Open Your Arms

Chapter 81

August 21, 2006

Axl's front door opens and he engulfs me in a hug. "Hi, Larissa."

"Hi, Axl," I walk inside, feeling unfamiliar to his new home. He bought a little one-story house for him and Vanessa which fits them very well, but it must get pretty lonely for Axl when he's all alone. 

Axl invited me to have dinner with him. He apparently started dating a new girl and wanted me to meet her. She already met the rest of the family, but I'm not really speaking to my parents--specifically my mother--so he's doing this out of a courtesy for me. 

Hailey and I are good, though. She actually checks up on me every once in a while to make sure I'm doing okay. 

"Her name is Naomi," He whispers. 

"Is she here yet?" I hear a soft voice call from the kitchen. Her voice is very pretty. 

I follow Axl's lead into the kitchen and see her cooking something, which is surprising. When Axl was married to Janette, she never cooked. I wasn't even sure if they owned pots and pans, but Axl has pots and pans and now they're finally being put to use. 

Naomi appears from behind the counter and smiles at me while waving. She is beautiful. She has piercing blue eyes and bleached blond hair with the perfect amount of freckles on her face. She's not too tall, but not too short. She's just right. She looks to be around my age or maybe even younger. 

"Hi, I'm Naomi," She introduces herself. "You look just like Axl."

"I don't see it," Axl smiles while laughing. That's the first time I've heard him laugh in a very long time. "Is the food done?"

"Oh, yes," She takes her attention off of me and onto the stove. "Sorry, Larissa, I'm just trying to get all this together for you guys."

"Don't worry about it," I assure her. All I can think about is how in the world my brother was able to get her to come into his house. 

Axl is not ugly, but she's definitely out of his league. Maybe it was a pickup line that he used or one of his jokes or his charming personality. 

"I made lemon chicken, is that alright with you?" Naomi double checks with me. "Axl said you wouldn't have a problem with it, but I don't mind making something else."

It feels like she's my older sister or a babysitter or something like that; not my brother's girlfriend. 

She seems like she's all about sunshine and rainbows. Her outfit says it all. She's wearing a flowy pink dress with flowers all over it in different designs. If I were to wear that, I would look like an imbecile, but she looks good in it. 

"Here's your plate," Axl hands me it and has me sit down at the table. I feel out of place here. 

Axl and Naomi sit down across from me and they already seem like a perfect couple. Naomi smiles at me and takes a bite of her food, so I assume that now is the time that I begin to eat, too. 

"This is so good," I say once I'm done chewing. "Thank you so much."

"Of course," Naomi insists. "I love cooking, so this is as good for me as it is for you."

I take another bite, then ask the question that's been eating at me since I met Naomi. "How did you two meet?"

Naomi laughs. Even her laugh is cute. "You're not going to believe me when I tell you." She smiles up at Axl and he smiles back at me. "Okay, so I was walking at a park and there was a water fountain nearby. I was wearing these boots with heels at the bottom and I was reading my book while taking my walk. I must've tripped on a rock or something because all of a sudden, I was falling. But, I didn't fall into the water. I was caught mid-air.