A Car Ride Home

C H A N G E

P r e v i o u s l y . . .

"Already, step into my office," she stated, walking behind the chair, and patting the seat. Al did as she said. "Sorry, there are no mirrors, so you won't see your hair until the end. Do you trust me?" Trust. That was not a word Al thought about too much. He hadn't trusted anyone since his friends, but they were gone. He never thought he would need to trust again, and even though Lilly's question was out of humor, he answered it out of truth.

"Yes."

And she began.

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" W h a t   d o   y o u   t h i n k ? " Lilly whispered, nervous, of what he thought of her work. She thinks she did amazing. 

His hair is not all gone, like he wanted. She cut the sides a little shorter, so he was conformable, but kept a little more length on the top. She also, didn't completely take off all of his facial hair, she left reminisce, so it looked like a neat five o clock shadow.

Al ran his fingers through his hair, it was short and soft. Two things he has not been able to say for almost a year. He has never seen himself like this, and he liked it. He felt like a new man. He felt his face, and could actually touch his jaw. Then, he looked a the woman beside him, staring off to the side. "What do I think?" she asked him. 

"I think-" he turned on her, and picked her small form up, "it's the best hair cut, I've ever had," he exclaimed, twirling her around when he heard her laughing.

When they both settled down Lilly said, "I'm glad. Now, I do believe it's time for bed."

Al looked at the clock, "but it's only nine?"

"Way past my bed time. I have work tomorrow at four in the morning," she stated.

"Is that the security job?" He asked, remembering her uniforms. She nodded. "Okay, then. Bed," he smiled.

"Goodnight, Al," Lilly smiled, enjoying the old familiar feeling of being able to say goodnight to someone.

"Night, Lilly," He stated. Al waited for Lilly to shut her door, taking Brody with her, before he went into the kitchen cleaned up the mess, and made a to-go breakfast for her and himself. Then, he went to 'his' room climbed into bed, and fell quickly asleep.

"Wake me up before you go go!" Lilly's alarm went off at exactly 3:30, so she climbed out of bed, feeling zombie like. She began pulling on her uniform with her eyes literally closed. She made her way out her bedroom door, and to the bathroom. When she was done, she felt so much more awake. She went into the kitchen without even realizing the light was on, and stopped in her tracks.

Al heard Lilly's alarm going off, and found himself chuckling at the Wham! song she chose. He was already in one of the button up shirts she offered him that first night. It barely fit around his shoulders, but he couldn't go anywhere with her shirtless. He slipped on slacks and a pair of shoes he found at the bottom of the box. Lastly, Al went to the bathroom, and splashed some water into his hair to style it back the way Lilly had done.

Then, he went into the kitchen and collected their breakfast. He heard her moving around, and then she came into the kitchen. Her face held shock at seeing him. "Good morning, Lilly."

"Uh, morning," Lilly stuttered. She wished she could just blame it on seeing him up, and not his appearance. The white button up was very snug she could till he was not comfortable in but no one else would be able too. "You're coming with me" Lilly stated, shock still clear in her voice.

He nodded. "I want to start contributing now, so I figured I'd try to get a job today, and if the car is leaving now. Then I need to be in it." He stated with a firm smile. There is no way someone will turn him down for a job dressed like that, she thought, trying to suppress her blush.

"Well then, taxi Lilly leaves in three. I just need to grab some-"

"-coffee," he finished for her, holding a cup. And she smiled brightly, welcoming the steaming cup into her hands. "I don't know how you like it though," he admitted, scratching the back of his next appearing ashamed.

"Thank you," Lilly said, truly in awe of the man that stood before her. It's been a long time since someone thought to pour her a cup of coffee. She walked over to the fridge, and pulled out sugar and milk fixing up her cup just the way she liked it. She couldn't help but notice Al preferred his black. "You ready?" She asked, and he nodded.

Together they said goodbye to Brody, and walked out the front door to the car that waited for them. Lilly clicked on the radio, and listened to the relaxing sounds drifting through the air. It was still dark outside the moon, and street light helping to light their way.

"How did you wake up?" She finally asked, once they merged onto the freeway.

"A habit I picked up," Al replied. She noticed how he suddenly seemed guarded, but she didn't know if it was from talking about war, or his time living on the streets.

Not wanting to see his demeanor change, so early she stated, "We are going to have to take you shopping."

Al looked down at his shirt, "Is it that noticeable?"

"No, but something about the way you are holding your shoulders makes it obvious to me," she explained. "You-uh- look really nice."

Al hadn't received a compliment regarding his looks since his friends use to joke about him being a stud. He was surprised by how much he liked hearing Lilly liked how he looked. "Thanks." Then he looked at her hair, which is placed into a high pony tail, making it easy to see her soft face, and easy eyes that hold a kindness. "You look beautiful," he finally stated, before getting an overwhelming feeling of wanting to hit his head against the car door.

"You don't have to return the compliment, I know my black dickies, grey polo, and shiny black shoes have me looking like a goddess," she remarked, laughing. Al ended up laughing with her. He wasn't going to tell her that he was referring to her not her clothes although she did look cute in them.

Eventually the two made it to the parking structure downtown that Lilly guarded. She parked the car, and they walked to her booth, where they ate the breakfast Al made. It was a change from her lonely routine, and she liked it.

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To be continued...