- Eliza -
The trial was coming up in just a few days, and I could tell Maria was getting very nervous about it. I tried my best to be there for her and give her some affirmations so she knew that it would all be fine, but I could tell she was still anxious about it.
We had hardly been apart at all after she had learned that James was bailed out. She spent the night at my dorm with me every night because she hadn't yet moved out of her and James's old apartment. We weren't sure if he'd try something and come to the apartment. We decided it was better to be safe than sorry and took a whole bunch of her stuff to my place so she could stay.
I had to admit, I really liked having her presence with me so much. Not only did I get the privilege of waking up to her beautiful face, but I got to go to work with her, spend time with her afterwards, and fall asleep with her in my arms.
However, with all this time we were spending together, I was nervous that she was going to get burnt out and sick of me. One night as we were watching TV in the living room, I voiced my concerns.
"Are you sick of seeing me so much? Like, do you feel like I just take up your entire day?" I asked softly. She looked over with surprise etched into her face and shook her head.
"Eliza, I don't think I could ever get sick of you. Being with you is my favorite thing." She said, grabbing my hand and giving it a light kiss.
"Okay... I just was nervous, you know. Since we went from not seeing each other as much to constantly. I wasn't sure if it was too much, too soon." I said. She shook her head, assuring me that everything was fine.
We went back to watching TV, but quickly got bored of it. We sat on the couch together, trying to think of something to do that could get us out of the dorm for a little bit. After a few minutes of brainstorming, she sat up and grabbed her phone, telling me she had an idea.
"What's your idea?" I asked as she clicked around on her phone and began to type. She typed for a moment before looking up to me and answering.
"I have this friend, Theodosia. James wouldn't ever really let me see any of my friends, and we've been trying to get together for forever now. I think you'd really like her, I'm trying to see if she wants to meet us out somewhere with her boyfriend, Aaron." She told me. After another moment, she smiled and put her phone on the table.
"Wanna go meet them for dinner and hang out for a bit?" She asked, standing up. We were both wearing our work clothes still, little spatters and splotches of food and coffee on them. We both needed to get ready.
"Of course, love. How long until we meet up with them?" I asked. She looked at the time and told me we had a little over an hour before we had to head out.
We went into my room to get ready, and I took my hair out of the bun it had been in since my shower this morning. My dark hair cascaded down past my shoulders, it was really starting to get long. I massaged my scalp for a moment, releasing some of the built up tension from my hair being tied up for so long.
I slipped out of my work clothes as Maria changed, basing my outfit off of hers because I wasn't sure where we were headed. She put on a pair of dark jeans and a red, flowered blouse. I decided on white jeans and a blue and white polka dotted shirt, flowy with long sleeves like hers was. I put on a pair of strappy sandals and sat in front of my little mirror to touch up my makeup.
Before I knew it, I was grabbing my purse and we were walking out the door, calling out a goodbye to Angelica. We walked through the bustling streets of the city, carefully making our way down to the restaurant we were meeting Maria's friends at.
Once we got inside, Maria spotted her friends right away and rushed me over to their table. She introduced me to Theodosia first - a dark-skinned, curly headed girl with a bright smile, who I knew I would hit it off with immediately. She quickly told me to call her Theo and stood up to give me a hug. I really liked her already.
I was next introduced to Aaron, who seemed a little more calm and collected as opposed to Theo's bright and bubbly demeanor. I'm sure they balanced each other out really well. He seemed nice too, and vaguely familiar. I quickly realized that Alex had once introduced us to each other, I think Aaron was in one of his classes.
"We've met before, haven't we?" He asked just as I thought this, sitting down next to Maria at the table. I nodded and answered.
"I think Alexander Hamilton introduced us once while we were dating, you two had a class or something together?" I said. This realization hit him and he nodded, recalling our first meeting.
"Ah, yes. You two aren't seeing each other anymore?" He asked, trying to make conversation. I shrugged.
"Yeah, it was more of a mutual breakup than anything. We're still really close, though. I know a lot of people say that about exes but he's honestly my best friend. We just work better as friends." I explained. Aaron nodded, telling me about how they used to be a lot closer, but as time went on, their friendship faded out. We made friendly conversation while Maria and Theo caught up before jumping in to talking with them.
"Eliza, I came to your café the other day on my way to work, and all I can say is, wow!" Theo began, looking my way with a smile. I felt joy burst out of my heart and I smiled back at her.
"Oh, thank you so much. What did you get?" I asked. She thought for a moment.
"I had a latte and one of your guys's breakfast sandwiches, which I have to say, is significantly better than my McDonald's egg and cheese sandwich that I tend to end up with." She laughed, and I thanked her again.
"Well, thanks for stopping in. Our kitchen staff is so great, they really put everything they've got into whatever it is they're making." I explained.
"I can tell, they do an excellent job. I was hoping to catch you or Maria there, but I think you must've both been off that day." She said.
"Probably. I've got my last final coming up really soon, so as soon as that's all said and done, I'll probably be there much more than I already am." I said. I had a developmental psychology exam coming up, though I had finished all my exams for my business major for the year and this was my last one for psych.
"Well, I look forward to seeing you in there." She told me.
We continued the night, talking and laughing over appetizers and entrees. It was great getting to know Theo and Aaron, and I noticed Aaron's more reserved outside was slowly starting to fade away as he contributed to more and more conversations. I was having a really great time.
Before we knew it, the bill was paid and we were all walking out of the restaurant together, trying to decide what our next plan of action was. Things would've been a little easier if Maria and I were both just a couple months older, then we'd be able to all head to a bar as Aaron was 22 and Theo was 21.
Eventually, we decided to go get some dessert instead and head back to Theo's apartment. We stopped at some little ice cream parlor to get our sweet fix, and walked through the streets together towards Theo's place as we ate it.
By the time we got there, we all had a bit more energy from our ice cream. I was given a little tour around the place, and we all sat in the living room, drinking some wine that we wouldn't have been given at a bar since my lovely girlfriend and I were underage. Theo and Aaron didn't mind at all, and poured both Maria and I some pretty hefty glasses of wine.
It was nice to be out with some friends, something we hadn't done in a while. Maria and I had been going out little more recently, but it was usually just the two of us. Alex wasn't a huge fan of going out, so usually when we hung out, it was just in his dorm or mine.
Speaking of Alex, the last time I had been with him in person was quite a bit ago when we'd set up my date with Maria. It wasn't a crazy long time ago, but long enough that I missed him and wanted to be back with him, hearing his stories. I'd have to text him in the morning and see when he wanted to hang out again. Maybe Maria could come, too.
The night went on and I felt my phone ping once or twice, but I thought nothing of it. Eventually, it ended up dying before I could see whatever notifications were on my screen. Probably an email or some spam notification from a game. Nothing to be worried about.
It was after midnight before we said our goodbyes to the other couple, choosing to take the subway home this time instead of walking the entire way back. I forgot about my notifications, a tiny bit of a buzz from the wine making my brain feel fuzzy, and I plugged my phone in before I drifted off easily into sleep, my beautiful girl in my arms once more.
a/n: i like to imagine theo as very similar to eliza personality-wise, i just feel like she'd be the nicest person and would have the kindest smile, so i tried to throw that in here.
what do you think eliza's notif's were? let me hear your thoughts on this chapter as a whole!! what do you wanna see from this book?