Chapter 5
∞∞∞
Meryl
Finn was moving here! I’d been thinking about nothing else since we’d picked his apartment out together a few days ago. I swung wildly from being overwhelmed with excitement to being overly worried about every tiny detail.
It was good fun to plan and imagine all the things we could do together. I was getting ahead of myself, I knew that, but I couldn’t help it. I liked daydreaming about it.
I felt very distracted today too. I’d been forgetting a lot of little things, too lost in thought as I fantasized and tried to work. Saz texted us all that he had time to play for a bit, so I took a break to get online with the guys. We hadn’t started a game yet when I heard a muffled knock on my door through my headset.
“Hang on, someone’s at the door,” I told the guys as I got up from my chair. I set my headset down on my seat and hurried to the door. Aiden had said he’d drop off his dog today, but hadn’t said exactly when. We’d texted only briefly about it over the last week, but it was probably him. Sure enough, his dark hair appeared when I checked my peephole through the apartment door. I opened it quickly, more than ready to meet my new dog friend.
He hadn”t actually texted me much information as of yet. I”d finally sent him a few questions earlier in the week and he”d responded vaguely or not at all. But now he was here and this was happening.
“Hey, is now a good time?” Aiden gave me a big grin and gestured down to the leash in his hands. He had the cutest little brown dog next to him.
“Yeah, of course. This is your dog?” I asked him excitedly as I crouched down and offered my hand out toward the dog. It was very friendly and immediately came over for scratches, wagging its tail and wiggling its whole body in greeting. I melted.
“This is her, and I have all of her stuff,” Aiden smiled and I stepped back to let them both in. He had jeans and a dark t-shirt on with a tote bag under one arm.
“Sweet, what’s her name?” I asked him, and he set the bag of dog stuff on my couch.
“Oh, um. Dog?” he shrugged sheepishly. No way.
“Her name is dog?” I eyed him skeptically. He had to be joking.
“I’m still deciding on a better one, maybe you can help me?” Aiden suggested and I perked up at the idea. She was very cute and she needed a cute name. I could come up with something for sure.
“Um, yeah alright. I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry,” I assured him as I stared down at her. She wagged her tail and Aiden bent down to unclasp the leash from her collar. I watched her wander curiously around my living room and kitchen, sniffing and snuffling. She was very cute!
“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” Aiden said sincerely and I took a step toward the door, thinking he was leaving, but he didn’t follow. He moved toward my desk instead, and away from the front door. Ugh. Why?
“This is a nice place,” he continued and I nodded as I followed him. I shifted from foot to foot awkwardly and tried to think of a polite way to tell him to leave. I just wanted to bond with the dog and enjoy my weekend. I”d been very social lately, and I didn”t feel the need to make an effort with him today. The guilt I”d felt last time wasn”t a thing today.
“Thank you, it’s small for a dog but I’ll make sure to walk her extra so she can still get some good exercise,” I promised and he nodded half heartedly.
“This is your work space?” he asked, peering intently at my desk and my setup in the corner of the living room. I had a shelf with a few books there, notepads, a cup of pens, and several pictures of my family. Nothing too interesting, I’d thought.
“Yeah, work and games,” I shrugged and crouched again to give Dog some nice pets. I needed to think of a better name sooner rather than later. I was not going to be calling her that out loud.
“Games like video games?” Aiden smiled like I’d made a joke. This guy. Jeez.
“Yeah, but I’ll be giving her lots of attention, so don’t worry about her while you’re gone,” I smiled but I gestured at the door again pointedly.
“I should probably get going,” Aiden sighed. He lingered in the doorway and Dog continued to explore the living room.
“You’ll be back next week?” I prompted. Aiden had told me that he might have to stay longer, but wasn’t sure. Then the dog came to lean against my legs. I patted her head affectionately and she sat. Such a sweet girl.
“Yeah, I’ll text you,” he said with a smile. I didn”t fully believe him, but that was okay. I knew where he lived.
“I’ll have a good name for her by then,” I assured him. I’d probably pick one out today.
“Great. When I get back, you can tell me all about your adventures together,” he said and stepped into the hallway.
“Uh-huh,” I agreed dismissively.
“Maybe we can grab dinner or something,” he added quickly. His shoulders were tense as he stood in the hallway and faced me. It was a short hall, with only four or five apartments on this floor, but he glanced around anyway like he was nervous someone else would be around.
“Maybe. Have fun!” I told him lamely as I closed the door and locked it behind me. Did he mean that like a date? I wasn’t sure. I might need to talk to him about it when he got back. If he meant as a date, I’d probably have to think about it for awhile. My first instinct was no way, not my next door neighbor. The same as when he”d asked me out last year. As friends, though? Sure. But he’d been nervous, so maybe he did mean it as a date.I hoped not.
I sighed as I got down a bowl and filled it with water for the dog. She followed me around until I settled back into my computer chair and then she laid next to my feet. I put my headset back on and told them I’d have to go soon so I could walk the dog.
“Who the fuck was that?” Wade asked me.
“My neighbor,” I shrugged.
“Why is he so nosy?” Saz added.
“He’s into you,” Finn said.
“Yeah, he was. I already turned him down when I moved in,” I acknowledged. If they’d heard most of that interaction, then there was no use denying it.
“Why you’d turn him down?” Saz asked curiously. I wished they were making jokes instead of getting personal, but I wanted to be honest. I knew Finn was listening intently.
“It wasn’t him, it’s me,” I sighed. I wiggled my toes nervously and Dog huffed at me. I smiled down at her apologetically.
“Sure,” Wade agreed sarcastically and I laughed.
“I’ve been on a dating break for awhile,” I told them.
“How long is awhile?” Saz pressed.
“Like a year…ish?” I admitted reluctantly.
“Over a year?” Finn asked incredulously.
“That’s a long time,” Saz observed seriously. Wade let out an exaggerated whistle.
“I guess so,” I agreed. It sounded so much worse when I said it out loud.
“So this guy is still bothering you?” Finn continued.
“Not really. I’m dog sitting for him,” I told them.
“You like dogs?” Finn sounded surprised.
“Yeah, of course,” I replied easily.
“Can we fucking play now? The creep is gone and she’s a dog person,” Wade teased and we got back to gaming for a bit. I suspected Finn would be texting me more about it later.
We played for another hour or so, and we did well, but I wanted to walk my new dog companion before it got dark outside. I said good-bye to everyone, gathered my things, and put her on the leash so we could head outside.
She did so well on the walk, and the weather was so nice today that I was in a really good mood when we got back. I even did a short workout before I got in the shower. I thought about names for her while I washed my hair but couldn’t decide on a specific one just yet.
There wasn”t a real reason to hurry. I’d figure it out tomorrow. Speaking of, Finn was also moving tomorrow. He said he didn’t need my help, but I wondered if we see each other soon. Maybe I could bring him some food or something? Would that be too pushy? To show up with food on day one?
After I’d gotten ready for bed, my phone vibrated. I’d just settled beneath the blankets so I grabbed it off of my night stand to find that Finn had finally texted me. It wasn’t like him to wait this long. If he’d been ten minutes later, then I probably would have been asleep and missed it completely. He must have been last minute packing.
‘Hey, I’m moving and unpacking all day tomorrow, but are you free for dinner the day after?’ he”d asked. Oh.
‘Yeah,’ I sent back, then sent him a link to my favorite spot downtown. I’d need to introduce him to all the best places to eat in our area. Our area. That sounded so weird. Utterly bizarre. I’d been alone in this city for too long.
‘I’ll pick you up at 7?’ he offered.
‘Sounds good.’
‘It’s a date,’ he replied.
‘Haha,’ I said, then quickly added, ‘but really? Is it a date?’ There was a long pause before he responded. I got a little nervous as I stared at my phone. I rolled over in bed and stretched my legs out.
‘Yes. Still want to go? No pressure,’ Finn confirmed. I smiled wide. I was hoping he’d say that. I liked him. More than I’d realized until just now. Oh man.
‘Yes, but no babies,’ I told him cheekily, referring to the jokes Wade and Saz had made.
‘No babies,’ he agreed.
We said goodnight and I put my phone away, but I was too nervous and excited to sleep anymore. I tossed and turned for a few minutes, but my pulse was racing. A date, a real date. It had been so long since I’d officially gone out on a date.
I threw the blankets back and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water might help me sleep and I needed to shave my legs. Immediately.
I liked Finn. I liked talking to him, playing with him and his friends, and I liked texting him. I wasn’t sure if the others knew that we texted so often or how we’d grown close. Neither of us had brought it up in front of them when we were all together online. It was kind of fun and exciting to imagine it was a secret between us.
And now we were going on a date. I was going on a date. It would be the first time I’d been on a real date since my last break up. It had been a bad one and I could see now that we should have broken up much earlier, but I’d been young when we first met.
This new date felt like a second chance to get things right. I’d be hunting for red flags this time around, not willfully looking the other way. I’d already been feeling him out a little over text, but seeing someone in person and their reactions in real time was different. This would be different. It had to be.