“You do this to me a lot.” Her voice was raspy.
“Do what?”
“Nothing. I’m not going to be alone in my house with you. Do you normally sneak behind your girlfriend’s back to go to another girl’s house?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Liar.”
“Not this time.”
She looked at me for a moment, her eyes direct and searching. She must have liked what she saw because, without a word, she went inside and left the door open for me.
I took my time. By the time I came inside, I saw her closing a door to what I assumed was the bathroom.
I saw her parka on the couch, where she’d carelessly thrown it, and her shoes by the door, so I removed mine before going in and took a seat on the sofa. There was a pink note posted on the wall that said SHOES OFF! And another one by the light switch that said LIGHTS OFF BEFORE YOU LEAVE! CHECK STOVE! I figured her mom probably posted them there. It was obvious by the knickknacks around the house that she didn’t live alone, but where was her family?
The tiny house looked bigger on the inside. It was one of the older houses in the neighborhood and it was clear t
hey’d renovated it at one point in time. Broke down the walls, so it was open concept now, added windows to let in more light. I had renovated houses like these with Rick before. It gave me a warm, good feeling to be in her home.
Fifteen minutes had passed when she came out of the bathroom. She stood outside the door. Her hair was up in a neat ponytail now. She had put gloss on her lips and did something subtle with her eyes that made them look bigger. She had changed into tight jeans and a sweater the color of sunshine.
My hands itched to touch. Her skin, her hair, her lips.
“How do you take your coffee?” she asked stiffly.
“Black.”
“I ran out of the good stuff. I only have instant.”
“That’s fine.”
She walked to the kitchen and put on the kettle to boil. I got up from the couch, followed her there. There was another pink note. This one said NO SPOON IN MICROWAVE! I chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, pouring hot water in a cup.
I gestured toward the note.
“I’m the only female in this house, surrounded by men who can’t function by themselves. I have to put reminders on everything or else they forget.”
I wondered where her mom was but didn’t comment.
She cleared her throat. “Answer this for me. Who was that girl in the…” She blushed. “In the bathroom with you?”
So, back to that. I looked down, so she wouldn’t see my smile. When I looked up, she was placing the mug of coffee on the counter beside me, then moved as far away from me as the tiny kitchen allowed.
“I never had a girlfriend before.”
“You want me to believe that?”
“I think you already do. I wouldn’t be in your house if you didn’t, would I?”
Her eyes sparkled, and a hint of a smile flirted on her lips. She was enjoying this.
“You’ve never gone out with any girl for more than a couple of weeks?”
“If I did, it never meant anything.”