Summer's on Its Deathbed
Eight
Once Alice had agreed that Brendon was pretty awesome, he began to hang out at Yasmine’s apartment a lot more. They’d all spent many a lazy Sunday sitting in front of the TV watching Disney movies. Brendon didn’t complain after watching The Little Mermaid for the fifth time in two weeks (and why would he? That film is fucking amazing!); instead he rested his head on Yasmine’s shoulder and shifted Alice in his lap so she rested in between them. They all sang along with the music, Brendon staring deep into Yasmine’s joyful eyes as he belted out Under The Sea complete with Sebastian’s voice.
Hours later, the pair sat in front of the TV still’ but now neither was watching it. Yasmine rested her head in Brendon’s lap and he absentmindedly played with her hair, twirling the strands in between his fingers. He felt utterly at ease with her, like he didn’t have to make an effort, he could wholly be himself and he knew that she’d be okay with it.
Yasmine could feel her eyes growing heavier and threatening to slip closed, so she took Brendon’s hand and took him to her bedroom. Over the past few weeks, Brendon had stayed at her apartment near enough every night. Sure, they’d been intimate, but it was very hard to have alone time with Alice around. But it didn’t really matter, they just enjoyed be close.
Slipping on her shorts and a powder blue tank top, Yasmine fell less than gracefully into bed, rubbing her eyes. The bed sank under Brendon’s weight a few seconds later. Now, almost habitually, Brendon moulded his body around Yasmine’s keeping his body tight to hers from his chest all the way down to his knees. She leant back into him, breathing a content sigh. “Goodnight.” Brendon whispered in her ear, leaving minty fresh breath all around her. Yasmine turned her head around and gave him a peck on the cheek before turning back and promptly falling asleep.
Yasmine begins to pick up as many shifts as possible at Target, consequently she had to rely heavily on Jane, even more so than she had done in the past. Money was still tight and she was tired of living pay check to pay check and not being able to treat Alice (or herself) as much as she wanted to. Of course, Brendon had offered to help her out financially, but she refused.
“Thanks Bren, but no thanks. Providing for Alice is one thing I’m in charge of and I’m proud of that. But you have to know that if I ever do need money, for anything, you’ll be the first person I come to.” She had reassured him, declining politely.
Brendon had been great, he came over to Yasmine’s apartment almost every evening, he’d often bring take out with him. Alice was always ecstatic to see what type of food he’d brought with him; so far they’d had Chinese, Indian, Mexican and Thai, among others. Even though Alice didn’t like everything Brendon had offered, she’d always try it and, very loudly, tell them whether she liked it or not. So far, she loved Chinese and Mexican, was indifferent about Indian and really hated Thai. It was a welcome change seeing as they’d mostly been eating variants of spaghetti dishes for months (spaghetti was cheap and could be cooked countless ways).
“Brendon,” Alice had asked one evening over a soft taco, “Are you Yazzy’s boyfriend?” She said the word ‘boyfriend’ in a sing song voice, with a half-grimace on her face, indicating she found the idea of a boyfriend completely disgusting.
Yasmine’s eyes caught Brendon’s and they held each other’s gaze for a moment, before Brendon looked down at the little girl and confidently said, “Yes, I am her boyfriend.” Although they hadn’t really discussed their relationship in terms of definitive labels, it was nice to know that Brendon thought they were at such a stable point.
Panic! At The Disco’s summer tour was edging closer and closer, and as his leaving date came nearer, Yasmine realised how much she’d miss him. He’d become an indispensable part of her and Alice’s life; he was part of their daily routine, and him not stopping by for a month or so would be odd.
With a look of sincere regret in his eyes, Brendon informed Yasmine that the tour would be for 6 and a half weeks; but that the upside was that it was only an domestic tour, so they wouldn’t actually be leaving the country.
There were still about three weeks before he was due to leave. One evening, before Brendon had come over, Yasmine heard a knock on the door. She threw the rest of the dark coloured clothes into the washer and shuffled to the door.
“Jane?” She said, more of a question than a greeting. “What are you doing here?” Jane seldom left her apartment in the evening because of her kids needing constant attention.
The older woman shifted her weight from right to left, pulling the sleeves of her coral cardigan down over her hands. It reminded Yasmine of what Alice would do whenever she’d done something wrong.
“Yasmine, I just came over to let you know that I’m going to Kansas for a couple of weeks. So I won’t be able to look after Alice after school for a while.” Jane was biting the inside of her lip, you could see that she genuinely felt bad about disrupting their well-oiled routine.
“When do you leave?” Yasmine asked, patting Jane on the shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.
Jane looked off to the side, “The day after tomorrow.” She said quietly, before quickly taking on, “I’m so sorry.”
Although Yasmine knew it was going to a huge inconvenience to find someone who could look after Alice, she couldn’t take it out on Jane. She’d been a godsend for Yasmine, offering to look after Alice in her time of need.
“That’s fine Jane, just let me know when you’re back and you’re able to look after Alice again.” Jane’s face brightened. “Have fun in Kansas; are you going to see family?”
She nodded excitedly, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of seeing relatives she seldom got a chance to. “My mom and dad live there, so does my brother and his wife. We’re going to have a big family get together. Lily is so excited!” She laughed speaking of her 11 year old daughter.
As the two women stood at the door, Brendon walked down the hallway, swinging his customary bag of take out. “Hello ladies,” he tipped his imaginary hat to us and walked straight into the apartment. Within seconds Yasmine could hear him getting plates out of the cupboard and calling Alice.
Jane looked at me with curious eyes; she nodded her head in the direction of Brendon. I shrugged nonchalantly, which earned a playful slap on the shoulder from Jane. “He’s my boyfriend.” Yasmine conceded, she could feel the blush creeping up her neck, she knew her cheeks were turning a deep shade of pink.
“Ooh, boyfriend!” Jane laughed. “He’s cute.”
Yasmine giggled at her friend’s antics, Jane winked at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking back down to her own apartment.
Hours later, the pair sat in front of the TV still’ but now neither was watching it. Yasmine rested her head in Brendon’s lap and he absentmindedly played with her hair, twirling the strands in between his fingers. He felt utterly at ease with her, like he didn’t have to make an effort, he could wholly be himself and he knew that she’d be okay with it.
Yasmine could feel her eyes growing heavier and threatening to slip closed, so she took Brendon’s hand and took him to her bedroom. Over the past few weeks, Brendon had stayed at her apartment near enough every night. Sure, they’d been intimate, but it was very hard to have alone time with Alice around. But it didn’t really matter, they just enjoyed be close.
Slipping on her shorts and a powder blue tank top, Yasmine fell less than gracefully into bed, rubbing her eyes. The bed sank under Brendon’s weight a few seconds later. Now, almost habitually, Brendon moulded his body around Yasmine’s keeping his body tight to hers from his chest all the way down to his knees. She leant back into him, breathing a content sigh. “Goodnight.” Brendon whispered in her ear, leaving minty fresh breath all around her. Yasmine turned her head around and gave him a peck on the cheek before turning back and promptly falling asleep.
Yasmine begins to pick up as many shifts as possible at Target, consequently she had to rely heavily on Jane, even more so than she had done in the past. Money was still tight and she was tired of living pay check to pay check and not being able to treat Alice (or herself) as much as she wanted to. Of course, Brendon had offered to help her out financially, but she refused.
“Thanks Bren, but no thanks. Providing for Alice is one thing I’m in charge of and I’m proud of that. But you have to know that if I ever do need money, for anything, you’ll be the first person I come to.” She had reassured him, declining politely.
Brendon had been great, he came over to Yasmine’s apartment almost every evening, he’d often bring take out with him. Alice was always ecstatic to see what type of food he’d brought with him; so far they’d had Chinese, Indian, Mexican and Thai, among others. Even though Alice didn’t like everything Brendon had offered, she’d always try it and, very loudly, tell them whether she liked it or not. So far, she loved Chinese and Mexican, was indifferent about Indian and really hated Thai. It was a welcome change seeing as they’d mostly been eating variants of spaghetti dishes for months (spaghetti was cheap and could be cooked countless ways).
“Brendon,” Alice had asked one evening over a soft taco, “Are you Yazzy’s boyfriend?” She said the word ‘boyfriend’ in a sing song voice, with a half-grimace on her face, indicating she found the idea of a boyfriend completely disgusting.
Yasmine’s eyes caught Brendon’s and they held each other’s gaze for a moment, before Brendon looked down at the little girl and confidently said, “Yes, I am her boyfriend.” Although they hadn’t really discussed their relationship in terms of definitive labels, it was nice to know that Brendon thought they were at such a stable point.
Panic! At The Disco’s summer tour was edging closer and closer, and as his leaving date came nearer, Yasmine realised how much she’d miss him. He’d become an indispensable part of her and Alice’s life; he was part of their daily routine, and him not stopping by for a month or so would be odd.
With a look of sincere regret in his eyes, Brendon informed Yasmine that the tour would be for 6 and a half weeks; but that the upside was that it was only an domestic tour, so they wouldn’t actually be leaving the country.
There were still about three weeks before he was due to leave. One evening, before Brendon had come over, Yasmine heard a knock on the door. She threw the rest of the dark coloured clothes into the washer and shuffled to the door.
“Jane?” She said, more of a question than a greeting. “What are you doing here?” Jane seldom left her apartment in the evening because of her kids needing constant attention.
The older woman shifted her weight from right to left, pulling the sleeves of her coral cardigan down over her hands. It reminded Yasmine of what Alice would do whenever she’d done something wrong.
“Yasmine, I just came over to let you know that I’m going to Kansas for a couple of weeks. So I won’t be able to look after Alice after school for a while.” Jane was biting the inside of her lip, you could see that she genuinely felt bad about disrupting their well-oiled routine.
“When do you leave?” Yasmine asked, patting Jane on the shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.
Jane looked off to the side, “The day after tomorrow.” She said quietly, before quickly taking on, “I’m so sorry.”
Although Yasmine knew it was going to a huge inconvenience to find someone who could look after Alice, she couldn’t take it out on Jane. She’d been a godsend for Yasmine, offering to look after Alice in her time of need.
“That’s fine Jane, just let me know when you’re back and you’re able to look after Alice again.” Jane’s face brightened. “Have fun in Kansas; are you going to see family?”
She nodded excitedly, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of seeing relatives she seldom got a chance to. “My mom and dad live there, so does my brother and his wife. We’re going to have a big family get together. Lily is so excited!” She laughed speaking of her 11 year old daughter.
As the two women stood at the door, Brendon walked down the hallway, swinging his customary bag of take out. “Hello ladies,” he tipped his imaginary hat to us and walked straight into the apartment. Within seconds Yasmine could hear him getting plates out of the cupboard and calling Alice.
Jane looked at me with curious eyes; she nodded her head in the direction of Brendon. I shrugged nonchalantly, which earned a playful slap on the shoulder from Jane. “He’s my boyfriend.” Yasmine conceded, she could feel the blush creeping up her neck, she knew her cheeks were turning a deep shade of pink.
“Ooh, boyfriend!” Jane laughed. “He’s cute.”
Yasmine giggled at her friend’s antics, Jane winked at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking back down to her own apartment.
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Chapter 8! A little bit of a filler, but I like it - I think its cute!Comments, as always are appreciated. (Although I got none for the past few chapters sadface)
LOVE!
Lola, x