First Signs of Love ⇾ C. Evans ✓

045 ⇾ insincere apologies & forlorn expressions

"Naomi!"

As soon as Naomi stumbled into her apartment that night with her heels in her left hand and her clutch in her right, the three girls who had been camping out in her apartment rushed to the door almost immediately to usher their friend in.

Once Naomi got herself changed into her favorite pair of pyjamas, all four girls immediately took their seats in the living room and buried themselves under an abundance of blankets and pillows before prodding at Naomi to spill the beans on tonight's events.

"She did what?" Jen asked incredulously, her mouth now hung agape after Naomi had filled them in on what went down tonight at the restaurant.

"You're telling me," said Brie, whose mouth was full of popcorn, "that Mackenzie Haywood actually said the words 'i'm sorry' to both you and Chris?"

Naomi nodded in response before adding, "And Ben. She apologized to all three of us."

"Wow," Emma muttered under her breath, her voice laced with shock as she earned a soft chuckle from Naomi.

"Did she say anything else?" Brie quizzed, quirking an eyebrow at her friend who was sat diagonally across from her.

Naomi shook her head in response before shoving a handful of salted popcorn into her mouth. Jen, Brie and Emma still had a look of nothing but beffudlement on their faces as they continued to glance at one another back and forth.

"But I don't think I'm buying this apology thing, to be honest," Naomi piped up after some time.

This remark caught the attention of her three best friends and within an instant, they were all shuffling a little closer to Naomi, prompting for her to go on and elaborate a little on what she had just confessed.

"I mean, even before she pulled a chair over to mine and Ben's table, she was already looking out the window as though she was expecting for the paps to be there. And I think Ben noticed this, too. I'm not sure about Chris though. . ." Naomi explained, her thumbs now fiddling with the hem of the throw pillow in her lap. "And as soon as she apologized, her eyes immediately darted over to the large windows---and within seconds, we could see the paps outside with their cameras!"

"Oh my, God."

"You mean to tell me she staged this whole apology thing right from the very beginning?"

"What a fucking she-devil."

Naomi merely nodded once again, her lips pursed as she tried to comprehend how someone could even be this insincere with a small and simple apology. While Jen, Emma and Brie were talking among themselves and sharing their opinions, Naomi was pulled out of her daze when her phone let out a soft ding! next to her.

From: Ben

naomi, i'm so sorry tonight didn't go as planned. i'd initially wanted tonight to go as smoothly as possible, seeing as it would be the last time i'd see you before your flight to georgia. i want to make it up to you for tonight since it wasn't exactly the dinner we wanted so, i was wondering if we could grab a quick brunch tomorrow but that is if you'd allow it. x

By the time Naomi got to the end of the text, a soft smile had already crept its way on to her lips. She didn't have the faintest idea as to how a person like Ben could have grazed her life in the most beautiful way possible but in that very moment, while her best friends were busy talking about Mackenzie, she felt a small swirling feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her feel a little queasy because even though Ben was such a sweetheart of a man, her mind couldn't help but drift off to a certain man she'd come to care about so deeply; Chris.