Ecie & Esme III: Forever and a Day

Five

'How are you?' Lauren asked sitting down at the kitchen counter as Verde made himself some coffee.

'I'm fine,' Verde nodded. 'Do you want a cup?'

'Yes please,' Lauren smiled. 'What have you been up to?'

'Work, work and more work,' Verde grinned bringing both mugs to where Lauren was sat. 'Do you want to sit outside? It's really nice out this early.'

'Sure,' Lauren replied. They picked up their mugs and went out onto the roof of the apartment. 'It is nice out here.'

'Yeah,' Verde nodded. 'I find it comforting being out here when it's empty. I love it.'

'It's peaceful,' Lauren nodded. 'All the lights look even better with this shade of blue sky.'

'So,' Verde said looking at Lauren. 'What have you been doing?'

'Ethan and I finally did it,' Lauren replied. 'We had sex and I think things are improving.'

'I didn't realize you guys were having any problems,' Verde said. 'What happened?'

'It's mainly me,' Lauren replied. 'I keep thinking about you whenever Ethan and I get intimate. I know that it's not fair on him, so I've been trying to get over it.'

'Were you thinking about me when you first had sex with him?'

'You did pop into my mind a couple times,' Lauren admitted. 'But I managed to get through it.'

'You should only be having sex with your boyfriend if you actually like him,' Verde laughed. 'You make it sound like such a chore.'

Lauren laughed. 'I do, don't I?'

'Yeah you do,' Verde laughed. 'Just a bit.'

'Well I'll try and remember that one too,' Lauren replied. She took a sip of her steaming coffee and set the mug down again. 'I've been thinking about you a lot lately.'

'I've been thinking about you too,' Verde smiled at her. He took her hand and held it then started playing with her fingers. 'It's getting really stressful thinking about you all the time.'

'What do you think about?'

'You're skin and how good you looked wrapped up in my sheets with your hair sort of messed up,' Verde smiled. 'Your lips, your smile, everything.'

'We can still be friends, can't we?' Lauren said looking into Verde's eyes. 'It doesn't matter that we feel like this.'

'We can still be friends,' Verde nodded. 'We're living together now and you've got a boyfriend. We've got to get over it.'

Lauren nodded. 'This fucking apartment.'

Verde laughed.

'Are you working tonight?'

'Yeah,' Verde nodded. 'I need something to keep my mind occupied. Are you working at the store today?'

'Yeah,' Lauren sighed. 'I've picked up some more shifts while my professor is out of town.'

'Where is he?'

'New York,' Lauren replied. 'I think he's working on a case.'

'That sounds exciting,' Verde smiled. 'Did he say what it was?'

Lauren shook his head. 'He was here the other day.'

'Was he?'

'You already knew anyway,' Lauren smiled. 'He's with Ecie.'