Page 51 of Bullet
Harry’s house was only about fifteen minutes from Laura’s and unlike our regular trips on his bike, I was picking him up in my old Altima. I smiled as he walked out his front door and made his way down the path toward me, and my stomach was already fluttering. He was wearing a very simple jeans-and-t-shirt look with black boots, but it all went together perfectly and looked amazing on him.
“Hi,” I said as he got in the car. He leaned over and kissed me, and my heart leaped up. I thought it would take a little more effort getting intimacy from him after the theme park, but he seemed as happy as ever to see me. “I’m glad you’re letting me do this.”
“Me, too. I missed you.”
He missed me? How could he say things like that so simply and have me backtracking any resolve I’d built up? What was this mysterious power he had?
“I missed you,” I responded. “I’m sorry I made things weird between us again.”
He set his hand on my cheek and leaned across again and kissed me. “Let’s leave it behind us.”
I nodded. “Deal.”
“So, where are you taking me?” he asked as we pulled off.
“Somewhere special.”
I’d purposely not told Harry he was coming to “my” apartment for dinner. I wanted him to see that I wasn’t embarrassed for him to meet my friends and I wasn’t afraid to show him more of my life.
At least convince him that I was all in.
We pulled up in front of the complex and parked, and Harry looked over at me. “Here?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Come on. I’m told dinner should just about be ready.” We climbed out of the car and I led Harry inside, up the stairs, and down to Laura’s apartment. The door was left unlocked, so I opened it and led the way inside. “Honey, I’m home!” I called out.
Laura poked her head out of the kitchen with a smile. “Hey! I’ll be there in just a second, I’m just pulling the chicken out.”
Harry looked around the place, touched a jacket of mine he spied on the coat rack, looked at some of the pictures of Laura and me and our friends that were still hanging from when I lived there.
“Uh, yeah, so this is my place. It’s not a whole house like you have, but it gets the job done,” I explained.
“I like it. It’s way nicer than any of the apartments I lived in before I bought my house.”
“And…” I walked around the house a little bit until I found Laura’s lazy cat Meatloaf and pulled him out. He was a fluffy, brown mixed breed who could be chucked across the room without blinking. “This is Meatloaf.”
Harry’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning, and he held out his arms, so I set Meatloaf inside. As expected, the cat gave Harry a little nuzzle before curling up and just allowing himself to be held, and Harry seemed perfectly fine to continue holding him.
Laura came twirling out of the kitchen, stopping by the dining room table to set a couple of bowls down, then she walked over to Harry and me. They’d already met at the theme park, but I still held out a hand toward Laura and said, “Harry, this is my roommate and best friend Laura. She put up with me during college and now I won’t let her escape. Laura,” I motioned to Harry, “this is Harry, my boyfriend.”
Harry looked at me and then a large smile grew on his face. He then looked back at Laura and nodded. “Nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too. I see you and Meatloaf aren’t going to have any trouble getting along,” she said.
“Harry’s a cat person,” I informed her.
Laura nodded. “I knew I liked you. Well, come on, dinner is ready. I’ll get it all dished up.”
“This is my favorite restaurant in town,” I said as Harry put Meatloaf down on the couch on the way over to the dining room table. “Laura’s training to become a P.O., but she cooks in her spare time, and by spare time I mean to feed me.”
Harry laughed. “That was kind of my foster dad, too, although he’s a legit chef now.”
We sat down at the table and Laura served up the baked chicken and potatoes she’d made, along with a salad. After serving the food, she took a picture of its nice display, and then moved her phone up to aim at Harry and me sitting close on one side of the table. She snapped a pic, and even though my gut reaction was to tell her to delete it, I saw another opportunity to bolster Harry’s confidence.
“You gonna post it?” I asked her.
“Can I?”
“Yeah, as long as you mention he’s mine. I don’t need any of your thirst trap friends going after my man,” I snipped back.
