Roommates with Benefits [COMPLETED]

Chapter 8 - All grown up

Emma

It's Friday, a couple of weeks before Christmas, when I move my things into Knightley's apartment. I crammed as much as I could into my car and only had to make two trips. Of course, Noah was nowhere to be found when I asked for his help, so it's only me and Knightley lugging boxes up in the elevator.

It hadn't really hit me until now that I'd be living in the same apartment as him. I was just so happy to not be homeless that I barely gave it a thought. But as he stands next to me in the elevator in his tight t-shirt and his arm muscles bulge under the weight of one of my boxes, it feels very intimate.

Seeing him in his own place also emphasizes how much he's grown up over the last few years. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe some sort of dingy bachelor pad.

His apartment is larger than the one I'm leaving. As soon as you enter the clean, and slightly boring, living room is to the left. He's got a couch, a coffee table and a TV. But there are no signs of life. No blanket tossed over the back of the couch, no magazines or books. The art on the wall might as well have been chosen by an interior designer.

To the right of the entrance is a small dining area, and the kitchen is open to it.

There are three bedrooms down a hallway. One of which has been converted to an office where he runs his business. I always knew he developed some software and his mom was very proud of him. But seeing where he works, how organized he is, is eye opening.

He quickly shows me the master bedroom with an en suite and explains that he cleared out the other bathroom so I could have that to myself. The one that is right opposite my bedroom.

His bedroom, furthest down the hallway, is decorated in muted, natural tones. Mostly grays and browns with a big, comfortable looking bed and glass doors that open to a balcony.

My room is lighter and slightly more feminine.

"My mom sometimes stays here," he said when I stopped in the doorway the first time I saw it. "She helped decorate."

All I could do was nod. It was furnished with a dresser and an armchair. There was no desk, but I could easily fit one in if I wanted to. It even had a small closet, barely big enough to be called a walk-in.

I put down one of the last boxes on the bed and opened it to study the contents. Somehow I'd grabbed the one box of kitchen stuff I had. It wasn't much, mostly some foods I had brought along.

With a sigh, I take it back out to the front of the apartment and start unloading.

"I think that's it," Knightley says and kicks the door shut after himself. He places the last box on the counter. "Unless there's more at the apartment?"

I shake my head and open the pantry door with a box of quinoa in my hand. "No, I think that was it."

He peaks over into the open box. "Why does everything look so healthy?" He grimaces and I smile.

"Because most of it is."

"Where's your junk food?"

I reach in and grab a couple of bars of dark chocolate and hold them up for him.

I can see how much he wants to roll his eyes.

"Dark chocolate doesn't count as junk food. Don't you have any vices?"

I shrug. "You know I'll eat anything."

"Yes, but in annoying moderation."

I can tell he's teasing me, so I don't bother answering.

He looks over at the box he just brought in. "Will I at least get to see you in sweats now?"

"You've seen me in sweats before."