Drop Dead.

He was what – or who – I walked in on the next morning at nine. A shirtless Oliver standing in front of a coffee pot, trying to figure out how to turn it on. My heart thudded in my chest and I was appalled that Oliver couldn’t hear it. He hadn’t noticed me yet and I was hoping to keep my presence unknown for the time being. Watching Oliver attempt to make coffee, shirtless, was just about the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. The way he twisted his mouth to the side as he lifted a finger to one of the buttons. The way his bottom lip jutted out when he pushed the wrong one. The way he spilled coffee grounds all over my counter, whispering a curse as he filled the filter again and swept the grounds into the trash can. It was after my heart rate slowed and my breathing returned to normal that I decided to alert him of my presence.

“Need some help?” I asked, making him jump and almost knock the coffee pot off the counter. I laughed as he threw a hand over his heart. I wondered if he knew mine had been racing the exact same way just a moment ago.

“Uh…yeah,” he admitted, dropping his head shamefully. I chuckled and drifted over, taking the time to show him how to make a pot of coffee correctly. I even let him try to redo the pot he’d messed up and he smiled like a child and his eyes lit up excitedly. I laughed as he shook his hips while he poured himself his straight black coffee. He sipped happily from it and leaned his back against the counter as I fixed my own mug.

“Got enough sugar?” he chuckled, watching me as I dumped spoonful after spoonful of sugar into my coffee. I smiled sheepishly as I stirred.

“I can’t drink it if it’s not sweet,” I told him with a half-shrug, lifting the mug to my lips. I mimicked his position and we stood there, sipping our coffees in silence. “So how was your date last night?”

“It was fun. Mel’s a ball o’energy,” he mused with a slight smirk. A mental image of Melanie and Oliver tangled in sheets and limbs together was suddenly thrown into my head and I shook my head. “Yeh all right?”

“Mm,” I nodded. “Just a bit of a headache.” Oliver gave me a look that clearly said he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t push it, only lifted his cup to his lips and took a long sip.

“What are yeh and Mel up to today?” I asked him after a while, my biting curiosity getting the better of me. He downed the rest of his coffee and put the mug in the sink for me to put in the dishwasher later.

“Nothin’. I’ve got a meetin’ wiff Drop Dead and she said yeh and ‘er needa ‘ave a girls’ day,” he responded, smiling lopsidedly at me. I returned it and finished off my coffee, rested the mug underneath my chin.

Oliver left after Melanie woke up around eleven. He hugged me goodbye before pecking Melanie lightly on the lips, keeping it discrete in front of an audience. Then Mel and I took turns showering prior to getting dressed, doing our hair and makeup, and heading out for the day. She suggested a film and I suggested shopping, but we quickly compromised and agreed that we’d do both.

It felt kind of alien to be out with Melanie again, like we always used to before Oliver walked into our lives. Although I was happy that Melanie found someone who made her just as, I had missed quality time with my best friend. When she was out, the apartment didn’t feel so homey. She was what gave it that feeling and not having her around to make me dinner or laugh or complain about my smoking just felt wrong. Completely wrong. I didn’t like change, but I knew that if Oliver was going to be a regular occurrence in Melanie’s life, I would need to adjust and/or get used to it.

In a way, I kind of felt threatened by Oliver’s presence. I felt like he was taking my best friend away from me, but, despite how little I knew about him, I knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t seem like the type. However, I also knew that if he hadn’t a meeting to attend today, he and Melanie would most likely be attached at the hip and I wouldn’t see either of them all day.

Melanie had said that they were getting serious. So what did that leave for me? A quiet, empty apartment and TV dinners every night? If that was to be the case, I made a mental note to pick up a few cookbooks in order to learn how to make myself simple meals.

Mel had questioned me about my purchasing three cookbooks and as much as I wanted to lie to her, I couldn’t.

“Well, I figured if yeh gonna be out with Oliver at night then I should at least know how to cook for myself,” I muttered, avoiding her eyes. I heard her sigh and she turned on her heel, heading for a store. I lagged behind, knowing that I’d hurt her. I knew how much she loved cooking for me, but it was about time I gain a little independence if Melanie was going to be preoccupied.

I thought she was being a little irrational about the whole thing; the rest of the day, I barely saw her smile, even when we reminisced about the first time we ever met. Her forehead was creased with frown lines and suddenly I felt guilty, though I wasn’t completely sure of the reason. Her Debbie-Downer attitude was putting me in a slump, and we both agreed that it was time to go home.

Tom was sitting on the floor outside our apartment when we walked off the elevator. He saw us and smiled brightly and jumped to his feet.

“Hey Tom,” I welcomed happily. Melanie mumbled a hello as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. Tom raised an eyebrow at her back before it disappeared into her bedroom. I sighed. “Long day.”

He nodded understandingly and sat on the couch while I went to my bedroom to put my bags away. Melanie didn’t come back out, but Oliver knocked on our door about half an hour later. When I let him in, he hugged me hello, waved to Tom, and made a beeline for Mel’s room. I watched him go.

Of course she would invite Oliver over. Why was I even surprised? Was it because I was hoping he’d want to see me? No, I shook my head. that was ridiculous. He was Melanie’s now, and if he wasn’t then he would be soon enough. She was a fast mover and once she had her eye set on someone, it wasn’t long before he was made officially hers.

They didn’t come out for the rest of the evening, not even when Tom and I ordered a pizza and had it delivered. So the two of us split the pie and talked while we ate.

“So why was Melanie all…” he trailed off and made a funny gesture, probably to indicate that she was slightly zombie-like earlier. I laughed and tried not to choke on the cheese, washing it down with a sip of Pepsi. Then my mood turned somber and I frowned slightly.

“I think she’s worried that I’m gaining some independence from her,” I said quietly, looking at my lap. “I bought a few cookbooks today and she asked me about them. And when I told her why I bought them, she got all sad and we didn’t really talk much after. I don’t understand why she’d get upset though. She has Oliver now and I think it was about time I started doing things for myself. I mean, I know she enjoys cooking for me, but she can’t very well do that if she’s always out with him.” I jerked my head in the direction of Mel’s room to emphasis my point.

Tom worried his bottom lip for a while before he set down his slice of pizza in the box and wiped his hands on a napkin. “It seems like she wants yeh to stay dependent on ‘er rather than learn to do stuff for yehself, even though she’s out livin’ ‘er own life.”

“Exactly!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. “I just…don’t get it.”

“I think yeh should talk to ‘er about it,” Tom responded, leaning forward to put his hand on my knee. I smiled at the gesture and nodded.

“Thanks Tom.” He nodded in response and let a sliver of his straight white teeth show before inhaling the rest of his pizza.