“You’re up early,” I said as Evie walked into the kitchen the next morning.
“I’m spending the day at the country club with my parents. They wanna talk finances,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.
“Sounds important.”
“They wanna build another apartment complex next to this one. Not sure how much help I can be, but Dad might write me another check to buy more art supplies.”
The way she smirked when she said the last two words told me that she was probably going to spend that money on clothes and alcohol.
“Why are you up? Another date with the neighbor?”
“Uh, yeah. We’re going out for breakfast with Ira.”
“So…you like him?”
“I guess so.”
She raised a brow at me. “I guess so? Rooney, I don’t think any twenty-year-old would hang out with an older guy and his son if they didn’t like him. Clearly you got the hots for him.”
“Okay, okay. I like him. Maybe a little too much for only having known him for a week.”
“Then what’s making you act so unsure?”
A few things. But mostly the fear of commitment.
I didn’t know what held me back.
Sure, I had my reasons, but there were little fragments I still had to find and put into place.
Things that stopped me from putting everything into one piece which would help me realize that catching feelings and falling in love wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
“Myself,” I replied, shrugging.
“You’ll figure it out someday. But if this thing between you and him is serious, don’t let him fuck you before you are sure about what you want.”
Advise from Evie wasn’t what I usually listened to, but this time…she might’ve had a point.
“I’ll see you tonight,” she called out, already walking out of the kitchen.
“Bye,” I replied, and once she was gone, I let out a heavy sigh and talked myself into being more relaxed.
Breakfast with Wells and Ira would be fun, and even with all my worries, I was excited to see him again.
His kiss still lingered on my cheek, and I could still feel his fingers running through my hair, caressing my head.
“What are you doing to me,” I whispered, catching myself smile like a fool.
Wells
Wasn’t such a good idea to let him stay up late after all.
Ira was still asleep, and I hated to wake him up when he needed his sleep.
But we still had time, and Rooney wasn’t here yet anyway.
I leaned in to kiss Ira’s head before letting him sleep for a little longer, then I headed out of his room to go to the kitchen.
But just as I was about to turn left, a knock came from the front door.
It’s her.
I opened the door and found Rooney standing there in a sweet outfit, perfect for fall.
Her knitted, dark green sweater was pushed inside her black overalls, and her hair flowed down over her shoulders, almost reaching her hips.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I said, smiling at her.
“Hi. Ready for breakfast?” she asked sweetly.
I held out my hand for her to take and waited until she placed hers into mine, then I pulled her closer and put my other hand on her waist.
“We might have to push it back to lunch. Ira’s still asleep, and I’d hate to wake him.”
“Oh, that’s fine. Guess it did get late last night,” she said.
“Yeah, a little. Want a coffee? I don’t think it will take too long for him to wake up.”
She nodded and kept that sweet smile in place, and after I closed the door, I walked with her to the kitchen.
“Take a seat. I have some fruit you could eat so you won’t starve until lunch,” I told her, pointing to the fruit basket on the table.
“Oh, no, that’s fine. Coffee’s just fine.”
I turned to the counter and started to brew the coffee, and once I filled two cups, I sat down at the table next to her and passed her a cup.
“Did you have a good night?” I asked, taking a sip of the coffee while keeping my eyes on hers.
“I did. I couldn’t fall asleep for a while, but once I got you off my mind it was all right.”
I grinned at her words.
“Same here. Last night was nice.”
Rooney bit her bottom lip before taking a sip of her coffee, then she placed her cup down and sighed. “Maybe I should’ve stayed,” she whispered.
“No, you shouldn’t have. As much as I would’ve wanted you in my bed, I think we should let whatever this is grow the way