Don't Be Afraid To Love

Chapter 37

I woke up abruptly by the sound of the doorbell ringing. I didn't know what time it was, what day, or which planet I was on. The effect of the alcohol didn't wear off completely.

I went to the door and looked through the peephole. There was someone holding a big flower bouquet in front of their face.

Oh my God, it's Robert! I thought. He seemed shorter, but then again, anyone would seem shorter through the peephole.

I looked in the hallway mirror, and I noticed I looked like shit. I had huge bags under my eyes, my hair was messy, and my outfit - a loose old T-shirt and boyfriend jeans - wasn't flattering. I didn't care, though. What was important was that Robert was there. I ran my hands along my hair to try to tame it a little and then rushed to unlock the door.

"Hey, beautiful!" the man behind the flowers said with a wide smile all over his face.

"John? What are you doing here?"

His smile faded a little, and he seemed confused.

"What do you mean? You texted me. I missed you, too, baby! I knew you would eventually admit your true feelings," John said, and before I could say anything, he wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"No, I didn't. I don't understand..." I spoke, and he let go of me.

"You... It's what you wrote to me in the message," John said and pulled out his phone out of his pocket to show me the text.

I read it, and it was indeed sent by me, but it was definitely not meant for him. Because of being tipsy and because my phone didn't help me too much, either, I must've sent it to John instead of sending it to Robert.

I started laughing out loud hysterically, propping my hands onto my knees.

I almost felt sorry for John, especially looking at his puzzled and disappointed expression.

"You didn't want to send it to me, did you," he grasped.

"No!" I said, still laughing.

I took the flowers out of his hand, thinking it would've been rude if I hadn't accepted them despite the misunderstanding.

"Thank you, though," I said to him and prepared to close the door.

"Wait-wait-wait!" John said, holding his hand on the door as if to stop me from shutting it. "Even if you didn't mean to write that to me, can I come in for five minutes?"

I stopped laughing and took a serious face.

"Oh-okay, come in, I guess..." I said and let him in.

"Thank you!"

I closed the door after he entered the apartment, and I went to the kitchen to put the flowers into a vase.

"What time is it?" I asked, still feeling disoriented.

"It's almost 5 P.M."

"Oh..."

"Have you been drinking?" John asked me.

I sat down at the kitchen table and invited him to do the same.

"I have, actually," I admitted and rubbed my face with my palms.

"I'm sure a coffee would do you good right now," he said and got up from the chair and searched for a mug in my cabinets and then started the coffee machine, like he was at his home. I watched John with a bewildered look on my face as he prepared me coffee, and I couldn't hide to myself the fact that I was pleasantly surprised by his gesture.