Cristina

Chapter 2

It's later in the evening, and I'm still not hungry from all the food my mom served us, so I grab some hot nuts, a bottle of water, and make my way to the living room. Instead of turning on the TV like I initially thought I would, I reach for my tablet that is on the nearby side table. I'm glad to see that the battery life is at eighty-seven percent. I load one of my many games. I load 8 ball pool. I am getting so much better at it. My coin stack is looking nice. After me breaking and not pocketing any balls, my cat comes curling up next to me.

"Hi, baby, you hungry?"

Missy is her name. She was a strayed kitten. I saw her and immediately fell in love.

Being distracted by Missy makes me lose my turn to play. Eventually, my opponent wins. I'm not so focused on my game, so I exit the app and turn off my tablet.

I reach for Missy and wrap her in a big hug. She is chubby and so soft. I love petting her, but she doesn't like to be bothered too much. I place her back on the couch, and I make my way toward my bedroom.

Right before the bedroom door is a full-length mirror. I stop, turn, and face myself in the mirror. I move in a little closer and look at my reflection. My mom's words come back to me at this moment. Her words about me finding love. I shake my head. I will always stand by my sentiments regarding love. When the time is right, it will happen.

I whisper to the ceiling, "You don't need to worry, mom. It will happen for me, too."

I walk towards the bathroom, stripping as I do. I am naked by the time I am in the shower stall. I step under the shower and allow the water to just wash over me. I reach for the shampoo to wash my hair and start my nightly regime. After spending about 15 minutes in the shower, I reach for the towel and wrap it around my curls. Tonight, I will just towel-dry my hair.

As I am walking back towards the bedroom, I am picking up the trail of clothes I had left behind. I place them in their rightful spot, then climb into bed. I give my phone a check, since I forgot to take it with me to my mom's earlier.

Upon unlocking my phone, I have five missed calls and four SMS from my friend, Gwen. As if she is seeing me with the phone in my hand, the phone rings.
I answer on the first ring.

"What's the emergency, amigo?"

"Omg! Do you have any idea how long I have been trying to reach you?"

"Uhh, judging by my notifications approxi-"

"Ugh, never mind that!" I was cut off.

"Well, tell me now that you finally reached me," I giggle into the phone.

"Before I do, where were you? Who were you with? What did you do?" She asks all too eagerly.

"Gwen, slow your role. I was where I normally am on a Sunday, with my family." I reply.

"Well, I know all that. I wasn't talking about that part of your day. I know you never stay the entire day, so where were you?"

"I was just at home. I had forgotten my phone when I went to mom's and when I came back I started cleaning. You know how I do. The music was way up there, but let me know why you blowing me up so much." 

She sighs audibly into my ear, "well, uhm, I wanted you to go with me to the softball game. You know it's softball season and I love following that sport."

She is suddenly sounding like I missed her birthday or something.

Smiling, I say, "I'm sorry, hunny. You know I'm not a big fan of that, but I will make it up to you. Next week, my mom and dad won't be home. Next Sunday, you can have me all to yourself."

Before I can quite get that out, I hear, "Yay!" coming from her end.

She then adds, "as in all day? Anything I want to do? Hmm... I have a few ideas already. Maybe I can buy a few drinks, and I might get lucky since you are not letting any females hit it."

I laugh. She always says naughty stuff to me when she knows it will never happen. She is a wild one, and I will not fall into any of her categories.

"If you don't behave this minute, I might take that back."

She is laughing, "Damn, Emma. I'm just kidding...but...if you let me...oh the possibilities."

Shaking my head, I say, "goodnight, Gwen. Talk to you soon. Love you."

She barely gets an "I love you, too" out of her mouth when I end the call.

This girl is a handful but a total sweetheart.

I continue drying my hair with the towel as dry as I possibly can when I see Missy making her way into the room. I pat the bed beside me, encouraging her to jump up. She does and goes right between the pillows. This is her favorite spot. I take back the towel and don't even bother to get any clothes. I pull the covers back and climb into bed. Pulling the covers up around my naked body, I inhale. I always love the scent of fresh linens. I snuggle down and easily drift off to sleep.