the current bar. I rarely got drunk, and I loved it when I did. It was my third drink, but apparently, I was a lightweight when it came to spirits.

"He saved his number on my phone as ‘My Lover'," I said before I paused for dramatic effect. "In Korean."

"OMG. He is Korean?" Zofia cackled. "I bet your Dad loved that."

"I haven't told him yet. He is always telling me to date. I don't want to get his hopes up," I said, rolling my eyes before I put my arms around my girls and brought them closer. "On our first date, I had to go into the ladies and rub one out."

"I don't believe you," Moonpie said as she glared at me suspiciously. "You shouldn't give us false hope."

"Do you think she is imagining it all?" Zofia asked her.

"The thought of doing more coursework and exams has frazzled her remaining brain cells," she said in a dry voice.

"I was desperate. I've put so much on hold because I was so worried about passing all my exams. It's time," I said as I let go of them to take another sip of my Margarita. "Should we be mixing spirits?"

"Who gives a fuck? You fancy someone so much that you had to go flick your dusty bean off?!" Moonpie said as it finally began to sink in.

Zofia snort-laughed, which made us all laugh. My laughter fell away when I saw Tae standing at the bar. I yanked Moonie towards me to hide me.

"Oh shit. He is at the bar," I said, but they both looked towards him. "Stop looking!"

"How many drinks has she had?" Zofia asked.

"Four or five," Moonpie replied, which couldn't be right.

"Has he seen me?" I said, too scared to look past Moonpie.

"I don't see—is that him? The hot Asian guy in the dark grey suit? I can see why you needed an emergency bean flick," Moonpie said. "He is with another hot Asian guy. Is he taken?"

"Oh, that might be his friend Kwan," I said as I took sucked down the last of my drink. I might as well since I was here. "What are they doing here?"

"It looks like they are here for a drink after work," Zofia said as she glanced at me. "Why are you hiding?"

"I don't know," I cried out before I paused and grabbed Moonpie's drink since I needed more liquid courage.

"She is wasted," Zofia said.

I glanced up at the girls while trying to put the straw in my mouth.

Why was such a simple task so difficult?

Moonpie was frowning at me, and Zofia was trying not to laugh.

"Do you think she is fantasising about some random guy she just saw at the bar?" Moonpie asked.

I jerked upright but held onto the sticky wooden table and looked behind Moonie to see where Tae was. He wore a dark grey suit, and his friend was dressed similarly.

"Tae," I shouted out.

His head snapped around, and our eyes met over what seemed like a sea of people. He smiled and began to walk towards us. I started to panic because of what the girls might say.

Shit. We should have snuck out.