Love In Between(6)

“Sounds good; where are your menus?” Gretchen asked.

“Considering I moved in last night, I don’t have any menus.” I laughed.

“I have an idea; why don’t you go next door and see if Sam has any pizza menus?” Giselle winked.

“I have an idea; why don’t you just do a search on your phone?” I said.

Giselle rolled her eyes just as there was a knock on the door. I walked over and looked through the peephole to find Sam standing on the other side. I opened the door, and I was surprised to see him standing there, holding two pizzas and a large brown bag.

“Sam, what’s all this?” I asked as I pointed to the pizzas.

“I thought you ladies would like something to eat since you’ve been working hard all day.” He smiled.

“Come in, and thank you!” I smiled.

“You’re a lifesaver!” Gretchen proclaimed as she walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “We’re starving.”

“That was very nice of you to think of us, Sam. Let me get my wallet; how much do I owe you?”

“Nothing, it’s on me. Consider it a housewarming gift,” he said.

“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you, and please join us,” I insisted.

“Don’t mind if I do.” He smiled.

I took some plates from the cabinet, grabbed some forks from the drawer, and sat down next to Sam at the table. Gretchen had already torn into the breadsticks while Giselle opened the salad. Sam grabbed a slice of pizza from the box, put it on my plate, and then smiled at me.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered back.

“You could have invited Luke to come over,” I said to Sam.

“I already asked him, but he refused. I told him that we’d be in the company of three beautiful women and great food, so it was his loss.”

“And what did he say to that?” I asked.

“He said he’s good and just for me to come alone.”

I got up from my seat and grabbed the bottle of wine Giselle and Gretchen had brought over. I took the wine glasses from the cupboard and set them on the table. Sam stood up, opened the bottle, and poured each of us a glass. He held up his glass for a toast.

“To my new neighbor, Lily. May we become great friends and share many good times.”

We all smiled and clanked our glasses. “Thank you, Sam.”

We talked for a few hours about our careers. Sam’s an architect and works for a well-known company called Glassman and Fillmore. I shared my love of photography and the fact that I have a teaching degree, which was the reason that brought me to Santa Monica. Gretchen and Giselle talked about their modeling careers and the exotic places they’ve been. It was late, so Gretchen and Giselle called it a night. I hugged them goodbye, and Sam walked them to their car.

I was cleaning up the kitchen when a text message came through from Gretchen.

“I’m in love with Sam; why does he have to be gay?”

I smiled and shook my head as I replied, “All the good ones usually are.”

I finished cleaning up and looked at the clock; it was 2:45 a.m. I turned the lights off and walked into the bathroom. I turned the shower on, undressed, and stepped inside. It was a long day, and all I wanted to do was stay under the stream of hot water forever. After I managed to drag myself out of the shower, I put my pajamas on and looked at the guitar sitting in the corner of my bedroom. I walked over and picked it up. I sat down on the edge of the bed and started strumming a few chords. Memories of my father came to my mind, and I started to play the song that he used to sing to me when I was a child. When I was done playing the song, I looked at the clock again, and it was 4:00 a.m. I put the guitar back on its stand and climbed into my new bed. I prayed to God to please let me sleep peacefully.

***

My eyes flew open from the nightmare I was having. The clock read 6:00 a.m. as I glanced at it, and I had only slept two hours. I laid in bed, but I tossed and turned; there was no way I was going back to sleep. My mind was racing with the fact that I begin my teaching job tomorrow. I loved kids, and I loved being a teacher, but I also loved photography and would like to make that my career. I’m twenty-six years old, and I’m still undecided on what I want to do with my life. I thought I had it figured out with Hunter. My life was all planned out. We were going to get married, have a couple of kids, and live in a house with a white picket fence. I was going to pursue a career in photography while tutoring kids on the side. He was going to come home from work, and we were going to eat the meal together that I spent all day preparing. Was I just desperate to find some normalcy in my life?

I got out of bed and put on a cute little floral print sundress that I bought before I moved here. I dragged my ass to the kitchen for some coffee. Shit, I forgot to buy coffee. I sighed. I wondered if Sam was awake. I walked over to the wall and pressed my ear up against it. Since I didn’t know the layout of his apartment, I took a chance and lightly knocked on the wall. I smiled when there was a knock back. I walked next door and knocked on the door. I gasped when the door opened, and Luke was standing there in a pair of navy blue pajama bottoms that sat just below his hips. I instantly became nervous and started fidgeting.

“Can I help you with something?” Luke asked as he stared at me.

“Um, hi, I was wondering if Sam was around,” I said nervously.