rosemary's smile disappeared as fast as it appeared. she cleared her throat and stood up, brushed off her pants, then she walked away. josh's own smile faltered, watching her worn converse click against the wood floors. when he looked back at the dog, she was gone too.
josh frowned and stood back up, staring at the elevator they came in from. why was he even still there? he could have left a while ago. rosemary probably wouldn't stop him.
just as josh was about to leave, he could smell something coming from what he learned was the kitchen. it smelled like pizza. josh bit his lip as he looked from the elevator to the kitchen, debating on which he should go with.
josh ended up jogging to the large kitchen, seeing rosemary there with a small pizza. it looked amazing. josh was a bit confused, as most frozen pizzas never smell half as good as the one she had made. then, josh saw all the ingredients she had out. yet again, rosemary had surprised him.
she only took one slice out of the oven, unlike what one would expect. rosemary finally looked up at josh, noticing his presence. she bit her lip and looked back at the pizza in thought. josh found that oddly attractive.
rosemary opened one of the many cabinets across the top of the counters, and josh noticed that there was only one plate in the cabinet. josh furrowed his eyebrows as she took out the single plate. maybe the rest were in the wash?
rosemary placed the plate on the counter right in front of where josh was resting his elbows, leaving josh to think she was offering the plate to him.
"oh uh, thanks." josh hesitated as he took the pizza and placed it onto the plate. rosemary was washing her hands so thoroughly, along with her washing all the things she used to make the pizza. she didn't have two of anything, josh noticed as he watched her. she would individually place each clean item into the dishwasher about five feet away, which josh didn't quite understand. he then realized that before the dishwasher was empty, so that meant she either only had one plate or kept a different plate in every cabinet.
"are you gonna eat?" josh asked worriedly, trying to peek around and see what her facial expression was, though he was behind her and across the island counter top.
rosemary shook her head, shaking off her hands above the sink to slightly dry them. she then took a small towel and dried off her hands, every single part. josh hadn't even noticed he was staring until he met eyes with rosemary looking back at him. he quickly looked down at his pizza, picking it up. rosemary's actions were so careful, so thought out, everything she did was detailed.
josh turned his attention back to the pizza, which he noticed was practically perfect in every way. it wasn't soggy but it wasn't stiff, it wasn't greasy but it wasn't dry, the crust looked perfect, the cheese to sauce ratio was precise, it looked absolutely perfect.
josh slowly took a bite, and he literally had to hold back a moan at how it tasted. it tasted even better than how it smelled. if that was even possible.
"this is so good." josh said before he took another bite, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head with how amazing it tasted. rosemary still had her back to him as she searched her cabinets. josh then noticed that the rest of her cabinets were empty, meaning she only had one plate.
josh noticed that she took out a spray bottle and a towel, and by the time she put the spray bottle back the countertops looked brand new. he assumed they were marble by how they felt and looked.
"can i come over again tomorrow?" josh blurted out, watching the back of rosemary's head intently as he waited for a response. well, a nod or a head shake in rosemary's case.
rosemary looked back at him with her eyebrows furrowed, looking him up and down. she wasn't being judgemental from what josh could tell, she looked confused.
she looked to the side at a very simple calendar hung up on the wall, and she bit her lip in thought. a habit of her's josh had noticed. she shook her head a bit and looked back at josh, removing her lip from her teeth.
"oh... okay... i'll just, uh," josh pointed over his shoulder towards the elevator, slowly backing away before turning around and beginning to walk off. he was disappointed she had told him no, obviously, but he'd respect that.
he almost got into the opening doors on the elevator before he felt a hand wrap around his bicep. he turned around and saw rosemary, but he wasn't expecting anyone else.
"yeah?" he questioned after a moment of silence, looking down at her with his eyebrows furrowed. he knew he'd get no answer, so he had no clue why she had stopped him.
she let go of his arm quickly and pulled a small notebook out of her pocket, the pages wrinkled and some obviously torn out. she took the pen that was resting in between the pages and wrote down something, then ripping out the page and handing it to josh.
"i'm never free on wednesdays. thursday?" josh whispered the words to himself as he read. josh smiled a bit at the perfectly written words.
"yeah. sure, thursday's good. why aren't you available on wednesdays?" josh asked the question before he could think, seeing her small smile falter a bit. she looked back down at the notebook again and put her pen to another page, hesitantly writing something down before ripping it out and giving it to josh.
"i'll tell you soon enough." josh read, again whispering the words to himself. josh looked down at rosemary with a confused face, but he soon just nodded in understanding. she probably didn't want to tell him yet for whatever reason, and he could respect that.
the two stood in silence for a few seconds, both staring at each other intently. it wasn;t uncomfortable like some would think, it was actually quite peaceful.
"can i have the rest of that slice of pizza?" josh asked, his voice hushed as he focused more on memorizing her facial features. rosemary nodded quickly and tore her eyes from his face, rushing off to the kitchen and coming back with the piece of pizza, having it on a napkin instead of a plate. josh took it gratefully and took another bite, a smile instantly coming onto his face.
"why do you only have one plate, by the way?" josh asked, looking at the elevator button and wondering how he'd press it without getting it all greasy. rosemary saw this and reached around him, pressing the button for him.
rosemary, instead of writing again, tapped the paper she had just given him. 'i'll tell you soon enough.'
"oh, okay." josh was surprisingly content with her answer, nodding before he shoved the pizza back into his mouth.
the elevator doors opened again, and josh backed up into the elevator so he could keep staring right at rosemary's face. she didn't seem to mind like most people, she just stared right back.
as the doors closed, the last thing josh saw was rosemary giving him a two finger wave, which he returned gladly as his mouth was full of the delicious pizza. soon, he was out and back on the streets. he luckily had his phone to call an uber, but most importantly, rosemary had finally let him in. well, maybe not that yet. but she did take a tiny step in that direction.
