Page 28 of Arris, Jayme & Dyani
Fuck.
They were going to make me crazy.
I closedmy eyes and took a deep breath. I was getting overwhelmed and more annoyed by the second. I took a few more deep breaths, then looked around my crowded bedroom. I’d done my best to unpack my kitchen and bathroom yesterday but hadn’t exactly gotten back to it after going out with Illiana and ending up with Arris. After shopping and unloading mygroceries, I’d tried to get work done but due to sleeping in, there wasn’t much time to get things handled.
Now I stood in the center of my bedroom, spinning in a slow circle, trying to remember where I’d put the box with my cute dresses or at least the one with my better jeans. I shook my hands out and locked in. I wasn’t going to get upset or stressed. I made a beeline for the kitchen, grabbed the first knife I saw, and started ripping open boxes. There was a chance the box I was looking for was just mislabeled. It had to be here though. I made sure my old place was empty and I’d double checked the truck my stuff had been moved in, making sure it was empty after delivery.
I paused and my head jerked up when knocking echoed throughout the apartment.
“Fuck!” I rushed over to the door and peeked through the hole.
I looked at my watch on my wrist then outside again. Fuck. It wasn’t seven yet, but of course Arris was early.
I opened the door just a little and peeped at him.
He stood there with at least two dozen flowers in one of his hands, the other shoved into his pocket. He wore a white button up and black pants but he looked damn good, like always.
“Hey,” I said lamely. “I don’t know if I can do this date thing tonight.”
“Okay.” He blinked at me. “Are you okay, Dyani?”
My lip stuck out automatically. Arris’s eyes widened slightly. I sniffed. He pushed the door open softly. I took a step back to let him push his way in and he closed the space between us, his strong arms immediately wrapping around me. The second he tightened them, my tears started flowing. I didn’t know what it was about having someone ask if I was okay that unlocked the tears, but it worked on me every time.
“You good, Dyani,” Arris said quietly. “You good and I’ve got you.” He pulled back and looked down at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry. I’m just overwhelmed. I’m sorry.” I sniffed.
He gave me a small smile.
“It’s okay. There ain’t no reason for you to apologize for how you feel. What’s going on?”
I gestured around but didn’t say a word. He walked further inside, looking around at the scattered boxes littering the floor. He offered the flowers back to me.
“Thank you.” I sniffed as I took them.
“Stop crying,” he said as he walked toward the few boxes still in the kitchen. “I don’t like that shit.” He plucked a box up and set it on the counter. “I’ll open the boxes and pull everything out and you decide where you want it to go.”
I sniffed again and wiped at my eyes.
“Arris, I’m not going to make you unpack my stuff.”
“You can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do, love.”
He pulled a pocketknife out and sliced the box open. I stood in shock for several seconds while he started taking the dishes out and setting them on the counter. I sniffed again as I walked over to him.
“I thought we were going on a date.”
“I just wanted to spend time with you and get to know you. We can talk and get to know each other while we unpack.”
“Arris—”
He cut me off. “You got a vase for those flowers?”
“No, but I can get one.” I exhaled and smiled. “They’re beautiful by the way. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He flipped the box in his hands, cut the bottom expertly, and started folding it up. He looked over at me and his eyebrows fiddled together. “You good?”
“Yeah.”
