A New Love

Three

Harry and I arrived in front of a nice brick apartment building. Niall was right. There was a basketball court behind the building by the parking lot and a swimming pool in the center courtyard.

"This way," Harry said. He whistled an unfamiliar tune and swung his keys around his middle finger.

I locked my car and fell into step with him. "How long have you lived here?"

"Not too long. Less than a year I think."

"Oh. How do you like it?"

"It's been good so far. Neighbors aren't that loud and the parking spaces are included in the rent. Utilities are paid for, too."

"That's great!" I didn't know what else to say so I stayed quiet.

He seemed to sense this and said, "You know, I think we met at a party. Briefly."

I racked my brain and the memory came to me. "Right! I bumped into you while coming out of the bathroom. I almost forgot." How could someone forget a face like his?

We got to a door and he held it open for me. "Yeah. The hallway was pretty dim. The apartment is on the third floor by the way. There are stairs and elevators." He pointed out both.

I looked around as we waited for the elevator to arrive. Everything seemed clean, normal. What was I expecting? The doors dinged and we stepped inside. He pushed the number three button and the metal doors closed.

My phone began to vibrate repeatedly and I knew I was getting a call. I checked the caller ID. Alex.

I looked to Harry. "Sorry. I have to answer this."

He waved it off. "No problem. Go ahead."

I shot him an apologetic smile and answered. "What's up?"

"Hey," Alex said, "where are you? Are you home yet?"

"No, I'm looking at that apartment I told you about."

The doors dinged open and we stepped out, turning to the right. There were multiple forest green doors with numbers and letters above the peep hole.

"Oh, okay then. I'll call you later when you're done so you can let me know how it goes."

"Okay, bye. See you in a bit." I slid my phone into my back pocket.

"Friend?" Harry asked as we stopped in front of a door that read C7. He shoved his key in the knob, turned it, and pushed the door open

I cleared my throat. "Boyfriend actually."

His eyebrows raised at this. "Really? Interesting." His arm swept around the apartment. "Welcome to my humble abode. What do you want to see first?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"Okay, let's start with the living room since we're already standing in it."

I laughed and took in the space in front of me. The floors were some type of hardwood. A large window was on the opposite wall behind a flat screen television. There were two couches and a bean bag. I raised my eyebrows.

We moved to the open floor kitchen, which had tile instead of hardwood. It seemed relatively up-to-date. There was a stove, a large stainless steel refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffee machine from what I saw at first glance. I can bring some of my own appliances if need be. An island separated the kitchen and the living room.

"Now to the bathroom," Harry said, walking in front of me.

He was right about it being rather big. The floor was covered in white tile and the walls were a strange yellow color that somehow seemed to go well with it.