BAD REP(95)

Riley chuckled and rolled her eyes.  “Just shut up and let me mong out please.  Some of us have to work this evening.”  I snorted but slid down into the couch and propped my feet up on the coffee table.  I watched three episodes of the most obnoxious program ever made.  The dude with the beret had an obnoxious, nasally voice and made the most obvious and at times asinine observations.  But Riley loved it, and swore the beret dude was one of the sexiest guys on TV.  If Damien wasn't such a cutie, I would seriously question my best friend's taste in guys.

I pried myself off the couch around 6:00 and went and got a shower.  Then I stood in front of my closet,  trying to decide what to wear on my mystery date.  I finally decided on a cute sleeveless maxi dress in off white with a brown belt around the waist.  I had gotten the dress for a steal from Victoria's Secret and was looking for an excuse to wear it.  Since we were experiencing a seriously hot Indian summer, I thought it would be perfect.  I dug out some adorable brown wedged sandals and completed the outfit with a chunky silver bracelet and some thin, dangly earrings with stars on the bottom.  I left my hair down, spritzing it with some salt spray and running my fingers through it to help bring out my natural wave.

I opted out of a lot of makeup and just coated my lips with a pale lip gloss.  Not bad, I thought looking at myself in the mirror.  I noticed the irises I kept in a vase on my dresser were officially dead.  I scooped them out the glass and tossed them in the trash.  I would have to remember to get some more.  I was a sucker for fresh flowers, irises being my favorites.  So, I tried to keep them in my room most of the time.  At least until they died and I got around to getting some more.

I looked at the clock and shocked myself by seeing I still had fifteen minutes until Jordan was due to pick me up.  I sat back down on the couch, smoothing my dress underneath me.  Riley had left for her shift at Barton's thirty minutes ago, so the apartment was silent.  I didn't feel like watching TV, I was too antsy.  I grabbed my pack of cigarettes and went out onto the balcony.  I was making a conscientious effort to minimize my smoking.  But there were days when it proved difficult.  I pulled a cigarette out of the pack and lit it up, staring out into the court yard just behind our building.

I heard the sound of guitar music wafting up from below.  I leaned over the railing, my hair dangling around me and saw Eli plucking at his strings just beneath my balcony.  Well, crap.  I hadn't seen Eli since I had text dumped him.  Which was surprising, considering how much time he spent at his cousin's apartment just down the hall.

As if sensing my presence, Eli stopped playing and looked up.  His face went perfectly blank and he lifted a hand in a halfhearted wave.  “Hey,” he called up.  I gave a short wave back.

“Hey.”  We didn't say anything and I realized I looked like an idiot dangling over my railing.  So I pulled myself up right and sat down in the white deck chair to finish my smoke.

“Maysie!”  I heard Eli call out.  I tried not to groan.  But I didn't want to ignore him, so I got back to my feet.  Eli had moved so that he stood out in front of my balcony.  The guitar hung around his shoulders and I noticed off handily that he had let his hair grow out and that it was naturally curly.  Interesting.

“What's up, Eli?” I asked, trying not to sound completely bitchy.  But this was awkward.   Eli reached up and scratched the back of his neck.  He seemed nervous.  Which was weird because I don't think I had ever seen Eli anything but high and laid back.  Well except the night he and Jordan had gotten into it.  But I didn't want to think about that.

“How've you been?” he asked, dropping his hand to rest on the front of his guitar.  I took a last drag of my cigarette and knelt down to stub it out in the flower pot I kept for my butts.

“Um, fine,” I answered, standing back up and leaning my hands on the iron railing.

“Good.  That's really...uh, good,” Eli said.  He was being strange.  Maybe he was on something.

“So have you taken up serenading in your free time?” I joked, trying to alleviate some of the uncomfortable tension.  Eli chuckled and tapped a quick beat on the hollow wood of his acoustic.

“Why not, the ladies love it.  You always did.”  He glanced back up at me and I recognized that look.  It was the one he always gave me before pulling me into a bedroom at his cousin's place.