At Home

Chapter Five

I open my back door to let Blue out. He runs out without a care in the world, grabs his soccer ball and brings it over before dropping it in front of me. I shake my head, "Potty first, THEN play time." I swear I see him roll his eyes and hear him huff. He runs off and begins sniffing the ground, his tail straight in the air. I take my seat on the steps and twist off the cap of my drink. Maya follows out shortly after and takes a seat next to me.

"I wonder if whatever creep texting you is watching us right now?" Maya says. I level her with a glare. "Why the fuck would you say that dude?" I ask, irritation in my voice. "Let's NOT make me sacred to go in my own backyard thanks." Maya shrugs and takes a long swig of her drink. Blue runs back over to me, the ball still waiting at my feet. I was too distracted by Maya's dumbass question to pay attention to if Blue actually took care of business or not. If he needs to go out later, he will let me know. I take a swig of my drink before slowly standing up and positioning myself to kick the soccer ball. "Ready boy?" I ask, to which Blue responds by wagging his tail quicker and hopping up and down on his front paws. I repeat the mornings motions and kick the ball to the back gate. *Thwack* The ball hits the back gate and falls down. Blue grabs it and brings it back. "My turn!" Maya jumps up and half yells. I gesture for her to go ahead and she kicks the ball.

We take turns drinking and kicking the ball for several minutes before I hear my doorbell ring. I freeze. I pull out my phone to check my ring camera. I see a plain clothed AJ standing in front of the camera. I hit the button to unmute the mic. "Come in, we're out back with Blue." I say into my phone. I hear my voice echo back on my phone, and see AJ reach for the doorknob. I end the live video and turn to see AJ walk in, and head towards the back door.

He slides open the glass door and steps out onto the deck. "You had me come over because you might be getting stalked, but you leave the front door unlocked." AJ states matter of factly. "Really smart decision Car." I respond by staring straight into his eyes and taking a long swig of my drink, finishing the remainder. "I'm gonna need another one of these." I say, trying to hide my irritation at his comment. "Come on Blue!" I yell over my shoulder and head inside. I hear his tags jingle and look over my shoulder to see AJ petting Blue's head. Blue's tail wags happily. Traitor.

Once we're back inside, I grab another drink and twist off the cap. I should probably be a gracious host and see if AJ wants anything. Before I can even open my mouth, AJ pulls open the door to my refrigerator and grabs a water bottle. Out of my peripheral, I see Maya leaning with her back against my counter. I turn my head towards her and see her eyebrow raised. I turn back to AJ, "Sure, make yourself at home." The sarcasm is clear in my voice and AJ takes a step towards me and says, "Not like we haven't played house before Car." Maya chokes a little and coughs, the way you do when someone makes you laugh while drinking. I level her with a glare again and see she's trying to hold in a laugh. "Let's just get this over with." I say, frustration dripping from my voice. We walk over to my living room. Maya sits in the recliner, forcing AJ and I to sit on the couch. I give her another glare and she mouths "Love you" at me. She loves to do things that irritate me, I swear.

I pull my phone out in preparation of showing AJ the text, and he pulls out a small notepad from his shirt pocket. He taps his pockets looking for a pen before standing up and walking back into my kitchen to pull one out of my junk drawer. Something stirs in me knowing he still knows his way around my house so well. It doesn't feel like pure irritation, but I refuse to accept there is another emotion swirling with it. Longing maybe? Missing the laughs we shared in my kitchen while making 2am pancakes? Oh my god, stop. You can't have a serious relationship with your best friends cousin Carter. Get your shit together. I shake away the memories and shift uncomfortably as AJ takes a seat back on the couch. He looks at me with a questioning eyebrow, seemingly noticing the movement. He doesn't say anything about it though, and I sigh in relief.