“Jeebus, this hangover is something,” Leena groaned as she exited her bedroom, head in her hands. Her sudden arrival stirred me from my sleep as she stumbled toward the kitchen. I chuckled at her rugged appearance and hung my head off the couch to follow her with my gaze. She was only wearing a wrinkled oversized t-shirt and a thong... And a single sock.
“Well, you shouldn’t have had so much to drink last night.” I slid off the couch and wrapped my blanket around me to follow her. Her only response to that was waving her hand toward me in a dismissive manner .
“Thank you for the pills. That was helpful.” Leena gave me a sleepy smile and plopped her elbow on the counter, resting her head on her hand.
I rolled my eyes at her with a smile of my own. “What can I do for you, hun? How do you survive your hangovers?”
Leena opened up a drawer next to her and handed me a piece of paper. It looked like a hangover drink recipe. Some of the ingredients made my nose scrunch up and nearly set off my gag reflex. I couldn’t imagine the texture of raw egg going down my throat. She laughed at my reaction, wincing from the impact on her head. Instant regret flooded her face. I held back my own laughter. It was rude to laugh at another one’s suffering.
“So you need me to make this?” I looked at her, lifting the paper up slightly in reference to what I was speaking about.
She nodded. “Yep. It’s gross, but it never fails...” Her voice faltered and I tilted my head in confusion. She gave me an almost pleading glance. “Would you be willing to make me some buttered toast and scrambled eggs too… please?” Her lower lip stuck out, putting extra work into the plea.
I sighed, somewhat dramatically, to play in with her own dramatic act. “I guess.” Leena snorted at my attempt and slowly grabbed the tools I’d require to appease her needs. While she grabbed the machine and cookware, I gathered the ingredients. Soon, there was very little visible space left on the counter. It wasn’t like there was much space to begin with, this only being a simple apartment, but the counter was officially cluttered. Between hot sauce, eggs, bread, lemon juice, pans, toaster, blender, and God knows what else.
“If you need me, I’ll be out there... somewhere.” Leena pointed in the general direction of the living room and began shuffling out. I couldn’t help the chuckle that released from my throat. She was cute. If I were into girls, I'd probably end up going for someone like Leena.
Mentally, I shook my head to rid the weird thoughts invading my brain and began heating up a pan with a little butter in the center. As I waited for the pan to reach the right temperature, I blended up her strange drink and dumped it in a large cup and added a straw. I held my blanket together around my neck with one hand and grabbed her drink with the other. My feet moved their way across the floor and made the delivery of the disgusting concoction.
“Oh you’re a God send,” Leena sighed in relief and took the glass from me happily, taking a long sip. I curtsied in a mocking manner and threw my blanket over her head. One arm flailed from underneath and I snorted a laugh. “I take that back, you jerk!”
My laughter grew louder and I half walked, half ran back into the kitchen before she could remove the blanket and retaliate. “Don’t kill the one who’s making you breakfast!” I shouted over my shoulder toward her. There was a frustrated grunt from the other room and I smirked in victory.
The butter in the pan was nearly in liquid form. I picked up the pan by the handle and swirled the butter, coating the cooking surface completely. Once I was satisfied that every spot was coated, I mixed up some eggs, salt, pepper, and milk in a bowl and dumped them in. The eggs instantly sizzled and a grin crossed my lips from the beautiful sound.
As the eggs cooked, I took the time to wash the blender and reorganized the kitchen. I plopped four slices of bread in the toaster, two pieces for me and two for Leena. No way was I only making food for her! In the distance, I could hear quiet voices. Leena must have turned on the TV.
“Better be some good show or I’m fighting her,” I mumbled to myself, mixing up the eggs to prevent them from burning. “Take turns getting all fluffy and delicious, my precious creation.”
“Do you talk to your food like that all the time, or is this a one time thing?”
I startled as a male voice filled the kitchen space, spinning around to locate the source of the sound. Of course, there was only one person who it could have been.
Garrett.
His dark hair stuck out in all directions, a purposeful mess. It was like he knew what it did to me, especially when it’s accompanied with that desirable smirk. This handsome man just caught me talking to my eggs as if they were human. My face did what it did best – flushed. I turned back to the food to hide the red that covered my face and scoffed.
“The food’s gotta be made with love. Might as well talk to it like it has feelings. These were potential chicken babies after all.”
This earned a deep laugh from Garrett as he came up beside me, glancing down at the pan. “Looks like they’re almost done. Did you sprinkle enough love?”
I rolled my eyes and pushed him back with my hips, removing the pan from the heat. The eggs received a final push around before being dropped on the two awaiting plates, just as the toast popped up from the toaster. “What’s it to you? You won’t be eating it anyway.” I glanced in his direction as he moved back to the door frame that connected the living room and kitchen, an amused glimmer showing in his eyes.
My hands grabbed the toast and I placed them on the plates, opposite of the eggs. Once they were abundantly coated in butter, I gathered up both plates and made my way toward the overly cocky man. I tried to push him aside so I could deliver a plate to Leena, but he didn’t budge. “Move,” I ordered as politely as I could, giving him my best death glare. His smirk grew in size.
“Magic word?”
My eyes narrowed more in annoyance. “Please,” I managed to hiss out between my teeth.
“Nuh uh.”
“Excuse me?” I stepped back, my mouth slightly agape.
“That’s not it either.” The amusement in his eyes turned into a playful gaze, taking in every inch of my face. His smirk still held on strong.
My grip on the plates grew tighter, frustration taking over. What the hell is his problem right now? I think he noticed the slight change in my stance for his smirk faded and all cockiness he was radiating disappeared. “Guess I took that too far, huh?” He raked his hand through his hair nervously, looking at me almost shyly.
I offered him a fake, sarcastic smile. “Just a smidge. You don't stand between a hungry woman and her food.”
Garrett coughed awkwardly and nodded, turning sideways to offer a path. “My apologies, Sophie.”
Something stirred in me, seeing him so vulnerable and apologetic like that, but I couldn't let him see the effect it had. Fighting back the electric feelings, I rolled my eyes to continue playing the pissed off woman and made my way directly to Leena on the couch, placing her plate in her lap. “There you go. Three eggs and two slices of toast, with butter,” I presented the menu with a wink.
Leena gasped with happiness and fake sobbed. “Oh, you are a true friend, girl. I appreciate you so much,” she whined, hugging the plate awkwardly against her chest. I chuckled at her exaggeration and plopped next to her, my own plate in my lap. I took a large bite of a slice of toast. Leena looked at me, her head tilting. “Where did that hot guy disappear to?” She sat up straight, her eyes wide. “Don’t tell me you kicked him out!”
My chewed up toast was suddenly hard to swallow and I coughed to stop myself from choking. “Hot guy?” I questioned her with my mouth full.
She nodded and set her plate on the table. “Yeah, the dark, sexy guy. He came in looking for you and we talked a little before he went to find you.” She gave me a suggestive wink. “How do I get a guy like that to ask for my presence?”
My brow furrowed and I threw what was left of that slice of toast at her. She giggled and ate it happily. “He’s still here, probably sulking in the kitchen after his rudeness didn’t get the results he wanted.”
Heavy footsteps made their way toward us and I felt his body heat behind me before I caught a glimpse of his body. “Hey now, that’s not fair. I just wanted to play a little,” Garrett responded, a chuckle coming out. It almost sounded like it was painful to let out.
“Well it was rude, making our food cold like that.” I stuck my tongue out at him and shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth.
“Let me make it up to you then.” Garrett swooped around and sat his butt next to mine, watching me eat. The couch was barely big enough for all three of us, no space between his thigh and my own. My core heated and I cursed the hormones that invaded my body.
I looked at him, gathering my wits. “Why?”
It was Garrett’s turn to roll his eyes. “Because it will be fun? That’s why I am here. I was going to ask you out for that second date we talked about.” He offered a hopeful smile. Leena released a small squeak of happiness. My head snapped in her direction, glaring at her. She couldn’t have cared less about the look that could kill. Happiness radiated off her entire being.
“So this is the guy!” Leena squealed loudly, clapping her hands, obviously forgetting about her hangover. She whimpered and grabbed her head. “Crap, why do I do this?”
At first, I was annoyed by her outburst. The ending made up for it. I laughed and Garrett joined me. Leena flipped us off and moved to the chair against the wall with her breakfast. I held back the physical sigh of relief that threatened to expose my true feelings and scooted away from Garrett a few inches.
Much to my annoyance, and regretfully, my joy, Garrett moved closer to me. He rested his elbow on the back of the couch and placed his head in his hand, looking down at me with a hopeful expression. “What do you say?”
My gaze drifted to the muscles that were flexed in his arm and a small shiver ran through my body while my heart pounded furiously. How did he get such a physical reaction out of me with everything he does? He shifted his weight which caused me to snap from my trance. “Huh?” I blinked a few times, coming back to my senses. I looked at him. He seemed cool and collected, patiently waiting for an answer.
“A second date. You and me.”
I thought about it for a moment. The first date wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. We really connected toward the end, and got lost learning about each other. Maybe this could be a do over for the beginning of the last date. Maybe I wasn't giving him a fair shot, a fair shot he seemed to deserve from me.
I twisted my shirt in my hands, focusing on the swirl patterns it made. The apartment was quiet, the only sounds coming from Leena’s fork on the plate and an occasional smack from her chewing. Garrett let out an awkward cough, breaking the silence.
“So…?” He held my gaze with his own, his body tensed.
I met his gaze with mine and smiled a little. “Sure. I’d like that.” A smile of his own grew across his lips and I held up a finger. “But this doesn’t mean you’re forgiven… yet.”
Garrett laughed, nodding. “Fair enough. Get ready, this will be an all day thing.”
My eyebrow rose in response. “I don’t think so. I’m still eating my breakfast. You must wait.”
A pout replaced the smile on his face. “Fine.”
I continued eating my food, taking the smallest bites I could manage. All the while, Garrett seemed concentrated on my lips, not acting the tiniest bit bothered by me taking my sweet time. I'd eat all damn day just to see him watch me the way he was at that moment.
~
“Where are you taking me?”
After an “excruciating” (his words, not mine) fifteen minutes of me finishing my breakfast, Garrett basically kidnapped me and dragged me to my own apartment to change. He didn’t give me a chance to choose my own clothes. He just dug right into my wardrobe and threw a pair of jeans and a purple blouse at me, leaving me to dress in a hurried manner. Garrett was really pushy when his impatience ran wild.
Once he was satisfied with my wardrobe change, he sat me down on the couch and shoved my feet in my shoes. I tried so hard to be mad, but he didn’t give me the chance. The kidnapping and the changing took no more than eight minutes. With a final tug on my laces, Garrett picked me up bridal style and took me to his car. That time, I did put up a fight. My fists met with his chest and I was yelling at him to put me down. My attempts were feeble. It only made him laugh straight from his toned belly. God, I could listen to that for years.
Now we’re going down the highway and had been for the last thirty minutes.
“For the last time, it’s a surprise, Sophie.” Garrett chuckled as I crossed my arms against my chest.
“You kidnapped me and shoved me in your car, and I don’t get to know?” I gave him an incredulous look, causing his chuckle to turn into full on laughter. My body tingled in response.
“What, you don’t trust me or something?” He smirked. “I think I’m a pretty trustworthy guy.”
“We’ve had one date and you showed up at my apartment unannounced,” I chuckled. “You could be a serial killer for all I know.”
Garrett placed his hand on my knee and gave it a squeeze. “Calm, Sophie. I promise I will not hurt you.” He gave me a quick glance that lasted a couple seconds before returning his gaze to the road. He was so serious when he said that, and I believed him. The heat in my core spread through my limbs, my heart running an Olympic sprint.
After another fifteen minutes or so of silence, Garrett finally took an exit and we made it off the freeway and into a busy town. Skyscrapers were towering over us, people milled around with their hurried paces, and cars were everywhere. The streets were like a parking lot. Everyone and their mothers were out and about. I scrunched up my nose at the clutter of the big city.
“Why did you bring me here?” I asked Garrett as I turned my attention back on him.
He shrugged. “You can find the good things in cities.” He turned toward me, focusing his attention on me as we sat at a red light. Doubt crossed my face as the claustrophobia squeezed my stomach. He laughed. “Don’t give me that look, I promise you’re going to like where we’re going.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’ll see about that.”
Garrett took his hand and cupped my cheek with it. My face burned with shyness from the sudden physical affection, his hand stroking my cheekbone. “You should stop scrunching your face like that… Takes away from your beauty.” He studied me, my cheeks, my hair, my nose, my eyes, and my lips. My lips a few different times. The light turned green and he returned his hand to the steering wheel, pressing forward through the buildings. If I wasn't conflicted about what just happened, I would be hyperventilating about now.
I wasn’t sure if I was offended or not by his comment. He called me beautiful in a way, but it almost seemed like an insult at the same time. Mentally, I shrugged it off. I was pretty sure it was a compliment. My cheeks were still burning from the earlier interaction. I pressed my face against the cool glass of my window and watched people go about their day. Some people were doing interesting things, like the guy I saw riding a unicycle through the crowd. I used to be able to do that, but I'd never openly admit it.
We continued driving and suddenly the buildings thinned out and we came across spread out neighborhoods, houses on either side of us. We kept going, further and further from civilization. Right now, I’d probably be panicking. How could I though with his promise? I fully believed it, even as the houses disappeared and grassy fields became my view.
Finally, after what felt like hours, we came across a big sign.
“Pat’s Pumpkin Patch?” I questioned out loud as Garrett took a turn onto the mud road. He chuckled at my reaction and shook his head.
“It’ll be fun. Look, they have a ferris wheel, a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, booth games… It’s like the fair, but the fall version. It’s their annual harvest carnival.” Garrett grinned like no other, so proud of his idea.
I’d admit, it seemed kind of fun. I didn’t get to go to the fair this year, so this would be a good replacement. “Do they have good carnival food too?”
Garrett raised his brow at me. “Didn’t you just eat?”
I raised a finger in his direction. “Don’t go judging my eating habits, boy! I’ll think about food whenever I damn please!”
Garrett laughed uncontrollably as he pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off. “You must only think about the food then, because there’s no way you can have a body that smoking and eat much.”
“It’s called a fast metabolism, you jealous?” I flipped him the finger and got out of the car and onto the muddy grass. Garrett followed my lead and came over to me, trapping me against the car with his body and legs. He brought his lips close to my own and my breath caught in my chest.
“Not jealous,” he whispered seductively with a smirk. One arm was braced against the car by my head while his free hand traveled down my neck, so soft I could barely feel it. Goosebumps covered my entire body from the sensation and I fought to keep my eyes open and the moan threatening to reveal itself trapped in my throat. "The fact that I'm the one who can touch your body right now while other men can't, I'm winning, baby." He pushed himself away from the car and started walking toward the sales building, leaving me with a burning face and a mess leaking between my legs. My mind shook off the fog quicker than the rest of me as I breathed heavily and blinked a few times, processing what just happened. I heard a laugh from the direction I watched him go. “You coming, Soph?”
I shook my head and ran off to catch up with him. He grinned and took my arm in his, leading me inside the wooden barn like building. It was a long rectangle, shelves filled with souvenirs and treats. Against the left side wall held the cashiers stand. Everything was rustic, down to the colors and décor. A small smile carved onto my face.
“This place is super cute.” I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of caramel apples and kettle corn. My feet bounced off the floor in happiness. “Oh God, I can’t wait to dig in!”
Garrett laughed. “Your appetite is going to cost me an arm and leg today, huh?”
“It’s very possible,” I smirked in response.
Garrett dragged us to the cashier’s corner and took out his wallet. “Two wristbands please, and a caramel apple for the princess.” He gave me a wink and I gave him a disgusted look for the nickname.
“Princess? Really?”
He grinned. “Yes.”
The cashier smiled at us. “Y’all are cute. That’ll be $25 please.”
The cashier asked the helper behind her for a caramel apple as she took the cash from Garrett’s hand. She prepped the bracelets and secured them around our wrists. The helper came back, a caramel apple in his hand and she took it with a thanks, handing it over to me.
“Thank you so much,” I said, offering her a smile. It was hard not to start drooling over the delicious treat now sitting in my hand. Caramel was one of my favorite treats. Add it on an apple… Mmm!
I took a big bite of my apple, struggling to pull off the caramel. An amused look swam in Garrett’s eyes as he watched me. There was something else in there that I couldn’t quite identify, but I couldn’t say I cared much. Not with the sticky, sweet dessert floating over my taste buds.
“What’s first, you starving pup?” Garrett chuckled as I wiped my mouth and took a look around. There were a handful of options and they were all surrounded by mud. I was suddenly grateful Garrett shoved me in my hiking boots.
“Let’s go play some booth games. I want to kick your butt at ring toss.”
He gasped dramatically, quickly replacing it with a smug smirk and a wink. “It’s on, Princess.”
Ignoring the god awful nickname, I skipped my way in front of him to the ring toss. My hands slapped the counter a few times. “Hit me up with some rings please!” I directed my exclamation toward the person in charge of the booth with a grin. He eyed me with hooded lids, a bum expression on his face. He must really enjoy his life.
“Do you have tickets or a wrist band?” He asked me, his voice as dull and sleepy as his face. I flashed my wristband at him, and he gave me a slight nod, grabbing five, multicolored rings to hand to me. Garrett took a stance beside me, his arms across his chest. It was a silent challenge. I accepted.
I laced my fingers together and pushed them forward, the sweet sound of my knuckles cracking filled my ears. Garrett gave me a curious look and I smirked in return. I grabbed the rings and tossed each one with ease, the centers of the rings finding a peg to sink onto. I pumped my arms in the air with a celebration screech. “Yes!”
Garrett slowly clapped his hands with a grin. “Nicely done, Princess. Cute victory celebration by the way.”
“Oh suck it, Garrett. Beat what I just did,” I laughed and wiggled happily. The guy running the booth came up to me.
“You can pick anything from the middle row.”
I glanced at the prizes hanging in the middle. They all looked like cheap carnival junk and I did not want a stuffed animal shedding its crap fur all over my apartment. That’s when I saw it. The perfect prize. I smirked. “The turkey hat please.”
The man gave me a funny look, shrugging his shoulders as he turned and retrieved the ball cap, a stuffed turkey body attached to the top. It looked like the cap was shoved in the butt of the turkey, causing the turkey to shriek and freak out. He handed the hat to me. “Enjoy your prize.”
I grinned. “Oh I will.” Turning on my heels, I made the hat dance with my hands as I locked my eyes with Garrett’s. His face paled, no doubt seeing where this was going.
“Princess, I’ll do a lot for you. But I refuse, refuse, to wear that hat.”
“Who said you get a choice?” I responded, my voice oozing mock sweetness.
Garrett held his hands up in surrender as I advanced, but he wasn’t having it. He booked it across the lot and I ran after him, laughing as I tried to reach out to place the hat upon his head. Suddenly, he stopped.
And I crashed into him.
I felt my body falling backwards, but two strong hands grabbed the top of my arms and pulled me back up. Laughter rumbled in the chest of the gorgeous man as he held me to him. I shook him off and stood back, feeling my grumpiness painting itself all over my body.
“Not even a thank you?” Garrett tilted his head at me.
“Nope.”
He smirked and got closer to me. I planted my feet in the mud, refusing to give him the satisfaction of moving back. His hand lifted, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. Gently, he took the hat from my grip and slipped it on his head. He pulled back slightly and posed. “How do I look?”
I chuckled and rolled my eyes, smiling at the goofy grin on his face. “Fabulous.”
He cupped both of my cheeks with his hands, gazing into my eyes. “I don’t like seeing you grumpy.”
My breath caught in my throat, my body catching on fire. “I don’t like feeling grumpy either.”
He nodded and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, making my heart pick up in speed. “I’ll work on it… But for now, I need to kick your ass in ring toss.” His hands dropped from my face and he took one of my own in his. He guided me back to the ring toss booth and showed the wristband to the man. He grabbed five rings and slid them to Garrett. Garrett gave me a smirk and a wink, all five rings in his hand. “Watch this, Princess.”
He flung all five rings at once, all landing on the peg in the far back, up on a couple shelves. He dusted his hands off, acting nonchalant while me and the booth man stared at him, our mouths gaping wide. Booth guy was the first to come out of the trance.
“My dude, that’s the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.” Booth guy walked up to the counter and gave Garrett a handshake. “Whatever prize you want, it’s yours. Hell, you can pick two things if you want.”
Garrett looked around and pointed at the biggest stuffed animal hanging from the ceiling. “That giant teddy bear, please.”
“One giant teddy bear coming right up!” The booth man grabbed a hook and brought down the light brown bear and handed it to Garrett.
“Thanks, man.” Garrett grinned and took the bear, handing it to me.
I blinked a few times, still not completely back from the shock. “Huh? What’s this for?”
He shrugged. “A thanks for giving me another chance at a date? Or maybe someone as cute as you deserves a teddy bear that big.”
I hid my smile behind the teddy bear, burying my face into its soft fur. This was a genuine stuffed animal, not one of the cheap carnival ones. It was like hugging a cloud. Perfectly soft, perfectly squishy. Maybe I should name it Garrett? I giggled at the thought.
“What’s so funny?” Garrett questioned me.
“Nothing, my mind wandered a bit,” I responded in a muffled voice, my face still hiding in the bear’s back.
“Come on, let’s go demolish some other games.” Garrett reached his hand out to me and I peaked at it from behind the bear. His fingers wiggled in response and I smiled, holding the bear in one arm as I took Garrett’s hand with my now free hand.
We walked all over the farm, playing nearly every game that was available. We took a longer walk around the pumpkin patch, pointing out weirdly shaped looking pumpkins, talking about how we’d carve them. After our walk, we went and grabbed some food, indulging in the fried, disgustingly amazing carnival food. We sat at a table while we ate, my teddy bear sitting on one of my legs. I refused to let it touch the benches covered in crumbs and spilled drinks.
It was starting to get late. The sun was sitting low in the sky and the lights at the carnival turned on. I glanced around at the sight, admiring the beautiful light patterns shining from the ferris wheel. Garrett followed where I was looking and looked at me with a smile.
“Want to go up there before we head out?” He asked me quietly.
I could feel the sparkle in my eye as I returned his look, nodding excitedly. He stood up and offered me a hand. I took it and stood up with my bear. He led me through the diminishing crowd to the front of the ferris wheel. We both presented our wristbands and the operator directed us to an empty car. We slid in, Garrett and my teddy bear at the ends, me squished in the middle.
The ferris wheel began to turn, moving at a slow pace. I watched the sun remove it’s last twinkle from the sky as it went away completely, the orange glow it created fading along with it. My head found Garrett’s shoulder hesitantly. Garrett seemed to stiffen in response. As the ride continued, he slowly relaxed his body.
“Thank you,” I mumbled quietly. Garrett startled at the sound of my voice, as if he were brought back from a trance.
“For what?” He looked down at me.
“For today.” I glanced at the bear. “And for Randy.”
Garrett scoffed. “You named the bear Randy?” I smacked his chest.
“Don’t ruin the mood, asshole,” I chuckled.
Garrett took my head in his hand, pressing it sideways into his lips. He kissed the top of my head and ran his fingers through my hair. “It’s been my pleasure… I really like you, Sophie,” his voice dropped to nearly a whisper. “I wanted to make up for the coffee shop incident. That was awkward for all of us.”
I offered him a smile. “I think today made up for it perfectly…”
Garrett gave me a serious look, planting his gaze on my lips. He leaned forward some and I blushed, biting my lip nervously. He looked back into my eyes. “Is it okay if-” I cut him off, pressing my lips into his boldly. He groaned in response, wrapping an arm around my waist, his free hand on the back of my head. Our car stopped at the top of the ferris wheel, jerking it a bit, but we hardly noticed. We were too caught up in our kiss, our hands exploring each other. Garrett pulled me toward him more and I climbed onto his lap, straddling his hips. His hands traveled up my shirt and up my bare back. Our kisses grew more hungry, more desperate. My body was screaming for more, but my mind was screaming a much different tune. Too much. There was too much between us.
We were also in public.
That realization brought me back, causing me to gasp. We were both panting, our bodies warm from desire. The heat slowly changed origins, from desire to slight embarrassment. I could feel his member poking into my thigh and I blushed deeply. “I-I’m sorry…” I stuttered softly, covering my mouth with my hands. Garrett chuckled.
“It’s alright. I got a little carried away... Or I guess, we both got carried away.” He gave me a wink which was not helping my shyness. I slowly slid off his lap and back onto my seat.
Our car slowly started up again. I straightened my shirt and mentally shook my head. Wow… I almost had sex on a ferris wheel.
Bigger wow, I’m sad I pulled away before we made it happen.
~
We were back in front of my apartment, Randy in my arms and Garrett standing in front of me. I shuffled my foot against the concrete shyly. “Thank you, again, for today. I had more fun than I expected.”
Garrett gave me a smile and brushed my bangs back. “You’re very welcome, Princess. I can’t wait for date number three.” He winked.
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Who said you were getting a third date?”
“You.” He grinned. “I think our little make out session was confirmation enough.”
My body flared for the millionth time tonight, my hand lightly smacked into his chest causing him to laugh. “You turd.” I sighed happily and smiled up at his gorgeous face, his green eyes shining from the moonlight. “It’s getting late,” I added, my voice dropping with my smile. “I should head inside.”
Garrett nodded and planted a kiss on my head. “Goodnight, Soph. Go get your beauty rest. I’ll text you?”
“Of course.” I offered a small smile and grabbed my keys from my pocket. Garrett grinned at my answer and started off down the stairs. I held back a squeal, hugging Randy to me tighter before I worked on my lock and shuffling into my apartment. I closed the door and relocked it, leaning against it as I replayed the events in my head. There was a part of me who wanted to go straight to Leena and tell her everything, but the other part was telling me no. I decided she could wait. This gave us an excuse to have another girls night soon. Besides, I wanted to have something to fawn over by myself for a while.
Dragging Randy behind me, I made my way to my bedroom and sat him on my bed before I went to the bathroom and took a shower. I hummed happily as I washed the day off. As I dragged my hands over my body to lather it with soap, I paused a moment. My memory flashed back to the ferris wheel, the feeling of Garrett’s hands on my skin. My cheeks flushed at the recollection and I quickly rinsed off and got out of the shower. No need to get myself worked up again.
I dried myself off and put on some clean pajamas. My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I picked it up and frowned. Jesus, I was in the shower for an hour? I’m not looking forward to the next water bill I see. The frown didn’t stay long once I saw who it was that messaged me.
Goodnight, beautiful. Hope you’ll dream of me ;)
Garrett. Sending me goodnight messages now? This man was going to be the death of me.
I crawled into bed and hugged Randy to me, using his body as my pillow. I breathed in the carnival smell that lingered in his fur and smiled. My hands brushed down Randy’s fur softly as my body sunk into my mattress, sleepiness taking over my senses. It’s crazy how quickly life could change. Thankfully, mine was for the better.
A banging at the door interrupted my comfort. I jumped out of bed, panicking. Who the hell could be at my door in the middle of the night? The knocking became more aggressive.
“Sophie, please! Open up!”
Leena?
I ran over to the door and opened it up, peaking my head out. It was indeed Leena. She pushed open the door, knocking me to the side as she came in. Tears were streaming down her face, her face distraught as she looked at me.
“Hun, what’s going on?” I asked her, worry filling my tone as I closed the door and locked it again.
She fell to the ground, sobbing hysterically and I knelt down beside her, gathering her up in my arms. “M-my mother.” She sniffed.
“What about her, hun?” I rocked her slowly, my hands petting her hair down.
“She’s dead.”
ns 15.158.61.46da2
