"What the hell?" Ashton finally followed the unwritten script I had in mind, by dropping his bags on the floor of the living room. Now he just needed to kiss me. Could someone bring out the director and tell Ashton to play along?
"My exact thoughts." Kiss me, you fucking cutie. I shut off the music, sort of hoping he'd press me against the table the stereo rested on and kiss the life out of me. Maybe I was asking too much from a guy who just had a long flight over here. I should stop living in such a fantasy.
"Is he some kind of stalker? I can get a good lawyer so we can file a restraining order."
"He's my neighbor..." I started. "I completely failed to recall he lived in New York too. At the same time, I never thought I'd end up living next door to him." Why was I even surprised? I should have seen this coming with the terrible luck I acquired at birth.
"Are you comfortable with all of this now that you know he's just right next door?"
"Yeah, like I won't be seeing much of him. I don't plan to hang out with him, I think I'll be fine." I wouldn't be fine, but it was worth convincing Ashton that I would be. Ashton was still pretty bad at reading through my bullshit, so he'd take my word and not question me any further.
"Just making sure." I knew he was worried that Dick might try to come on to me again but I also knew he trusted me as I trusted him. Dick just wasn't someone you trusted with anything. But at the same time I didn't believe we should all alter our lives to accept that. "Can we get some lunch? I'm so hungry. The plane didn't have any snacks to hold me until I got here."
"Sure, let me just get ready real quick." I didn't think leaving the apartment without pants would be acceptable to the public. "This is your home too, so do whatever you like."
"Are you an option?" He asked, making his way to the kitchen to raid the fridge for a quick snack. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back for going grocery shopping yesterday. Feeding Ashton was like feeding three hungry kids after school.
"If you're good." I teased before disappearing in my bedroom.
I pulled on a pair of black leggings, aiming for comfort today. My electric green socks with white polka dots looked funny with the other colors of this outfit but I liked that, I liked how no one besides me would know that I was secretly wearing a ridiculous pair of socks as they were now covered by black suede ankle boots with a low heel. I placed a pair of black cat eye sunglasses atop of my head and swung a red shoulder bag on that went perfect with the red lettering on the shirt. It was a quick outfit that made me feel like a million bucks, honestly. I picked up my Polaroid camera, hoping to get a few good pictures today so I could start a wall here.
"Where would you like to go?" I entered the living room. Ashton was sitting on the couch, watching TV and stuffing a handful of Cheerios in his mouth. I think my heart stopped for just a second. Walking in to this sight felt like we were actually living together, for awhile it felt like Ashton didn't have a tour to return to in two days, like I would be able to see this everyday.
"Kinda craving spaghetti." He shrugged, popping more Cheerios in his mouth. I got a perfect shot from behind of Ashton focused on the television. Even the back of his head was cute and photogenic, what the fuck.
The access to so many things without having to worry about a car was always a plus about living here. Ashton and I took an eight minute stroll to Pepe Rosso To Go. We walked proudly with our fingers interlocked, joking with each other and acting like we didn't have a care in the world. Our ability to jump right back into things after being away from each other for so long gave me a good sense of comfort in what we had. Things weren't awkward, they weren't forced, they were like we were never apart.
