Sweet Caroline

#8 Let me know if I'm too loud

It takes Shaughna forever to leave. I eventually tell her what happened last night and she's worried, shocked and proud of me all at the same time. It takes all of my strength and smarts to keep her from going over to his place, curious to see him and decide whether or not she approved.

Finally, after I promise to call her later this week to tell her everything that might happen in these next few days, she takes off after lunch. I wave goodbye with a smile. It was lovely to see her, and I owe her for getting me back into my apartment, but I've never been so happy to see her go. This time, I make sure that I've got my keys before I shut the door behind me.

Nathan must have been spying on us, because he opens the front door just when I'm down on my knees, looking for the spare key under the doormat, that no longer seems to be there. I glance up and see his smug face far above me.

"Looking for this?" He holds up the key teasingly. "I like you in this position."

"Shut up." I smile and let him help me back up, following him into the apartment. He must have been packing all morning, since most of the living room is filled with boxes now. The furniture is covered with stickers in three different colors: yellow, red and green.

"The green ones are for my sister," he explains when he sees my curious glance. "I've been video calling with her and my mother all morning. It would be easier if they just drove up here, but Mom isn't doing so great, emotionally. It's too hard on her to be here right now."

"Yellow is for...?" I ask. It's sweet to hear the emotion is his voice when he talks about his family.

"Storage. My sister and I don't want it, but Mom can't stand the idea of someone else having those items. It's mostly the stuff my dad loves the most. His nightstand, his favorite chair, that kind of stuff. We'll just put it in my garage for now."

"And red is stuff for you?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'm not keeping anything. I already claimed some stuff when my parents sold my childhood home years ago. There's nothing here I want. The red stuff is going to a thrift store."

"Really?" I can't help but look around to see what stuff he's getting rid of. "Even the table?"

"Are we really gonna stand around talking about the table?" He cocks an eyebrow at me. He's in sweatpants again, blue this time, and they look just as good on him as the grey ones did. He's wearing a thin white shirt through which I can see the outline of some of his tattoos.

"What else do you have in mind?" I ask, trying to sound seductive. I wouldn't mind him bending me over that table right now, to be honest.

"I want to see your place," he decides.

Okay, not where I thought where this was going.

He follows me as I head outside and take out my keys to let us in. I hear a door slam right next to us just when I put the key in the lock and I glance sideways to see the woman from yesterday walking out of her apartment.

"Hi Annabel," Nathan calls out, smiling widely at her. "So nice to see you again."

"Nathaniel!" she replies, just as happy to see him. Her expression falters when she sees me standing behind him. "I heard about your dad," she says, recovering from the initial shock of seeing us together. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." He gestures to me. "Have you met your new neighbor yet? This is Caroline. She's been helping me out with packing since I've only got a week to clear out the entire place."

"Packing?" Annabel repeats, looking like she doesn't believe that for a second. "How nice of her."

I leave my keys in the door and move over to her, holding out my hand. "I meant to introduce myself yesterday," I say, trying to look as nice as possible. "Caroline Collins. I moved in three days ago. I rang your doorbell to say hi the first day, but you weren't home. I'm sorry if me moving in caused any inconvenience for you. Please let me know if I'm ever too loud."