two stars of the same constellation

7

The next day I wake up with a weird feeling in my stomach. Hangover. I hop into the shower and shampoo multiple times to get rid of that alcohol stench. I even brush twice. I put on a simple sky-blue dress with brown flats and make myself some lemonade before finally heading out.

On my way to work, I play the events of last night in my head. Leo had invited me to a party with his friends, had stuck by me, kissed me on the cheek, maybe on the forehead too. The hopeless romantic in me had found it romantic that amidst the loud music and chaos at the party he had taken out the time to look for me and then drop me home safely. The fact that I crossed his mind when there were so many other interesting things happening around him did something to me.

Even though a saner me knew that this really was the bare minimum and that he was just keeping the promise he had made, I still found myself smiling hopelessly and even hugging myself. In a more filtered version, I would omit the self-hug part but right now I was too happy to hold back and that's all that mattered.

The kitchen is the first thing that we had started to work on and today it was being given the final touches. The stainless-steel cabinets had replaced the white Victorian-style ones that had existed before. As I enter the hall the smell of fresh cookies fills the air. I walk inside to find Leo in a white t-shirt casually wearing an apron and handling the oven while replacing batches of cookies effortlessly. "Testing the appliances already, are we?" I impatiently run close to him. Close to the cookies, I mean.

"Now you know another talent of mine," he shoves a hot cookie in my mouth and it burns a little but tastes too good. I instinctively close my eyes and a moan leaves my mouth before I have the chance to control it. "Adira Vats where are your manners" he laughs at me. My palm shuts my mouth and I run to the hall shouting some lame excuse.

So many temptations and desires were running on my mind that I was practically drooling. And the cookie was definitely not the reason for that. If I were a more daring person and he wasn't my client I would've definitely said them out loud.

Leo spends most of the day working on his music and I spend mine contacting vendors about the due dates and updating Damon about the weekly progress. Over lunch, Leo cannot stop laughing about how I had the invite to an exclusive party and I chose to find a quiet room and fall asleep. This only reminds me of how he woke me up and took me home which makes me smile broadly, so I guess I'm the real winner here.

"I was really tired and I think I had something really strong to drink" I raise my hands in my defense. A look of concern takes over his face and I assure him I had fun that night and that I felt totally safe. He gives a relaxing smile before swooping in and taking a big chunk of my Caesar salad.

There was barely any change in Leo's behavior today and I finally relax because that must mean I pulled no antics in my slightly drunken state. "If you ever lose me at a party, look for a quiet corner from where you can see the city lights," I say to him. "That is if I don't find you sleeping in a stranger's bedroom already." He adds and mocks me.

As I head back home, I watch cars pass by my brain suddenly decides to unlock a memory from last night and I'm left feeling content, confused and happy all together.

...

"What did Trey ask you at the party?" I ask him as he drives me home. He looks at me, unsure about what my question meant. "You know, when I found you looking at me and he was grinning. It looked as if you had been punched, heh." I try to remind him. "Oh, that. It was nothing. Why? Do you like him?" he responds in a serious tone and I don't push him further.

"He asked me if we were together" he turns to face me for a few seconds before continuing, "you and I, he wanted to know if we're dating." I let out an awkward laugh, "and...?"

"I said we weren't. That's the truth, obviously." I watch him drive with a straight face. "Yeah, of course" I fidget in my seat. To my surprise he continues our conversation, "He then asked me if I would mind if he asked you out." He looks at me probably trying to read my face but words fail me and I stop at a mere "Oh"

"Anyway, I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit when he asked me that. The idea of you with him just somehow didn't sit right with me. That's when you saw us looking your way, I guess. I really wanted to get out of there with you. I probably shouldn't be telling you this but whatever."

Both of us sit in silence for the rest of the drive but I steal some moments to look at Leo. As cars passed, the glow of yellow and red headlights highlighted his features. At that moment I felt as though I was the one touching his face wherever the light fell.

I didn't care if he could feel me staring and smiling as I noticed tiny details of his face, like his crooked smile or the cut on his eyebrow. I just wanted to take in enough of his details to last a lifetime.