the fourth roommate » alex ernst

TWENTY SEVEN

"I'm done being crazy," Alex said as soon as I answered the phone. I was at the house, eating my feelings in Halo Top, when I got the call.

"Took you long enough. I'm at Toddy's," I responded, pushing another spoonful of icecream into my mouth. "You'll be here when?"

"I'm outside," he admitted sheepishly. I could hear the nerves in his voice. I stood, hung up the phone and said bye to Toddy.

"Done being an asshole?" he asked as I walked towards the door and I shrugged.

"For now, at least," I waved over my shoulder. "I'll probably be back tomorrow."

"I'll be expecting you," he said before I shut the door behind me. Alex was in his car, in his hands a bouquet of sunflowers. I kept the smile that was growing inside of me off my face and got in the car, straight faced.

"Okay, listen, I know you're going to break up with me but I really don't want you to, so I'm sorry that I was being crazy and I promise I won't do it again. I just don't want to lose you," he spit out, rushing his words so much I almost didn't understand what he was saying.

"Alex, I wasn't going to break up with you," I didn't want to laugh because I wanted to still be mad, but his cute little face with his cute little glasses and his messy hair made it very hard. "I just wanted you to apologize."

"You weren't?" he was dumbfounded and it was hilarious.

"No, dumbass, I just didn't want to actually fight with you so I left," I snatched the flowers out of his hand and looked them over. "That isn't how relationships work, Alex. If you think I'm ready to give up after one tiny fight, you don't know me well enough."

"We fight a lot now that we're dating. We never fought when we were just friends," he commented. I noticed we were still just sitting in the house's driveway, but didn't say anything.

"Friends don't have anything to fight about. Things that wouldn't piss you off when we're just friends would if we were dating. That doesn't mean we shouldn't date, it means our priorities have shifted," I turned to face him and smiled. "I'm in love with you, so I'm going to react to things differently than if I just liked you."

"You're smart," Alex leaned forward and kissed the tip of my nose, putting the car in reverse and pulling out. We listened to Frank Sinatra until my phone rang, and I cut the music down.

"Hello?"

"Mason! It's Sara Beth!" Oh Lord. It was my cousin, Sara Beth, on the other line. I could only wonder why she wanted to call me. "Guess where I am?"

"Savannah?" I asked since that was our favorite vacation destination as children.

"LA, silly!" she giggled. "Me and Jared are here and we want to go on a date tonight, but we brought Isabella," Isabella was her seven week old baby, who I had never met but knew I would adore. I've had uncurable baby fever since I was like seven years old. "I was wondering, since you live here and all, if you could maybe watch her for a night? I know it's kind of last minute, it's six after all, but we'll give you fifty bucks. I don't want to hire a random babysitter here."

"Um, duh I will watch her! I'll be at the apartment in five minutes. I'll text you the address now," I was grinning uncontrollably. "All night or?"