The Neighbour

nineteen

I found it hard to sleep that night. All I could think about was Liv and what happened in this very bed just a few hours ago. The scent of her perfume still lingered faintly on the sheets.

The whole night I'd been thinking about how I was gonna ask her to be my girlfriend, but I just kept putting it off because it didn't feel like the right time. Then suddenly we were making out on my bed and I felt like if I didn't do it then, I wouldn't have another opportunity that night.

But I did it. She was my girlfriend now. Liv was my girlfriend. And that made me very happy.

Her brother was visiting, and her birthday was coming up. Last night, I'd finally figured out what I wanted to do for her. I had to make some phone calls though. That's what I did while Liv was at uni. Then it was time to meet her brother.

She'd texted me, asking if I wanted to meet her brother and if it was okay that she told him about us dating. I told her it was okay, and that I was looking forward to meeting him. Which was true. But I was also nervous.

I don't know why I was so worried about the approval of her brother. I mean, obviously I wanted him to like me but at the same time, it wasn't the end of the world if he didn't. He was hardly around and Liv's a grown woman who can make her own choices.

Because it was the first time her brother and I were meeting, she wanted it to be private in order to avoid me being recognised or something like that. So I agreed to go to her apartment and the three of us would get take away.

I wasn't gonna dress up or anything, didn't wanna try too hard. Jeans and a jumper, nothing fancy. I knocked on the door at 5, the time Liv had said to come over.

"Hey." She greeted me with the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.

I couldn't help but smile back at her as she opened the door wider so I could get through.

"Okay, so we got pizza, Indian, Chinese..." Her brother, Harry said, staring at the takeaway menus on the table in front of him. His speech came to a halt when he realised he wasn't only talking to Liv.

"Harry, this is Mitch. Mitch, Harry." Liv introduced.

Harry stood from the sofa and extended his hand. I shook it. "Hey man, my girlfriend's a big fan."

"Oh, nice." I laughed awkwardly. I wasn't a big fan of situations like these.

Harry was not what I had expected. He was taller than I'd imagined. He and Liv were clearly related, they shared their blonde hair and blue eyes. Harry was a good few inches taller than Liv and much broader.

Once we had decided on pizza and ordered it, we then had the challenge of deciding what to do for the evening. Liv suggested a movie, and Harry and I agreed.

"But what movie?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not picking cause I was the one who decided what to do." Liv stated as the doorbell went off. "I'll get it, you two decide."

Liv marched off to get the pizza, leaving her brother and I sat on the sofa, scrolling through Netflix to find something to watch. We settled on The Breakfast Club because it was a classic. Liv was surprised when she returned with the pizza that we had actually made a decision.

Once the initial awkwardness of meeting Harry had gone, I relaxed a lot more. We got on pretty well and spent the rest of the evening watching the movie and talking. I liked him and he seemed to like me too. The only awkward moment was when he made a joke about the mark on Liv's neck. In response, I showed him my matching one and Liv got all embarrassed.

All in all, it went rather well. I even got a moment alone with him where I told him my idea for Liv's birthday. He said she'd love it. I offered for him to come along too, which he accepted.

With her brother's reassurance, I was even more excited about her birthday surprise. Everything was planned and in place. Four days to go.