Chapter 13

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Chris left late that night, leaving me feeling more confused than ever. I wasn't sure whether it was almost a goodbye or the start. I already knew that he would call Scott and I would be receiving a scolding call from him at any moment. Instead of waiting in anticipation, I decided that getting in the shower and trying to wash of this weird feeling that had come over me. Each kiss from Chris still made me dizzy, and I don't think that will ever change. It felt good to be vulnerable with him again but at the same time it scared the shit out of me.

Stepping into the shower was the best momentarily relief I had felt in a while. The hot water trickling over me provided an almost safety blanket. I didn't have to think about anything at all in here, my mind was free to be completely blank. Once I'd gotten out the rest of the bathroom was thick with steam, the mirror dripping from condensation. I took the corner of my towel and quickly wiped the mirror before wrapping it around me. After leaving the bathroom, I checked my phone which sat on the kitchen counter. And as I'd predicted I had 2 missed calls from Scott, a missed call and a text from Chris. He'd texted just to say that he was about to board and that he would call me after he had landed. I decided that instead of replying to either of them I would go to bed and deal with it in the morning.

After a lot of tossing and turning, unable to sleep. I grabbed my phone from the corner of my room and began calling that one person I'd avoided thinking about.

"Hey" Chris picked up after a few short rings, I presumed that what happened earlier was also playing on his mind.

"Hi" I replied softly.

"Can't sleep?" He questioned. I shook my head forgetting that he can't see me, making me giggle at myself.

"No, what about you?"

"Nope" He responded, "I can't stop thinking about before" those words made my heart skip a beat.

"Me either" I answered honestly.

"I know what I want, but I know that you need time. So I'm ready when you are" I don't know if it was the lack of my sleep making me emotional or perhaps I was close to my period, but those were the words made my eyes tear up slightly. I didn't realise how much I needed him to say those words.

"Thank you" I replied genuinely, "I should get some sleep"

"Goodnight"

"Goodnight" I whispered back before hanging up. A sense of relief washed over me. I am not ready. Not one single bit. Those words granted me the ability to sleep without my thoughts screaming.

~

A couple of days later I received a text from Aaron, asking if I wanted to go out for dinner with him that night. This will be good for me, I thought to myself. I definitely needed some form of normality in the dating world, because whatever was going on with Chris was far from it. We decided to remain friends, he was beginning to film the new avengers movie he told me it was called infinity war. Anyway that also meant that Sebastian will also be away filming, so there's less chaos coming from him, and I don't have to hear any input in my love life from him. But I will definitely miss them both.

I spent majority of the morning and start of the afternoon at The Rose Room selling my photos. Turns out people kinda like them. I've only had a couple of sales so far but that's much better than I expected. Jess and I had a staff meeting where we were begging to think about interviewing another manager to manage this place while we couldn't, Ryan and his band would continue to play and I would join them a lot of the time. Me and Jess had gained a lot more business than we had expected, which meant we were more busy than expected.

After spending majority of the day at The Rose Room I took the opportunity to walk back to my apartment, enjoying the summer haze over New York. Once I'd reached my apartment building the sky was beginning to turn a glowing orangey-pink. I didn't have much time to get ready before I was due to meet Aaron at this place he raved about. I just about had time to get in the shower and throw on a copper coloured silk slip dress which finished just below my knee, I paired it with some white chunky trainers, not wanting to be too overdressed. I finished the look off with my usual stacked gold jewellery before grabbing a white shoulder bag and heading out the door to meet him.

A tall, toned frame stood in front of the entrance to a small café/bar place. I noticed it was Aaron as he began to walk toward me. He looked good. Very, very good, in a tight-fitted black t-shirt and black jeans. His blonde hair hung shaggily over his forehead.

"Hey. You look gorgeous" he greeted, pulling me in for a tight hug.

"Hi" I smiled up at him, "Thank you. You okay?"

"I'm good" He flashed a beautiful grin down at me before taking my hand and guiding me into the café. As soon as we entered, I noticed the rows and rows of vinyl records stacked on the walls. Luminous signs hung on the walls, creating a red glow across the room. Soft music played in the background, disguised by the low hum of chatter coming from the back. His hand still holding mine, Aaron led me through the rows and rows of vinyl's to the back of the room where numerous wooden tables with multiple patterns scattered across the wood. It was amazing. Over in the corner stood a small platform with a microphone and a guitar, tapestries hung behind it. "This is my favourite place" he smiled.

"I can see why, I love it" I grinned back at him in amazement.

"What can I get you to drink?" he questioned as I took a seat at a table in the corner.

"Surprise me"

A few minutes later he came back over with a tray holding beer bottles and a couple baskets of food. "This place does the best fries in the world!" he exclaimed, using his hands to gesture how amazing they were. He then picked up a fry and fed it to me, waiting to see my reaction. I managed to let out a moan to show how good they were which seemed to satisfy him. The rest of the night went pretty smoothly, we tended to enjoy each others company and it felt nice to laugh with him. We discussed our favourite musicians, he tried to convince me that The Kooks were nowhere as near as good as Jimmy Eat World, no way. He insisted on paying as he chose the destination, and he walked me back to my apartment. We lingered on the steps of my apartment building for a while, not wanting to leave each other just yet. When it finally got too late for either of us, he pressed a soft goodbye kiss to my lips before leaving.

I unlocked my apartment door feeling pretty happy. It felt good. I sent a quick text to Jess :

Liv - breakfast?

Jessy - I'll be over at 9

~ this chapter is just a bit of a filler. more exciting things coming soon.....~

When we were young | Chris EvansWhere stories live. Discover now