Lavender

Chapter Eight

Four hours later Kimi is helping me haul shopping bags full of different dresses, pants, and shoes into my house.

"Wow, your house is so cute! I love the way you decorated everything." She gasps, looking around in awe, her mouth a perfectly shaped O.

"Thanks, I had some help from Pinterest." I giggle and drop my bags onto the the kitchen counter.

"Would you like a drink? Shopping makes me so thirsty," I ask, reaching into the refrigerator for a bottled water.

"I'm okay, I actually have to run. Stan is waiting for me at his apartment. We're having a Netflix and chill night, if you know what I mean." She snickers and places the rest of the shopping bags beside the others.

The mall we went to had every store you could ever need: Banana Republic, Barneys, Nordstrom, Sephora, etcetera. Every store gave me another idea for an outfit to wear to dinner tomorrow night, resulting in me buying four completely different ensembles. It's completely necessary to look my absolute best for Theo's parents.

It seems a bit quick to be meeting his parents, especially considering Theo and I aren't even dating, but honestly I think he just feels bad for me. I'm not complaining though, the lack of meaningful human interaction I've had the past few months is seriously a little scary. I thought it would be a piece of cake to skip town and deal with my problems alone, but it gets harder by the day. Especially with Theo in the picture.

"Sounds like a very..," I continue to rack my brain for the right word, "relaxing night."

"It will get pretty vigorous once he sees what I bought from Victoria's Secret."

"He's going to love it!" I exclaim, referring to the dark purple lace thong and matching bra that she bought earlier.

"Call me tomorrow after your dinner. I want to know all of the dirty deets," she calls back from the driver's seat of her car with a huge grin. Little does she know I won't be participating in anything dirty for a while.

A chime from inside startles me a little, making me stub my toe on the door frame on my way back inside.

"Son of a --"

Hopping on one leg and squeezing my injured foot, I come to an abrupt halt when I see Theo's name flashing on my phone screen.

Quickly, I snatch my phone off the counter, nearly falling over in the process from a lack of balance and sheer giddiness.

Theo: hope your shopping spree was successful, can't wait for tomorrow

Smiling at his thoughtfulness, I type out a response.

Cora: it was majorly successful! And neither can I :)

I unload all of my shopping bags, and then grab a pink chicken breast out of the refrigerator to sauté with some fresh spinach for dinner. They crackle over the stove, the aroma making my mouth water. I didn't realize until now how hungry I actually was.

Sitting at my kitchen table, I pop a bite of yummy chicken into my mouth. As soon as I swallow, I feel it coming right back up. Hands covering my mouth, I sprint to the half bathroom next the the stairs, and make it just in time.

I guess baby doesn't feel like chicken tonight.

With a sigh, I stand on wobbly legs and make my way back to the kitchen to wrap the rest of my meal up.

My reaction to the chicken making me sweaty and a little lightheaded, I grab my water and head upstairs to retire for the night. My entire body is exhausted, so I'm asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and my heavy lids cover my eyes.