All the Sad Little Things

Chapter 14: The Lonely Hearts Club

Present

I returned home from work and walked straight to Lilly’s room and knocked on the door. From down the hall in Kelly’s room I heard a, “We’re down here!”. I walked into her room and found Lilly and Kelly rummaging through piles of clothes and pulling shoes from Kelly’s closet. They both looked excited trying to pair outfits and accessories together, eager to form the look they desired. I sat down on the bed and began to fold all the things they were clearly discarding.

“So, tell me about last night.” I said to Lilly, curious about her conversation with Dylan. Lilly smiled and came and sat down beside me.

“Dylan wants to go steady!” Lilly beamed from ear to ear. While I was happy for her, I was hoping for a little more in depth response about what took place during their conversation with one another.

“I mean, how did your talk with each other go? Have you two worked everything out?” Lilly gave me a look like I was killing her mood but eventually told me everything her and Dylan had discussed the previous night. While Kelly and I sat in the kitchen, Lilly and Dylan sat in the living room and hashed out their individual feelings and frustrations with one another. Lilly had expressed how her jealousy had driven her to do what she had done with Zander. Lilly also confided that she had an issue with commitment and the fact that she cared for Dylan so much scared her. While Dylan was still angry about what had happened with Zander, he acknowledged that he had no right to behave so irrationally. He and Lilly were not officially a couple and he shouldn’t have become so possessive. They agreed that both of their jealous nature got the best of them and they apologized. All that they wanted now was to start fresh and try pursuing a relationship with each other. So, as of last night, Lilly and Dylan were officially dating. I was very happy that they had been able to work things out but one major detail remained in the back of my mind.

“Did you tell Dylan about the other night? The night I found you and Zander,”

“Don’t even say it Emma!” Lilly cut me off abruptly. “Dylan doesn’t need to know about that.” I hadn’t meant to upset her and I quickly apologized. “Besides, Dylan asked me out on a date tonight and that is the last thing I want to think about.” Lilly continued to look through Kelly’s things, desperately trying to find something to wear for her date this evening.

“Where is he taking you?” I asked, trying to restore the good, nervous energy in the room.

“I’m not sure but he said to dress nice so I’m guessing somewhere fancy in the city!” Lilly seemed really happy and I felt bad I had almost ruined that for her.

“How about that little red dress I wore for your birthday last year and these sexy heels of Kelly’s?” I asked holding up the shoes in my hand. “You can dig around in my jewelry box too, if you like?” Lilly squealed in glee and took off to my bedroom to fetch the red dress from my closet.

“You are never going to get that dress back.” Kelly chuckled.

“It’s for a good cause.” I said as I continued to fold the mess of clothes piled on Kelly’s bed.

After Dylan picked up Lilly for their date, Kelly and I were trying to think of something to do the rest of the evening. Out of boredom we decided to just vegetate on the couch and throw a movie on. However, that didn’t last long seeing as how we quickly lost interest in the movie and began scrolling through our social media pages. Kelly’s messenger app began blowing up and all I heard were pings and the tapping of Kelly’s nails on her screen. I glanced over at her and noticed a quirky smile stretched across her face. She was talking to someone!

“Who is he?” I asked mischievously, nudging her with my foot. Kelly’s eyes got big and her smile even wider.

“I met him the other night at the party I went to with my old friends from class. His name is Jordan.” The way she sang his name when she said it told me that she really liked this guy. “He wants to know if I would want to meet him down at the bar for some drinks.” I could tell she really wanted to go but was worried about leaving me alone.

“Go!” I said to her practically pushing her off the couch. “Just make sure you change into something cute before you leave!”

“Too bad you let Lilly borrow that red dress. If she gives it back to you, I get it next.” Kelly teased as she went running down the hall to her room.

God, I needed a life outside of work. I hated that I pretty much came home from work every evening just to eat and sleep and do it all again the next day. I missed having a social life outside of Kelly and Lilly. I continued to rot on the couch, snacking and scrolling through social media, barely paying the movie any mind. Just then, I was startled by a light knock at the door. When I answered the door I was surprised to see Mike standing there, looking handsome as ever. I suddenly became aware that I must look like some sort of cave dwelling creature and felt my face get red with embarrassment.

“Hey!” I said pulling and tugging at my baggy clothes. I looked down at my feet and noticed my socks were mismatched too. I was horrified at the state of my appearance.

“Hey Emma!” Mike said in that low, sexy voice of his. “How are you?”

“I’m good! How about yourself?” I said, sounding like a complete i***t.

“Good!” Mike stood there smiling politely and then a few seconds of awkward silence followed. You could quite literally cut the tension with a knife.

“God!” I exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! Please come in.” I opened the door wider for Mike and lead him through the kitchen and into the living room.

“I don’t want to sound like a creep or anything, but I was outside on the porch and noticed both Lilly and Kelly had left.” Mike looked at me with concern. “You weren’t with either of them and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Especially after the other night.” Not only was he gorgeous but he was also sweet and thoughtful. I wanted to ravage him right there but then I remembered I looked like an ogre.

“I’m good. Thanks for checking on me.” I said, tucking my hair behind my ears. What could I say or do to make this less awkward? I panicked and just blurted out the first thing I could think of. “I was just watching a movie and eating snacks. Would you like to join me?” I couldn’t believe I just said that.

“Yeah! That would be awesome.” He genuinely looked and sounded excited. “Can I ask you a question though?” Mike said nervously. I was a bit nervous too. “Could I bring Chester over to sit with us? He hates being locked up.”

“Absolutely! The more the merrier!” I felt like a complete dork. It was like I had completely forgotten how to talk to men and was just spewing word vomit. Mike rushed over to fetch Chester and I pulled out all the DVD’s we had sitting in the entertainment center. I placed the more manly and action packed movies on the top so Mike wouldn’t be weirded out by all the romantic comedies and chick flicks. When Mike returned with Chester I automatically scooped him out of Mike’s arms and took him to the couch to cuddle. He had been the sweetest little love bug the other night and I was happy to see him again too. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Mike smiling at us. “What?” I said.

“Oh nothing. He just really likes you.” Mike came and sat down beside us and reached over to scratch Chester’s chin.

“I was never allowed to have a pet growing up. So, this is pretty awesome to me.” Mike almost looked sad for me.

“If it would make you happy, you could come over anytime to see him. He would love to see you.” Mike paused and then continued, “I wouldn’t mind seeing you too.” My heart about jumped up into my throat and the butterflies in my stomach danced around uncontrollably. I could have leaned over and kissed his beautiful face right then. But Chester got there first. We both laughed as Mike wiped dog slobber from his face.

“So, what would you like to watch?” I said pointing to all the DVD’s. Mike to a look through them for a couple minutes and then pulled one from the pile. I was very surprised by his choice. “All Dogs Go to Heaven? I must say, that is not even close to what I thought you would pick.”

“What? It’s a good movie! Plus, i thought Chester might like it too.” I chuckled and got up to start the movie. Mike was so different from any guy I had ever known. He was manly, yet sensitive. Strong but gentle. I couldn’t help wanting to get to know him better. We sat there for a while in silence just watching the movie and I believe enjoying just being in each other’s company. I absentmindedly stopped watching the movie and started watching him. The way he brushed his fingers through his black hair or licked the butter from the popcorn off his upper lip made my insides beg for him.

“What the hell is going on!” Mike, Chester, and I all jumped at the sound of Lilly’s angry voice. Lilly and Dylan were standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room just staring at Mike and I. “I thought I told you to keep him away!” Lilly was pissed pointing at Mike. Dylan took a step towards the couch and Mike stood right in front of me as if he were protecting me. The last thing I wanted was another fight.

“I’m sorry Lilly.” I apologized. “You were out with Dylan so I assumed it would be alright to hang out with Mike while you were away.”

“You assumed wrong.” Lilly said, taking Dylan’s hand and pulling him into the kitchen. The door slammed a second later and I knew Lilly and Dylan had left. I could feel my eyes tearing up out of embarrassment, sadness, and anger. I gently picked Chester up off the couch and handed him to Mike.

“It would probably be best if you went home now.” I didn’t know when Lilly was returning but it wouldn’t be good if Mike was still here when she did.

“Emma I’m really sorry if I caused trouble between you and Lilly. That wasn’t my intention.” I could tell he felt bad but at the same time I couldn’t ignore the fact that our three new neighbors seemed to have brought trouble into our lives since the moment they walked through that door on Rock Band night. I was done with trouble and all the chaos and drama it brought with it. “I would really like to hang out again sometime if that’s okay?” Mike stared down at me waiting for my response.

“Mike, I don’t know if this is such a good idea right now.” It absolutely killed me to say that to him. “You really hurt Dylan the other night at the bar and it really pissed off Lilly.” Mike looked ashamed and I could tell he regretted that he had done that. “I have to protect my friendship with Lilly over whatever this is that we are doing.” I couldn’t stop the tears now. They just started flowing from my eyes and as much as I tried wiping them away, they wouldn’t stop. I felt Mike’s hand gently lift my chin and he started wiping my tears with his thumb.

“I’m very sorry Emma.” Mike apologized again. “I’m right next door if you ever need anything.” And then, he was gone.