Two of a Kind

Chapter 4

It was another week and a half before Skylar got the call from the apartment complex that her apartment was vacant and ready for her to move in. She felt elated that she'd get her own space again although she was incredibly grateful for a friend like Juice who let her move in temporarily while she got herself sorted and back on her feet. Since her new apartment was ready for her to move in, she decided to send a message to her community that she was moving into her permanent residence so she wouldn't be on for a day or two as she moved and got settled. It was a two-bedroom apartment and she was using the second bedroom as an office just like she'd done at her old place. Once she'd packed up all her clothes and toiletries, she moved the bags over to her new apartment. Stopping by the manager's office to get her keys first, of course. She set her bags in the master closet then went back to Juice's place to pack up her computer and streaming equipment. Once it was moved to her new place, also being set in the closet for the time being, she headed to the thrift store to schedule a delivery time for her furniture. To her amazement, they weren't very busy and were able to deliver her furniture that afternoon.

It was a busy day of buying all the kitchenware she needed to replace as well as appliances she didn't bring with her, buying a couple bedding sets, towels, a couple bathroom sets she could switch out, waiting for the movers to arrive with her furniture, then instructing the movers where she wanted each piece of furniture to go. Then there was the long process of making her new bed, getting her computer and streaming set-up put back up, then heading out to buy groceries although she left that for the following morning. She didn't feel right about just leaving Juice's apartment after he'd been so kind to her so once she had her apartment mostly set up, she still had to put up dishes, pots & pans, silverware, and appliances, she decided to head back to his place to cook him one more meal before she handed his house key back to him. Wanting to make him something special, she opted for beef enchiladas with her homemade enchilada sauce. It was hearty, filling, and very tasty!

Since it was later than usual when she went to make dinner, she hoped her friend wouldn't mind the wait. She tried to have dinner ready by the time he made it home from work but that wouldn't be possible this evening. When he finally came home, he sniffed the air and smiled. She always had the apartment smelling good. When he went into the kitchen to grab a beer, he asked what she was making. With a wide smile, she told him enchiladas earning a head nod in reply. While she worked on dinner, he wondered why she'd started so late, he sat on the couch to watch some TV. She cooked onion with the seasoned beef before adding some of the cooked and drained meat into each tortilla, sprinkling some cheese and some of the sauce on top, then rolling each tortilla and placing them seam side down in the baking dish. Once it was filled up, she made enough for two full dishes, she poured the remainder of the sauce on top, added more cheese to the tops, then put both baking dishes in the pre-heated oven. While the enchiladas were baking, she set the table. She was a little nervous about telling him she was officially moving out and that she'd gotten into her new apartment that day and had everything moved over already.

Once the cheese was bubbling, she took both dishes out of the oven. She placed one on the stove top to let it cool before putting some tin foil over it and putting it the fridge and she brought one to the table. Calling Juice to dinner, she sat down and tried to calm her nerves about the conversation ahead. He asked about her day making her take a few deep breaths. She explained about her apartment finally coming available, how she'd moved all her stuff into the new place, and had the thrift store deliver her furniture to the new place and get everything set up for her. It made Juice sad to hear she was finally moving into her own place but he also knew this day was coming. He gave a fake smile and told her how excited he was for her. She smiled back hoping he was being sincere. She thanked him for opening his home up to her in the first place and that they'd always be friends. He agreed and told her it was his pleasure to have her there and that if she ever needed anything to not hesitate to call. She promised she would. He told her how great dinner was earning a wide smile from her. Shortly before he finished dinner, his pre-paid went off. Jax was calling to offer him a protection run for Unser so Juice agreed. He needed to meet the others at Teller-Morrow in about an hour.