Somebody to Love

Chapter 1

The sun was shining brightly through Rose's bedroom window when she finally opened her eyes on Thursday morning. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts before she heard a shift in the bed behind her. Holding her breath, she turned to find Randy, her date from the previous night, snoring softly from where he lay beside her.

Swearing under her breath, Rose rolled out of bed and quietly tiptoed over to the bathroom. After shutting the door behind her, she combed through her hair, making sure to tame her bedhead, brushed her teeth, and applied a barely-noticeable amount of lip gloss before slipping out of the bathroom and trying to gently get back into bed.

Inwardly, she wondered if she was trying too hard for this guy, but ultimately decided that it was alright. They'd only been on one date. He was far from ready to see her first thing in the morning. That wasn't a sight she'd wish on anyone.

She lay quietly in her bed for a few more minutes before she heard Randy yawn. Pretending to be waking for the first time that morning, she turned onto her side to face him, smiling at him sweetly. "Good morning," she said, leaning her head on her hand.

"Hey," he croaked monotonously before sitting up on the edge of her bed and looking for his boxers. Once he found them, he set about redressing himself in his clothes from the previous night.

Rose couldn't fight the feeling of disappointment that nagged at her as she watched Randy dress without saying a word to her. He sat back down on the bed to put on his shoes when Rose spoke again.

"So, what are your plans for today? I was thinking maybe I could make you breakfast and we could-"

"That sounds great," Randy cut her off as he stood from the bed, shoving his cell phone into his pocket, "but I have a thing I have to do today."

Rose nodded dumbly as she got out of bed and followed Randy to the door. Before walking through it he turned and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She smiled at the gesture before opening the door and seeing him out of it.

"I'll call you later, babe," he said over his shoulder as he descended the stairs down toward the lobby.

Rose was standing in front of her apartment, watching Randy leave when the door across from hers opened. Her neighbor across the hall, the one with the eyebrow piercing and bright orange hair, stepped out into the corridor, wearing only a pair of boxers and a tee shirt. He was holding the hand of a tall blonde, and Rose knew that she wasn't the only girl to be leaving his apartment this week.

She tried not to stare as the pair spoke, his hands on her waist as he told her what a great time he'd had and how much he was looking forward to seeing her again. His words sounded so insincere to Rose and she couldn't even bring herself to feel sorry for the poor girl who was falling for it. She deserved what she got if she was willing to sleep with that guy.

"Bye, Michael," the blonde sighed as she backed down the hallway, waving at him.

"I'll call you later, babe," Michael called out as the girl turned the corner toward the stairs and stepped out of sight.

Rose immediately recognized the words and that tone and she realized: Michael wasn't going to be calling that girl, and Randy wasn't going to be calling her, either. She gave a short, scoffing laugh. "Yeah, right." As she turned to go back into her apartment, she heard Michael call to her.

"Something funny?"

She turned on her heels to face him, arms crossed over her chest. "You aren't really going to call her, are you?" She asked straight on, eager to be proven right.

He shrugged, leaning up against the doorway to his flat. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. What's that got to do with you?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Nothing, but the way you just tried to dance around the answer tells me all I need to know. Have a nice day." She turned back to her apartment, stepping inside and shutting the door.