Waking up has never felt better. Last night I managed to finish Maya's painting, explain my encounter with Marcus to Elana, make myself late night dinner, and get to bed by 1 AM.
For the first time in a while, I felt refreshed and ready to take on the day. Then, I saw some texts from Dominic. I didn't let this totally kill my vibe, because what's he worth anyway? I held the phone up slightly, reading the messages.
"Sorry."
"I miss you."
"Talk to me more often. I didn't mean to shove you, I'm sorry. You're great."
As I read, my lips curved into a small smile. I realized what was happening and as soon as my lips formed that smile, they made it disappear.
I responded, "Apology accepted. I'll try my best to talk more often."
I rolled my eyes. That's all he was getting from me.
While I showered, I blasted the radio and sang along. My mood was off the charts, rocketing through the roof like my radio was about to do if it got any louder. This was very unusual, but I kind of liked it.
After showering, I went outside for a smoke and saw Marcus unloading some furniture. About three very strong-looking men accompanied him.
I tried to ignore the production up the street, lighting my cigarette while studying the houses across from mine. The houses on the other side were slightly smaller, with white siding instead of pale yellow like our side. The roofs were a fairly new looking black color, where as ours were navy. The houses across the street had more flowers and shrubs than ours. They also lacked the annoying sidewalk running halfway between the yards. It's like an intersection for ants or something. I still couldn't decide which I liked better.
"Thanks for the help!" I heard Marcus's voice in the distance, turning my head at the sound. The men were heading back into the moving van, and Marcus made his way back up to the house. He glanced down the street towards me, and I sort of felt stupid for looking. I was sitting in my yard with sweatpants on in the middle of June while smoking a cigarette with no shirt and wet, messy hair.
"Oh, hey Ari!" Marcus smiled and waved. I half smiled back, both shocked and happy since I didn't think he would even notice me. My cigarette hung out of my mouth, almost dropping into the grass from the shock.
"Can I come down for a sec?" He stuck his hands in his pockets.
I removed my cigarette, nodding, You don't have to ask, C'mon."
He laughed softly, making his way down the sidewalk that split everyone's yards in two separate parts.
"Hey, that fruit salad was very good. I had some for breakfast," He stood over me, the same smile on his face from last night. I took a long drag, smiling back afterwards as my eyes trailed up in his direction, "I'm glad you liked it, please sit down. You're making me nervous."
I patted the spot next to me and I noticed his slight hesitation, but he eventually sat down in the grass with me.
"So, Marcus, tell my why you chose to move here?" I grinned, leaning back on my arms as I looked over at him, awaiting the answer to my marvelous question.
"Well, uh, this coming fall I'm starting college to become a teacher. I've always wanted to work with children, not just teaching them but helping them. Money has been really tight but we finally found enough to get me settled on my own here and attend the community college," He said while rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.
"Interesting. I'm glad you chose to live here. It's nice to have someone to talk to. Most people here ignore me. I guess they can't handle me," I laughed, tapping my cigarette gently.
"I'm sure I'll be able to handle you," Marcus grinned, slightly turning back to look at me with a hint of rebellion to his expression. I'm not too good at reading people, but he could be a wild one.
"How old are you?" I was too curious to hold back, and it was sort of a question that needed to be answered.
"I'm 19. My birthday was in April." He ran his fingers through his hair, and I watched as they traveled to the end. I wondered if his parents were like mine - wanting him to leave their house as soon as possible.
"Oh, that's neat. I'm 21, if you were even wondering," I nodded slightly and pressed my cigarette into the cement sidewalk.
Marcus nodded too and looked at me, glancing down at my chest and stomach which was a lot less than impressive. He tried to act like I didn't notice.
"Hey, do you think we could go out sometime?" He chewed on his inner lip, which seemed like a nervous habit. He continued, tilting his head just a bit to the side, "Tonight?"
My eyes widened as I nodded, thinking back to the paintings that still needed to be done. "Looks like you've got a date," I smiled and started to glance the other way out of nervous habit, stopping midway to look back up at Marcus, "Not a date date, I mea-"
Marcus laughed and shifted his feet around in the grass. "I know what you mean, Ari. I'll come down to your house at 6:30."
---
With the help of Elana, my outfit and hair was "date" ready.
"I can't believe you're doing this, Ari. I'm also pretty excited to meet him," Elana clasped her hands together, a huge smile forming on her face. She looked happier and the eye bags I noticed the other night were almost completely gone. "You'll like him," I smiled while tweaking my hair, turning to face Elana with my arms extended to the side, "How do I look?"
Her face lit up once again, and she jumped in for a hug. "I'm so happy for you!" The words were muffled as her face pressed into my chest. She's about 5'4'', a good 6 inches shorter than I am. I always admired her height for some weird reason.
"Elana, we're just going out for food or something. Calm down," I hugged Her back, my arms a lot weaker around her body than hers were around mine. She was an extreme hugger.
The doorbell soon rang, and Elana jumped, quietly squealing as she backed away from me,"He's hereeeee!" She sang in a whisper voice.
I opened the door, Marcus standing on the other side. I smiled when I saw him, my words stuck in my throat before I finally pushed them out, "You look really good."
"You too, Ari," He grinned, and I stepped to the side to let him him. His answer followed my compliment so quickly it was like he knew I was going to say it.
"Oh my gosh, you two look so handsome!" Elana had her hands on her cheeks, her mouth open, "It's so nice to meet you, Marcus. I'm Elana."
She rushed over, shaking hands with Marcus. Again, her grip was rather tight and I had sympathy for Marcus, because she can be overbearing. "It's nice to meet you as well," Marcus shook her hand for about 20 seconds until Elana finally let go.
"Well then, I guess you two should get going," Elana was still smiling.
"Are you trying to kick us out of MY house?" I chuckled, grabbing my phone from the table.
"No, no. You two just look so nice so you might as well show it off to the world!" Elana extended her arms a bit, her smile fading slightly.
Marcus stood by the door, nodding towards it slightly, "Let's go, we can walk downtown for a bit. I heard it's nice."
He smiled, and I continued to the door. Elana looked around and stayed in the same spot, waving. "See you guys later! I'll clean up my stuff and then leave... don't worry, I'll lock all the doors," We both waved back to Elana, and I shut the front door behind us as we left.
"Your friend is cute," Marcus smirked, trailing his fingers through his hair.
"She's an amazing person," My hands slithered down into my front pockets as we walked down the road a few minutes.
"Hey, It's going to take an awful long time to get downtown. Do you want to stop in at this cafe instead?" I pointed down the road, and Marcus nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad we're doing this. You intrigued me from the moment I saw you. I guess it's just your red hair, your body, the way you acted with that other guy."
Listening to Marcus made me realize that maybe he was just as desperate as Dominic. I tried not to let that thought continue, because maybe Marcus was truly lonely and looking for a friend. I barely knew him, anyway.
"You're very sweet, and I'm glad you can be honest with me already," I said out of lack of other words. How do you answer a question like that?
Marcus chuckled, "I don't always ask my new neighbors out 24 hours after I meet them."
"Oh, really? Am I that special?" I smirked and looked up towards the sky, a few stars in view.
"Yes you are, actually," He responded, which brought my attention back down to earth.
"How so?" We approached the coffee shop, and I held the door open for Marcus while I asked my question. As he walked inside, he mumbled something barely audible, "I guess you're just the first person in a while to actually treat me like an adult -- like a person."
I stood at the door for a few seconds, digesting his words before realizing I was holding a door open for nobody.
"Ah, well, that's good.. I'm glad I didn't come off as annoying, or asshole-y, or stupid, or whoreish, or du-"
Marcus put his finger to my lips, which may have just shocked both of us. I glanced down to his finger as my eyebrows rose.
"Shush, I can tell you're none of those adjectives," Marcus spoke while pulling his wallet out with his free hand, dropping his finger from my lips. His body shifted to face the menu plastered on the wall.
"Get whatever you'd like, I'll pay," He smiled as we advanced closer in line. He had a pretty thick wad of cash in his wallet. I'd kill to have that amount of money on me. Didn't he say money was tight?
"Really, it's fine.. I can buy my own," I glanced once again at the wad, feeling my skinny wallet tucked away in my back pocket.
Marcus tilted his head and looked over at me, pulling out some bills from the wad.
"I got it," Marcus said with confidence.
After ordering, we waited for the waitress to bring our food and drinks to the table. I got a bowl of vegetable soup with a regular coffee, and Marcus got some sort of fancy loaded sandwich with a mango green tea drink. I could see the entrance from my side of our booth, and I noticed someone familiar walk in.
"She looks familiar," I studied the woman's face, nodding towards the door to grab Marcus's attention. Marcus gave a small nod of acknowledgment in return, turning around nonchalantly.
"I've never seen her," Marcus shrugged, watching each waitress with food stroll by until he was facing me again. I guess they weren't even waitresses, since they also worked behind the counter preparing meals. As the woman moved closer, I realized exactly who she was.
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Thank you for reading! Drop a comment or vote to show your support, it would mean a lot!
I recently changed my book cover, and I really wish I knew who the artist was but that particular photo has been saved on my laptop for a while, so all credits go to that artist... wherever you are!
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