Lynna's POV
The light from outside my window slowly woke me up. I kept my eyes closed for a moment, too nervous to open them. I was still wrapped up in Josh, although, we had moved around some.
I forced them open, observing Josh and I. Somehow, I was turned inwards more, and Josh was leaned a bit further over on the couch. It was rather comfortable, I didn't want to get up. I listened to his breathing, his chest rising up and down under my cheek. He was so warm, everything was perfect.
Nonetheless, I had to make us breakfast like promised. It was almost 10 already, surprisingly later than I expected it to be. I did my usual morning things, preparing myself to cook.
I chose my Gregory Alan Isakov vinyl, 'This Empty Northern Hemisphere.' It was peaceful in the kitchen, Sergio helping me cook. I decided to make crêpes, they were simple enough, yet very good. They would go well with the fruit.
I was in my own space, trying to carry the milk without spilling. I was doing just great, that was until Josh decided to jump out on infront of me. Not only did it make me scream, but also caused me to spill the milk.
Josh, who found himself much to close to the measuring cup, ended up with milk all over his shirt.
"Shit." I said, feeling terrible. "I'm so sorry."
"No, no, it's okay." He laughed. "It's not your fault, I scared you."
He started to take his shirt off, startling me a bit. I had saw him shirtless before, but not in my own apartment. It felt different in this setting.
"Do you want me to wash it?" I asked, wiping up the spilled milk.
"No, I'm just gonna rinse it out." He said, going towards the sink.
"Well, you can throw it in the dryer, it shouldn't take that long." I offered, not wanting him to walk around with a soaking shirt. He returned to the room shortly after, observing me at the counter.
"It smells good." He said, eyeing the food.
"Just a few more minutes." I laughed, being able to see that he was hungry.
"Do you need any help?" He asked.
"Nope, I got it." I smiled. We talked a bit while I cooked, little things. He asked about my music, I told him as much as I knew.
"You didn't take long to fall asleep last night." He said, making me smile at the mere thought of it.
"I was tired." I said. "And it was very comfy on the couch."
"It was." He agreed. "You didn't get to watch all of your movie though."
"I can watch it whenever." I shrugged, not worried about it. "Did you watch all of it?"
"For the most part. The last I remember is when she had that yellow dress." He said.
"Aw, you were almost to the good parts." I laughed. "Did you like it?"
"It wasn't bad." He smiled. "I was planning on changing it, but you prevented that from happening."
"And, to be honest, I'm not sorry." I said, being completely honest. He laughed at me, shaking his head.
"And, I'm not complaining." He smiled. I looked to him, processing what he said. I didn't have much more time to think as the food was done. I prepared Josh's plate, wanting it to be fancy.
I set the plate down in front of him, he looked at it carefully.
"It's too pretty to eat." He said.
"Eat it, or I will." I said. "I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it."
"Oh, I'm sure you did." He laughed. "But, thank you for cooking for me."
"No problem." I smiled, digging into my own plate. "I really like waking up and cooking, it's fun."
"I like waking up to the food cooking." He said. "I think this is our best idea yet, it works so well."
"It does." I smiled. "When are we gonna do it next?"
"Mhm...I'm not sure." He said. "We'll figure it out, let's enjoy the food while it's still warm."
I laughed and agreed, continuing with the breakfast. We talked some, but for the most part enjoying the comfortable silence. He kept smiling to me, making me feel flustered each time. It sounded silly, but I felt like I could see into whatever future we had. I could imagine waking up next to him, the slower mornings. I never wished for anything more than to experience this all the time.
We finished up, but we stayed at the table for a bit. We talked, Josh telling me little things. He always had the most random bits of knowledge, and they applied to the oddest situations. I enjoyed listening to him, I learned something new everyday.
I picked up our dishes, despite Josh's objections. He still helped me clean up the counters, put away the food. I was in the process of organizing when there was a knock at my door.
"I'll get it for you." Josh chimed, already heading towards the door. I was wondering who would be coming over, Frankie should be at work right now.
"Who are you?" I heard from the door, I felt all the blood in my body drop to my toes.
"Uh...I'm Josh, who are — "
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, rushing to the door. "You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."
"We told you, we moved our flight up so we didn't get that bad weather." My mom answered, my fathers eyes still on Josh.
"No, you did not tell me that." I said, trying to remain calm. This was not what I wanted to happen.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie, we must've forgot." My mom said. "I think we told your brother then."
I looked to Josh standing beside me, a bewildered and apologetic look on his face.
"Who's is this, Lynna?" My dad asked, making me want to hurl myself off a cliff.
"This is Josh, he lives in the complex." I said. "We just ate breakfast."
"It's uh...it's nice to meet you guys." Josh said awkwardly. I hated every moment of this. They were never going to like him, especially if they think I am doing 'it' with him.
"Where's your shirt?" My dad asked, did I mention he has no boundaries?
"I accidentally spilled the milk on him, he got it on his shirt, so it's in the dryer." I explained quickly.
"I'm gonna go get it." Josh nodded, already making his way down the hall.
"What have I taught you about having men over?" My dad asked.
"Dad, we didn't do anything. He's my friend, he comes over all the time because we're close." I said. "Stop jumping to conclusions."
"I am not jumping to conclusions! How do you expect me to react when a random shirtless guy answers your door?"
"Be happy for me, I don't know?" I said, not wanting to deal with this now.
"Hey, uh, I need to get back to Jake." Josh said, his shoes in his hands, and his shirt on now. "I'll call you later, Lynn."
I smiled at him, hoping he could see how sorry I was. This must not have been even remotely pleasant for him.
"Nice to meet you guys, and I, uh, hope to see you again." Josh said, scooting by my parents.
"Bye, sweetie." My mom said, oblivious to the tension. Josh gave me one last look before disappearing down the hall. I shut the door behind him, dreading everything about this weekend.
"So, are you guys still staying til Monday?" I asked, the silence deafening.
"No, we're — "
"Hold on, we are not just skipping over that." My dad said, cutting my mom off.
"What is there you would like to know?" I asked tiredly.
"Who is he, why is he staying in your apartment, did he stay the night?" He spat.
"Well, you heard, his name is Josh. Josh Kiszka, to be specific. He stayed the night because we feel asleep. We were hanging out, he's my friend. He only lives a few floors up, it's not a big deal." I explained. My mom didn't seem bothered, which was surprising.
"That's besides the point, you cannot have men that you aren't dating staying the night. You know what that makes you look like?" My dad asked, making me groan, hating every part of this.
"Honey, leave her alone." My mom finally said. "She said they didn't do anything, so let it be."
"Fine." He bitterly said after a moment of silence. "Where's the bathroom?"
"Follow me." I said, walking down the hall. I looked in the bathroom, checking for anything. I noticed a bracelet on the counter, which wasn't mine. I grabbed it, exiting before my dad could say anything else. I examined the bracelet, trying to figure out why Josh left it here. I slipped it on my arm, not wanting to forget it.
I smiled to my mom as I got in there, trying to finish up the kitchen.
"I'm sorry your father reacted like that." She said. "He doesn't understand that you're not 10 anymore."
"I know." I sighed. "We didn't do anything, truly, we're just friends."
"I believe you." She smiled. "But, there is a little something between you."
I looked to my mom, trying to figure out what she was trying to do. She never talked about boys, she was being extremely nice.
"I mean, I'm not denying that there's not something." I smiled, trying to be modest.
"What's he like? He seemed sweet." She smiled.
"He's really sweet. He's in a band, they're actually about to tour." I smiled, proudly. "Me and Frankie are close with him and his twin."
"And, Frankie's the one next door, correct?" She asked, I nodded. "I'm glad you're getting out there more."
"Well, thank you." I smiled. Her mood was too joyous, I knew there was something. "Okay, what's up with you?"
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You're really...happy? I don't know, you're acting different." I said.
"I'm not going to dance around it, because I'm pretty pleased with it." She said. "Your father and I are separating. We decided we wanted to live our later years in different ways."
I was quite shocked, I truly did not see it coming anytime soon. "No way."
"Yes, way." She smiled. "I'm sorry to spring it on you, but you should know, you're an adult. That's why we're visiting, wanted to make it our last little outing."
"I appreciate you telling me." I smiled. "What are you planning to do after you split up?"
"I don't know for sure, probably travel some." She shrugged. "It'll be much easier to do without your father."
"Everything's easier without him." I said, not being able to avoid being snarky.
"I finally realized that after 26 years." She said, causing me to laugh. It was shocking how much she had loosened. She was always the 'better' parent, but she had a lot of moments. I wasn't 100% on how she would stay, but I liked it for now.
"So, tell me more about this band he's in..."
Josh's POV
I left Lynna's apartment, recovering from whatever just happened. I was still barefoot, too eager to get out of there.
I entered my own apartment, Jake awake on the couch.
"Hey." He smiled. "How did it go?"
"It was great." I said. "Until I answered the door shirtless and it was her fucking parents."
"What?" He asked confused, rising up from his laid down position. "I thought her parents weren't supposed to be here til tomorrow?"
"They weren't. They changed their flight, and didn't tell her." I sighed, sitting down on the couch. "I made the most amazing first impression I think anyone could make."
"I mean, you could've been like completely naked." He shrugged. "Wait, why were you shirtless?"
"I got milk spilled on me when I scared her earlier." I explained. "God, I can't believe that happened. Her dad started asking questions."
"Why did you answer the door to begin with?" He asked.
"She was cleaning something, I was trying to be nice." I said. "I should've at least put my shirt on."
"How did they react? Were they like screaming or what?" Jake asked, eager to know.
"Her dad was all like 'who are you,' he was staring into my soul." I explained. "The mom didn't really react, she was just surprised."
"Do you think the dad hates you?" Jake asked.
"I wouldn't doubt it." I said. "He thinks we were probably having fucking sex, so naturally, any man would hate the guy."
"You weren't having sex though, right?" He asked, a teasing smile on his face.
"No, Jake, we were not having sex." I groaned, feeling pity for myself. "I wish this morning would've gone any other way."
"Maybe Lynna convinced them it was innocent." He shrugged. "Don't drive yourself crazy, you can't change it."
"I really wanted to make a good first impression." I sighed, regretting every minute. "If not for my sake, then for hers. I wanted her to be able to prove to her parents that she was doing amazing. I screwed the whole weekend up for her."