Private Universe

I woke the next morning in Alex's bed. Again. Not that I minded in the least. It was an amazing bed. I looked next to me and was surprised to find him not there. It also scared me a little because there wasn't any note of some kind. Just as I was about to start panicking he walked into the room with two mugs filled with coffee.

"Morning." He grinned handing me a mug and climbing back into his bed carefully.

"Morning." I said relieved.

"You okay? You looked a little panicked when I walked in."

"I didn't know where you went. I just woke up and you weren't here."

He laughed. "Shit. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You made coffee so it makes up for it for now." I grinned and took a sip of the coffee. "Which, by the way, rocks. The coffee."

"Good. We have one of those magic machine things to make really good coffee without a lot of work."

I laughed. "Of course you do. What time is it?"

He sighed. "Don't kill me. But it's not even eight yet."

"What?" I nearly choked on my coffee.

"I know. But I had a plan for the day and it included getting up early."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. What are we doing?"

"I want to show you around the city. Where I went to school, and messed around with the guys. I dunno. Some of my favorite spots in the city."

I smiled. "That sounds nice. Just the two of us?"

"Mhmm." He leaned against the headboard and I crawled under one of his arms.

He kissed my head and we stayed like that drinking our coffee in silence. It was peaceful and comfortable and perfect.

--

After I had showered and wrapped myself in my towel I went to staring at the suite case of clothes I had. It was all I had and I was finding it difficult to decide on what to wear. I settled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a tee-shirt. As I looked at myself in the mirror I noticed how much black I was wearing. I searched through my suitcase until I found Alex's Grey beanie. It looked like the first time we went out at the Pancake House. I smiled at the memory.

"That's where it went." He said staring at me from the doorway. "I was wondering."

"I was scared I had lost it. Then I found it packed away in a corner of my suitcase. I think I need more clothes. I don't have that many here and I feel like I've worn them a hundred times."

He smiled. "Looks cute."

"Maybe so. But I would like other outfits. I kind of want a dress."

"For what?"

"I dunno. I just want a dress. I've never really had a nice one before."

He thought for a minute. "Maybe we can find something today? We'll be passing a number of shops."

"You want to go shopping with me?"

"Who else is going to go with you?" He smirked.

"I was thinking about Tay."

"She's not in the state. Besides. I'd like to see you trying stuff on. Maybe it will turn me on a little."

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't?"

"Oh no. It is." He grinned and wrapped my in his arms. I felt his lips on mine and smiled. He pulled away and looked at me. "Quit smiling when I kiss you. No offense, but kissing your teeth isn't all that wonderful." He grinned and I slapped his arm. Then he kissed me again.

--

During the entire train ride into the city Alex laughed at me. I was like a child seeing something for the first time. My nose was practically pressed up against the window. I didn't want to miss anything. Alex sat in his seat and laughed at me. He answered every question I had but couldn't stop smiling at me. I finally forced myself to sit down next to him and he took my hand and kissed my temple.

"I'm just so excited. It's a new city."

He laughed. "I know. But it's not new to me. And why are you excited for Baltimore? We were all over the place on tour."

"Well, I was really too tired to focus on most of the cities on tour. I was either working or sleeping."

"True." We had stopped at one of the many smaller towns on our way into the city. "I've always thought about getting off at another stop and having an adventure."

"So why haven't you?"

"I don't know."

I thought for a moment. "Let's do it." He looked at me and I grinned. "Come on. Our own adventure."

"But I want to show you-"

"You can show me that any day. Let's find new places to eat and shop and hang out."

He thought for a moment and I glanced at the doors. "Okay." He grinned.

We jumped from our seats and sprinted out the doors just before the closed. The train station wasn't much to see but when we got out the station and into the city we had stopped in it was another story. It wasn't as clean as Alex's neighborhood but that's what gave it character. Alex didn't let go of my hand and we walked down the main street just looking around.

Most of the shops weren't chains. It was a nice change. There was a fresh market at one end of the street and we slowly made our way towards it. The people selling the fruit seemed quite friendly and willing to give us a discount if we bought something. We bought a few items of fruit and shared it between us. I was distracted by a woman who made jewelry and as I made my way over there, Alex followed.

She sold a few of the friendship bracelets and bracelets with names on them. There were also charms that could be put on some of the necklaces she had made. There was one with a guitar on it. It looked hand made and it was beautiful. There were music notes along the chain of the necklace and the other charm was a small skeleton. The necklace was beautiful but I didn't care for the price.

$250? Really? I appreciated quality jewelry but I wasn't going to pay for something that didn't have a real stone in it. I went to searching through the bracelets to see if one had my name. Most never did because most people didn't spell it with a second 'o'. I found Alex's name and he smiled at me.

"Want it?" He asked.

"No. I want my name."

"We do requests." The woman behind us said.

"Oh?"

"What are you looking for?"

"Zooey. With two 'o's."

"That's unusual." She said.

I smiled at her. "I know. Most people spell it with only one. I like two."

The wrinkles in her face were much more prominent when she smiled. "Well, if you want a custom one it will be eighty dollars."

"Oh." I looked at Alex and he tried not to look too shocked. "Well, I'll think about it. We'll be around all day." I smiled at her. "Thanks."

We walked away from her tent and I could feel her glare on my back. But her price was a bit much for something that was made of string and plastic. I could have easily made it myself. In kindergarten. Alex took my hand again and we walked through the shops just glancing at everything.

"I'm hungry." He said suddenly. I looked at him and he grinned.

"Okay. What do you want?"

"I don't know. I've never been here." He grinned.

"Right. We need a local person to tell us what to eat."

I looked around and tried to find someone that wouldn't push their sale items on us. There was an old woman at the end who looked like she was ready to pass out from the heat. She smiled at us as we walked up to her.

"What can I do for the lovely couple?" She asked sweetly.

"We need somewhere to eat." I said.

"Oh? The market not your cup of tea?"

"No, no. We just need a little more than that. Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.

"There's a diner down the street. It looks like an old trailer home. But they have some of the best food around." She smiled again.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you." We started to walk away when she stopped us.

"Wait. You two are new to the town?"

"Just visiting." Alex said. "On an adventure." He grinned at looked at me.

"Oh. Well, welcome. Nice of you to stop by."

"Thank you." He said politely. "This place is really cool. Maybe we'll come back another day."

"I hope you do." She said grinning.

We walked away and headed in the direction she had told us. The diner was hidden behind some bigger buildings but we managed to find it. As we entered I could smell the fresh cooked food and I could tell it was homemade.