8:22 PM
“How many times have you been in love.”
He looked up from folding a pink and gray striped polo shirt, “That’s a bold question.”
She smiled, “I'm in a bold mood.”
“Let’s see.” He pondered, “Every time.”
“Every time?”
He nodded, “Honestly.”
She nodded slowly, sitting on her hands, “Wow.”
“It’s not something I’m proud of,” he said, “I don't know why
I fall so easy. What about you?”
She paused for a moment, “Never.”
“Never?”
She nodded.
“That has to be impossible.”
“It isn’t.” she laughed, “I swear.”
“You’ve never been in love?”
She shook her head.
He just stared at her, “I really can't believe that.”
She smiled and shrugged her bare shoulders, sipping her third Diet Coke of the night.
“You’ve really never been in love?”
“Never.”
“I don't believe that,” he smiled, “I really don’t.”
“Okay.” She smiled, “believe what you want.”
“Love…” he paused, “being in love is the most amazing thing in the
world.”
“You would know,” she joked lightly.
He laughed, “You wouldn’t.”
“The last guy I was with…” she paused, “I thought I really did love
him, but I think I loved the idea of loving him more.”
“It happens.”
“I almost married him.”
“You did?”
She nodded, “Yeah. I broke up with him a month before the wedding and now he’s
with this girl I went to high school with.”
“Well at least you didn’t marry him; that would have been horrible. Then we never
would have met and I would have gone on like I was before.”
She blinked, “Like you were before?”
“Since Anna I didn’t actually have, like, a real relationship with any one. I
was going through that hardcore partying phase…” he paused, “really awful. Like, trashed all the time, girls
in and out…just gross.”
“Well thank God for me, then.” She smiled, “I saved you.”
He laughed softly, “Yeah you did.”
“How will I know when my clothes are dry?”
“You open the door,” he said dramatically, “and reach in with your hand.”
She smiled, “Oh.”
“You should check on them; they’ve been in for a while.”
She hopped off the washing machine and crouched down next to the dryer. She popped the door
open, “Dry. You're clairvoyant.”
He laughed, “I know.”
She began folding random articles of clothing; a mix of underwear and actual articles of clothing.
She wouldn’t deny that she saw him inconspicuously looking at what she was folding. She cracked a small smile as she
folded a Cosabella thong.
He saw her smiling and laughed softly, “Is this your last load?”
“Thank God, yes.” She smiled, “Did you rent a DVD?”
He laughed, “I did; I think I got The Aviator, if you like Leo, and Garden State, if
you're like me and you like Natalie. Your pick.”
“Garden State.” She said, “Hands down.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said. He folded another polo shirt as his eyes
wandered over to her pile of laundry. He noticed the load consisted mainly of under garments, with the exception of a few
shirts and maybe a pair of socks. He had to wonder: where does one wear so much lingerie?
“Done,” she announced victoriously after folding a peach colored lace bra. She
then started helping him fold the last of his polo shirts. “You have a lot of polo shirts.”
“I live in them,” he said, “There’s no other shirt as ingenious as
the polo.”
She laughed, “True.”
He kissed her softly, “You're so cute.”
“I am?”
He nodded, pecking her on the lips, “Yeah.”
“What are we going to do now?” She asked, completing the folding of her final
load of laundry.
“Go upstairs,” he said in a rich Southern drawl, “maybe open a bottle of
wine and chill out on the couch.”
She smiled, “That sounds amazing.”
The next morning
Aubrey’s eyes popped open when faint daylight activated her brain. She inhaled a sharp
breath and looked around. His room was painted a deep, dark chocolate color with white lacquered furniture and heavy brown
velvet drapes.
She tossed her hand over the side of the bed and winced; floor. White cement floor. She didn’t
remember his bed being so low to the ground. Disheveled, she rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom.
If the bathroom was clean, he was a keeper. She peed then squirted tooth paste on her finger
then swished it around her mouth. She looked around; clean sink, clean shower. Clean. He got a checkmark.
She spit, rinsed her mouth out and made herself look presentable, not that she really cared.
She pulled her hair back into a loose and low ponytail, wiping off any excess make up around her eyes. She turned off the
bathroom light and walked the short distance out of the bedroom into the kitchen.
“Hi.” She yawned.
He smiled over his shoulder at her, “Hey. You sleep okay?”
She nodded; in fact, she’d slept amazing, despite how low the bed was to the ground.
Nonetheless she felt energized and awake; she felt good. “Yes. Amazing.”
He smiled, satisfied, “Are you hungry?”
She sat down at the small kitchen table and nodded, “Yes. Starving.”
“Good,” he said, “I attempted to cook pancakes, pretty much the only thing
I can make, so…”
She smiled, “I’m really impressed, you know.”
“With what?”
“Your bathroom. It’s spotless.”
He laughed, “Thank you. That is so awkward, but I am so honored.”
She smiled.
“A clean bathroom is important to you, huh?”
She nodded, “As it should be to every woman. Cleanliness is second to godliness.”
He laughed, “Right you are. Okay, here.”
He placed a plate of blueberry pancakes down in front of her, syrup slathered all over them.
She cut a piece and chewed thoughtfully, “Oh, these are delicious.”
He smiled, sitting down across from her, “Ooh, they are.”
She giggled, “Coffee?”
“I’ll get it,” he said, jumping up. “Cream and sugar?”
“Please.” She said. “It’s not raining?”
He laughed, “Surprisingly, no.”
“I don't recall you having a dog,” she said, looking over in the corner at the
huge rotweiler taking a nap.
“He’s a freak, that dog.” He said, “He only comes out for food.”
“He’s cute.”
“He weighs a hundred and thirty pounds.” He said, stirring cream and sugar into
her coffee, then sitting back down after placing it in front of her.
She laughed, “Your dog and I do not weigh the same.”
“Do you want a scale by scale comparison, Aubsy?” He laughed, “You have
a lot of nicknames?”
“More than I care to answer to.” She said, “Aubsy is cute.”
“It’s juvenile.” He said, “I just like Aubrey. Plain and simple. Maybe
if I'm feeling creative later I’ll come up with one for you, but just Aubrey is too good to be tampered with.”
She smiled, “You are the first person who has ever said that to me. Thank you.”
He grinned, “One of my ex girlfriends used to call me JuJu.”
“That’s hideous.”
“Pretty much,” he said. “Oh my God do you know we drank a bottle and a half
of wine between the both of us?”
She laughed, “No…are you serious?”
“Yeah.” he said, “I don’t think we were drunk, though.”
“Well, yeah, because we ate all that pizza then we came back up here and had…what
was it? Rum cake?”
He laughed, “Yes, rum cake.”
“That was delicious.” She said, “I could probably eat that entire cake by
myself.”
He chuckled, “That’s kind of hot.”
“Do you want to do something tonight?” She said randomly.
“I thought you were having dinner with your parents?”
“They're not going anywhere.” She replied, “I can have dinner with them
some other time.”
“If you want to, I’m up for it.” he said, “What are you in the mood
for?”
“Dinner.” She said, “Maybe just dinner or something.”
“Okay.” He nodded slowly, “You wanna go to Bluefish?”
“Sure,” she said, “I’ve been wanting to go there.”
He nodded, “Me too. I heard it’s really good.”
“I love this apartment,” she said, “It’s really indie.”
He laughed, “That’s what I was going for.”
“My favorite part about this place though is the bedroom,” she said, “The
brown walls are crazy.”
“I know.” He replied smugly, concentrating on eating his pancakes, “You
wanna go on a walk with me? I gotta walk my animal.”
She smiled, “I have to take a shower.”
“Take one in my clean bathroom,” he smiled, “you know I’m like a total
gentleman.”
She giggled, “It’s a shame you are.”
He laughed, “Mmm, feisty?”
She ate three more bites of her pancakes, kissed him on the lips then pranced back to the
bathroom for a shower. Justin put the dishes in the sink with no intention of washing them then sat down on the couch. He
ran his hands over his face and yawned.
No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop thinking about how crazy he was about Aubrey
Roehm.
Settled
