After

Chapter 91.

"So you like my car then? It drives nicely doesn't it?" He brags.

"It's okay." I lie. I love the way it drives.

The location of the apartment building could not be better, we are close to multiple stores, coffee shops, and even a park. We end up going to Target and the cart is full of dishes, pots and pans, cups, and other things I didn't know we would need but seem useful. We agree that we will have to go grocery shopping another time because the cart is already full. I volunteer to go after my internship tomorrow if Hardin makes me a list of things he likes. The best thing so far about living together is all the small details about Hardin that I would have never known. Even spending almost every night together I am finding out things that I have never noticed like he likes cereal with no milk, even the idea of mismatching cups drives him insane, he uses two different types of toothpaste one in the morning and one at night and he doesn't know why he just does, and that he would rather mop the floor a hundred times before having to load the dishwasher. We agree that I will always do the dishes as long as he mops the floor. We bicker back and forth in front of the cashier when it comes time to pay. I know he had to put a deposit down for the apartment and he refuses to let me pay anything except cable and electricity, which he declined to tell me was already included in the rent.

Hardin glares at the woman when she takes my debit card and I give her props because she swipes my card without even acknowledging his attitude. I want to laugh at him but he is already irritated and I don't want the night to be ruined.

Hardin sulks until we get back to the apartment and I stay quiet because I find it amusing.

"We might have to make two trips down here to get all the stuff." I tell him.

"That's another thing, I would rather carry one hundred bags than make two trips." He says and finally smiles.

We still end up having to take two trips because the dishes are just too heavy. Hardin's irritation grows as does my humor. We put all the dishes away into the cabinets and Hardin orders a pizza. I can't help but offer to pay for it which earns me a glare and a middle finger. I laugh and put all the trash into the box the glasses came in. They weren't joking when they said the apartment came furnished it has everything we could need, a trash can, even a shower curtain.

"The pizza will be here in thirty minutes. I am going to go down and get your stuff." He says.

"I will come with you." I offer and follow him out. He has put my things into two boxes and a trash bag which makes me cringe but I stay quiet.

He grabs a handful of t-shirts out of his trunk and a pair of jeans, shoving them into the trash bag with my clothes.

"Good thing we have an iron." I finally say and look in the trunk before he closes it.

"You never got rid of those sheets?' I ask.

"Oh.. yea. No, I was going to but I forgot." He says and looks away.

"Okay?" I feel a little uneasy about his reaction.

"Let's go back up before the pizza gets here." He says.

We eat at the table and it is strange but nice to be eating dinner with Hardin in our place.

"I love you." He says as I put our plates into the dishwasher.

"I love you." I respond and my phone vibrates against the table.

Hardin reaches across and taps the screen to stop the vibration.

"Who is it?" I ask him.

"Noah?" He declares and questions at the same time.

"Oh." I know this isn't going to go well.