Only In It For A Minute

“We’ve been driving for eight hours, we must be there by now, surely?” I complained.

“Well we are in the right area, I’m just trying to find the right street that your apartment is on,” John told me.

“I just want to be there. In England, I could have almost driven the length of the country in the time it’s taken to get here,” I continued moaning.

“Tash, we will literally be there in five minutes, just chill out,” he laughed.

John turned down a few roads and eventually I saw my street name on a sign. John for down the street and then turned down next to one of the buildings.

“Here we are,” John said pulling into a parking space. “Told you we were nearly there.”

“This is my apartment building?” I asked as I glanced up out of his truck’s window. While I had still been living in Reading and John had been off tour, he had done some apartment hunting for me to make sure the places were as alright as they sounded in the ads.

“Certainly is,” he smiled. “And here’s my mom and dad,” he said as they pulled into the space next to us.

The four of us got out of our cars and walked into the lobby of the building. Mine was Apartment 8, which John told me was on the third floor. We got to the door of the flat and I pressed the buzzer. As we waited for someone to answer, John took my hand and pulled me closer to him. When the door opened, it revealed a male stood smiling back at us.

“Hi, you must be Natasha, I’m Jamie” he grinned at me, holding out his hand. I moved from John to the guy in front of me.

“Yeah, hi Jamie,” I said, shaking his hand. “It’s just tash by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Tash, come in,” he said in his American accent that was I already so used to now. We walked through a hallway then into a room and we all sat down on the sofas. “Is this your family?”

“Oh no, this is my boyfriend, John,” I indicated to my left. “And his parents, Jay and Jenny.”

“Lovely to meet you all as well,” Jamie continued to smile. “Are you from England as well?”

“No, no, Arizona actually,” John answered. “Phoenix, Arizona. What about you, man?”

“Well, originally Portland, Oregon, then I moved to London for a year and then came to LA about six months ago before landing this job.”

We got to know Jamie a little bit more for a while, I think mainly for John’s mum’s sake so she’d know I was safe living here. He was 23 and had studied for a business degree at the University of Oregon before he went to London. His light brown hair was messy like John’s and he was currently wearing skinny jeans and a black t-shirt.

“So Tash, want a tour?” he asked.

“Of course,” I told him as we all moved from the sofas in the living area and Jamie led the way.

“OK so this is obviously the living room. Couches, TV, DVD, XBOX, the usual. Then coming through here,” he said, taking us through to a small room. “This is the kitchen and dining room. I’m quite a good cook by the way so you’d find me in here quite a bit.”

Next he took us back through the living room and to the hallway we’d hallway we’d walked in first of all. He opened a door and turned back to us.

“This is the bathroom. I try and keep it as clean as possible but I can’t promise anything,” he laughed. He then walked down the hall a bit. “Right that is my bedroom,” he said pointing to a door on the opposite wall, before opening the door we were stood next to. “And this, is yours.”

I walked into the room with John right behind me. The walls were cream, the carpet was cream and the blinds were too. All that was in the room was a table in one corner, a small bedside table and a double bed.

“Do what you like with the room, it’s all yours,” Jamie said from the doorway, letting John’s parents walk in.

“Please don’t turn it purple,” John laughed softly. I turned to him and found him staring at me as if waiting for approval.

“Thanks for picking this apartment John,” I told him. “I love him.”

“Right Tash, honey, do you have everything you need in the two cars?” Jenny asked.

“Oh god yeah, suppose we should bring my stuff in,” I said. “Wow this now feels real.”

After a few trips to the cars and back to get the stuff I’d brought from Reading and the things Jenny had bought for me to, John’s parents said their goodbyes and headed back to Phoenix. Jamie, John and I sat down in the living room and continued to get to know each other.

“John you look so familiar to me, do i know you from somewhere?” Jamie asked.

“Erm, I don’t know man, maybe you’ve seen my band?”

“You’re in a band? That’s awesome!” Jamie said.

“Yeah, The Maine. We’ve played Portland a few times so maybe you’ve seen us?”

“I think I have actually! What a small world,” he laughed. “So what about the two of you, how long have you been together?”

“Only about three months, but we met in July,” I told him.

“John how did you manage to get a British girlfriend?”

“I was just very lucky I guess,” John smiled at me, leaning in and giving me a kiss.

“So what about you Jamie? Got a girlfriend?” I asked.

“I do actually. Her name’s Alice and we’ve been together about six months,” he told us. “She was the first girl I met when I came to LA and we’ve been together ever since.”

“Aw that’s sweet,” I smiled. “So you don’t mind if John stays tonight do you? It’s just it’s a long drive back.”

“No that’s cool, like I said this is as much your place as it is mine,” Jamie answered.

Jamie headed off into the kitchen to cook us some food while me and John went into my room to unpack a few things. I put sheets on my bed and hung up my clothes while John was sticking up a few photos that I’d brought with me.

“You like it then,Tash?” John asked as we worked.

“Yeah, I do. I’m so excited to start work now I’m here!” I laughed, walking back and forth to my closet. When I walked out again, I found him laying down on the bed.

“Excited for anything else?” he grinned.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” I teased. He got up from my bed and pulled me back down with him, tickling my sides, causing me to shriek. “JOHN!”

“What?” he laughed softly, pressing his lips to my neck, pulling me closer as I wrapped my arms around him. I pulled away from him slightly and looked at him.

“I’m so glad I’m here,” I smiled as he rolled us over so he was now on top of me.

Me too, Tash. Me too,” he breathed. “I love you.”

I smiled again before placing my lips back to his and felt him smile into the kiss.