Control Yourself

As Shae stirred her boiling pasta, there was a knock on her apartment door.

She sighed, glimpsing at the bubbling spaghetti sauce, turning the burner down to low so it wouldn’t burn. She padded across the apartment, her bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor, a small smile spreading across her lips. Without checking through her peep hole, Shae threw the door open. Her smile dropped.

“What?” She asked.

Forrest grinned.

“Nice to see you, too,” He beamed, brushing past her into her apartment. Shae rolled her eyes, slamming the apartment door. It wasn’t unusual for Forrest to drop in unannounced, as if they were friends or something.

“What do you want, Griffin?” Shae asked, heading back into the kitchen. Forrest hovered over the stove, stirring the spaghetti sauce.

“Mmm, this is yummy – homemade?” He asked. Shae rolled her eyes.

“Yes, in fact, it is,” She said, placing her hands on her hips. “Now – what are you doing?”

Forrest chuckled.

“I just decided to come see you,” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “Is that okay?”

As much as Shae wanted to kick him out, there was something about his big, brown eyes that made her feel a little more patient. She grunted.

“I guess,” She mumbled.

“I couldn’t help but notice you made some extra pasta,” Forrest said, peeking into the boiling pot of noodles. “Expecting someone?” Shae shook her head, removing the sauce from the heat, putting it on a cool burner while she turned its previous burner off.

“Nope, but something tells me you don’t plan on leaving…” She said, next turning the burner the pasta was on, off. She carried the pot over to the sink, careful not to spill any hot water on herself. “Could you grab the strainer?” She asked, glancing over at Forrest over her shoulder.

Without haste, he snatched up the blue, plastic strainer from off the counter, putting it down into the sink so that Shae could drain the noodles with ease.

“Thanks,” She mumbled as she held her head aside, careful to avoid the hot steam. Shae placed the pot on the counter, dumping the drained noodles back into the pot, and then carried it back over to the stove, placing the pot on a cool burner. As she did this, Forrest went rifling through her cupboards, retrieving two plates – then went searching through her drawers, finding two forks, as well as two ladles to scoop out the noodles and sauce.

Forrest set a ladle in each of the pots, handing Shae her plate. She smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, piling her plate with noodles, coating them with homemade sauce.
She plopped down at the table, Forrest sitting down beside her. They ate in silence.

“This is really good,” Forrest said, stuffing his mouth with a forkful of noodles afterward. Shae grinned.

“Gee, thanks,” She mumbled, taking a dainty bite from her own plate. She didn’t mention the fact that Greg used to hate her spaghetti sauce considering he hated mushrooms. Instead, she sighed.

“I’m getting a drink,” Forrest said, pushing out his chair. “Do you want anything?”

Shae nodded.

“Sure,” She smiled. “I’ll just have some lemonade.”

Shae watched as Forrest peeked into a few cupboards before finding the glasses. He pulled two out then headed over to the fridge, pulling out the large jug of freshly squeezed lemonade. He filled both of the glasses, returning the jug to the fridge, carrying the glasses over to the table. Even though she didn’t like him, he was useful around the house.

“Thanks,” She said again as he set her glass down beside her, sitting back down in his chair.

“You should really consider being a chef,” Forrest said after taking a sip of her lemonade. “This juice is killer.” Shae snorted.

“Or not, because then I’d get fat,” She retorted. Forrest just laughed.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll never have to worry about getting fat,” He said. “I mean, look at you; c’mon, Shae…”

Shae oddly felt flattered. Her cheeks splashed with colour. She reached for her lemonade, gulping nearly half the glass down. Forrest looked closely at her sheepish smirk as she drank.

“Oh my gosh,” He beamed. “You’re blushing – I made you blush.”

Shae set her glass down and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t take well to compliments,” She retorted. Forrest chuckled.

“Whatever,” He sighed, stuffing his mouth again. Once he swallowed, he turned to Shae, cocking an eyebrow at her. “Don’t be afraid to be human in front of me.”

Shae didn’t quite know how to reply.

“I’m…” She started. “Not.”

Forrest smiled.

“Okay, Shae,” He said, returning to eating, not speaking another word until he was done. Forrest offered to help Shae with the dishes, and packed away the leftover food – whatever was left. They headed into the living area and plopped onto the couch beside one another. Shae reached for the remote, turning on her flat screen television.

Forrest never complained about having to watch her shows; he never even complained when Shae dozed off and on, swaying to the side, resting her head on his shoulder. Being too considerate to wake her, he reached for the throw blanket on the arm of the couch closest to him, draping it over her slender frame. Shae stirred lightly, but never woke. Eventually, Forrest gently peeled the remote from Shae’s hand, and turned off the TV, dozing off as he sat upright, unable to interrupt how cute she looked while she was sleeping.