Succulents on the Window Sill

Chapter 14

Saturday came, and Corinne knew she should have had a smile on her face. 

The night before Zach, Jake, and herself had moved what little they had from Zach's parent's house to their new home. They now had a bed to sleep in, and a few odd pieces of furniture here and there. It wasn't perfect, but according to Zach, it was better than paying the bills for an empty house. 

Corinne had spent Thursday evening stripping off the living room wallpaper, and Zach had taken it upon himself to tear down a falling stripe in the bedroom in the middle of the night. The noise of wallpaper ripping from the wall had woke Corinne with a start, almost making her wonder if living with the crazy man she called her husband was such a good idea after all.

That same crazy man was the same reason why a smile couldn't come to her face today, no matter how hard either he or she tried. Zach was going out tonight on another date with Sara.

Just as promised, Zach had told Corinne about his plans this time. She felt it may be too soon, a little strange to date Sara twice in one week after not taking her out in months. Zach was determined to do this though, to end things with her and start fresh with Corinne. Corinne just wished it could be that easy. 

Sara had been texting her all day for advice on what to wear, or how to do her hair. She was excited, overjoyed at how her boyfriend was finally showing an interest and making an effort with their relationship once again. It pained Corinne to have to reply. 

Corinne was currently sat on her laptop at their new kitchen table, a cheap find that someone had been selling online. They still weren't sure just what style of kitchen they would prefer, but both she and Zach had liked how the table and matching chairs were neutral enough to go with anything. 

She was distracting herself by looking for ideas for the house, scouring websites for good deals on furniture and accessories to make it feel even more like home. Corinne had started a list, jotting down the need for things like saucepans and rubbish bins. No matter how much she tried to focus though, she couldn't shake the restlessness eating away at her. 

"Fancy a cup of tea?"

"Please." She didn't look around as Zach stepped into the kitchen, filling the kettle with water before setting it to boil. As he came to stand behind her, leaning down to see just what was on the laptop screen, Corinne couldn't help but lean back towards him. 

She wished he could stay here tonight. They could have a nice night in with a movie, snuggled up on the sofa together. They could go out if he wanted to, have a nice meal somewhere. Anything would do, as long as it was Corinne that was with him. 

Truth was, she was jealous. She loved Sara, she was her best friend and had been for as long as Corinne could remember. She was selfish though, and right now she wanted Zach all to herself. 

"What are you looking at?" Corinne blinked at the voice in her ear, the warm breath tickling, sending shivers over her neck. She glanced at the screen to see just what she had been searching. Her head was too muddled for her to know very much right now. 

"Lamps, it seems."

"It seems?" He chuckled, a warm low rumble against the side of her head. It caused another burst of light shivers.

"I'm a bit out of it, sorry."

"Everything okay?" Zach straightened up and moved away, pulling out the chair beside Corinne to take a seat on.

"Sara keeps texting me about your date." Corinne glanced at Zach, and he gave her a knowing look.

His hand was reaching for hers, and Corinne let him thread their fingers together. "Tell her your battery is about to die or whatever. Say that you'll talk later, and then just don't."