“At least promise me you’ll try,” Charlie says because she knows how important my work, paid and volunteer, is to me. “Or I swear I’ll drag the girls through the snow to kick down your door with arms full of enough wine to drown an elephant.”
I laugh with her as I help her with her banking before waving goodbye. As soon as she’s gone though, the panic strikes.
What if she does drop by? Or someone else? People do that to me a lot. Less so in the winter but it happens. Even worse, what if they drop by when I’m not home? What will Apollo do?
I can’t take it. Crouching down, I dig my phone out of my purse tucked under the counter. I need to warn him.
Me: Don’t answer the door.
Apollo: Shit. I thought small towns were supposed to be safer than big cities. *tongue sticking out emoji*
Me: You’re not supposed to be there. If someone drops by, don’t answer the door.
Apollo: Someone already dropped by. The other day when Oliver was here.
Me: What? Who?
Apollo: Evie, I think? She dropped off some books. Forgot to tell you. Sorry.
Me: Oh. So, you already figured this out then.
Apollo: Yeah. Again. Sorry.
I’m a little miffed he didn’t tell me Evie stopped by. She’s probably wondering why I haven’t thanked her for returning my books yet. But I am glad he already thought about how to handle someone coming over when I’m not there to intercept.
Apollo: I put the books away and forgot all about it when I got busy making dinner.
Me: It’s okay. I wish you’d told me so I could have sent her a message but she knows how busy I get. I’m sure she’ll understand.
Apollo: You know… You don’t have to be so forgiving. I screwed up. It’s okay to be mad at me.
Me: How can I be mad at you? You only forgot to tell me because you cleaned up and cooked for me!
Apollo: If you won’t hold me accountable. I will. I’ll make it up to you.
Me: You don’t have to do that.
Apollo: I told you I’m going to spoil you. I want to do this.
This is so weird. I appreciate the hell out of him wanting to spoil me but it feels wrong. I feel like I should do more for him. I’m sure he’ll tell me letting him stay at my house is enough but it doesn’t feel like enough. It’s just a place to stay. It doesn’t require the same amount of effort for me to let him sleep at my house as it does for him to cook and clean and do chores for me. I’m really the one getting the better end of the deal here.
Apollo: BTW, should I be expecting someone to drop by?
Me: UGH! My friend Charlie is begging for a girl’s night. I tried talking her out of it but she’s kind of relentless.
Apollo: That’s the lawyer?
Me: That’s her.
I keep forgetting that he knows so much about me and my friends already, through his friendship with Oliver and Blue. It’s almost like I’ve known Apollo longer because of it. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to invite him into my home. Find him attractive and want to do naughty things with him. Even though he’s technically a stranger to me, he’s not a stranger to the people I trust most.
Apollo: Don’t let me stop you from living your life.
Me: I can’t ask you to hide from them though. And you can’t blow your cover now.
Apollo: Blake and Parker already know about me. If I’d gone to that party, all your friends would know. If Oliver trusts them to keep my secret, so do I. If you want a girl’s night, don’t let me stop you.
Me: You’ll be there though. Does that mean you’ll be one of the girls? LOL
