Still Into You

Seven

Seven





Yesterday night's party ended pretty well for me. What I meant was, the odds were in my hands. After the girls finished their talk in the kitchen, they went back to being normal - well, they were being their loud selves is their norm - and didn't tease me or pointed out to me about Logan out loud. Logan and I also didn't lock in each other's gaze again, which helped me keep myself sane for the rest of the evening.



When the last guest got out of the door, I was already in my room, changing into my pajamas. I know it was rude to not wait for the last guest to get out of the door, it was just my arm was starting to tingle in small jabs of pain. I took my medicine and crawled in bed without a second notice. People should cut me some slack, I just got out of the hospital.



The next morning, I woke up with Annette poking me in my good arm. This is one of those situations that I wish she doesn't know me too well to know that it pisses me off when someone pokes me endlessly. It was annoying as hell.



"Anne, if you keep on doing that, I might strangle you. You're just lucky I can't right now since one of my arms is casted..." I warned, slowly opening my eyes and looking at her deadly in the eyes.



"Just admit that you can't strangle me because you love me..." she said sweetly and rolled in the bed, making me move to give her some space. "So, what do you want to do today?" she asked after she settled herself in my bed.



"I don't know..." I replied, trailing off as I think of something. "How about you help me look for a new apartment?" I asked, slightly twisting myself to face her.



"Oh! I would love that..." she replied, twisting herself to face me.



After taking a bath, changing and eating breakfast, we were both out of the house before noon. Annette drive both of us to a favorable location for me to live in; somewhere that is a walking distance to my work place. Before we started to do our apartment hunting, we first stop by my favorite coffee shop that I sometimes stop by before work.



"I'll have a caramel macchiato please and one java chip for my friend." I ordered when we reach the register.



"Okay, coming right up." the girl behind the register replied with a smile.



After waiting for our drink for more or less five minutes, we headed back outside and started searching with a cup of coffee in hand. It wasn't long that we found a for rent sign outside one of the apartment buildings in a few blocks from the coffee shop.



"Hey, how about this one? It looks decent..." Annette pointed out, stopping outside a door with a footman.



"Decent? Are you kidding me? This has Paris Hilton written all over it." I hissed at her, grabbing her arm as she took a step towards the door.



"Oh come on... Maybe it's not that expensive..." Annette countered, pulling me towards the entrance.



"No. Wait. Wait. We can't just barge in..." I said frantically, trying to drag her out again yet failed. Annette might me a few inches shorter than me, but the girl got some inhuman strength in her.



She dragged me inside, pass the footman and towards a small reception area. I turn my attention around me, studying the lobby. There were two elevators located on the right side of the reception desk, where stairs are also located beside it. On the other side, there were small lockers that are mailboxes for the residence in the building. The interior was a color of cream white, which made it look spacious and serene, being that it was silent when we walked in.



"Hi. Good morning. We saw the 'for rent' sign outside and we are interested to see the place." Annette said directly, getting straight to the point. And, from the way she was acting, it sounded like she was in a hurry to see inside the apartment.



"Oh sure. I'm Tanya... So, what kind of place are you looking for?" the receptionist said and asked, standing up from her chair and grabbing a key somewhere on her desk.



"Uhm... something small would be nice... a one bedroom..." Annette stated with a smile.



"Okay. Right this way, ma'am." The receptionist said as she walked around the desk towards the elevator, and gesture her hand for us to go inside the elevator first.



"So, which one of you is looking for an apartment?" She asked when we step foot inside the empty elevator.



"That would be me..." I stated with a small smile.



"Is there anything in particular that you are looking for in an apartment?" she asked in all business mode.



"Uhm... I don't know... I like a small cozy place. That's about it." I answered plainly, smiling at my laid back reply.



"And, she loves someplace with a balcony..." Annette interjected enthusiastically, beaming at me then at the receptionist.



When we reach to a floor which accommodates our given ideals, which is on the fifth floor, we silently walked towards the first door which was located on the left side of the hallway. The place was classy and sophisticated, yet simple in a way. It had a nice carpeted floor, and good lighting. I feel like I'm going to get used to it, but I'm not going to get sucked in just yet since I didn't know the price that goes with it.



As we got inside, the receptionist got in first, I can already see the bright view that can be seen outside a huge French door that leads to a balcony. My jaw almost drop at the prefect scene in front of me. I was on the verge of shouting 'I'll take it!'



"This is so beautiful..." I stated, my eyes glue to the French door that lead to the balcony. I slowly paced towards it, not waiting for an invitation. When I finally reach the door, I didn't hesitate to turn the knob and walked outside. I took a huge gulf of air as I stepped outside.



"Don't worry. A few more minutes she will give in..." Annette whispered loud enough for me to hear.



"How much is the monthly rent?" I asked after a few moments, ignoring Annette's remark. I wouldn't deny it that I am interested with the place. From the corner of my eye, I saw Annette smirk, which I pretended not to see.



"It's around three to four thousand dollar. But, this place, my guess would be three eight..." the receptionist answered with a smile.



"That's a nice deal, Ally. I mean that's less than half of what you pay for your apartment before... and it has an elevator and footman, which is pretty classy if you ask me." Annette said excitedly, like she was pushing me to go through with it.



"You don't have to decide now. You still haven't seen the rest of the place..." the receptionist stated, looking amused. She gestured her hand towards a sliding door, which by my guess must be the bedroom, seeing that the living room, dining room, and kitchen were connected as I stood by the balcony.



As we entered the place, I was again blown away by the huge window located at the right side of the sliding door. It was in line with the balcony. The soft creamy, white curtain wasn't thick enough that the room is engulf in total darkness, which was a huge plus for me since I don't like the dark. I hesitantly ripped my attention from the view of the window when I heard Annette squealed with delight.



"Oh My God! There is a walk in closet that leads to the bathroom!" Annette exclaimed.



I almost ran towards her, feeling excited by the news. "Good lord! Okay... I give in..." I exclaimed and sighed, feeling defeated. "Where do I sign the contract?" I turned my attention towards the receptionist, who was watching us with an amused expression that turned excited when those words came out of my mouth. We definitely made her day.



After signing some paper and paying half the down payment - mentally thanking the heavens that I brought my credit card with the huge savings -, we headed to the salon and had our hair and nails fixed. We stayed there for a good three hours and drive ourselves to the nearest drive-thru and bought dinner. When we got back to Annette's house, the place was silent. There were no signs of Tristan in the house.



"He's at a friend's house..." Annette stated, her eyes glued to her phone as she read Tristan's reply after she texted him about his whereabouts. She crushed down in the couch, settling herself in a comfortable position.



"Woot! We got the house to ourselves... any ideas?" I stated enthusiastically and asked, smirking evilly as I rubbed my hands together like an evil villain with a plot, and winced slightly as my casted arm cry in protest.



"I don't know... I'm feeling like watching a movie tonight..." She answered, her energy slightly dropping down a notch from this afternoon. It must be the mood swing taking over.



"Okay... no problem..." I agreed without second thoughts. I walked towards the shelf where a collection of movies where stack, trying to pick which one we would watch. "Chick flick or Action?" I asked after debating between the movie 'The proposal' and 'The killers'. I don't know why I consider 'The killers' an action movie since it was obviously chick flick, being that it was a Katherine Heigal Movie.



"Chick flick hands down!" Annette exclaimed, slapping the couch with exaggeration.



I nodded my head in disagreement as I chuckled at her actions. I brought the two CD'S with me and showed it to her, gesturing her to pick. She lifted her foot up and pointed at 'The proposal'; which after, she put the same foot in the table in front of her.



I put the CD in the player and pressed play in the remote control before settling myself down beside Annette in the huge couch. From the first part of the movie until the part when Sandra Bullock had her bachelorette party, we were both glued to the screen, laughing every now and then when there is something hilarious up. Then, a sudden sound of male's voice suface by the main door and grabbed our attention, making us pause the movie for a while to check it out.



"Wife! Where are you? Come to Papi!" Tristan's loud, drunken voice became clearer as we were closer to the door. This is bad. Really bad. One thing about my brother - a shameless flaw - is that he has a low tolerance with alcohol and is really inappropriate when he is drunk. In other words, he becomes a cheap flirt.



"Who made him drunk?" Annette asked in a grieve tone, hissing at the sight of her drunk husband. I sometimes feel bad for her when she deals with my drunken brother. Even I weaver away from that responsibility when he gets drunk.



"I'm really sorry, Annette. The boys just got a little challenging and you know where that leads..." Logan answered sheepishly as he held Tristan up, putting his hands over his shoulder and carry some of his weight.



I stood there and stared at Logan for a few seconds, shocked to see that he was there, carrying my brother. I didn't know that they were that close where they get drunk together - in a sense. Though, Logan didn't look drunk at all, but still had that slightly wasted look from the way his hair is slightly a mess, like he just got out of bed. Just by staring at him, looking all messy and sexy as hell, he looked beddable enough I might jump at him right there. Then, I somehow snapped out of it as fast as the thoughts came when Annette walked towards them and took Tristan from Logan.



"Thank you so much for bringing my good for nothing drunk husband, Logan. That is sweet of you..." Annette said softly as she slowly balance herself, taking hold of Tristan's weight from Logan.



"Wait, Annette. You shouldn't be doing that... I'll take him to your room, just show me the way..." Logan interjected frantically, grabbing hold of Tristan again and taking the weight off on Annette.



"Oh. Uhm... thank you..." Annette replied, slightly startled by his words, yet smiled after. She took a step away from them, her hands holding Tristan's arms, as she guided them forwards. "Right this way." She stated, walking towards the master bedroom.



I silently watch them and followed. I didn't dare say a thing since I'm afraid I might say something I would regret later. I tried calming my mind from my previous thoughts and focus them at the situation in hand. My brother is drunk and I had to help Annette kick his a** in the morning. He sure had some nerves to drink after I told him don't when he was under baby and baby momma watch.



After Logan put Tristan in bed, he slowly backed away from him, almost walking straight at me since his attention was still in front of him while I was walking behind him. I took a side step away from him, which made him stop and turn around to look at me when he notice my movements.



"Uhm... Thanks for bringing my brother back safely." I said softly, looking up at him with a small smile, and then turn my head away from him to look at my brother.



"You're welcome. It was my pleasure." He replied softly in the same tone.



In that moment, I am debating whether to look back at him and meet those blue eyes, wanting to see it sparkle when he smile; or, I would continue to look at the two loving couple in front of me, where Annette tucked in Tristan and give him a soft kiss in the cheeks. I know the answer is pretty obvious even before I thought about it, yet I continued to keep my gaze in front of me. I know this faze wouldn't last very long, we were standing side by side with only a few meters apart.



"Logan. Thank you again." Annette said, looking up her gaze towards us with a mask of gratitude.



"No problem... I think, I'm ought to go. It's almost midnight and I don't like driving this late." Logan said, pausing to look down his watch.



"Oh. Okay." Annette said and turn her gaze towards me. "Al, would you please help Logan see himself out?" she softly, her eye has a slight glint, like she was thinking of an evil plan.



I eyed her for a second, mentally telling her that I didn't want to play any of her games. After which, I turned my gaze towards Logan, softening it a little, and smiled. "Well, right this way..." I stated, gesturing towards the door. I sounded slightly rude, but he only gave me a small smile in return as he walked ahead of me. There was a few moment of awkward silence as we walked towards the door.



"Uhm... thanks for bring back my brother in one piece..." I stated, my voice softer than I intended it to be.



He turned around, looking slightly surprise. "Ah... yea... it was my pleasure..." he replied as he recovered himself, smiling lightly at me.



At that time there were two things I had in mind, one is to do something about thing wrecked feelings that makes my stomach fill with butterflies just from his smile; or, I would ignore that this is even happening. Besides, I wasn't going to see him again until I get the cast off my arm and if I could avoid meeting him elsewhere. So, as I stood there, staring at him in silence, I let out a huge sigh and shook my head lightly. I'm not that desperate of a woman to throw myself to a guy, even if that guy made me feel things.



"Well, I think this is goodbye." I said, trying to make him move along and go before I change my mind and take option one.



"Oh. Okay... Well, good night Ally." He said, turning around and back again to look at me with a small, sad smile. After that, not waiting for me to say another word, he turned and walk on to the direction of his car, which I just noticed. I can't believe he drives a silver Camero of all things. It was totally a car to impress any girl.





I stayed there by the porch, watching him drive away from the pavement. I don't know why I even bothered to do such a thing, I already know the guy is unavailable. Heck! I'm unavailable - in a sense. I'm not in a hurry to look for a man. I'm sure as hell not going to date the same guy twice. So, even if I keep all those thing in mind, it doesn't change the fact that my stomach is filled with butterflies right now. Damn it!