Steal My Girl

3.

CHAPTER THREE
WESLEY
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ONE MONTH LATER
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Macy invited me over for dinner with her and Tyler, after deciding she finally felt that her house was in order. Something I observed about her was that she was very meticulous in many aspects of her life. She had particular mental images of how she expected her arrangements to be, before she'd deem them presentable enough for additional pairs of eyes.

When I arrived, Macy was just setting the table. Tyler was nowhere to be seen.

Macy came to the door to greet me with an embrace. She kept it short and sweet, though I would've kept my arms around her for much longer if I could. I missed the feeling of having her small form enveloped in my arms, though it didn't happen more than a few times before.

"Should I take my shoes off? Where's Tyler?" I already began crouching down to untie my shoelaces.

"No, I don't mind you wearing your shoes in the house. Tyler just went out real quick to grab some essentials I didn't realize we were missing. It's hard to think of every little thing you need when there's already so much to tend to in a new place." She rushed back over to finish setting the table.

I decided to trust Macy's word and leave my shoes on, hopeful that Tyler wouldn't have a differing opinion on it.

"Macy." I called out, bringing her anxious preparations to a halt.

"What's wrong?" She peered over at me, her eyebrows raised in concern.

"Calm down, please. I'm not a stranger. You don't have to have everything perfect. You've done so much already. I'm just happy to be in your presence."

Macy took a deep breath, followed by a long sigh.

"Thank you, Wes. I'm happy you're here. I guess I just assume you have high standards because your field of work is centered around gorgeous houses. Ty would expect that I have the table set before he gets back, too."

Hearing the latter part of her statement riled something up in me. Maybe I was assuming too much based off of one sentence, but, by the sound of it, Tyler expected her to be the perfect housewife. It made me feel uneasy seeing her stress to have the table set, let alone imagining the full day of cleaning she must've done on her own, to be sure the house was spotless.

"Take it easy. The house looks beautiful. I'm amazed with how quickly you've got everything settled in and looking like a home."

"You really think so?" Macy's facial expression softened, almost as if she could've started tearing up at any moment.

"Yes, Macy. Don't be too hard on yourself, please. Don't let Tyler be too hard on you, either. Alright?"

"Oh, there's no need to worry about Tyler. He's a great guy, Wes. I can't wait for you to get to know him and see for yourself. I think you two could make great friends for one another."

I couldn't comprehend how someone could sound so genuine and yet so rehearsed. Her facial expression snapped from soft, beady eyed, to tense, with a forced smile just at the mention of Tyler and the possibility of him doing anything wrong. It felt as if she was even trying to convince herself of the words she spoke.

Right on cue, Tyler entered through the front door, with a few grocery bags in tow. He seemed a bit taken aback to find that I was already there, but was quick to draw on a smile.

"Hey, Wesley. Didn't expect ya to be here already."

He stuck his free hand out for me to shake. Without hesitation, I gave him a firm handshake, the gentlemen way of asserting oneself.