Growing Up

5.0

This feeling of triumph swelled in Aspens chest as she ate her lunch alone in the natural light flooding into the apartment. She wasn't going to let people walk in and out of her life as they pleased- she wasn't going to put up with that crap. 

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the front door, and she let out an exasperated groan as she slumped over to the door. This had been the 7th person in the last hour- clearly her roommates had failed to mention how they were not going to be in town. 

"They're in Washington, sorry for the inconvenience..." She started, whipping the door open before she was greeted by someone who definitely wasn't there for her roommates. 

Auden.

Aspen rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, giving him the best glare she could. "What do you want?" She snapped, her voice icy. 

"Well, after you denied my offer earlier you know I couldn't resist..." He started, pushing the door behind him and wrapping his arms down around her waist. She pushed back against his chest and looked down at the door behind him.

"I denied it for a reason- I don't want to do this anymore, Auden." She explained, her voice coming out in a plea as she looked up at him. 

As if by magic, that cocky, hard wall behind his eyes seemed to crumble for a second, his eyes reflecting raw confusion and almost desperation. "But, why?" He almost stuttered, running his hands up and down her back. She pushed back harder and he didn't fight her as she took  few steps backward. 

Aspen let out a frustrated sigh and pulled her hair up into a bun out of her face- something she often did when she was frustrated. "Why?" She asked, the anger and incredulous disbelief echoing in the word. "Auden, I'm not going to be a fucking bootycall anymore. I'm not going to be the girl that you only call when theres a party so you have someone to hook up with and then just ignores for the rest of the week. I'm too used to being that girl and I'll never get any respect if I keep on going through with this. I'm a human being who deserves friendships and relationships and I can't deal with this anymore." 

She said everything in a single breath, and by the end she was completely out of breath, her heart beating at the speed of a humming bird as she stared up at him. The wall had been built behind his eyes and he looked anywhere but her, until finally he locked theirs together. 

"Aspen," he practically gritted through his teeth, "look, we don't know much about each other at all other than what we've found out in meeting each other here. Back at home, my whole situation was different. None of my friends ever had a serious relationship and we basically fucked around our whole lives. I'd probably never said anything to a girl unless she was a difficult lay.

This is different, though. I've never hooked up with the same girl more than once, and she's never spoken to me the way that you just did if she wasn't okay with it. It's, er, hard for me to open up- I've never had to before- but I understand why you feel that way and I'm sorry. If you still want to, we can start by being friends." He offered, stretching out a hand to her and giving her a sad smile. 

"Only friends." Aspen clarified, giving him a pitiful smile and shaking his hand. 

He nodded in agreement and looked around the apartment. "Interesting place." He commented. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment or merely an observation. At least a few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed before she cleared her throat.  

"Yup.. Well, I have to get to work-" 

"Call in sick or something. We should go out and do something." He cut her off.

"Why would I skip work to hang out with you?" She asked, dumbfounded. What didn't this guy understand about "just friends"?

"Well, if Catherine called you and told you to skip work to go out to eat dinner or go out to an arcade wouldn't you go?" He reasoned.