Bonita Applebum

3. Help me find my way

KT felt a mixture of anxiety and regret as they soon approached Eli's house. The anxiety was because she literally just met the dude and the regret was just a side effect of the anxiety. Although KT didn't sense serial killer vibes from Eli she still couldn't rule him out necessarily. As they came to the porch of his house KT realized she couldn't very well escape now. She was mentally composing a text to send Bonita incase things went south.

Eli gave KT an odd look as he watched her stand on the porch for a minute and he was now in the house. She looked like she was contemplating something. It then dawned on Eli that she was probably feeling apprehensive about spending the night over his place after all they literally just met and he did kind of follow her from work (she didn't know that, but still). Eli decided to give her a bit of reassurance.

"Maybe I should go-"

"I promise I'm not on no fuck shi-"

KT and Eli spoke at the same time.

They both had to chuckle a bit.

"KT it's getting late and to be honest I'm sleepy as shit all I can do is give you my word so if that's not good enough then I understand but I'm gonna hit the hay" Eli said. "So you gonna come in or what?"

KT had to admit that she too was tired and although she didn't like the tone in which he said it she still stepped inside the house rolling her eyes nonetheless.

"Ight I'm in but don't talk to me like that ever again" KT announced.

"Yeah yeah imma go getchu a shirt and some shorts to sleep in, okay?" Eli said rubbing his eyes and gesturing towards the hall.

"No no I'm coo I'll just sleep in my clothes" KT protested.

Eli stared at KT for a minute then rolled his eyes and proceeded to his bedroom to get her some pajamas.

KT stood in the middle of the living room looking awkward until finally Eli returned but this time he had on basketball shorts and a white tee. He also had some clothing in his hand. He thrusted the articles of clothing towards KT and muttered a single "here".

"You can change in the bathroom or my room I'll be out here on the couch if you need me" Eli said plopping on the couch.

"Okay... thanks" KT mumbled.

KT decided to change in the bathroom. She couldn't help but notice how awful she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy, her skin looked dry, and her hair was a mess. Not to mention she also was in dire need of a shower. For some reason all of a sudden she felt self conscious which isn't something she usually is around people. Maybe it was just the tiredness talking.

She quickly put on the clothes Eli gave to her and she was glad it all fit. KT wasn't very thick but she wasn't thin either so a lot of clothing is a hit or miss on her body. The shirt was faded and black it stopped just above her knees and the blue baseball shorts hit just about where the shirt stopped. The way the clothes fit made KT notice just how tall Eli was compared to her she hadn't really paid much attention beforehand.

She cautiously made her way out of the bathroom with her clothes on her arm and made her way to the living room. On the couch Eli was sprawled out with a big burgundy blanket covering his body. He was softly snoring with his mouth slightly ajar. For a split second KT thought of how angelic he looked then she thought about his remarks earlier and quickly recoiled.

At first she was gonna wake up him up so she could take his place on the couch but then she decided against it because he looked so at peace. So with that in mind she slinked off into what she assumed was his bedroom.

She set her clothes on the dresser then got into the warm bed. Relief instantly filled her body as she sank into the silky sheets, they were nicer than the dollar store ones she had at home. She checked her phone and the bright screen read that it was 1:47am Soon she drifted off into deep sleep thinking about todays events.

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KT woke up to the sound of laughter and the smell of bacon. When she opened her eyes reality set in and she saw that she in fact was in Eli's house. She sat up and looked at her phone, it flashed 9:35 am on the screen. Slowly she sat up in Elijah's plush king sized bed, along with the bacon his scent grazed her nose.
She felt like she had entered the twilight zone. She slowly rose out of bed, her feet touching the cold wooden floors. She made her way into the bathroom parallel to Eli's room. She washed up as good as she could and put on her pants from the previous night. Once she looked decent she walked down the hall and into the dining area which was directly next to the kitchen and a half wall that divided it from the living room. KT finally noticed how big and beautiful pop's home was.

The chatter from the two men stopped once they noticed they had company. Eli was sitting at the island with his phone in hand and a plate full of delicious breakfast food in front of him. Pops was at the stove cooking more bacon in a hot skillet. KT had to admit it was weird seeing Pop's outside of the store. KT also noticed that Eli was now shirtless and was only in his basketball shorts from last night. Pops was in a dark blue robe with slippers to match on his feet.

Eli looked at KT taking in her slightly frumpy appearance. She still had on his t shirt with her black work pants. If Eli wasn't familiar with KT's aggressive nature he would've thought the sight was cute and endearing. Her hair was in a big gravity defying fro and her face had a blank, almost dazed look.

"Mornin sleepy head" Eli said looking at her in amusement.

"Goodmornin suga plum gone head and have a seat I'll make you a plate" Pops said moving the bacon onto some paper towels.

"Goodmorning y'all and thank you pops" KT said with a scratchy voice.

"You good? You need some water? Soundin a lil froggy there" Eli said raising an eyebrow.

"Gee thanks and yes please" KT said with a blank expression.

Eli got up and got a water from the fridge then handed it to KT. He sat back down at the island and continued to eat breakfast. KT stood there awkwardly not knowing where to sit.

"Sit down I don't bite" Eli said laughing but soon went silent after he realized how dirty that sounded.

KT's face went warm but nevertheless she took a seat next to him. Soon pops placed a plate in front of her she thanked him and began to eat. Pops had to get ready for his morning shift at the store it was Sunday so he didn't keep it open the whole day, with Pops gone it left Eli and KT alone in the kitchen. They sat in a comfortable silence on their phones texting or scrolling through social media. KT felt more at peace today than yesterday she realized that maybe she overreacted a bit. It's true that no guy has ever out right just confessed their intentions to KT and it's not like she liked Eli in a romantic way so it didn't really matter if he was interested in Bonita.

"Can we start over?" KT says finally breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Eli questions not really knowing what she meant.

"We got off on the wrong foot and I think we should start over" KT explained twiddling her fingers. "I apologize for how I reacted yesterday I guess I got triggered"

"Nah don't apologize it was wrong of me to try to use you like that to get to your sister" Eli retorted. "So I'm sorry"

"It's fine I can tell that you didn't mean any harm" KT said looking up at Eli.

"Not at all" He said with sincerity in his tone. "So let's try this again shall we?"

With that Eli outstretched his hand towards KT. She chuckled and placed her hand in his.

"Hi I'm Elijah but you can call me Eli or E" He said smiling that dazzling smile of his.

"Nice to meet you I'm KT" She said rolling her eyes a bit.

They shook on it then they burst out in laughter at their own silliness. KT felt like she could actually be friends with Eli even if it was a rocky start he was still a pretty decent guy and Eli felt the same about KT.

The rest of the morning went by smooth and soon the pair was off to a better start and a budding friendship.

And maybe even more.