I high-step my way through the water to my closet and throw on a baggy sweatshirt. Luckily most of my stuff is hung up or in my small dresser, but my shoes aren’t so lucky. They’re all sitting in the murky water.
I can only thank God I didn’t throw my backpack down on the floor last night because it has my vintage camera in it.
A knock sounds a few minutes later and I open the door to a tired-looking Gary. A flood of water rushes out and he curses. “A pipe must have burst. I’m going to have to call a specialist.”
“How long do you think it’s going to take?” I ask. Because I don’t have anywhere else to go if this takes more than a day.
“Hopefully we’ll have it solved by the end of the day. In the meantime, I would pick up anything that’s on the floor that you don’t want to sit in water and put it in your car.”
I nod. “Sounds good. I’m headed to work but do what you have to do.”
We say our goodbyes so he can go make some phone calls, and I grab jeans and a shirt and shove them into my backpack along with some basic toiletries. I shove all my shoes in a trash bag to put in the car and look around the apartment. There’s nothing else on the floor besides my furniture, and I turn off the light and wait on the steps for Kyle.
“You look like shit,” he greets, walking down from his apartment.
I roll my eyes. “Thanks. A pipe burst. I’m getting ready at the coffee shop.” I hold up my stuffed backpack.
“You call Gary?”
“Yup, he says it shouldn’t take longer than the end of the day to get it fixed.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath. If you need somewhere to hang, my mom would be more than happy to have you over.”
I give him an appreciative smile. But there’s no way I’m intruding on him, his mom, and his sister.
I let Kyle go to the bakery by himself while I get myself semi-presentable for the day. The dark smudges under my eyes are going to have to stay because I didn’t bring any makeup, but for the most part, I look normal with my signature messy bun and baggy clothing. My waterlogged shoes squeak with every step I take but none of my shoes went unscathed.
It is what it is.
When the familiar chime of the door sounds, I whip my head in its direction to find Lucas walking toward the counter.
His ocean blue eyes are dimmed by his glasses but when he gets closer, they become clearer, penetrating my gaze.
I give him a small smile. “Morning.”
“Morning, beautiful.” He smiles back. The term of endearment is something he uses often now, something that has me biting my bottom lip, so I don’t act like a fool and give away how much I like it. I think the heat on my cheeks gives me away enough.
I grab a to-go cup and get to work making his mocha. My shoes have more heat rushing to my cheeks because the squeaking and squelching sounds are extra loud in the silent shop.
I finish his drink and hand it off to him.
He looks down towards my feet even though he can’t see them. “What’s with your shoes? You play in a puddle?” He chuckles.
I shake my head. “Burst pipe. My shoes are all waterlogged.”
He puts his coffee down on the counter. “What happened? Is it getting fixed? When will it get fixed.”
I chuckle at his rapid-fire questioning. “I’m not sure how a pipe bursts, but I was wading in two inches of water when I stepped out of bed. My landlord says it should be fixed by the end of the day.”
“Give me your phone.” He gestures to my jeans pocket.
For some reason, I don’t hesitate to pull it out and hand it to him. “Why do you need my phone?”
He peeks at me through the top of his glasses while looking through my phone and smirks. “The other day you took my phone number but didn’t leave yours.” A ping sounds from his phone a second later. “Now I have it.” He hands my phone back to me. “You should have that password protected.”
“So you’ve said. Are you going to tell me why you really need my number though?”
“I’m going to text you when I get home from work and if you don’t text back, I’ll come over to your place to make sure everything’s okay.”
