chapter 3
632 Words
"Hey. Lex," Hadyn said.
I was curled up on the window seat, half asleep. Hadyn found the small collection of books I had amassed during my time in the city. While I had planned to stay awake (because no matter how famous he was, Hadyn was still a stranger in my apartment), the window seat had pillows and a cushion and my eyes just naturally drooped closed.
Until I was awoken by his manicured finger poking my shoulder.
Sighing, I swatted his hand away. "What do you want?"
He gave me puppy eyes and I pulled myself upright. "I'm hungry," Hadyn stated.
I yawned and gave him a slow clap. "Good for you. Now what do you want?"
"Can I eat something from your fridge? I'll pay you-" he stopped when he saw me glaring at him. "I mean, you can choose if you would like reimbursement, or if you could find it within the kindness of your heart to gift me some refreshments."
"Oh, Jesus," I groaned, getting up. "Just. Stop talking. Please."
He followed me out of my bedroom and I tried not to picture his expression as we walked through my dim apartment.
New York was always moving so it was hard to get the rooms pitch black. Light was seeping in one way or another, which helped me save electricity.
I felt for the light switch and flicked it on. Warm light flooded into the kitchen and I allowed myself to gauge his expression. Surprisingly, it was neutral. It was more curious than judgmental.
I opened my small fridge and tried to suppress the embarrassment. There was a quart of milk, some ketchup packets, bottles of water, a few styrofoam boxes of takeout, two bottles of rose, and a fountain drink filled with flat Ginger Ale from a few days ago.
"I might have some granola bars in the pantry," I muttered, closing the fridge and opening my pantry cupboard. Chips and carbs were easy (and cheap) to buy, so I always had a plethora of them.
"Pick your poison," I said, climbing onto the counter to reach.
He laughed. "I can reach just fine," he said, easily grabbing some hot cheetos from the upper shelf.
"Interesting choice," I commented.
Hadyn opened the bag and popped three into his mouth. "God," he moaned with his mouth half open. "I haven't had these in such a long time."
I shifted positions so that I was just sitting on the counter more comfortably. "What," I drawled. "Can't afford a bag?"
He shook his head, still shoveling the food into his mouth. "Not in that sense. But my fitness coach never allows me to. I have a strict diet plan while we're filming and then it loosens up during PR stuff."
"Well, someone's gonna sniff the crumbs off you and you'll be in hot shit."
Hadyn laughed and shrugged. "That will almost one hundred percent happen. Geoff doesn't screw around when it comes to me," he said. "Did I see wine in your fridge?"
"Indeed you did."
He gave me a sly look. "And you're a freshman in college?"
I glared at him and took the bottle out of the fridge, unscrewing the cap. Just to stick it to him, I took a swig. "Like you're no stranger to underage drinking," I replied.
Hadyn grabbed the bottle from me and took a sip. He winced and suppressed what looked like a gag. "Oh, God," he choked. "What is that?"
I took it back and downed a bit more. "Cheap liquor. Can't handle it?"
A spark appeared in his eyes. "You're challenging me, the guy that's probably double your weight and size, to drink?"
I stared at him, unanswering.
He grinned and shook his head, putting down the cheetos. "You're on, Lex."
- Writer
