'Tis confusion!

home sweet home

Eight months passed in a blur. In that short time, I cut back my hours at the toy store, and began focusing more on freelance writing assignments. It was so much easier working from home part time, since it gave me more opportunity to hang with my animals...and talk to Q on my own time, and not just on scheduled breaks at the store. Q and I continued seeing each other whenever possible, which unfortunately, hadn't been that much. He and the rest of the guys were on tour for the last few months, and I hadn't actually seen him since July...and it was now almost October. Regardless of that, my infatuation with him was as strong as ever. We were managing to either text or IM daily. Nothing gave me a bigger thrill than hearing his text alert come in. And I was only getting more excited as the weeks went on. The boys were due back October third, which was two days before the Evans Blue concert. Q and I made plans to go way back we were first starting to hang out, and I couldn't wait to go. Q seemed excited about it too. Like, really excited. I chalked it up to seeing his favorite band, and didn't think anything else of it.

October third finally rolled around. I was wide awake at six am, thanks to Q's late-night text informing me they'd be back in town around eight am. I used my time as wisely as I could- feeding my animals and straightening the general chaos in my apartment. I checked the clock for what had to be the third time since getting up. Seven fifteen. I then fished in my pocket and pulled out a small silver key, turning it over and over in my hand. The night before they'd left for the tour, Q had given it to me so I could get into his place to feed his cats and collect the mail. I figured I'd head over there this morning and throw together breakfast for us. I made one final round through my apartment, then grabbed my bag, locked the door behind me and headed out.

I made a quick stop at the grocery store for bread, milk, and eggs, then popped over to Q's place. As soon as I unlocked the door, Benjamin came into the hallway and swished his tail around my ankles. I leaned down and scratched him behind the ears. He purred audibly. I stepped around him into the kitchen, and started to make french toast. Not two minutes after I pulled plates from the cupboard, I heard a car door slam outside. I plopped the plates on the table and raced to the front door. I could hear voices in the driveway, and they sounded like Q and Sal. Sure enough, a second later, the front door opened and Q came in, Sal trailing close behind.

"I thought I recognized that car in my driveway," Q teased as he came in. He leaned in and gave me a long, tight squeeze. "I missed you." He pulled me in and planted a kiss on my lips. I beamed. "I missed you too." I grabbed his hand. "I made breakfast, if you guys are hungry." I peered over Sal's shoulder. "Unless Joe's behind you, in which case... I didn't." They both laughed. "It's just us, I promise," Q said. We went into the kitchen. I pulled out a third plate, and started sliding french toast on each of them. Sal sat at the table. "This smells fantastic. "

"Thanks! My own special recipe. My mom taught me how to make it when I was like four." Q had already dug in. "Mara, this is amazing. It tasted even better than it smells. I can't believe you've never made this for us before." I smiled. "Well, I wanted to make something special for you. I figured you can't have had that much decent food on the road...how many pounds of fruit did Sal waste this time around? Or did he not bother with the juicer this trip?" Q snickered. "Of course he did. After swearing up and down this time would be different."

"So how much?"

" I lost count after two pints of strawberries, three bags of spinach, and a dozen bananas."

"Hm. That sounds a little low."

"Everybody's a comedian," Sal grumbled, but I could see him trying to conceal a smile. He stabbed another piece of french toast and stuffed it in his mouth.

"So, I know we've talked a lot since you've been gone, but I was curious if anything super exciting happened while you guys were gone... Did you guys lock Murr in any closets or anything?"

Sal and Q exchanged glanced...and smirks.

"Not exactly a closet, but Joe almost stuffed him in a washing machine," Q told me.

I laughed. "Was this before or after Sal tried to convince him that Katy Perry was trying to find him?"

"Same day, actually, about two hours later, " Q told me. It was actually a direct result of the Katy Perry thing."

"What do you mean?"

"In his great rush to find her, he managed to trip on -and subsequently crush- a box of doughnuts Joe was saving."

I burst out laughing. "That's perfect."

"Tell Joe and Murr that, " Q cracked. He finished his food, then stood up and dumped the plate in the sink. Sal followed suit. "Thanks again. that was delicious."

I smiled. "No problem guys. " Sal washed his hands thoroughly, then headed to the front door. "I'm gonna grab the bags from the car. I'll be back."

We nodded. As soon as he left, Q pulled me in closer and wrapped his arms around me. "I am so happy to be back." I kissed his neck. "I missed you so much." He returned the kiss. "Back atcha. Hey, when Sal comes back in, I've got something for you. Nothing big, but I think you'll like it. Why don't you go wait in the living room." I smiled and did as he asked.