I was placing the last cups on the cupboard, organizing them by color, Jules had a specific mug color, olive green, for all the cups she brought. Whatever was different was mine.
I sigh, feeling my arms give in after a day of moving things in and out, even with the help of everyone, I was ridiculously out of shape. I find my mind drifting to a certain 40 year old that was the epiphany of fitness at his age.
I shake my head - Stop thinking about him Madison - I tell myself.
It had been such a busy day in the apartment, our friends, Julia's parents, Hiro and Grayson helped us move everything in. I noticed all morning Julia and Grayson eyeing each other from the brief moments I caught them together, or watched Grayson take unusually unnecessary small things to Julia's room where she was decorating and redecorating and changing her mind every 5 minutes. Hiro and I kept our distances, with an exceptional smile here and there, it was impossible not to smile back at him.
It was weird enough to have the manager in my home.
By 6 PM everyone had left, having our own place was a great feeling of independence but even with Jules, it was somewhat lonesome. I didn't know why, I always imagined moving in with a boyfriend or fiancé - I smile thinking how life is unexpected - Jules is my fiancé.
After a while I watch her from the corner of my eye wandering around the apartment like a lost kitten, I could feel she wanted to say something but couldn't voice it out. I don't ask, I'm too focused on finishing the kitchen and head to bed.
"Madison... ehm, are you hungry?" Julia asks clumsily unfolding a spinach lasagna her mother had left for us.
"Yeah, sure." I frown. "Why you being so weird Julianne Davis?"
"Oh my god no, I haven't heard that since I was 8 and shat in my sleep." She hides her face embarrassed, Julia always hated her real name. We laugh at it. "Just Julia or Jules."
"Fine Jules, what's up? I feel like something's eating you up."
She turns on the oven and slips the lasagna inside, still reluctant to voice her thoughts.
"Ah." Julia nervously laughs. "Mads... would it be okay with you if I started seeing... ahm... Grayson?"
I lift my eyebrows in shock.
"No? Ok, Bad idea." She instantly takes a step back from her own intentions. I stop her.
"No, it's about time, all that eye-fucking thing during the afternoon, I was wondering when you'd come to your senses."
Julia giggles and elbows me playfully.
"Madison I'm serious!"
I close the cabinet doors and turn to face her.
"I mean, are you certain of this? You do remember Grayson is the same age as Theodore and you like many other people were shocked by our relationship."
She nods.
"I never..." she laughs between her thoughts "...thought I'd say this but when I'm with him, I forget he's 42, I think looks play a huge role in this but... He makes me feel good, he's insanely hot and his personality, have you seen him? You barely notice the guy is 20 years our senior... We get along all too well." She smiles faintly. "And besides, it's just a fling, nothing else, it'll be over in a few weeks."
I could tell she was falling for him. Julia was super soft talking about Grayson.
"Jules, you're crushing so hard on my ex's twin."
Julia folds her arms around her face, hiding herself and we crack up in the middle of the kitchen.
"Oh no, no, no we are not getting into anything serious, he is leaving in two weeks and that's that. But you' sure, you're okay? I'm just worried because... They look exactly alike, and I don't want this be a burden for you, always seeing him around and bringing back memories of Theo."
"Non-sense." I assure her, holding both her hands. "Go for it, Theo is past."
She hugs me thankfully. "What about the future? A very English future?"
"I don't want to plan any future, especially one that involves a nationality."
"Madison, the universe didn't just give you lemons, it gave you a whole fucking lemonade detox named Hiro."
"Julia... He is my HR manager." I finally open up to her.
Julia's eyes drop along with her jaw. She covers her mouth in shock.
"Did I miss like 2 years of your life?! How, why, when?"
We eat directly from the tray and I tell her everything over dinner, it feels like I got a weight off my chest, we scream and we laugh and it works better than therapy, in the end I notice Julia lost in her thoughts as soon as I mention Grayson.
"Why do you insist on keeping it a fling with him?"
"Because it's for the best." She clears her throat.
"Yet you highly recommend I get entangled with my manager." I mock her own advice. "Come on Julia, I know Grayson is not Theodore but I don't think he's that of a jerk, you just don't see the way he looks at you when you're gone."
She widens her green eyes in outright shock when I tell her. "You're kidding."
"Dead serious."
"Long Distance doesn't even work in the books."
"How about you just take it slow and don't label it a fling?"
"Depends on what you're labeling your manager?" Her big green eyes stare at me.
"He can have anyone. Any stunning looking human." I shrug, playing with my food. "Theodore was enough of a disappointment."
"You know... I've met so many fuck boys in my life I could make a family portrait out of them, but Hiro doesn't seem to me like the type, like for sure, there's no place in heaven for that man but he seems genuine. Besides, he practically moved to another country just to be with you."
I snort, unconvinced. No one does that.
"Madison it's so obvious, I'm setting you a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get your eyes checked because you're the only one that doesn't see it."
We finish dinner and by the time I hit my bed, it's 10pm, my thoughts swirling around the conversation with Julia, how was he doing, what was he doing... This feeling of lowering your walls was scary, caring for someone and putting thought into them was scary. Maybe he didn't feel the same at all.
*vibrating beeps of notifications*
Speaking of the devil,
"Can't wait to see you tomorrow. Let's have breakfast together?"
- Hiro
6:15 am
Two knocks.
Once again, two hard knocks.
"Madison what the hell..." Julia enters my room, struggling to open her eyes. "Someone's at our door."
I blink a few times before catching what she was saying, I look at the clock, it was 6:15 am. Who would show up at this ungodly hour? I roll in bed refusing to get up.
"Jules go get it you're already up."
"They're calling for you."
"They're what?" I turn around almost instantly slapping my bed in shock.
I jump out of bed wrapping the robe around my body, I reach for the peephole. My heart jumps. It's Hiro.
"Hiro what are you doing here?" I try to hide my face behind my hand. He looked so fresh, so awake and smiley, unlike me, electrocuted hair and oversized pajamas. The embarrassment flushed my cheeks. Oh god what if I had morning breath?
"Instead of taking you out for breakfast, I thought you girls needed something for breakfast. So I got up a little after 5 and did some crack of dawn shopping."
My heart floods with emotion, how did he do this? How was he so kind?
I make way for him to step inside, carrying two big white bags and placing them on the kitchen counter, rambling about what he had bought, Hiro was unreal.
"I didn't know what kind of tea the galdem enjoyed, so I brought Rooibos, Red fruit tea, oh English Breakfast, ceylon..."
"If you don't wife him, I will." Jules whispers into my ear.
I sneak behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist, kissing his back feeling him stop unpacking and looking at me by the shoulder.
"Thank you." I say.
"You're welcome sweetheart." He mumbles, stroking my fingers gently.
"And Hiro..." I raise my voice well aware that Julia is almost leaving the tv room. "Bring Grayson next time, that's Julia's favorite flavour."
N/A
I know i'm a major cliffhanger but bare with me :)