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I told Brinley I’d message her tonight. And yes, I picked up my phone to do that very thing no less than a dozen times. But I don’t know what it is with this chick; she’s like catnip to me. She’s a magnet, and despite not wanting it, I can’t help but be drawn to her in ways I can’t explain.
I hear the peephole cover slide open, and then the sound of locks turning stops my racing thoughts.
The door opens slowly and sleepy green eyes peek out from around the doorframe, squinting slightly at the bright fluorescent light of the hallway.
“Reed?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” I say quietly. I scratch my nose and shift on my feet. “Sorry to wake you, I just… I just wanted to –”
She smiles and her lips are all pretty and pink and her cheeks are puffy and she looks really cute with messy bed hair, dark brown curls that make her look whimsical, and yet somehow homeless at the same time.
“Come in.” She opens the door wider to allow me into her apartment. “What are you doing here?” Her voice is a warm sleepy sound that wraps around me and makes me want to curl up inside it. “I thought you were going to message me?”
Silence sits between us like a heavy weight as I stare back at her. She’s wearing a T-shirt that’s way too big for her, one side hangs off her shoulder. It stops just above her knees and my eyes instantly cascade down her slim legs.
“If I say I was just in the neighborhood, is that going to sound lame?”
“Totally.”
“Harsh,” I say, walking inside and collapsing down on the couch.
“This isn’t a booty call, is it?”
“Definitely not.”
“You don’t want to think about it for a minute?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, if you were into that sort of thing then –” Time for me to shut the hell up. I’m making things worse with the way she’s now staring at me with wide eyes. I hold my hands up defensively. “That’s not what I mean either, Brinley. I’m sorry. What I’m trying to say is that… well, I…”
“Yes?”
Oh, fuck it, I’m just going to come right out and say it.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And I missed you. And I wanted to apologize to you about the other night.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I shouldn’t have walked out on you like that. It was just a lot to process. I also wanted to hear how your day went. But I wanted to hear about it in person and not over the phone. I wanted to see the excitement on your face when you told me all about it.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, and I thought maybe… well, I dunno… I thought you might want to hang out with me tonight.”
Brinley smiles at me so wide I can see the whites of her teeth glowing brightly in the otherwise muted light of her living room.
Damn, her smile is killer.
I run my fingers through my hair, pushing it back out of my eyes. I washed it earlier being that I’d been sweating up a storm all day at rehearsals, and now it’s too soft, too wispy and I wish I’d grabbed a hair tie on my way out because it’s all over the place tonight.
“Only if you’re not too tired?” I add quickly as an afterthought.
“I’m not,” she assures me. “I’ll get us a snack.”
I get comfortable on the couch, tossing my phone down on the cushion beside me before pointing the remote at the television. Maybe I shouldn’t make myself so at home, but that’s sort of how it feels here. Brinley’s cramped, rundown apartment feels more like home to me than my penthouse suite.
“Do you like popcorn?”
“Sounds perfect,” I reply.
