She makes me laugh. “That’s the most Ella thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
“Sorry.” She giggles.
“Don’t be sorry. I like you. Everything about you.”
“I like you too.”
While I already figured that, hearing her confirm it is relieving. I’ve never had a girl like me back. It was always a one-way thing. Knowing Ella and I share the same feelings makes me happy and excited to see what life has in store.
End of flashback
As I wait for Ella to open her front door, I watch the traffic whiz by. Where is everyone going in such a hurry? Ella probably hates being in the hustle and bustle of it all too, but I know she enjoys the short commute to work.
The click of the door unlocking pulls me from my thoughts. My gaze drops first to her smiling face, bright and beautiful as always, then to the rest of her, wearing a green sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, and fuzzy, pink socks.
Her eyes running over my jeans, boots, and sweatshirt layered under a jacket, she teases, “I said to dress comfy. We’re watching a movie.”
Stepping inside with a grin, I slip an arm around her waist to pull her in for a much-desired hug. “Jeans are comfortable for me,” I mutter, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, savoring the moment. She tastes sweet, literally. She must have just eaten candy or something.
She pulls back first. I watch her eyes catch on the flowers in my hand.
“Who are those for?” she teases.
“Gee, I’m not sure.” I bring them up between us. “ Perhaps some pretty girl who missed out on getting them from me the last ten years?”
Her smile grows and she takes them. “Thank you.” She leans in to kiss me again.
“I’ve missed you,” I murmur against her lips.
Her voice is tender. “Me too.”
She turns to the kitchen, and I watch as her 5’5” frame stretches onto her tiptoes, reaching for a cabinet above the fridge. I bite back a laugh and walk over to grab the vase she’s struggling to get.
Shooting me a playful glare, she mutters, “Must be nice.”
“This is why you need me,” I grin as I hand it over.
“Oh, is that right?” She smirks.
While she fills the vase and arranges the flowers, I glance around her apartment. It’s pretty bare—just the basics. Clean, simple, but one thing that does stick out is no TV. I scan the room again, just to be sure.
“El, you said you wanted to watch a movie?” I turn back toward her.
“Yeah.”
I laugh. “On what?”
She glances over her shoulder with a mischievous smile. “The TV’s in my room.”
“Oh.” My heart skips, my pulse suddenly louder than before as my mind races to places it shouldn’t.
Having been with her before makes it hard not to go there, to revisit those memories, but I know I have to if I want to resist temptation.
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” I stutter and follow her.
Her room feels more lived-in than the rest of the apartment. A few things hang on the walls, side tables with lamps sit on either side of the bed, and a rug covers most of the floor. I imagine she spends most of her time in here, if this is where she decided to house the tv.
