Alex had planned to take Zunnie out for dinner given that the remainder of the week had been busy. They had not eaten dinner together after he surprised her with the ring and he wanted to do something special with her.
Even though he was bummed that she was unavailable, he understood that family was important to her.
Instead of going home, Alex drove to Club Zen to see his friend Hunter. Earlier he had declined an invitation for drinks because he had planned to take Zunnie out but that did not happen. Feeling sulky, he disregarded the idea of heading back home to the empty apartment and called Hunter to inform him would be there.
The atmosphere at the upstairs bar was lively when Alex walked in. He spotted his buddies in the lounge area and strode towards them. An astonished expression in his eyes when saw Carson Maule was there amongst his friends.
"Yo Alex, thought you weren't coming what happened?" Juno Lango his good friend asked.
"Does it matter, I'm here aren't I?" He replied not wanting to mention the reason why he had declined in the first place since Carson was there.
"Ah, did you get stood up?" Juno joked then took a sip from his drink.
It was like he had been placed on this earth to see how far under Alex's skin he could get. But he was a good friend. Alex ignored his ulterior motive and replied.
"Yeah, I did so what?"
"Ha-ha relax, bro. I'm joking. Come, seat," Juno laughed and motioned for him to join the lounge area.
"It's unusual to meet you here Carson," Alex said as he took his seat.
"What can I say? I enjoy going out for fun occasionally." Carson stated with a smirk.
"Oh, is that so…" Alex replied coolly.
"Talia is here…" Carson whispered to Alex so only the two of them could hear.
"And why are you telling me this?" Alex asked unbothered by the information.
"Well, she's been staring at you the moment you walked in. I heard she's your childhood friend. Should we invite them to our area."
Alex furrowed his brow. The last person he wanted to interact with happened to be called Natalia. He had no intentions of feeding into what Carson was implying. He wondered if Carson knew about his relationship with Zunnie. Maybe there was a reason he mentioned Talia to him. He did say he had feelings for his wife and had even confessed to her in high school.
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Nothing at all. She's been gawking, so I thought you should know. It's becoming awkward for me since I'm sitting next to you and I can see her."
"People tend to stare at what they can't have," Alex mumbled but Carson heard it clearly.
"Ah is that so…"
"How come you're here. She could be gaping at you. We're only childhood friends. Don't get any misunderstandings." Alex was beginning to get annoyed.
He got up and walked to the bar without waiting for Carson to speak any further. Hunter had been helping his bartender serve drinks because his other employee was running late.
"What's up bro you look mad angry." Hunter chuckled.
"I'm gonna head out bro. Trying to avoid Talia. She's causing trouble for my wife. Don't want Zunnie to misunderstand things."
"Alright bro, I got you. Drive safe mate."
Alex was fond of Hunter because he did not ask any questions. He admits that Hunter can be an idiot like Juno, but he was more mature and knew when to draw the line.
He quickly left the bar after arriving an hour earlier to dodge any conversation that may occur with Talia.
Talia had been acting innocent when he was around but if Zunnie hadn't informed him about her. He would have defended her if someone said anything bad concerning her.
It was still early and going home to the empty condo haunted Alex. He walked back to his car thinking of seeing Zunnie.
He wondered if she would be mad if he unexpectedly showed up.
"Alex, are you leaving already?" A voice behind him disturbed his thoughts.
Alex creased his brow in annoyance then turned to face Talia.
"Yes… do you need something"
"Oh no. I'm only saying hello. Did you come alone?" She asked looking around him.
If Alex didn't know any better, he would have fallen for her lie, but he was starting to see how conniving she happened to be every time he laid eyes on her.
Therefore, he decided to play along because he was not up for entertaining her.
"Mhm…"
"Today is Tami's birthday so I came with my girlfriends to celebrate. I was on my way to the washroom when I noticed you walking out."
"Okay, have fun," Alex said and got into his car and left, ignoring Talia who stood in the same spot watching him drive away.