Unhuman Love

Chapter 21

[Ginny's POV]

"Hey!" smiles Manon as she lets me into her place.

As I predicted, her cheeks are glowing pink and she's nervously fidgeting with her fingers. I try to smooth my shirt and look less a mess, but to no avail: my hair and stomach remain in knots. 

"M... Why are so nervous? And - er - it's 10 am. There's no need to be so... decked out," I observe.

"Oh, it's nothing," Manon waves my comment away, her cheeks flushing again.

The door leading to the living room's opened a crack. I slip past Manon and peer inside. A girl with a dark complexion who I don't recognize's standing at Manon's kitchen island. I'd put her at around early twenties. She's sporting a fierce magenta coloured afro do, which compliments her hazel eyes. Manon's my shortest friend, 5", this girl towers over her at about 5"8, I'd say. Her hand's enclosed around a brightly coloured bag and she's got a style I can only describe as hipster.

"Hey!" she waves cheerily when she spots me, her cheeks revealing their dimples when she smiles.

Her voice is a bit low and her words leave her lips so smoothly it's as if she's been told what to say beforehand. I wave back and stroll over to her. 

"Ginny," I smile, holding out my hand. 

"Alexis." she shakes it, looking me straight in the eye; her eyes are hazel, dotted with flecks of bright green; freckles stipple her nose and she's got the fiercest jawline I've ever come across. I feel a firm grip and spot sleek purple polished nails. 

"But call me Alex," she adds as an afterthought. "You're Ginny, huh? Oh, Manon's told me all about you."

"She has?" I ask, surprised. How long has Manon known this girl?

"Oh yeah. Only good things, though." she grins.

"I haven't heard anything about you. Guess Manon hasn't had the chance. You're a friend?"

"Well-"

On cue, Manon strolls in, with a look I know by heart: the classic Manon 'oh so casual' face. Cheeks rosy, eyes darting around nervously, knees wobbly. 

"G, this is Alex. Or have you already..?" she eyes me, trudging over to us.

I don't hear what Alex replies, as something else catches my eye: she'd entwined pinkies with Manon behind the counter. Wait... what? goes through my head. Why has Manon kept this development from me?

Tuning back in on the conversation, Alex gets up and says, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I better head out. Promised to meet up with me mum today. I'll catch you later!"

And she kisses a flustered, pink-cheeked Manon goodbye, gives us a cheery wave and departs.

"Um... M?" I goggle at her. "Where's this come from?"

"I wanted to tell you, I swear!" she protests, tucking her hair behind her ears. "But you were busy telling me about Cody and all... I guess I couldn't find the right time. Um... sorry."

"Sorry for what? Manon, this is fantastic!" I chirp excitedly.

Her face lights up at these words.

"Details! C'mon!" I push her to the couch and flop down beside her.

"Details?" she bites her lip nervously.

"Where'd you meet? How is she? How've I not had I clue about this?" I ramble, delighted with her fortune and completely forgetting the reason I came.

"Oh, all right then!" she throws her hands up in defeat.

I stop abruptly, holding my breath in suspense.

"She's a co-worker, just started working where I do. Couple days after, she seemed to take an interest in me and asked if I wanted to grab a coffee together. We met up at the Starbucks around the corner. She was so chill and free spirited. Didn't find anything too crazy. Seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. Had me at peace straight away. We talked for hours at a time. Ended up talking about different dog breeds we fancy. So I told her about Lilo and asked if she wanted to walk her together."

She pauses for a long draught of tea.

"And?" I urge her.

"Well..." she wipes her mouth clean. "We, um, were on a park bench... er... a-and..." she flushes again and looks away.

"Alright, I don't need to know the rest! But let me guess what happened next..." I smirk at her.

"We didn't make out!" she proclaims loudly. "Just... kissed."

"You managed a kiss on your first date? Score! How long've you been together? How long have I not known about this?" 

"A couple... weeks? months? She's really..." Manon gazes dreamily into the distance.

"Earth to Manon!" I wave in her face. "Someone's love struck."

"Speaking of being love struck... um- heard anything from Cody yet?" she asks, much quieter now.

All the excitement from Manon's new development washes away and morphs into a wave of anxiety. We had arrived at Cody. How could I explain the catastrophic hurricane of events from last night? Simple: I couldn't. Not now, anyway.

"Oh. Er-" I cast around for an excuse and land on: "well, he texted me, couple days ago, and we've been - er - FaceTiming... because... he's - uh - in... France! He's in France for a... business project, so... yeah." I give a weak grin.

She sees right through me, I can tell, but doesn't ask further and excitedly shows me a draft of a novel she's started. It gets my mind off things and I urge her for more about Alex. They became official on their third date, share a rousing love for a certain detective show, binge watched six seasons of said show together in one day, are planning to start a novel together and, to my surprise, have already had a meet-the-parents (that's how you know it's serious).

All in all, by noon, I'm in a much better mood. Manon's off for work, but told me I can stay at her place as long as I don't wreck it. So, there I was, with my bowl of microwaved popcorn, taking care not to spill a single crumb, flopped down on Manon's heavily pillowed couch. Too in thought to even notice the buzzing of my phone as I receive a text...

To be continued...

AN: Thanks for reading Chapter 21! It's very boring, sorry. Chapter 22 coming soon! <3

-The author