Old Soul (Captain America/Steve Rogers)

7

After Steve left my room, I couldn't go back to sleep. I sat in bed, our almost-kiss replaying over and over again in my head. It was torturous, knowing that I was so close to kissing probably the most perfect man I'll ever meet. But I couldn't do that, right? I can't kiss him. It would be too awkward, knowing that he's not only my neighbor, but also my coworker now. You're right, I told myself. Absolutely no kissing, Avalie. No kissing.

But what if I just, like, maybe...kiss him a little bit?

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I'm supposed to be more practical than this. In college and high school, boys were the last thing on my mind.  Well, Landon would say differently. He always claimed that I loved to mess around with boys almost as much as I loved to decode.

Landon. With a small smile, I pull out my phone and dial my best friend's number. The last time I had spoken to him, I sort of blew him off to go on my coffee date with Steve. So much has happened since then, I hardly knew where to start.

He answered after the first ring. "I don't believe my ears. Did the Avalie Daniels actually call me?" Landon answered, just as much as a smartass as ever. Meanwhile, I was mentally debating on whether or not to tell him that I got shot.

"Crazy, right?" I joke along. "Who would want to talk to you?"

I can hear Landon's smile. "What's up, goober?"

I grin. No matter how far apart we are, it's always easy to fall back into our same routine. "Nothing much. Well, the repair guy is supposed to be here soon, but otherwise--"

"Repair guy? Break something already, you klutz?" Landon accuses.

I scoff. "Believe it or not," I say matter-of-factly. "This wasn't my fault."

"Oh yeah?" Landon says sarcastically. "Then who did?"

"Stev--" I start to fire back, but I manage to bite my tongue before his name it out of my mouth. I was used to telling Landon everything, but Steve is where I have to draw the line. He can't know that my neighbor is an Avenger, and he definitely can't know that so am I.

"Hello?" I hear someone call, knocking the wall of my entryway. I turn to see a man carrying a red tool box. There's a smug of dirt, possibly oil, on his forehead.

I quickly turn back to the phone and rattle off an apology to Landon. "The repair man is here, got to go."

Before I can hear his response, I hang up, and stand to greet the repair man. He stands in the space where my door is supposed to be, dark hair falling in front of his equally dark eyes.

"Hi," I say, slightly surprised by how young he looks, his uniform hanging from his boyish frame. Not in a bad way, though. He's actually fairly attractive, in a ruggish, dirty way.

"Hello." He shifts, his arms straining as he moves the heavy tool box from one hand to the other. "I came about a shattered window and"-he gestures to the doorframe he stood in-"a broken door."

I chew at my lip. "Yeah... Umm, long story?" I try, hoping he wouldn't ask.

He doesn't, laughing slightly. "Hey, I get it. I'm Andrew, by the way."

"Avalie." He shifts the toolbox to his other hand again and I follow him to the doorframe. "You can set that down, I'm sorry."

We stand at the frame and Andrew examines the hinges of the door, seeing them torn. "Wow," he examines with a whistle. "Something really strong must've knocked this thing down."

I smile to myself, thinking of the way Steve must've barreled through the door at the sound of the gunshots. I've never seen him in action--you know, in full Captain America mode--but I could only imagine. He must be a beast.