25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sam
T rying to catch my breath, I drop the last box of Addie’s stuff in the middle of the room. The open window lights the room up, letting all the warm, light oak wood floors really shine. This place was a steal of a deal. Watching her head tip back in a laugh at whatever wild shit is coming out of Regina’s mouth brings a smile to my lips.
“You’ve got it bad, huh?” Theo’s voice from beside me startles me out of my haze.
“Got what bad?” My head whips back in his direction.
“A crush on a girl you supposedly hated two months ago.”
“I never said I hated her. She just has something to her that makes me a little crazy.” I scrunch up my shoulders in a shrug. “It just took a minute to realize I like the crazy.” Unable to help myself, I take another peek at her. Even in her comfy moving clothes, the girl begs for my attention.
Theo turns around and shuts the door behind us, before making his way back to me. “You gonna make a move?”
“I’m having a hard time reading her. I don’t want to push it too fast. It’s different with her.” To put it plainly, I’m not used to giving a fuck about someone’s opinion of me. After years of being told I’m not enough, you learn to shell everyone out. I’ve built my walls and have only let in a select few. Somehow, she wiggled her way in, and I feel stuck now. I don’t want anything half-assed.
But I also know she’s in a weird spot—struggling to find her place and come to terms with life being different than she expected. I get it; I’ve lived it. I’ve felt like there was always something wrong with me when it comes to my family. Can’t say I’ve really conquered it, since my way of dealing has left me all alone. For the first time in forever, I don’t want to be alone, and that is terrifying.
Addie claps her hands and looks at Regina and Theo. “All right, guys. That’s it. Your friend duties have been relieved.” Given that she asked me to help with the bed, I’m hoping that I’m exempt from leaving her.
“Do you want to grab some lunch?” Regina asks.
“No, I think I might call something in, but I want to get unpacking. The clutter is going to drive me batty bananas. Plus, I need to figure out what I need from Target.” She looks around the room as if unsure where to start, then heads over to the kitchen to put away what she has there.
Theo looks to me like we are going to head out together, but I come up with a different plan. The desperation must show in my eyes because I make eye contact with Regina and lift my eyebrows as a silent plea for her to please be my wing woman. Her face lights up when the lightbulb turns on in her head.
“Come on, Theo. You owe me lunch.”
He looks at her like she has two heads. “How the hell do I owe you lunch?” Clearly, not picking up that I would like some alone time with Addie. Seriously, this fucker is the worst wingman I’ve ever met. He’s about as oblivious as a doorknob. Lucky for me, Addie is lost in her own world, opening up boxes to dig through.
“Because I said so.” Regina jabs Theo in the ribs and raises her eyebrows. The word dumbass is mumbled under her breath.
“You’re right, I do owe you lunch. Uh, I know a place down the block. We’ll see you guys later.”
Addie lifts her head and waves. “Thanks so much!”
“Okay, where can I help you?” Shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans, I look around the room and scope out the work ahead of us.
“If you can find the boxes with the hangers, that would be great. As soon as these clothes are mostly put up, that’ll clear a lot of space. I’m going to put this stuff away.” She holds up a box labeled ‘bathroom’ and heads that way.
Shuffling through boxes, I rotate them around to try to find the one labeled for hangers. She did a good job detailing what’s in every box. My hunt only lasts a few minutes, before I strike gold and get to work.
We work in silence for a while, before she remembers I am here.
She startles a little when walking back into the main living space. “Sorry, I zoned out for a bit there while putting stuff away.” She walks over to where I’ve been working for the past fifteen minutes. “How’s work going?”
“Pretty good. Chef has been slowly stepping away. So, pretty soon, I’ll be running the joint. What about you? How’s the new job?”
“It’s going great. Me and my boss, Mr. Becker, had a bit of a rough start, but I feel like I am finding my groove. There’s potential for growth in the future, but I’ve only been there for a couple months. So, I’m paying my dues for now. It was a good change for me, though. I like the challenge. Making new friends has helped me feel a bit more accepted, I guess.”
“Yeah, you and Regina seem to get along well.” At that, she smiles.
She makes her way to me and her pile of clothes. “Do you have a best friend?” she asks. Seeing as how she’s only seen me with Theo at the bar, it’s a fair question.
“Theo and I are really close, and I have gotten close with a couple of guys from the restaurant over the past couple of years.” I grab hangers from the box and hand them to Addie as we stand and make our way to the closet. We fall into a rhythm naturally of me handing her a hanger and her hanging up the clothes.
“I like Theo. He seems like a good egg.”
I laugh at her analogy. “He’s one of the best. Poor guy has seen me on more than my fair share of grumpy days.”
She raises her hand to her chest, feigning shock. “Here I thought it was just me bringing out the worst in you.” She bugs her eyes at me in fake surprise.
“I’d dare to say you bring out the better in me.” A bit too honest, but the truth falls out before I realize it might be a bit too much.
“I’d argue to say the same.” Shy smiles are rare from her because she comes in like a wrecking ball most days, but a timid smile stretches across her lips.
Unsure of what she meant, I ask, “What good things could I possibly bring out in you?” I am the storm cloud to her sunshine. It puzzles me what she could possibly see in me.
“You make me not want to care as much. I didn’t used to, but I got in a funk in the last year and just felt like I was a failure. Then, I was worried that everyone was noticing I didn’t have it together anymore. Which made me worried about what they thought. But you don’t really seem to care, and I envy that about you. It must be really freeing.”
Stunned in a bit of silence, I just blink. I’m not used to being the person anyone envies. Hearing her words settles a piece of me. The piece that begs to be accepted just the way I am.
“Well, I must be pretty good at faking it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I worry all the time what people think of me. My dad isn’t proud, and I am the only one in my family without a 'real' degree. I had to start from the bottom in the restaurant. I am worried what people think at work of me now that I am taking over.” Shit, if I’m already laying this all out there, might as well make it real personal. “And I’m worried what you think. I’m worried you'll share the same thoughts as the rest. And I don’t want you to. I want you to… I don’t know, actually.”
Her arms fall to her sides, dropping the hangers and clothes, as she takes a step closer. In the blink of an eye, she closes the gap between us, and I feel her hand wrap around the back of my neck to pull me down. My lips meet hers and the anxiety around my confession leaves my body. Actually, every thought besides her on me leaves my body. I must’ve not have realized how badly I needed this connection. Or how badly I needed her. To see me, to make my feelings feel validated, and not feel like less than because of them.
My hands wrap around her waist, pulling her tight. A soft moan tumbles from her lips as her urgency picks up. Fuck. I want more. The lack of furniture in here is killing me.
She pulls her face from mine. “Does that clear up what I think of you?” Her voice comes out a little breathless.
“Crystal.” My head rests against hers as I catch my breath.
“Thank you, Sam.”
“For what?”
“For reminding me.” I don’t get a chance to ask her what I reminded her of because her phone rings and breaks the trance.
She walks and grabs her phone off the kitchen counter, leaning her hip against it. I continue to hang clothes in an effort to not stare and make it weird.
“Great news: the mattress people are coming early. If we hustle, we can get the majority of this done and get to Target before they come in two hours.”
Shouldn’t be hard, since she has, like, one box for the kitchen and thirty boxes of clothes. Now I understand why I’ve never seen her wear the same thing twice.
“Do you think all these are going to fit into the clothes closet?”
“I’ll put the two boxes labeled dresser in a dresser. After we, you know, buy the dresser.” She motions over to the spot on the wall where she wants the dresser to go, before picking up the boxes and carrying them there.
“How much shit are you buying from Target?”
“I’m hoping it’ll be a one-stop shop: some kitchen stuff, a dresser, and a futon.”
“Okay, not to throw off your groove, but where do you plan on putting those?”
She looks at me like it was the dumbest question I’ve ever asked. “In the Bronco, duh?”
Well, all right then.
“Okay. We can swing by and pick up my tools on the way to Target then.” There’s a high chance I’m going to be roof surfing on the way back from the store. I keep those concerns to myself, not wanting to stress Addie out anymore. Although, she might not even be stressed. You can’t tell by talking to her. She thinks she doesn’t have her shit together, but how she handles life is admirable.