"Hey Karen, where do you want these flowers?" you shout across the room to your aunt as you sort out groceries in the kitchen.
"There are vases in the cupboard above the sink," you hear her yell back. You climb up onto the counter and pull a vase out of the cupboard.
You've been staying at your aunt's house in California for the summer. You were offered an awesome internship doing research at the California Science Center in downtown Los Angeles and your Aunt Karen offered up her guest house so you didn't have to spend the money on rent. The commute isn't too bad and she has more than enough room anyway. So you get to spend your last real summer before your senior year of college in your own guest house halfway between the beach and the city.
The sound of the doorbell knocks you out of your daydream as you sit on the kitchen counter with the vase between your legs, arranging the flowers. Karen has friends and coworkers coming in and out of the house all of the time. She's been a producer for as long as you can remember and always stays busy.
You realize you've zoned out again while messing with the flowers and you finally tune into the voices coming closer to the kitchen. You look up to see your aunt coming through the archway to the kitchen with a man right behind her.
"Y/N, this is Matthew. Matthew, this is my niece, Y/N," Karen introduces you to the stranger.
"Hey," you greet with a nod as you move the vase to the side, feet still dangling off the counter.
"Hey," he echoes as you notice a backpack and a duffle bag over his shoulder.
"Matthew has to do a bit of extra recording for the movie so he'll be staying with us for the next week or so," Karen explains before you get the chance to ask. The phone interrupts the introductions and she goes to answer it. "I have to take this. Can you show Matthew to a guest room? Doesn't matter which one," she trails off.
"Gotcha," you confirm, sliding off the counter and landing on your bare feet. You head down the main hallway of the house to one of your favorite rooms, Matthew following behind you. "Here you are," you say as you stand in the middle of the room, turning to face Matthew who's standing awkwardly in the doorway. "I would show you the other room, but you'd probably just pick this one anyway. It gets the best light," you explain as you part the big curtains that hang in front of two glass doors that lead right out to the pool. "I'm sure Karen would've given you the guest house, but that baby is all mine for the summer so you're stuck in here."
"I'm just happy to not be stuck in a hotel room for once," Matthew finally speaks up. He sets his bags down on the other side of the bed and shoves his hands in his pockets.
"What project are you working on?" you ask. "I can never keep track of what Karen's doing."
"I'm doing some voice stuff for an animated thing," he answers.
"Oh, you're one of those squirrel guys!" you cut him off before he can explain further.
"Actually, they're chipmunks," he laughs.
"Practically the same thing," you wave him off. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Bathroom's across the hall and just holler if you need anything, we'll be around."
"Thanks, Y/N," he says.
"Anytime, Matthew," you say over your shoulder as you head out of the room.
*****
Even though you do have the whole guest house to yourself, you spend most of your time in the main house, especially on the weekends when you're not working. You've never liked cooking for one anyway, so you always cook for Karen when you have the time. Since it's Matthew's first night at the house, you decided to put a bit more effort into the pasta you were planning by making the noodles from scratch.
