Josie and I were back at the apartment, exhausted from playing, which would be Josie, and trying to dodge Rhett all day, which would be me. We were in our PJs happily munching away on mac and cheese, sitting on the large king-sized bed in the room I’d claimed, watching yet another episode of a show calledMeister Eder und sein Pumuckl. It was in German, I understood about half, Josie probably a little less but she loved it nevertheless. The series was old, the graphics questionable but the story was cute. It was about a little goblin cartoon character with bright red hair that could make himself invisible and lived with a carpenter.
Oma had a million and one VHS tapes of it from when my dad was young and once Josie saw the first episode, she was hooked. Oma was happy because she was trying to teach us all German, with varying degrees of success. And lucky me, the show was on YouTube so we could watch it whenever we wanted.
Josie was giggling at Pumuckl, the goblin, and happily shoving food into her mouth. I was laughing with her, mostly because she was hilarious and so engrossed in the show that she tried to repeat some of the words they were saying. And her version was so much better.
A knock pulled me out of my happy place and back into reality. Since not many people knew I was staying in this apartment, the list of possible visitors was fairly short. So unless Oma and Freddie had driven out here, the only other option was Rhett.
I reluctantly made my way to the door, thinking of the best way to get rid of him. Josie would be no help since she was in another dimension when she watched TV. The apartment was huge, the bedrooms at the other end, meaning it took me a while to get to the door and the knocking got louder.
“Keep your pants on, I’m on my way,” I grumbled and made it to the door just in time to interrupt another round of knocking.
“What took so long? Is everything okay?” Rhett asked, dropping his hand.
“It’s a huge apartment. And I’m a slow walker when I have a full belly. Takes a while to get the door is all.”
Rhett’s gaze dropped to my stomach, and I wrapped my arms around myself protectively. I was pretty slim, but compared to his fiancée, I was a clunker. She was super tall and a size zero; I was super short and a size four. My clothes were old, the t-shirt one of Nate’s. It was washed out and had a hole in the shoulder, the shorts were in a similar condition. But I held on to as many of Nate’s things that I could without going into creepy territory and his shirt was one of my favorites, so I wore it often.
“What do you need that can’t wait until tomorrow?” I asked, sounding bitchier than I intended. But I had no energy left to argue with him. I was all argued out for today. I just wanted to get back into bed and cuddle with Josie.
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Okay, that was sweet and thoughtful. And I felt like a dick for snapping at him. “We’re fine. Anna doesn’t know we’re here.”
“You don’t have to worry. Security in this building is pretty tight. She wouldn’t even get past the entrance.” He looked over my shoulder. “Can I come in? Or are we going to have a conversation in the hallway?”
I guess it was his apartment after all. And I felt bad for snapping at him, so I blamed my lack of retort on that and stepped back to let him through.
He didn’t waste any time and stepped past me, his arm lightly brushing my front and making my nipples harden. Down girls, this was not what it felt like. Accidental brush does not equal sexy times were about to come your way. Goosebumps formed and I had to swallow the lump in my throat. If he made my body react this way with an accidental touch, I didn’t want to find out what he could do when he meant it.
I closed the door and followed him into the living room. He looked around in confusion. “Where is Josie?”
“Watching her show. We’re doing dinner and TV in bed. Don’t tell Oma.”
His lips twitched and he looked unsure of himself. I was thrown off course because the only Rhett I knew was the confident version. The one that took charge and told you what to do. The one that didn’t take no for an answer.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner.”
“Have you eaten yet? We’re having mac and cheese.” Did I just offer him dinner? What was wrong with me? I didn’t want him in the apartment, much less eating dinner with us.
“Sure, that sounds nice.” He sounded perfectly at ease, happy to eat our two dollar dinner that came from a box.
“I’ll just have to check on Josie quickly. Do you want to sit down while you wait?”
He moved towards the kitchen, waving me off. “I can get it. Despite popular belief, I do know how to put pasta in a bowl. And since this is my apartment, I also know where the bowls are kept.”
“Great. Pot is on the stove, help yourself. I’ll be right back.”
I disappeared around the corner, breathing easier once I was out of sight. He made me nervous. And excited. And I got all sorts of feelings I didn’t understand. It was almost like my childhood crush had come back full force and I was helpless to stop it. Reminding myself that he was engaged poured a bucket of ice water on my feelings.
“Hey, Spatz, you want more food?” I asked, popping my head in the door.
Josie was lying back against the pillows, bowl clutched tightly in front of her, mac and cheese all over her PJs and bed.
“I had accident.”
“I can see that,” I said and took in the mess, a macaroni and cheese bomb seemed to have gone off in the bedroom. And it was my fault for leaving a two year old to eat by herself on a bed. So there was no way I would tell her off. “Let me just grab something to clean you up okay? Don’t move.”
“M’kay,” she replied, eyes back on the TV. If she wasn’t so entranced she would have moved, but I felt confident she’d stay in place.
