Here's part 3. This one took me longer to post because I really didn't know where the story should go. I think I finally decided how the story should progress so the next part will be posted a lot sooner (I hope!).
Note: I posted the last part of chapter 2 because there seemed to be a typo error in it. It was my computer's fault actually and not mine. Anyway, I hope this one is error-free. If there is any more error, please feel free to mail me. But I think that you'll get my point even if there's an error.
************** Ordinary Love-3 **************
"A date, huh?" Shawn said slowly as Drew came out of his room. He was seated at the couch and looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "This is kinda sudden."
"Someone in the office set me up," Drew gave him a goofy grin. "I don't know who the guy is but I thought what the hell. I need some distraction anyway."
"Distraction?" Shawn lost him there. "Distraction from what?" To his surprise, Drew became beet-red. Drew was definitely not telling him everything.
"Work stuff," Drew mumbled out. "I'll be back later. Don't wait up." Drew quickly left the apartment and proceeded to the restaurant. He was five minutes late and when he got there; he was told his date was already at the table.
He was shown to the table and he should give Rinoa credit. The guy was definitely a hunk. He had red hair, maybe about an inch taller than him, looks about his age and very good looking.
"Drew Matthews?" The guy stood up and they sat down together. He ordered some wine and the waiter left. The guy gave Drew a nervous smile.
"I'm Clint Dupree," The guy said to him. "I saw your name on the list. I must say that Rinoa wasn't kidding when she said that you're extremely good-looking."
"Rinoa didn't say anything to me but I'm definitely not disappointed," Drew smiled at him. "You're not with Genesis, are you? I haven't seen you around."
"I actually work for the real estate agency in the same building," Clint smiled back at him. "We're one of your clients so I know most of the people in your office. I actually...." He trailed off as he saw a couple entering the restaurant.
"What?" Drew looked at where he was looking.
"It's my twin sister and her fiancée," Clint said to him. Drew squinted his eyes to see where Clint was pointing. He gasped a little when he recognized Nick Greene with a very beautiful blond woman!
"You don't mind if I call them to join us, do you?" Clint asked him though he sounded like he had already made up his mind. Before Drew could say anything, he waved at his sister and got her attention.
Drew sort of slumped on his seat, trying to be inconspicuous though it was a futile effort at best. He forced a smile at Clint when he noticed his date was giving him a quizzical look.
"Clint!" A soft feminine voice said loudly from behind Drew. Drew sat up straight and his muscles tensed as he slowly turned his head around. He saw a very beautiful raven-haired woman giving him a warm smile.
"Drew?!" Nick suddenly exclaimed out in surprise. Drew didn't have any choice but to look at the guy next to Clint's sister. The disbelief in Nick's face only made Drew's heart beat that much faster. This situation couldn't get any more awkward.
"Hey Nick," Drew said slowly. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Uhhhh," Clint cleared his throat as he felt the tension between Nick and Drew. "Fiona, I'd like you to meet Drew Matthews. He works for your fiancee."
"Ohhhh," Fiona nodded her head as she looked at Drew understandingly.
"If you guys are here to eat dinner, why don't you join us?" Drew said to the two politely. Deep down he didn't really want to eat with Nick right now but he couldn't brush off his boss just like that, could he?
"We'd better not-"Fiona started to decline but Clint cut her off.
"It's okay," Clint assured her as he called a waiter over and soon they were sitting down in a much larger table.
"So, you guys are on a date?" Fiona looked at her brother then at Drew.
"Sort of," Drew said slowly. "A co-worker of mine set us up on a blind date tonight."
"I hope you weren't disappointed when you met my brother," Fiona laughed softly at him.
"Anyway," Drew said slowly as he looked at her then at Nick. "I heard from the someone back in the office that your Nick's fiancee. How long have you guys been engaged?"
"Long," Fiona smiled at him. "Our parents were the best of friends so we saw a lot of each other when we were growing up. We started dating way back in high school."
"That long, huh?" Drew said to her with a laugh. "I haven't even seen most of my friends since we graduated. You guys are lucky that you're still together. So, when's the big day?"
"We haven't set a date yet," Fiona said slowly as she looked at Nick. "Nick here says we're not ready to settle down yet."
"Could we not talk about this tonight?" Nick hissed at her as he gave her a somewhat cold look.
"So?" Clint quickly jumped in when he saw that his sister flinched at Nick's rude remark. "What are you guys having?" Fiona quickly took the menu from her brother and she busied herself reading it.
"Ummm, Nick?" Drew said after he cleared his throat. "I was thinking of the Murray account that you asked me to handle earlier. I was planning on making some major changes but I didn't know what the client wants to happen. Could I possibly meet with them sometime this week?"
"I'll have Mrs. Steadwick set up an appointment for you," Drew nodded his head at him.
"Thanks," Drew said to him politely. Then he faced Clint and made some meaningless conversation with him. The waiter returned with their wine and they ordered some food. Throughout the dinner, Drew couldn't help but notice that Fiona and Nick hardly talked.
"How was the date?" Shawn asked drew as drew closed the door behind him. Shawn was watching a magazine show on television. He shut it off and watched his friend take off his coat and hang it on the rack.
"Weird," Drew replied to him slowly. He went to the fridge and got himself a can of soda and sat down on the dining table. Shawn stood up and sat down opposite him.
"In a good way or a bad way?" Shawn asked him as he raised an eyebrow at him.
"Dinner was weird, okay?" Drew smiled at him in amusement. "My date's sister showed up in the restaurant with her fiancee which happened to be my boss."
"That's not so weird," Shawn said slowly.
"They hardly talked to each other during the night," Drew explained to him. "I don't know if it's just me but I got the feeling that they're a little cold towards each other."
"As oppose to you and your date?" Shawn laughed out at his own joke. "What were the two of you doing?"
"Tell me again why I agreed to be your roommate?" Drew said to him sarcastically. "I'm starting to miss being alone in my old apartment."
"You know you can't say no to this face," Shawn laughed at him softly. Then he fell silent and looked at him seriously. "Thank you for being so understanding of my situation."
"I told you I'm here for you," Drew said to him softly. "Even though we haven't seen each other for years now, you're still my best friend right?"
"I remembered being your boyfriend too at the same time, right?" Shawn said to him with a laugh. "I know you didn't mind whenever I had my tongue down your throat. That's not the usual things best friends do, right?"
"You know Shawn," Drew looked at his friend and sighed out deeply. "I've always wondered what would have happened if we went to the same college and decided not to break up."
"I would have gotten the courage to come out to my parents much sooner for one thing," Shawn said in almost a whisper. "My dad would have disowned me years ago."
"Shawn," Drew reached over and grabbed his friend's hand and squeezed it. "Give him some time."
"My brother told me that he burned all my photos in the house," Shawn said as he looked out the window and pulled his hands back. "I wish he was more understanding like your father."
"My parents weren't that happy when I told them I was gay," Drew sighed out deeply. "My dad didn't even speak to me for months after I came out. Then one day, I got a call from him telling me to visit them. I know you'll get a call from your father one of these days and we'll drive up to Dayton and relive old times."
"Relive old times?" Shawn faced him and gave him a meaningful look.
"That's not exactly the best choice of words, huh?" Drew said as he laughed softly.
"Drew," Shawn gave him a smile. "Thanks for everything you did. I didn't really know whom else to turn to. I just had to get far away from Dayton as possible and give my family my time to accept me for me."
"So?" Rinoa looked at Drew quizzically. She was stirring her coffee the following day as drew was reading the morning paper. Gerald was sitting there, eating some donuts and drinking coffee. "How did the date go?"
"Date?" Gerald looked at the two quizzically. "What date?"
"Rinoa here set me up on a blind date," Drew said to him wryly. Then he faced Rinoa. "That reminds me. What possessed you to set me up with Nick's fiancee's brother of all people?"
"You're date last night was Clint Dupree?" Gerald's jaws dropped in shock. "You're gay?"
"Gerald!" Rinoa hissed at him.
"Sorry Drew but I didn't suspect that you're gay," Gerald said as he blushed at his reaction. "Not that I think there's anything wrong with being gay."
"What's wrong with Clint?" Rinoa faced Drew and ignored Gerald's rambling. "He's handsome, he's rich, he's a very nice guy. Did I mention him being handsome? And let's not forget him being gorgeous."
"You'd think he'll have a boyfriend by now," Drew said to her thoughtfully.
"Maybe he's too absorbed in his work like you," Rinoa shrugged her shoulders. "I know that he was kind of dating someone from another office some months ago but they lasted only a few weeks."
"Nick and Fiona showed up during dinner," Drew blurted out absent-mindedly.
"What?!" Rinoa and Gerald both said at the same time.
"A little louder guys," Drew said sarcastically. "They didn't hear you at the first floor lobby."
"They're a little weird, huh?" Gerald said to Drew slowly.
"Thank you!" Drew said to him as he looked at him keenly. "I thought it was just me when they didn't come off as the happily engaged couple last night."
"Nick's not that happy being engaged with Fiona," Rinoa said slowly. "Someone told me that their parents got them engaged and when he found out, it was too late. The Dupree's are very close to the Greene's and I think that Nick doesn't want to make them look foolish."
"Why then are they going out on dates?" Drew asked her quizzically. "Okay, I understand the fact that he got engaged against his will but he could have said no to dinner last night."
"Fiona handles her family's businesses' marketing campaigns," Gerald said to him. "Guess who handles their accounts?"
"Genesis," Drew said slowly.
"Right," Rinoa nodded her head. "Fiona attends some of the office parties. And to be honest, I like her. She's very nice. Nick shouldn't have a problem being engaged to her."
"Maybe he's doing it to spite his mother," Gerald said to them.
"I'm going to where?!" Drew looked at Nick in disbelief. He was called to Nick's office later that day and Nick told him that he was flying to Boston tomorrow.
"I'm meeting some really big clients and I want my VP there with me," Nick smiled at Drew.
"About that VP thing, I---" Drew sighed out as he slumped back on his seat.
"You're not going to say no, are you?" Nick leaned forward and looked at him keenly.
"Why don't you let me work on a few accounts and if after seeing my job you'll still offer me the job, I'll say yes," Drew said to him slowly. "I just don't want to get into something I absolutely have no idea about."
"Deal," Nick nodded his head. "Though now more than ever, I ant you to be a part of my team. And you're still coming with me to Boston. The Murray account you told me about are one of the few things I'm going to be working on there. Their head office is at Boston."
"Besides," Nick gave Drew a huge grin. "I think that you could drive from Boston to Dayton, right? I'm sure your parents would be happy if you drop by unexpectedly just to say hello."
"You always have to have your way, huh?" Drew smiled at Nick after he nodded his head.
"Not always," Nick laughed out. "I'll have my secretary book a couple of hotel rooms for us until Sunday and I'll even rent us a car for you to use to drive to Dayton."
"Thanks," Drew said slowly as he stood up.
"By the way," Nick said to him slowly. "Rose told me that you'll be having dinner with us tonight?"
"Us?" Drew's eyebrows met. Helen asked him over for dinner later tonight at her place.
"My older sister is in town with her husband and baby," Nick nodded his head at him. "My mom insisted on having a family thing tonight."
"Ohhhh," Drew was taken aback by what he said. "I thought she wanted me to talk about business."
"I'll let you in on a secret so you won't shocked tonight," Nick's eyes twinkled or at least Drew thought so. "Sarah is going to ask you to be a godfather to her child."
************* to be continued *************
Email me at: sliders21@iname.com All comments are welcome.