Inevitable

Tyler coughed and spit out some of his Iced Tea. He caught his breath again and slouched back in his seat. Nazem's eyes had turned to Bozie, but he was still thinking about what Matt just said.

He quickly blinked out of it and replied with, "Lying to you guys about what?"

"Oh, you know." Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "I can't believe you would keep something like this from me this whole time, I thought friends told each other everything."

James, Phil and Tyler looked nervous while Joffrey and Dion were confused. That's when Nazem knew he wasn't just dreaming, and that Matt really did say that.

"I.." Naz breathed, not taking his eyes off Matt.

"I let you guys meet Kaitlynn, so now we get to meet Kathryn." Matt chuckled. "I can sense that you're still seeing her."

Nazem's dry mouth finally got the safe chance to close. He let out a silent sigh of relief, and smiled back cautiously at Matt. But now there was another problem.

"I haven't seen her since that night, I don't even have her number." Naz shrugged casually.

"C'mon, you can admit it to us..." Matt smirked.

Nazem swallowed hard and glanced at Tyler. Bozie's elbow was on the sofa pillow and his fingers were on his right temple, massaging it, trying to release the stress that had just formed.

"Woah," Dion sat back. "That could only mean that you broke the rules, right?"

Problem after problem, after problem. Nazem didn't know how to reply anymore because they were stubborn and wouldn't believe him, anyway.

"Oh yeah!" Joffrey laughed. They suddenly remembered that the major rule was to not see the girl again.

"I literally haven't seen her since the one-night stand.." Nazem groaned. He was instantly mad because his teammates had forgotten that it was Kaitlynn. It had been almost two weeks and they once knew it was her, but by the looks of it, they forgot.

"What's the punishment?" Dion grinned and faced Tyler, who just kept his eyes on the coffee table.

"Uh.." Ty exhaled. "I never made a punishment because this has never happened before." he added honestly, while staring at Nazem now.

"She should come to McFlannigan's tomorrow night," Matt ignored them. "We could meet her there."

"Hey, no chicks allowed at our table." Tyler reminded him. It was always just them, if not, other players on the team as well.

"Just this time?" Matt asked. "We'll leave Dare Or Dare for another time when it's just us. She and Kate can become friends, too."

Nazem closed his eyes, hoping for this conversation to end. Hoping for all of them to wake up and forget about going to the bar after the game against the Senators. Joffrey's phone vibrated, and he glanced at it before sighing.

"I gotta go, guys." Joff stood up.

"So, are we meeting her tomorrow?" Phil got up as well and zipped his sweater.

"I guess so.." Nazem finally exhaled. He knew just how much more complicated things were going to get. What he didn't know was who would be willing to act as Kathryn for a night.

"Atta boy," Matt winked.

Everyone headed for the door and said their goodbyes, before hopping in their cars. Tyler sighed heavily and pulled out of the driveway, behind Phil's car. Dion, James and Joffrey went in the other direction. Nazem drove out as well, but wasn't driving home yet.

He took the familiar route and soon saw himself in Kaitlynn's street. He parked in the visitor's spot and went inside the apartment.

He took the elevator up to her floor and walked up to her room. He sighed and knocked. There was going to be a huge misunderstanding and an issue at the bar. He needed to tell Kate.

She opened the door, but it wasn't the girl he was cheating with. This one had black hair and the same shining green eyes he met at McFlannigan's. He suddenly remembered that this was the sister Kate had mentioned. She looked much more familiar, though.

"Yes?" Claire raised a curious eyebrow.

"Um, hey, I'm Nazem." he introduced himself awkwardly.

"Oh, right, come in!" she stepped aside. He entered and she led him to the living room.

"Kaitlynn's taking a shower," Claire explained. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good, thanks." he smiled nicely. She sat on the couch across from him in the quiet. He moved his eyes around the room, remembering the memories this place held. He had grown very close to it since he was here more often than he should be.

Something about Claire was swirling in his mind. He thought back to Tyler's party when he saw a girl with the same black hair wink at him, and it was hard to remember. It wasn't a seductive wink, it was just a simple 'I know' wink, which made him question it.

A couple minutes later, Kaitlynn came walking down the stairs with a towel in her hands, as she messed her wet hair with it. She stopped and smiled once she saw Nazem.

"Hey Kate," Naz nodded slightly.

"Hey," she sat beside him on the couch and kissed his cheek. "What's going on?"

"There's been a sudden problem.." he licked his lips.

"What kind of problem?" she glanced at Claire.

"Well.." Nazem began. "Matt thinks I'm dating the girl I slept with, from the bar."

"Oh my god, did you cover up?" Kate asked quickly.

"They want to meet her at McFlannigan's tomorrow," Nazem sighed. "Kathryn."

"Shit." Kaitlynn cupped her face in her hands.

"On top of all that? You're coming too." Nazem sat back against the couch and stared at the ground.

"Wait, as in.. I'm supposed to meet.. me?"

"Matt wants you there, I'm sure he'll call to tell you." Naz swallowed. "I don't know what to do, they wouldn't take no for an answer."

"How the fuck are you gonna find someone that will play along?" Kate said, frustrated.

"We're going as soon as we come back from Ottawa tomorrow." Nazem bit his bottom lip. "I can't trust anyone to pretend to be Kathryn because they might screw me over."

All three of them sat in silence, trying to process the situation. It suddenly hit Kaitlynn. Her eyes lifted up to Claire's. Nazem caught her attention as well and they both stared at her.

"No." Claire shook her head. "No, no, no. No way in hell."

"Please!" Kate begged.

"She hasn't met Matt yet?" Nazem asked.

"Not yet,"

"I'm not getting involved in this mess!" she crossed her arms.

"I do everything for you," Kaitlynn tried to convince her. "Please, I will never ask for anything ever again."

Nazem eyed them both nervously, praying that Claire would say yes. She was their last hope.

Claire stared at the coffee table and then up at her sister. She then looked at Nazem who didn't blink once. She sighed loudly and thought twice about her next word.

"Fine.." Claire murmured.

"Yes!" Naz threw his hands up. "Let's make the plan."

They all leaned in so that they were closer to the table, listening to each other's ideas. Kaitlynn and Nazem already had a plan to worry about, but now something else had come up. Nazem also was under the rules of the dare, so he had three plans to concentrate on. It was a task that had to be accomplished in order for everything to work.

Kate came back from the kitchen with a small notebook, and she sat back down beside Nazem, and their arms touched.

"So, we'll start with Matt picking me up." she wrote some points down. "Then, you and Cl--Kathryn arrive together."

"We sit next to each other," Naz glanced at Claire. "While Kate and Matt do the same."

Kaitlynn jotted something else in the notebook quickly and said, "Drinks are ordered and we talk and laugh and what not, as everyone begins asking questions, including me."

"Someone will eventually ask how we met," Naz swallowed. He couldn't tell them that it was all part of Tyler's game. That would be breaking the rules and he figured Kate would be furious. That's the last thing he needed right now while being under so much stress.

"Kathryn will say you guys met at this bar and you've been together for a couple weeks now," Kate made some arrows and scribbled a word out, and added another one.

"Okay," Claire nodded in agreement. "What next?"

"Talk about your career," Naz said. "When you do, one of them--probably Joffrey, will be impressed."

"And then we'll just chat normally after a bit, me and you will bond and become friends." Kate winked at her sister.

They discussed it some more, Kaitlynn made a note of everything so they would remember and it would all work out according to the plan.

Nazem was more nervous than he'd ever been. Not about the current plan, but he was scared one of his teammates would mention Dare or Dare. It was something only they played, and no girl had ever known Tyler's game and its plans, but he hoped no one would get drunk enough to do it around Kaitlynn.

"Okay, it's all set." Kate put the pen down near the notebook. They all stared at it for a moment. Nazem inhaled and stood up, along with Kate and Claire, as they walked to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Naz leaned in and kissed Kate gently. She smiled up at him and nodded, without a word.

"Kathryn," he bowed his head in Claire's direction, grinning.

"Bye," she laughed. Nazem stepped out into the hall and looked back as Claire closed the door. She winked at him knowingly before it closed shut.

The same sneaky wink.