The Smell of Lilies

Chapter 3

His apartment rested nicely on the third floor of an old brick building with wrought iron stairway balconies that wrapped all the way around the outside. It was charming. Brandon led her up the three flights of stairs to his apartment. It was easy to see that it was an older building, but Kel liked that because of the appeal. When she was younger, going from house to house with her sister and sometimes even a couple other kids, she encountered many different kinds of homes. Some were very luxurious, some were not so. Whatever it was, she was always thankful to simply have some sort of roof over her head. Right now, she was thankful for Brandon. Because without him this evening, she would not have gotten that roof.

The apartment was very clean and modern. Through the entrance were the living room, and then the kitchen. She was surprised to see that the kitchen was very up to date on appliances and such. There were granite counters, wooden floors, and even a small wine cooler next to the fridge. Through the small hall she could see his bedroom. The blue comforter of his bed was strewn on the floor.

“It isn’t much, but its home,” he said quietly.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said smiling.

Brandon looked at her. He really looked at her. He noticed how tall she was, and he liked it. His eyes took in everything about her. The way she stands with both feet mounted firmly on the floor. How she always looks at her hands when she is shy. The way her cheeks turn bright red when caught off guard. The way she loved to eat and drink. He looked over her auburn hair that led to her shoulders and slowly down her chest, hips and long legs. It’s true. She is beautiful. He recalled how she looked like freshman year. Fuzzy memories. She was still tall, but had not fully grown into herself yet. He remembered how she used to always wear her hair in a ponytail and she never wore any makeup. He remembered how the other boys used to talk about her in the locker room, and how angry he would get about it. He also remembered how he couldn’t ever build up the courage to talk to her or ask to work with her on an English project. She intimidated him. His hands started to sweat again.

That ass Craig is the stupidest shit…

 Brandon didn’t know exactly why he started to hate Craig so much. He had never even met the guy. But he could see that Kel was a sweet person who didn’t like to hurt people. And that’s what made him mad. He hated seeing someone like that hurt. It was strange to him though because they had only met a few odd hours ago at a bar. And that was when he had acted like the ass to her. He hated himself for doing that.

“Make yourself at home. I’ll get you something to change into,” he said and headed off into his room.

Kel looked around the living room. Above the black couch was a shelf that held several of the wood carvings similar to the one Brandon had shown her at the bar. All of them were bears.

Brandon returned holding a red T-shirt and sweatpants. He smiled slightly, “They’re going to be big.”

Kel didn’t care. She liked the idea of warm baggy clothes. “You sure you don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Could I ask for one more thing? Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“Not at all; it’s right down the hall to the left. I’ll get things ready for you.”

“Thank you,” she said and she smiled, revealing her one dimple on the inside of her cheek.

Brandon made haste as he got fresh sheets from the cupboard outside his bedroom. He straightened things up and made sure there were no dirty clothes lying around. He tried not to pay attention to the water running down the hall, indication that there was a naked woman in his home.