MATT
I may have gone overboard.But once Ellie agreed to hanging out, I was determined to make sure she knew this was a good idea. And tacos are always a good idea.
I’m standing outside her apartment building door, freezing my ass off, with two takeout bags full of my favorite tacos and one grocery bag. Just for us. I also have my backpack on, but I didn’t put any food in there other than some protein bars for the morning. Wishful thinking and all that. I transfer one bag to the other side so I have a hand free to pull my phone out, bouncing on my feet to fight the cold. When I pull up Ellie’s contact to text her that I’m here, I see the reason I over-ordered and smile.
Today 12:37PM
Matt
Do you like tacos?
Confidential Fuck Buddy
is Minnesota cold in the winter?
Matt
Noted. See you tonight, C.F.B.
Confidential Fuck Buddy
please stop
Matt
Never :)
I shake my head and chuckle again at her earlier responses before quickly shooting her a new one to let her know I’m out front. I probably should’ve just asked her what she liked instead of ordering one of almost everything, but my common sense seems to take a backseat with Ellie. And everything from my favorite taco joint is really good. Proven by the fact the hole-in-the-wall restaurant is literally always packed. They also only serve lunch, but I may have called in a favor today. One of the few perks of being me that I take advantage of—food.
Ellie opens the door and warmth assaults me from the heated foyer and her bright smile. Her hair is down and looks a little damp, her gray T-shirt dotted with wet marks just beneath her shoulders. She’s wearing black leggings and thick white socks with smiley faces on them. There’s a matching smiley face in the middle of her oversized shirt. I study her bare face and feel a tug of happiness at her casual, comfortable appearance. She didn’t dress up for our date—for me, Matt Anderson. And I fucking love it.
Ellie pushes up on her toes and surprises me with a quick kiss on my cheek. She shivers and lets out a dramaticbrrrrnoise. I refrain from touching the tingling spot she kissed on my face.
“Hurry up, it’s freaking freezing,” she says in a chattering voice. She grabs one of the bags and turns to head up the stairs, which she takes two at a time.
I laugh and step inside, shutting the door behind me and following her up to her apartment. By the time I get up there, the door is ajar and Ellie is at the counter, ripping open the bag she carried. She pulls out the carton and holds it up to me, a pout on her confused face.
“This isn’t tacos,” she says.
I toe my shoes off and hold up the two bags I have before I set them on the counter in front of me. She claps and starts rummaging through them while I go shut the door and hang my jacket up, dropping my backpack underneath.
“Can I put this in the freezer?” I ask Ellie as I grab the ice cream from the counter where she left it.
I hear a muffled “Mhm” from where her head is almost literally inside one of the bags.
I chuckle and walk over to the freezer, opening it and looking for a spot to set it.
“Someone joining us for dinner? I’m not really dressed for guests,” she says.
I turn around and see Ellie perched on her knees on a barstool, all ten takeout containers stacked in two piles in front of her. She peers around them at me with a raised eyebrow and gestures to her outfit. I’m nearly struck speechless by her casual reference to the fact that I’m not a guest to her, despite it all being a joke. I swallow it down and answer her while I start opening the containers.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked. And everything from here is really good,” I explain and then name each of the different types of tacos.
She listens and then hops off her stool, rounding the counter to a cabinet where she pulls out two plates. She hands one to me and then proceeds to grab one of everything except the lengua. I file that away for next time and follow suit, filling my plate and then trailing Ellie over to the couch where she’s sitting. There’salready two glasses of water placed on the coffee table she must have filled before I got here.
“I forgot to order drinks in my last grocery delivery, sorry,” she says in between bites of food, nodding her head at the waters. “Yummm, this is good. Thanks for bringing food. I was starving.”
“Water’s always good,” I tell her, leaning over and dropping a quick kiss to her mouth as she chews.
