As soon as my foot stepped onto the platform Dan caught up with me. I was looking for directions on my phone and Brooke was trailing behind us with our dog and Phil. Surprisingly, the train station wasn't very busy so we were able to clear off the train quickly.
"Aha, found it!" I exclaimed while zooming in on the building. Dan leaned in over my shoulder a bit too close for my liking to take a peek. He smelled like cologne and, I have to admit he smelled great. Not to mention that he is a lot taller than I am so he had to bend over quite a bit to reach my level.
"Yeah, that's our apartment building. What floor are you guys on?" Dan asked, looking me in the eyes and staying very attentive. It made me feel both awkward and important, but in a good way. It's better than him not making eye contact at all.
"Uh, two I believe," honestly, I wanted to be higher up so I could have a good view of the city, but no. Brooke insisted that, for now, it was better to be on a lower floor since it's easier. She also said that she doesn't want to climb that many stairs but I think there's an elevator.
"Cool," Dan nodded and led us toward the exit doors of the train station. He opened the door for me and a rush of fresh air pushed past my body and I walked into the bright sunlight. The air was carrying the smell of fresh spring flowers, and the nearly cloudless sky was as blue as ever. It reminded me of the first picnic I went on with my parents and their friends for business. It was on a day almost like this, in a field of pink and purple wildflowers. We all had a really good time and we ended up going back a few more times after that.
I looked around the parking lot and the streets with a grin, finally my eyes landed on Dan. He was staring at me with a smile on his lips, and our eyes locked. My eyes flit over his face and I feel frozen in time, as if the moment was making time move slower.
"Oh, looks like we got some lovebirds over here!" Brooke broke in, stopping our moment. I looked over at her, momentarily startled. She smirks at me and winks.
"You know, you say that but look at the two of you," I motion towards Brooke and Phil, who have been walking together ever since they got out of their seats. I guess you could say the same for Dan and I, but I had to throw something at them.
"Oh, Charlotte, we need to give the puppy a bathroom break," Brooke says, walking to the grassy area beside the parking lot. Dan and Phil looked back at me and I motioned with my arm for them to follow me. Ahead I saw Brooke unlatching the carrier and small, black and white puppy crawled out. He didn't look dirty, which was a good thing.
"Aw, he's so cute!" Phil spoke in a high pitched voice and ran open-armed towards our husky. I laughed and Dan joined in, and when he wasn't looking I saw that he had a dimple on one side of his face. I've only known a few other people with dimples but his was by far the most fitting.
***
Dan and Phil helped us to our apartment, which I thought was very kind of them. It turns out that they lived only a few floors above us and they will be stopping by later tonight.
I fumbled for the key in my purse and shoved it into the lock. I always hated trying to lock and unlock doors, it seemed that whichever way I tried to turn the key was the wrong way. I finally got the door open and we walked inside.
Our parents knew that it was going to be hard to buy all the furniture so they hired an interior designer to design our home. His team did an amazing job designing the place; the walls were white and adorned with picture frames that complemented the grey sofas that sat facing each other. A nice neutral rug ran underneath the couches and black wood coffee table. What really tied the room together was the fancy fireplace. It had more picture frames atop it and a large mirror.
"Wow, how'd you guys do this?" Dan asked, looking amazed and walking towards the ornate fireplace as he fixed his hair in the mirror.
"Well, our parents thought that it would be hard to move a whole bunch of heavy furniture up here by ourselves so they hired a designer to design the apartment for us. It looks amazing, might I add." I said as I walked into the kitchen.
The kitchen had granite counter tops and black wood cabinets on the wall above them. An island sat in the middle with a bowl of plastic fruit and a few barstools. The fridge was titanium colored and the stove/oven looked really high tech.
"Charlotte, I can't believe we are really living here! It's like a dream," Brooke sighed contently. I walked with her into my bedroom and gasped.
There were plain white walls matched with a queen sized bed with white sheets and covers. The pillows were white, grey, and black with flowers. Above it was a shelf with more skinny picture frames and a couple CD cases. Hanging from it was fairy lights disguised as pink flowers.
On the other side of the room was a white desk and a window with light grey curtains. There was a walk-in closet that, sadly, was empty but there were shoe racks and hangers.
As Brooke went off to examine her room, I faced Dan who was still standing in the doorway. He smiled at me, then walked out. I noticed that he pulled my suitcase to my bedroom door and I brought it inside. With a great deal of effort I threw it onto my bed and walked out to join the others.
"Charlotte, how do you feel about the boys treating us to dinner at Jaime Oliver's?" Brooke asked me excitedly. Now that I think about it, I am pretty hungry. My stomach growled, answering it for me. Everyone had a hearty chuckle and Brooke and I changed and headed out.
***
Dan and I split from the group to walk to Charlie's Bar and we were walking slowly. It was a really good romantic mood for walking in the dark together. My eyes skimmed over his face, finding that he was also looking over mine.
"You look really pretty tonight." he commented. I had changed into a plain black, high-necked dress with black flats. I didn't have time to put on much makeup, just some rose pink lip gloss and mascara.
"Thanks, you too. I mean, you look handsome." I blushed and giggled, and he chuckled. Finally we reached the bar and walked through the door. The place was filled with young people, mainly couples and a few girls trying to snag a guy. There were a couple of girls kissing in the corner, and I praised them on either being drunk or sober.
We took a seat at the bar and Dan bought me a drink. We sat for hours, getting drunker and drunker while talking about random crap.
At one point in the conversation, when Dan and I had our fourth drink, he leaned over and kissed me. I kissed him back the rest was hazy.
***
The sun poked through my curtains and blinds onto my face, and I rolled over on my back. My head hurt like crazy and the movement provoked it. I opened my eyes and looked around for my phone, when I saw a naked man in my bed. My heart jumped to my throat and I looked down.
I yelped and pulled the covers over my own naked body, wishing that they weren't white just this one time. I didn't remember what happened last night, just that I went to the bar with Dan...
Dan! Shit, shit, shit! I got up and grabbed a robe from my bag since I haven't even unpacked yet and put it on. I walked around to the other side of the bed and looked the brunette man in the face. Yup, it was Dan.
"Oh, how can I be so stupid!" I hit my forehead with my palm and instantly regretted it. On came a killer wave of pain and it almost caused me to pass out.
I looked around for any type of protection if we used any, but I really doubted it since we were drunk. I know I didn't have any. Nope. None.
I surveyed the mess of my bed and Dan laying under my sheets with his clothes and my dress strewn around the room. It's OK, this happens all the time right?
