I See Red

Chapter Four

Axel woke up on the couch and was startled. It was dark outside, and he didn't even remember falling asleep. As he woke up more, he realized that the TV was on and the Netflix screen was there. The room was dark and he looked down, feeling something on his lap. Rachel's head was there, and she was asleep as well. He carefully looked for his phone before feeling it in his pocket and he carefully pulled it out to look at the time. It was only eight at night. He put the phone down and looked down at Rachel, unsure of how to slide out without waking her up. He gently held her head and started to slowly move when she woke up and sat up quickly and looked at him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Axel, I didn't mean to..." Axel put his finger over her mouth to quiet her.

"Rachel, I wasn't trying to wake you. I just needed to go to the bathroom. That's all. I have no problem with you being asleep on me. I don't even remember falling asleep." She smiled at him and moved his finger from her lips. She sat there and watched him walk away before looking around at the apartment and what all was left to do. They still needed to go shopping for stuff but it was getting late and they still hadn't eaten dinner. Axel came back from the bathroom and sat back down.

"We need dinner and still need to go shopping for the stuff I owe you," Rachel said. "Do you want to just grab dinner and maybe go shopping in the morning?"

"That sounds good to me. Order in or go out to eat?" Axel yawned and leaned back on the couch.

"How about we order in and watch something?"

Axel nodded and pulled out his phone. They searched for dinner before finding something and he surprised her again by buying food, which only prompted her to raise the spending limit tomorrow. Once dinner arrived, they sat on the couch and ate and talked about everything and never even bothered about watching a movie. They continued talking about their lives, what they enjoyed, and everything in between. The minutes turned to hours and before either of them even realized it, it was midnight. Axel cleaned up the leftovers and put his away in the fridge and went and sat back down on the couch. "It's late, you should get some sleep, Rachel." She smiled at him and gently laid her head on his shoulder.

"I should. Thank you for dinner and lunch today."

"You're welcome." He closed his eyes and enjoyed her smell. She smelled so sweet, almost like flowers, and it was incredible. She sat up and he looked at her. "I may be awake in the morning, I may not be. Call me whenever you're awake so we can head out?"

"Only if you allow me to buy breakfast in the morning for you." She smiled and they both stood up. He walked her to the door and she turned to him before he opened the door.

"I'll let you buy breakfast in the morning, but I get lunch again." He smiled back at her and they looked into each others eyes.

"If you buy lunch, I get to cook you dinner."

"Deal." She reached behind her and opened the door and left, leaving him standing there smiling. He turned off the lights and the TV and went to his room. He wasn't tired now and his mind was racing with thoughts. Why was he feeling this way after just meeting her? Do friends really kick it off this easily? Axel was known more for having online friends than in-person friends. A lot of his long-term friends he had were those who he met online through gaming and social media, mostly back in the early 2000s when MySpace was a thing. The last ten years, he hadn't made any new friends and what few he had made were just work-based and that was in the last five that he had been working at his job. Not to mention, he had no idea if this was how quickly feelings for someone happened, because he had been friends with his ex for a few years prior to being in the relationship and he didn't get feelings until they started to hang out more. Whatever the case was, he wanted to be careful of his feelings and actions. He enjoyed Rachel's company and didn't want to rush things. He stood in his room and looked around. He had put his bedframe together and put the new mattress on it already, but he still needed to set up his room and organize it. They had moved a lot of the boxes into the closet, and some of the furniture was still sitting in the laundry room that belonged in the bedroom. He went into the closet and sat on the floor and studied each of the boxes. The boxes that Amanda gave him were marked with what was inside. He grabbed the box that said 'queen bed sheets' and opened it. She told him that anything he didn't like he could return and they would give him a gift card to get his own, but everything that they had already given him was his style. He was very minimalist and bo-ho style, and a lot of the stuff he got was blacks, grays, and whites that worked for him. The box had four sets of expensive sheets, all new, and they were lovely colors. Two of the sets were different shades of gray, one was white, and the other was a really pretty light green and blue. He chose one of the gray ones to put on his bed. As he tore down the box and went to carry it out, he realized the box behind it was labeled pillows. The box was pretty large compared to some of the other ones, which prompted him to immediately open it. Inside were four brand new pillows with two large pillows. He smiled and pulled them out and tore down that box as well. He carried both of the broken-down boxes out by the front door with some of the other ones so he could get rid of them in the morning. He went back to his room and made his bed, put on the new pillows, and moved the furniture in so he could unpack what he could of the boxes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Axel woke up to his phone ringing and he answered it without even looking.

"Hello?" He asked, half asleep.

"Morning Axel, can I come over?"

He shot up out of bed to the sound of Rachel's voice. "Yeah! Let me just unlock the door. I'll see you in a second." He ran to the door to unlock it and she opened the door. He stood there confused and she laughed and hung up the phone.

"I figured you were asleep. If you want to lay back down you can."

"No, no, it's okay." He rubbed his face, smiling, trying to pull himself together. She smiled and handed him a cup of coffee.

"I made you coffee at my house, and brought it to you. I thought you would enjoy it. I listened to how you ordered yours, so hopefully this is good." He took it from her with a smile.

"Thank you." He took a sip. "Oh this is perfect." He closed his eyes with a content smile and she giggled.

"I'm glad you like it."

He put the coffee down and grabbed his keys and wallet and changed his clothes before coming back. "Breakfast?" He grabbed the coffee again and looked at Rachel. She nodded to him and they left to start their day. All Axel could think about was how he was enjoying this time with her and just never wanted it to end.