FIRE | H.S.

Chapter 25

The next morning, I decide it's enough of being in my house and I go to the spa where Charles is. He tells me to go back home as soon as he sees me walk through the door, but I tell him I'll only be in my office catching up with the paperwork, the payroll, and making sure orders for products have been placed correctly. I know Charles and Aurora have kept things under control, but I still want to take a look at everything.

I have an unopened good morning text from Evan that he sent at 7 a.m. but I just can't bring myself to open it. The brief interaction from last night weighs heavily on my mind. As well as the reactions from everyone. Although I wasn't comfortable with the interaction between me and Evan, I was thinking of just brushing it off because it's in the past. It happened already and I can't change the way things unfolded. I can't go back in time to remind Evan to take his charger before his trip. However, Harry's serious face and Aurora's and Charles' reactions have me questioning my own decision to move past it.

I sigh, dropping my phone into my purse where I can't see it to not feel the pressure of answering Evan's text. I move on to the payroll, which is already done so I just check everything to make sure the information is correct.

Since everything is done and I have no appointments, I decide to go to get groceries. I reach for my phone inside my purse and feel a soft, furry texture. My little lamb. With everything that's happened lately, I've forgotten about it. I take it out and place it on my lap as I drive to the store.

I grab a cart, secure my purse with the safety strap, and enter the store, heading to the fruit section first. I take my time picking the fruits and vegetables, remembering to get things Leilani also likes to eat. I move along the store grabbing things I know I need and things I think I might need. I should've made a list.

I walk around the whole store, just making sure I don't forget anything and head to the registers. I place everything in the conveyor belt and make small talk with the old lady scanning my items. She asks me about the weather, and we mention how it's been getting too hot these weeks, and summer barely started. She lets me know her favorite season of the year is spring and that she hates winter, to which I respond that I love winter and hate summer.

I pay for my groceries and say goodbye to the sweet lady.

"Have a blessed day, hon!" she says, smiling at me.

"Thank you, you too!" I reply, turning to exit the store.

Once I place everything in the trunk of my car, I drive home and unload my groceries. I play some music while I put everything away and think about what to make myself to eat.

I settle on making myself a sandwich because I don't have the energy to cook something, and a sandwich is the easiest thing to make. I spread some avocado on each slice of bread, adding just a pinch of salt, then add like 6 slices of turkey ham, 2 slices of cheese, and lettuce, then I proceed to press the sandwich down with my hand to flatten it. I don't know why, but I've always liked flattening my sandwiches and making them as thin as possible. It just tastes better.

I go sit on the sofa and turn on the t.v., going straight to Hulu to watch New Girl. I've watched this show like 30 times, but I never get tired of it. It's one of my comfort shows and I know the episodes like the back of my hand.

My phone vibrates next to me, and I glance at it, seeing a new text notification from Evan.

Evan: Dinner tonight? My place. I'll cook something for you. Wine will be provided.

I sigh. This may be a good moment to talk about what happened, right? And he's cooking, so that makes up for it a little. Right?

I type a quick response and send it.

Me: Only if it's rosé.

His response is immediate.

Evan: You already know it is ;)

I smile and tell him I'll be there at 7, then I continue eating my sandwich and watching t.v.

***

I ring the doorbell and wait for a little before the door opens and Evan appears, wearing a black button-down, slacks, and dress shoes. His fiery hair is nicely styled, and the scent of his cologne invades my nostrils. I need to know which cologne he uses because fuck. It smells so good.

"Welcome, sweet lady, do come in." He smiles, stepping aside and letting me walk in.

"Why, thank you, sir. I suddenly feel very underdressed," I say, hoarsely, looking down at my white t-shirt, jeans, and white Converse.

He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. "And yet you look more beautiful than tonight's moon."

I smile and refrain from telling him that it's a New Moon tonight. Hey, he tried, and I'll take the compliment. He leads me to the kitchen, where he's set the plates and glasses on the island. He added candles and a bouquet of daisies in a vase to complete the look.

"This looks amazing, Evan."

"Thanks, babe. I'm not good at decorating unless it's for the Super Bowl, so I asked a lady at the store if she could help me out," he chuckles.

I laugh, "I think you did a great job." I kiss his cheek. I sit on one of the stools and he serves me some wine, which I happily sip while he serves our food.

He sets my plate in front of me and I see it's chicken curry and white rice. It looks delicious. I grab some naan from another plate and taste the dish. The flavors hit my taste buds and God it's so good. I've had chicken curry a couple of times from a small Indian restaurant Charles loves, and this tastes just as good as the one from there. I didn't think Evan could cook this well. "Oh my god, Evan, this is delicious! You'll need to give me the recipe for it."

"Yeah, about that, I kind of cheated a little bit," he says, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "I looked up the recipe for it and it seemed like a lot, and I didn't have most of the ingredients, so I just got it from that Indian place near your spa and emptied it into pans to make it look like I made it. I know I said I would cook for you but..." he shrugs, a sheepish smile on his face. "I'm also not a great cook and didn't want to risk it."

I swallow my sip of wine. "Well... thank you for buying us dinner." I smile and continue eating.

We talk as we eat and drink our wine. He tells me about the out-of-state games and about how they won 2 out of 3 games. Throughout the night I noticed him glancing at the burns on my arms, but he never brings up the topic of the fire or that he didn't contact me at all while he was away. I don't bring it up either, might as well leave it in the past.

~~~