She's With Me

Coco

She couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit, "Oh yeah? Your house is cooler than a museum full of old musical relics?"

"I'd like to think so," Josh huffed playfully, puffing his chest out a little bit, "There's wine, beer, food, a huge ass TV and a couch with lots of blankets. Every streaming service you could possibly think of. All kinds of comfy things. Comfy things I wouldn't mind sharing with someone..." He glances over at his passenger with a coy grin on his face that was enough to make Evie giggle. "Fine, fine you win," she mumbled, folding her arms together with a small huff, "But nothing funny, okay?"

Eventually, they make it to a small neighborhood that was tucked in behind the historic district of Nashville. It was a small home, what Evie believed was called a "shotgun home", and it was painted gray. There was a large bay window next to a bright red front door with two neatly cut green bushes out front. A black chain link fence surrounded the front lawn and there was a little carport for his Jeep to park under. "Well, here it is," Josh said as he shut the car off, "Home sweet home." Evie gets out of the car with her bag she was holding tightly in her hand. She still couldn't believe he had a home. Most people in their 20s didn't have homes.

They walk to the front door where Josh unlocks it and it swings open into a living space. Josh steps inside, beckoning for Evie to follow, which she does hesitantly. The light turns on and Evie is greeted with a very cozy looking living room. On the wood floor at her feet was a handwoven red carpet that was reminiscent of Navajo patterns. There was a weathered brown leather couch that was layered in blankets of all types and a rattan seat sitting in the corner amongst piles of multicolored floor pillows. There were potted plants spilling out from every nook and cranny of the room, and a very intricate tapestry covered in moths that hung behind the large TV that he'd previously mentioned. The walls were decorated with all sorts of strange knick knacks. There was a triangular shaped shelf mounted on the wall that displayed a collection of crystals with a box of tarot cards nestled amongst the shiny minerals. There were some smaller bits of framed art, and on the wall behind the couch was a large wooden carving of the tree of life. There was a small, rectangular brown coffee table that looked like it had seen better days with a little stone buddha statue sitting in the middle. The centerpiece of the living room though, was a big, black vintage fireplace.

"Cozy right?" Josh asked as he shrugged off his sweater, "Make yourself comfortable. You like tea, maybe a glass of wine?"

Evie took a cautious seat on the couch while she continued to take in her surroundings, "Yeah, um... you know what, a glass of wine would be really nice." she replied. "Gotcha." Josh said before disappearing down the hall. Oddly enough, the longer she sat, the more comfortable she felt being here. His home was very welcoming. On top of being beautifully decorated, it smelled just like he did. Earthy with hints of lavender. Josh returns seconds later with a bottle and two wine glasses with a big dumb grin on his face, "You like red wine? I'm kinda partial to these dry ones right now, but I do have a white one if you're not a fan." he says, taking a seat next to Evie. Evie shook her head, "No, I'm okay. I do like a good red. What's this one called?"

The bottle is uncorked skillfully while Josh clears his throat, "Well, this is one I got as a gift. Forgive me for getting a little snobbish here but, it's a full-bodied red wine from France. It is from 2015, and it's called Chateau Leoville Las Cases St. Julien. I had it once before at a tasting and it's so good that I reserve it for special occasions."

Evie felt her face heat up a little. "Special occasions only, huh?" she replied thoughtfully, watching the deep red liquid fill each glass, "Is this a special occasion?"

"I would think so," Josh chuckled, placing the bottle on the coffee table and taking the wine glass, "I don't usually get to be in the company of a beautiful woman." Evie could feel her stomach starting to flutter and her heart started thumping heavily in her chest. He lays back into the opposite corner of the couch while lazily swirling the wine around in his glass with his eyes half closed. It was at that moment that Evie finally felt at ease. She takes a confident sip of the wine and lets herself recline into the couch like Josh was, feeling the relaxing warmth of the wine spread through her. It had been months since a drink had touched her lips and she'd almost forgotten how relaxing it was to just have a drink with good company. "So, this might seem out of nowhere but, I have to ask... have you always been into music?" Evie asked. Josh shifts a bit in his seat, sitting up enough so his glass of wine could return to the coffee table. A remote takes its place in Josh's hand and he turns on the TV ahead of them flickers to life which brings up a plethora of apps to choose from. "Not exactly. Music was something that did play a huge role in my life growing up but I was more in love with film than I was music. Jake's the one who's much more musically gifted." Josh replied, opening up the Netflix app which temporarily fills the dimmed room up with a bright red hue, "Believe it or not, I had plans to become a film director. Now I've got a band and it's the best decision I ever made. What about you? Have any big plans besides making sandwiches?"

Evie shrugged, "Honestly, I'm still not sure. College is really expensive, and I can't exactly pay for and for my apartment. But I mean... I guess if I could I'd get into animation. Used to do it a lot when I was a teenager." Josh turned to look at her wide-eyed with a big smile on his face, "No way, you can animate?! That's so cool! Man... I feel like I should have seen it. Is it on your Deviantart page?" Evie could hardly contain the bashful smile that filled her face. "I-I mean, they... they used to be," she chuckled nervously, "They're like... super novice. It's not very good. Like... animatics from when I was really into Steven Universe. They're kinda... cringe now."

"Pfft, nonsense. You'll have to show me sometime," Josh waved his hand with a little snort, "Have anything you wanna watch in particular?" Evie glanced over to the screen, seeing some of her favorite shows in the for you section. Bojack Horseman was front and center which Evie assumed he must have been watching recently. Next to it was a comedy skit from Dave Chapelle, and the show Stranger Things. Further down was Incredibles 2 and Coco. He had good taste it seemed. "Uh, not really in particular. Coco looks cute though, I kept saying I was going to watch it and never got around to it." Evie said. Without hesitation, Josh scrolls over to the movie and presses play, "Coco it is. I've watched it 3 times now. The whole movie is a work of art." Josh said, plopping the remote back on the table.

He leans over briefly between his legs with a small grunt and for a moment, Evie was confused until she heard the sound of shoes being tossed across the wood floor. Eventually he sits back up and stretches his whole body out with a deep sigh before relaxing back into the cushions. "That's better." he mumbled under his breath as his feet came to rest on the coffee table. Evie looked at him like he was crazy as she stifled a laugh. "What?" Josh joked, "You think this is bad? You should see my brother Sam. I go shoeless on stage, but he goes without shoes everywhere."

"Really?" Evie asked, still grinning, "Everywhere? I find that hard to believe."

"No, really," Josh chuckled, "Just wait until you meet him. He walks barefoot everywhere if he can help it."