This Girl

Chapter 40: What a Nutritional and Healthy Breakfast!

"No, wombat, bad dog! Bad dog," I say to the tiny puppy as he tries to rip open my white converse shoe. "Put it down!"

He doesn't let go of the footwear, instead he shakes his head back and forth so that the shoe whacks him in the face. I pick him up and pull the shoe off him, dropping it on the floor and giving him a little pat, because cuteness overrules all evil. 

I walk over to the bed and sit down. Wombat nuzzles his snout into my side and I run my hands through his curls. I stare up at the ceiling and look at the plain white paint. There is a knock at my door and I look at it. But its open, so I look to my French doors and see Alex soaking wet on my balcony. I jump off the bed and go and unlock the door, saving him from the pouring rain. 

"Thanks," he says, taking off his leather jacket and squeezing his white shirt out, the water pouring onto the carpet. 

"Alex!" I say, slapping him lightly and walking over into the bathroom to find him a towel. I bring one out and he dries his hair and clothes. Wombat yaps and jumps off the bed, bounding towards us. Alex slings the towel over his shoulder and bends down to pick up the small dog. 

"I caught the bus and didn't have an umbrella," he says, patting the dog. 

"You should've called me!" I say. Alex shrugs. I take the towel off him and return it to the bathroom. When I return Wombat is panting happily and wagging his tail. 

"Can we go to the tree house?" he asks. I nod and take my umbrella out of its stand and we make our way outside.

We get wet when we're trying to climb up the ladder and Alex struggles to climb up with Wombat, so I take the dog from him when I can reach for him off the balcony. Finally, we get inside and sit down on a bean bag together. Wombat jumps up and sits on our laps, wagging his tail. Alex wraps an arm  around me. I lean my head on his shoulder. 

"Can you model with me, please?" he says after a while. The rain starts coming down heavier. 

"Alex," I groan. "I'll take you and hang around and drive you back, but, seriously, go with Amanda."

"But I wanna do it with you!" he says, Wombat yaps. 

"I'll do it some other time," I say. "Take Amanda."

"No!" he says. 

"Yes, call her," I say and take his phone out of his pocket and unlock it, clicking on Amanda's contact name to call her. Alex rolls his eyes and takes it from me, putting it on speaker. 

"Hey, babe," she says to him. I only just realize that she called Alex what I call him. A pang of jealousy hits me in the chest and it actually hurts. 

"Hi," Alex says. "Natalie wants to know if you'd let her and I model together."

"Of course not!" Amanda screams. "I'm doing it with you. Why didn't you just ask. Its tomorrow, right? Pick me up at seven."

She hangs up and Alex sighs, tossing the phone beside him. "Why'd you have to do that?"

"Alex, she's your girlfriend. She should be your first option. The first person you ask!" I say and Wombat yaps. I shush him quickly. Alex runs a hand through his hair. 

"I wanna take you. My.... I dunno, friend?" he says. I shrug. 

"I'll be there," I say, patting Wombat. "I'll even do your make up."

He laughs, pulling me into him more. I lean my head back on his shoulder and pull my legs up so Wombat moves onto Alex's lap. Alex looks around. 

"Its nice up here," he says. I nod.