Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
AUDREY
Audrey was in a positively delighted mood that didn’t end, even as she stepped into her parent’s home.
If she was meant to feel a type of way about still living at home at the age of twenty-six, she did not feel it.
Free rent and food? Why would she ever leave?
Places to rent were expensive and limited here, just as they were across the province.
Once her parka was in the closet and her winter boots were tucked away on the front mat, she sailed straight past the living room, where her parents were watching one of their usual thrillers on TV, and up to her room.
Yes, it was her childhood bedroom, but it had evolved over the years.
Gone were the posters of Lady Gaga and Twilight, and instead, pieces by cool artists lined the walls.
Her bookshelves still had the little knickknacks and trinkets she loved, but they also had her favourite books and a never-ending pile of library books.
She added the book she just brought home to the stack.
She knew Brianna had moved back to town to work at the library, but Audrey had no clue she’d run into her so soon.
She should’ve thought of something fun and cool to say, like “hey, did you know I had a crush on you as a kid? Maybe we should hang out sometime so we can talk about that?”, but that would be a weird thing to say to your brother’s best friend.
Speaking of her brother, maybe Audrey could get him to help her with her plot.
She wasn’t going after Brianna per se, but it was always good to scope out what she was up to.
Besides, Audrey had no clue whether Brianna wasn’t straight or not.
She had her suspicions, but suspicions weren’t a certainty, and in a town as small as this one, there really wasn’t room for speculation.
Maybe Brianna could be a great new friend. Audrey was in need of those as well.
She pulled out her phone to see if she could pry the information out of Nathan, but how to do it so he wouldn’t think she was being weird?
It didn’t happen often, but when she had asked about his friends in the past, Audrey knew Nathan would be protective.
It was what made him a great guy but a horrible wingman for her.
Not that she couldn’t be trusted around his friends; it was just that he made it clear he would never choose between his family and his close friends, and he thought the two categories overlapped in a way that would seem uncouth to him.
She remembered how upset he was when his buddy on the basketball team tried to hit on Brianna when they were in high school.
Of course, everyone thought it was because he secretly liked Brianna, but Audrey knew he thought of her as a sister, and he was not about to let just anyone get close to her.
It was probably a lot more than most would know about their brother, but Audrey was happy to have that insight into Nathan’s life. Most people she knew weren’t really close to their siblings, but it was nice to have someone she could trust unconditionally.
Too bad that wouldn’t be reciprocated if she told Nathan outright what she was planning.
Planning was too strong of a word. She was just curious. She was allowed to be curious, wasn’t she?
hey, guess who I ran into at the library?
Nathan
omg you saw Brianna there on her first day??
should’ve figured you’d know already
duh, we’re best friends
Ah. How to approach the subject delicately.
right, right
is she staying in town long?
idk why
just thought it may be good to catch up. She doesn’t have too many friends here
I’m her friend
If she didn’t love Nathan so much, she’d strangle him.
last time I checked the dictionary, many did not mean one
smart ass
He didn’t reply past that point, and Audrey had given up on her mission.
It was useless to even try, and she rolled her eyes at both herself and Nathan.
What was she thinking would happen? He would be able to read her mind and suggest he set them up together?
It was the plot of a novel she would’ve loved to read, but not reality.
At least she had a great new book to read. She could start with that.