The Two Of Us

Attie (Chapter 12)

"Let me guess. You want a black coffee?"

Griffin just walked into the cafe. I was getting used to his daily appearances.

"I want you," he said.

That comment caught me off guard. He wasn't wearing his usual all-black apparel; he was wearing jeans and a hoodie this time.

"What?" I asked.

He smiled, "I came here to ask you out, Attie."

"I'm confused."

He sat at a table and motioned for me to sit down.

"I wanted to know if you would like to come to an event with me."

"As Dakota, right?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded. Everything about him was attractive, yet I knew nothing personal about this man.

"What's your middle name?" I asked.

"It's Ace."

"Griffin Ace Lopez?"

Griffin smiled, "That is correct. What is yours?"

"It's Eloquence."

"Eloquence?"

"It means persuasive in speaking or writing. Like I mentioned before, my father loved books."

"Attie Eloquence Wild, I like that."

Hearing him say my full name made my heart flutter.
"What about the rest of your siblings?"

"Allie Elegy Wild, Holden Canon Wild, and Tate Watson Wild."

"Tate? His middle name?"

I laughed, "From Sherlock Holmes. I'm not sure why my parents decided on that."

Griffin smiled, "I like that"

"I'm assuming you're taking your break now?" Holden said.

He was standing by the apartment steps; the cafe was dead.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," I replied.

"Where do you want to go to college?" Griffin asked.

"I think community college. I'm not sure if I can afford anything above that."

"I understand that. My dad wants me to go to UMass Amherst, but I'm not sure."

Looking at Griffin, he has his whole life in front of him. I envied him for that.

"Why do you want me to be Dakota again?"

"My mom keeps asking about her. She wants Dakota to come to a private event tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night is a school night."

"I know, but please come. I already have a dress ordered for you to wear."

Griffin looked desperate. He got himself in too deep. He and I both knew it.

"Okay, pick me up outside of the cafe."

"Get with your partners; your project is due this Friday," Mr. Carr said.

Charlie was sitting beside me before I could even bat an eye. He was wearing athletic sweatpants today with a dark green tee shirt. His eyes matched well with the dark green, almost like the brown in his eyes was the forest, and the tee-shirt was the trees. I never had time for friends, if I ever needed to talk to someone, it was Holden, and if I ever wanted to go somewhere, I'd ask Allie to come with me.

"What's up, Attie? Do you want to come over later and work on the project?" Charlie asked.

"You want me to come over?"

"Yeah, after school if you want. My cousin Carter and his girlfriend Izzy are going to be in town. Carter said they are making a bucket list, and visiting Boston was on it or something like that."

"Oh, yeah, I can. I don't work this afternoon, so I'm sure Holden will be fine with it."

Charlie smiled; I loved when he smiled because he had a lazy left eye, and whenever he smiled, his left eye was just a little tinier than his right eye, which was very cute.

"Can I just walk with you after school?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course. Just meet me by my locker."

Charlie lived in a lovely townhome a couple of blocks away from school. When we stepped inside, the warmth of the house overtook me, and I suddenly became fatigued. The smell of cookies came from the kitchen, and the fireplace was on in the living room. A big bang came from the kitchen, followed by laughing. Charlie took off his coat, hung it up, and motioned me to hand him mine. His house was more comforting than Griffin's.

"I love your house," I said.

The living room was small yet cozy, making the most of the living space. A dog was sleeping in a bed by the fireplace.

"You have a dog?" I asked.

"Yeah, his name is Snickers. He's a Brittney Spaniel. My dad takes him on runs every morning before work."

"He's so cute."

Snickers was all white with light brown spots on his body and head.

"Is that you, Charlie?"

A boy came out of the kitchen and looked around our age. He was handsome. He had the same blonde hair Charlie had, but he had blue eyes instead. He was tall and athletic looking. Instead of Charlie's retro appearance, he wore a basketball sweatshirt and white sweatpants. Charlie lit up when he saw him. It was cute.

"Attie, this is Carter, my cousin," Charlie said.

Carter turned to me, noticing me for the first time.

"Attie, how are you?" Carter asked.

I could tell right away Carter was an extrovert. He seemed to fit into new situations relatively easily.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

Carter looked toward the kitchen, smiling. "I have to check on someone. I'll be right back, Carter said. Charlie followed Carter into the kitchen and motioned for me to come along.

Two girls were standing by the oven, giggling over something. Carter had his arms wrapped around the blonde-haired one. He had his head on her shoulder, whispering something to her.
She was beautiful. Her skin was very tan, and her hair fell down the middle of her back. The other girl had light brown hair tied up in a bun. She was staring at me.

"I'm Cassie," the girl with brown hair said.

"I'm Attie," I said.

She nodded, "Yeah, I know who you are. I'm Charlie's sister."

Charlie was eyeing the cookies on the counter; he turned to his sister.

"You baked these, right?" He asked.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, why?"

"Because they still look undercooked. Put them back in."

Cassie mumbled under her breath, pushing past Charlie to grab the cookies and put them back in the oven.

"Izzy, meet Attie," Carter said.

Izzy turned to me and smiled. "Hey, Attie. I'm Izzy," she said.

"That's when I noticed a ring on her left finger. I glanced back and forth between Carter and Izzy, confused.

"Wait, how old are you guys?" I asked.

Carter laughed, "Charlie didn't tell you? We're twenty-two, and we're graduating from college in May."

"Oh, yeah, I was confused. I saw the ring, congratulations."

Izzy blushed, "Thank you, we're getting married in July. Carter asked me last summer."

Looking at Izzy and Carter made me wish I had a love like that.