Play It By Ear

A Little Show

Erm. This one is bad. lol

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I woke up with a start on the hard tile floor of my kitchen. My eyes were heavy and dry and I could feel every muscle in my body complain as I pulled myself up. Sunlight was streaming in from every corner of the room and I groaned.

The clock on the microwave projected a bright a rather cheery seven thirty nine. My left arm had fallen asleep from where my head been resting and below, a headache was brewing behind my eye and the impressions from the grout were starting to itch. My tired eyes shot an icy glare to the envelope on the counter.

I gently massaged the back of my aching neck as I groggily walked up the stairs to my room, in search for the bottle of extra-strong painkillers I always made certain to keep in stock. I preferred not to feel. Despite all of the tough fronts I was able to put up, I had an extremely low pain tolerance. It was a fact that I never shared, even with my own mother. 

After I shook a few pills out of the bottle and stashed it back in my hiding space, I slipped into the bathroom next to my room. Our house was small, yet a cozy sort of small. It had been built fairly recently and the previous owner had not bothered to customize at all, leaving every single wall a stark white.

My mother and I had sold most of our furniture before the first move and had yet to really get anything other than the bare necessities. My own room was only comprised of a plain queen sized bed, a matching desk, and a night stand. Despite our lack of furniture though, everything we did have was homey and felt lived in. It made the realization that I was alone ninety five percent of the time seem less…lonely.

I looked in the mirror of my bathroom and frowned at my unkempt appearance. My long blonde hair fell limply around my red, blotchy face. To say I looked horrid was a compliment. Sighing, I cupped my hands together and filled them with cool tap water. I downed it as well as the pills.

As I waited for them to make the pain subside, I stripped out of my purple tank top and pajama pants to hop into the shower. The water felt good against my skin and as my body went through the routine it knew so well, I allowed my mind to wonder. 

I could not help but play over the two different ‘dates’ I had had within the past week and compare the two. My date with Dean had been fun but it had just felt too friendly. He had felt it too though, and we had parted ways after deciding to hang out as friends instead. I liked Dean, I really did, but there just was not any sort of romantic chemistry between us. Unlike with someone else I knew.

My lips pulled into a happy grin as I thought of mine and Casimir’s ‘date.’ We had stumbled into the restaurant, both of us clutching our sides and laughing like maniacs. The hostess had been a short, plump woman with her hair pulled into a casual French braid.

She, like the cab driver, had automatically assumed that we were two lovers on a mid-day date. When she told us as much, my cheeks flared with color again and Casimir just laughed harder. The lady was not friendly to him anymore after that.

The restaurant had been small and the ambiance was more than welcoming. It was definitely a family oriented establishment, but the dimmed lights and soft flickering candle light provided an alternative romantic air.

All throughout lunch, Casimir and I had shared easy conversation. Neither of us dared breach any boundaries, instead sticking to the more superficial topics. We debated on whether or not music today was any good at all compared to the popular music of just ten years ago. We joked around. We playfully overused terms of endearment and pretended to stare lovingly into each other’s eyes.