Chapter Ten
I wake up to the smell of coffee and breakfast.
I'd woken up alone in the apartment so often it takes me a second to understand what is going on. I can hear Aurora in the kitchen banging around moving things. She is the loudest person I've ever met. I'd bet my arm and leg this is her trying to be quiet and not wake me.
She is cooking again, and it smells amazing. My stomach growls. I'd skipped lunch in the cafeteria and then dinner as a matter of principle. But now I'm starving, and I have to leave my bedroom eventually.
I have to go pee.
I lay in bed and stare at my dark ceiling, my room had no windows. I don't even know what time it is. I wonder how long I can hold it. I'm not supposed to. It's bad for your health or something. No, I have to go. If I time it correctly, I can sneak past her. I can be like Charli, sneaky and quiet.
I place my feet on the floor then walk over to my door. I open it slightly and peak out to the kitchen. Her back is turned and facing the stove. I open the door and dash for her room. And then I crash to the floor. I scowl at the offending suitcase I'd landed on.
I'd tripped over it.
Aurora leans over the kitchen counter and stares at me on the floor. Her eyes meet mine. She snickers and then bursts into laughter.
"Why is your suitcase in the middle of the floor!" I shout.
She is still laughing. She grabs her shirt collar and puts it in her mouth, I believe to stop herself from laughing. It's not working because she continues to laugh only now it's more muffled.
"My bad," She says between snickers. "Watch out for the giant-ass suitcase in the middle of the floor."
I glare at her. But she only laughs harder. And then I'm laughing uncontrollably.
I don't know why.
Perhaps it's just how laughter works. It's infectious so much so that I'm seconds from peeing myself. But I'm still angry with her. I hop up from the floor and run for the bathroom.
When I step out of her room, she'd moved her suitcase to sit against the wall. She is smiling and humming. It's so off tune, I'm not sure what song it is but it sounds happy. She seems different. I eye her and sit down at the counter stool.
I'm just curious.
She is wearing her tiny running shorts and her Sunny High soccer t-shirt. It's faded and has little holes in it. Her hair is messily piled on top of her head and bits of hair is falling into her face. She dips her pinky finger into the pan of whatever she is cooking and sticks it into her mouth. Then she sucks the sauce off her finger.
"Mmm..." She looks up from the pan and catches me staring.
She raises an eyebrow. I avert my gaze.
"Would you like to try some?"
I look down at her pans. She has some sort of strawberry sauce. I love strawberries it's my favorite. I look at her other pans. She is making crepes. And she has whip cream as well. My stomach grumbles.
I shake my head no.
She ignores me and begins to roll me a crepe. She puts it on a plate and slides it towards me. She leans over as she serves me. Her hair is damp and I can smell her shampoo.
I watch as she puts whip cream over my crepe and the tops it with a fresh strawberry. Then she holds a fork out to me. I very carefully take it from her fingers. I don't want to accidentally touch her. Then I stubbornly set it next to my plate.
She smiles at me then turns around and pours a steaming liquid into a ceramic mug. She slides the mug towards me and adds whipped cream. I look at it. I don't know what it is because she'd covered with cream before I could see.
"What is it?" I grumble.
"Try it," She says. "I was at a coffee shop in Boudreaux. I tried this and I thought of you."
I eye it.
"Please?" She asks.
I sigh and take a sip. It tastes like a chai latte. It's good. Really good but it doesn't taste like any chai latte I've ever had. I want to ask her what she'd added in it but it would be giving in.
I nod my head, but she's not looking at me. She's back over the stove cooking. She's making a crepe for herself, but she isn't putting it on a plate like she had for me. Instead, she stands and makes one in her hand. Dipping and adding ingredients as she goes and eating out of the pans. I don't miss some of the cream dripping onto the floor.
She is so odd.
She looks at me. "What?"
I wipe the smile off my face. "Nothing."
I look down at my food and decide I might as well try it. It would go to waste if I didn't. I try to eat slowly and reluctantly. It's delicious though and it takes an effort not to shovel it down my throat.
I finish and I want another but I'm too stubborn to ask for it. She wordlessly slides a crepe onto my plate. I'm a bit of a germaphobe. It should bother me that she'd definitely doubled dipped and had her sticky fingers in all the pans, but it doesn't.
I don't know why it doesn't.
She turns off the stove and then walks away. Now she's no longer watching, I eat my food as fast as I want. It's even better because it's still hot.
She walks back into the room and sits next to me. She is sitting too close and I tense. Then she slides a small box next to me. I look at it then look at her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't call you Isabella." She pushes the box closer to me. "I should've found a way to contact you. It was inconsiderate of me especially after you helped me."
I look at the box again.
"You bought me something?" I ask.
She averts her gaze and rubs the back of her neck. She's nervous.
"No, I-I didn't. I made it. I'm not good with arts and crafts." She puts her hand on the box to take it back. "Nevermind. It's stupid."
"No," I put my hand on top of hers. "I want it."
Her grey eyes are staring at me intently. The back of her hand is cool and soft. How are her hands so soft? I notice I'm caressing her skin with my thumb and I pull my hand away.
She nods and lifts her hand.
I pick up the box and pop the lid off. It's a green beaded bracelet. It's the kind that double wraps around the wrist. She tied the end with a braided knot.
"It's all one color. I don't know which colors go best together so I did one. And then the silver beads for the letters it's all they had."
"All who had?" I ask.
I stare at the letters. She hadn't just made any bracelet, she'd specifically made a bracelet for me. She'd spelled out my name on the first loop and then on the second she'd spelled out "Badass". It makes me smile as it's far from the truth, but I get the connection she is making.
"You like it?" She asks.
"I love it." I slip it on to my wrist. "Thanks."
I hadn't missed, she'd avoided my question altogether. But I decide not to push.
"You don't have to wear it." She says.
"I want to."
Aurora smiles at me. My favorite one, the slow creeper. Starting off crooked and then evening out as it brightens her face. And then her eyes travel down to my lips and lingers. My heart starts to pick up speed.
Ugh.
Nope, not falling for it. I abruptly stand up and grab my dirty plate. I wash it in the sink. The bracelet is nice, and I appreciate it, but it doesn't change anything. It's good though we are making progress as friends. And I accept her apology, but that's it.
I look over at the clock on the stove. It's almost eleven, I'd slept in late. I needed to text Charli and figure out what time our date is. I should probably shower too.
"I need to use the shower," I say.
"Okay."
I head towards her bedroom.
She calls out from behind me, "I didn't mean it. I don't hate you."
I pause with my hand on the door handle.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to pressure you when you didn't want to be with me. I wasn't myself that night. And I could never hate you, Belle. If I ever say it to you again, just...know it's a lie."
She doesn't hate me? Could never hate me?
I turn to look at her.
Like Charli, she rarely apologizes for anything. Only when she means it. I don't know why, but the biggest weight feels as if it's been lifted off my shoulders. Just as simple as her saying those words to me.
My feet are moving towards her before I can think not to, and I wrap my arms around her in a hug. I bury my head against her neck and breathe her in. Her arms wrap tightly around me and she squeezes. Being in her arms feels good, warm, and right.
I don't know why.
We fit like a puzzle piece. I could stand here only hugging her for hours if she'd let me. But friends don't do that. I pull back and look at her.
"Don't worry about it. There are worst things I can think of than a gorgeous girl trying to seduce me."
My mind wants to go back to that night, but I shove it away. I mindlessly reach over and touch her hair. It's soft and wet. Tendrils of it escape from her ponytail. It had fallen in front of her eyes and I'd only wanted to see her eyes more clearly. She leans into my hand pressing her face against my palm.
"And don't be sorry about what happened," I demand. "I understand. I only wish you'd called after or woken me up before you left."
Or taken me with you. Why didn't you take me with you? But I don't add that part.
I don't want her to apologize for being bipolar. I want her to care about me enough to leave me more than a useless note. And I wish she'd not taken Apollo but me. It just hurts.
What was so bad about me?
I drop my hand from her face. Then she leans forward and my heart skips. She presses her lips to my cheek. I close my eyes. It's so close to my mouth her lips are touching the corner of mine. It reminds me of the first time she kissed me, the night of our birthday. If I were to turn my head ever so slightly, I'd find her mouth. And then I'd be kissing her.
Is that why she'd done it that night? Had she wanted me to turn into it and kiss her? Does she want me to kiss her now?
Nothing has changed.
I don't move but wait for her to pull her lips away. I open my eyes and she is smiling at me. Then she touches my arm and walks around the counter to the kitchen.
"I'll clean the kitchen. It's a mess. But don't worry, I'll fix it. And there are fresh towels in my bathroom."
I nod my head and head towards her bedroom. I needed a shower a very cold shower. There is no question my attraction to Ari is intense. Sexual attraction and lust aren't our problems. Her being back doesn't change anything or solve any of our previous issues.
Charli loves me. She makes me feel good and beautiful. And she picks me. I'd made a promise. I'm not going to break it because Ari is in a good mood today.
What about tomorrow? Would she leave again? Had I given in to her seductions last time and then woken up to find Ari gone...I wouldn't have been able to forgive her.
Nothing has changed. We're only friends.
It's only...that moment had felt different. Like she isn't as angry with me anymore. It felt less like anger it felt a lot like...forgiveness.
I step into the bathroom and close the door behind me. Then I turn on the shower and climb inside. I do in fact let the water run cold. I need it to be uncomfortably cold. Charli and I had left things unfinished again. And then having Ari around... well, I need to not let my mind leave the shower. It needs to stay in this one and not slip into a hotter steamer shower.
Then again... I could think of Charli. It's safe territory and I could use a little decompression.
I lather my body with soap.
Yesterday, we'd been close. If I'd had a few more moments. I stick my head under the showerhead let the water run down my body and trickle down my thighs.
The sounds she'd been making. The way she'd been begging me...I slide my hands between my legs.
There's a knock on the door.
I jump. My feet slip and slide against the wet porcelain. I pinwheel my arms for second before regaining my balance.
"Yes," I squeak over the running water.
Due to my near accidental shower death, my voice comes out high pitched and...a little guiltier than planned.
"Mind if I come in?" Ari asks. "I need to uh...brush my teeth."
Yes, I do mind. And brush her teeth? Could she not brush her teeth in the kitchen or my room? She doesn't wait for me to respond, she never does, but barges in.
I can see Ari's silhouette from behind the curtain.
Why is she doing this to me? From one hot frying pan into the next. She turns on the water. The pipes do the thing where the water pressure changes, and the temperature rises. I'm now standing in a hot drizzling shower. I hurriedly step back.
"Ari..." I groan.
"What?" She asks.
"Get out. Can't you brush your teeth somewhere else?"
There's a long pause.
"Nope, it's my bathroom."
Freaking A, she is such a brat. I can imagine her half-cocked smile with her toothbrush in her mouth.
"Well, how long will you be?" I ask.
She doesn't answer but I can still hear and see her through the curtain. She's there, only ignoring me.
I need her to leave. I can't like umm...wash myself with her here. The water is now hot, and the bathroom is growing steamy. And I keep thinking she is so close while I'm so naked and so...tense.
I love having sex in the shower. Sex can be messy, not that I mind, but I prefer things organized and clean. The shower makes it clean fun once you figure out the mechanics of standing and the dangers of hard faucets and knobs. And detachable showerhead are well...
"Aurora get out!" I shout.
"Umm..." She pauses. "No."
"Fine," I turn off the shower. Then reach my hand out behind the curtain for the rack and search for a towel. There's nothing.
"Where are the towels?" I ask.
"Oh, hmm...I did say there were fresh towels, didn't I? Where did I put them? My memory is real shit. I can't remember."
There were fresh towels I saw them when I walked in. And they're gone now. I should wait patiently for her to finish brushing her teeth. Let her keep messing with me for as long as she wants. She'd grow bored and give me the towel or leave eventually. But it's the principle of the thing.
I throw open the shower curtain and step out.
She turns and raises a well-manicured eyebrow. And sure, enough she has a cocky smile with a toothbrush sticking out of it. Then her eyes slowly glide down my naked body. Unashamedly taking me in. Her stare is hot and sends prickly tingles along my wet skin.
She doesn't even have the decency to look ashamed or surprised. That's what I'd been going for. Embarrassment or maybe some shock at what I'd done. Which now that I think about it, is beyond dumb. There isn't anything I could've done to get an embarrassed reaction out of her. It's more like she'd expected me to react this way. Had she?
Whateves, I'm making a point.
She's holding the towels hostage in the sink. They're right in front of her. Unbelievable. I reach around her and grab one. She doesn't move but continues to stare at me through the mirror as she brushes her teeth. I wrap the towel around me and glare at her.
"You're such a perv," I say.
She smiles and meets my eyes through the mirror's reflection.
Uh, oh.
I know the look; an unspoken dare. She switches her grip on her toothbrush then suggestively drags it in and out of her mouth. Her eyes focus on mine, then she lets out several loud pants and over-exaggerated moans.
"Oh uhhh...huuh...oh yea...mmm...oh oh...!"
It's umm...my face flushes.
She wins.
I'm thoroughly shocked and embarrassed. I spin on my heels and quickly exit the bathroom. I slam the door behind me.
I don't know why I keep slamming doors.
I can still hear her through the door teasing me. Only now between the moaning and gasping she's groaning my name.
"Isabella, don't stop...uhhh...oh, yea!"
Then she starts banging on the counters while she carries on. My ears are burning. It's as if she knows I'm listening. Which...I am. I plug my fingers in my ears and quickly retreat to the safety of my room.
Is this what it will be like living with her? Charli is not going to like this. Oh gosh. How will they act in the same room together? This is...this is...How is this going to work?
She'll probably leave again anyway.
TBC...Chapter Ten continued...
I updated so many times this week I've caught up to myself...yikes.