Stories Based On Taylor Swift Songs

EVERMORE: 137. Gold Rush

137. Gold Rush (1/14/21)

Anabella was walking down her apartment steps on Saturday morning to pick up her mail from the night before. She had worked late on Friday, and then went out dancing with her friends, so she hadn't had time to pick up her mail.

When she reached the lobby, she couldn't help but stop at the bottom of the steps and stare at the gorgeous man standing near the mailboxes. He was tall, with dark skin and hair that reminded her of hot chocolate. She couldn't see his eyes, but she imagined them to be a light brown color, with specks of gold around the iris. The man was digging through his mailbox, and when he was finished, looked up and smiled at her. Anabella felt her heart melt inside her chest. His eyes were brown with gold flecks around the iris, just like she thought. And his smile was just as wide. He raised a hand to wave her.

"Hey," he called, and Anabella felt rooted to her spot like a tree. "You're the girl in apartment A3, right?"

She must've nodded, although she couldn't process the action. The man was still staring at her with those gorgeous eyes and contagious smile.

"I'm your new neighbor," he said, clutching his mail and packages under his arm. "I'm Leo, by the way. See you around."

Anabella watched as Leo bounded up the steps. If she thought hard enough, she could remember him telling her that they were now neighbors. The possibility of seeing this handsome stranger was high, but Anabella didn't want to get ahead of herself. She had a habit of overthinking things. While Leo's smile was friendly, maybe he was just a nice guy. It wasn't like he thought she was cute or anything.

Even though a voice in her head was telling her not to daydream, Anabella found herself drifting off into different thoughts and scenarios. They all involved Leo.

The first one was the most realistic. She would turn around, grab her mail out of the mailbox, and return to her apartment. If she was lucky, she would see Leo again, but she wouldn't seek him out. In the next daydream, Anabella grabbed her mail and went up the steps, knocking on Leo's apartment door until he answered and led her inside. They would talk for a while, and the most that would happen is that they would part as acquaintances, or even friends. Anabella knew she had to think harder if she wanted the outcome she desired.

She couldn't help but lean against the metal mailboxes and dream. The lobby was empty, save for her, so she did not have to worry about lingering eyes or concerned looks. The metal handles on the individual mailboxes dug into her back, but she ignored them. She was too busy thinking about Leo and the life they could possibly have together.

Realistically, Anabella would be the one to make the first move, but she painted a picture where Leo asked her out. They would go out to eat or see a new movie. She would want to see the movie first, so they could talk about the actors and the ridiculous CGI over cheeseburgers and fries. They would share a desert. He was partial to the brownie, so Anabella scooped up the vanilla ice cream for herself. She had no idea if any of this was true, but she was already too far gone.

That night, they would return to his apartment. They could've retreated to her apartment, but his was closest to the front door of the lobby. After dinner, their bodies were warm and itching to be near each other. They couldn't wait any longer; they would race up the steps, Leo would force the key into the lock, and they would tumble onto his bed. Somehow, Anabella's t-shirt would land on the doorknob, telling anyone nearby to stay out.

Anabella could practically feel Leo's body next to her, and it wasn't just because of the metal knobs digging into her back. She pictured him running his fingers through her hair before laying her down on the bed and showering her in kisses. Anabella had never been with a man who treated her like royalty. Her night with Leo would be one for the books. They wouldn't wake up until late the next morning, where they would argue over which pancake recipe to use. Anabella was lazy and liked to use the instructions on the Bisquick box, but Leo had a homemade recipe from his grandmother. All the little details hobbled together in her brain until she didn't know what was real and what was fiction.

They would attend dinner parties together because Leo was an English professor. Others would find his sophisticated taste too high-brow, but Anabella found it charming. Still, even she couldn't help but make fun of the books he liked or the way he used fancy words in normal conversations. Over flutes of champagne and escargot, Anabella would tease Leo about his tastes in literature, and the whole table would laugh along with her. She could picture Leo blushing with a small smile on his face.

Even though her heart hurt, Anabella dared herself to conjure up one more daydream. For spring break, her and Leo would drive up the cost and spend the week in a small town in Maine. As they walked the streets and beaches, older couples would coo over them, saying things like, "You two make an adorable couple," and "Do I hear wedding bells?" By the time they left, everyone in town would know about them, giving them the moniker of "the cutest couple ever." Anabella couldn't help but smile at the idea.

But then the lobby door was thrown open, waking Anabella up from her dreams. Leo was nowhere to be found. Some girl had just walked inside and gave Anabella a grin before walking up the steps and knocking on Leo's door. Anabella had been too late; as she was daydreaming, Leo had found himself another girl.

They would never see that cheesy action movie and make fun of it over dinner. They would never return to his apartment in a fit of passion, shedding their clothes off like snakeskin so they could be next to each other. Her t-shirt would never hang from the doorknob. Leo wasn't even an English professor, and she would never tease him about his sophisticated taste in literature or his variety of vocabulary. And the small town in Maine she had just been thinking about didn't even exist. She and Leo would never visit it for spring break. The old couples would never meet them.

Anabella sighed and grabbed her mail from her mailbox. As she returned to her apartment, she tried to ignore the girl standing in front of Leo's door. But once she was safely tucked away in her own apartment, she let the tears fall down her face.