A Collection of Short Stories

3

After that conversation, Shelby and I have been getting closer everyday. We text almost constantly when she's not working. I found out that she works from home, which is good news for me. Well, not entirely, but I do online school so I'm always home. When she told me she works from home I told her about school since she asked if I work.

She told me I could come over whenever I wanted if I want to just get out the house. I jumped at the opportunity because anything other than these walls seems appealing. So we set up for me to come over in the morning or early afternoon. Even though she'd be working she said she could still talk.

Besides, I also have school work so we could just work together. I woke up around 9 and texted her asking when I could come over. She said to come whenever I finished getting ready and that she'd leave the door unlocked. So I did my morning routine, getting dressed, and headed over.

With my laptop bag on my shoulder and my needed materials I opened the door. Her house is gorgeous, I can't believe she lives here alone. It's like a complete family house, I imagine there's like 4-5 rooms. I walk further in and look around in awe before I remember why I came.

"Shelby" I call out for her, "in here, honey" she says back. I smile a little at the pet name and head towards the sound of her voice. I push open the door that was slightly ajar, the hinges creak and I grimace. I catch sight of her sitting at a glass desk, facing the door.

She lifts her head and grins, "come on in. I have a seat for you right here" she says. She gets up and pulls over a rolling chair to the front of the desk. I sit facing her and open my things, turning on my laptop. "So... how'd you sleep?" She asks, "pretty good. You?" I counter and she waves her hand in a so-so motion.

"Not to be that guy but uh... do all your doors squeak like that?" I ask and she blushes a bit embarrassed. "Yeah... I haven't exactly been focused on calling a repairman to fix it" she admits. "No need. You can just get some WD-40 for it. Maybe loosen the hinges... they're probably just tight" I say.

Typing away on my laptop, logging in and squinting at the number of assignments. "Some what?" She asks confused, I look up at her and giggle. "You can get it at Home Depot or any hardware shop actually. It's like lubricant for joints" I explain. "C-could you come with me?" She asks, "of course" I state.

She smiles and looks down at her computer starting to work on something. I sigh and click on my first assignment, hammering out a few before she spoke up. "It's my lunch break now..." she informs me. "Oh ok. You wanna get something to eat?" I ask and she shakes her head, "we could go to the store and talk. I have an hour" she says.

"Sounds good to me" I say closing my notebook and standing up. She gets up and leads me out to the door, grabbing her keys and locking the door behind us. The drive there was mostly just humming and singing along to songs on the radio. I gave her directions to the nearest hardware store, Home Depot, and we arrived safely.

Getting out and laughing the entire walk up. Once she entered I closed my eyes and sighed happily. "What?" She asked, looking at me like I was just a little crazy. "I just love the smell in here... reminds me of my childhood" I say. She furrows her eyebrows as she follows me through the store.

"I used to come here all the time with my grandpa. He's the one who taught me to be handy around the house. We don't really do much together anymore, so it's nice to be reminded" I explain. We get to the section and I pull out the can, holding it up to her. "That looks like something you use to kill wasps" she remarks, "I mean... also effective" I chuckle.

She shakes her head and we start going back up. She grabs my hand really quickly and tightly making me turn towards her. "Sorry" she says once she realizes and in then pulls her hand away, "it's ok" I assure her. "Can we look at some paints? I was thinking of a different color for the house" she explains.

"Sure" I reply and she smiles, staring and me and I just stare back and her. "Well I don't know where I'm going..." she starts, "right! This way" I chuckle. She laughs and walks beside me towards the paints. I reach out cautiously for her hand and when they brush she immediately takes hold of mine.

I turn to her and smile and she grins before turning back. We make it to the paint section and talk about which colors would be best. "Hi! I noticed you were looking for a few things... need any help?" A male voice drifts to my ears. I turn to see a middle-aged man with a scruffy salt and pepper beard standing there.

His hands behind his back as he rocks softly back and forth waiting for an answer. "I think we're good" I say with a smile, "well I'm Pedro. If you need anything, just shout. I'll be over there" he points to a desk in the middle. "Sure thing" I reply, he starts to walk away but turns around.

"By the way... I just wanted to say you guys look very cute together. I saw you as I was helping another customer and you guys look very happy. I swear I'm not a creep, I just think what you guys have is beautiful. A real inspiration" he rambles with a smile reaching his eyes.

"Oh we're n-" "thank you so much" Shelby interrupts and I turn to look at her. She looks away from the man and turns her attention back to the paints. Once he's out of earshot I contemplate asking her about it, but decide against it. We ended up getting a few buckets of paint and checking out with Pedro.

He got us a cart from the back so we could carry everything out. "Have a wonderful day, young ladies" he exclaimed as we walked away. "You too" I call back to him, trying to leve the store as quickly as possible. It's not his fault. I just don't know what to make of it. It's probably not even a big deal. I guess I'll learn soon enough.