Morning Breath, Bedroom Eyes on a Smiling Face
Two
The next morning I woke up with a headache and my phone still in my hand. I glanced down at it, afraid of what I had said…”Fucking balls!” I threw my phone down on the mattress.
I had poured my heart out to Maggie and she had already sent me a response that was just as long, if not longer. She was turning me down, making me feel worse about myself, through a god
damned text message.
I forced myself out of bed and into the shower to wash away the shame and desperation of the past couple days. When I went out into the kitchen Taylor looked up at me from his phone, “You look like hell,” he muttered.
“You do too,” I drank the orange juice straight from the carton.
“And that’s why you’re going grocery shopping today,” he pointed at me and tossed a notebook at me with a grocery list.
“Fuck you,” I spat.
“Look, we need food and we need it now. I’m a growing boy,” he grabbed his phone and went deep into the apartment.
I scanned his list and realized there was a lot more than the usual cereal, juice, water, and beer.
This list involved actual food.
I managed to get the groceries into the apartment in two trips, only to find Taylor grabbing his shit and b-lining it for the door, “Gotta go,” he stated.
“Where? Dude, help me put this shit away,” I was mad and hung over.
“I’m going out,” he tried to brush past me.
“Hallsy, what’s going on? Did I piss you off last night?” I felt like we were arguing like an old married
couple and if this got out, we would never hear the end of it.
“Ebs, I’ll be back in like an hour and I’ll tell you what’s going on. Put the groceries away, clean up the place, and then we’ll talk.”
“I’m not your housewife!”
“Nope, mine would have bigger tits,” he shoved my shoulder, “Later, man.”
I finally got the million bags of groceries away and started cleaning up our bachelor pad. It wasn’t too messy, but it wasn’t guest appropriate with our game consoles, beer cases and cans, and random shit everywhere.
I heard my phone buzz on the table and glanced down to see a text from Hallsy:
On my way home, better look nice Princess ;)
I rolled my eyes as I just sat down and turned on the TV. After a couple more minutes I remembered that Maggie had texted me. I decided it was time to take a look at what awful thing
she had to say to me or about me:
That’s actually a definition of both in my book. Only thinking about them after drinking=booty call, trying to forget them because you can’t stop thinking about them=could be LOVE. I wish you had said something sooner Jordie, I really do! I feel like I was obvious last night when we were talking about stuff, when I was telling you that I felt all those feelings for someone. I guess not, maybe I’ll just have to show you
I was interrupted by Taylor, “Ebs, where the hell are you?”
“Living room,” I set my phone down and wiped my hand over my face, trying to hide the frustration and embarrassment.
“Sitting down?” he appeared around the corner with a smile, “I’ve got a surprise you might want to be sitting down for.”
“I’m not in the fucking mood…”
Taylor pulled something from behind the wall, “Maggie?”
She bit her lip and nodded slowly, “I see you didn’t finish reading my text.”
I looked at her, back down at my phone, and back at her. Taylor was leaning against a wall with a smug look on his face when I looked at him. He nodded at her and I glanced back at my phone before tossing it to the side.
“What are you doing here?” I finally got out.
Maggie blushed and looked at her feet. Taylor spoke up, “Why do you think she’s here genius?”
I nodded, “Okay, so you were in on this?” I asked him.
He nodded, “I took your phone to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid, but it was too late; you’d texted her. I got her number and texted her to make sure she wasn’t just some stupid girl,” he smiled at Maggie, “Turns out, she’s pretty great Eberle. Good job.”
I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck, “Yeah, yeah she is pretty great.”
“Okay,” he drawled out the word, “I’m going to head out, go harass someone else. You two have…fun.”
We both waited until the door latched closed after Taylor before either of us spoke.
“Taylor seems…unique,” Maggie let out an awkward laugh.
“Yeah, Hallsy is definitely…different.”
“Nice though, making sure this girl wasn’t just some dumb bit…”
“I never said you were,” I figured Taylor had made up some story about me saying that.
She shook her head, “I never said you did, Jordan. What I meant was that he wanted to make sure I wasn’t just fucking with your head.”
“But you are,” I started, “You are fucking with my head Mags.”
“I…it wasn’t intentional,” she looked mortified.
“No,” I crossed the room so I was in front of her, “I didn’t mean it like that Maggie, I swear.”
“That guy I was talking about,” she slowly looked up at me, “He was you. You’re the guy who has me feeling all that cockamamie bullshit.”
I let that sink in for a millisecond before I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her lips to mine.
It was our first kiss, aside from the little pecks on the cheek she had given me a couple times. I wanted to make this perfect, memorable, but I had a feeling it was sloppy and uncontrolled when Maggie pulled her face away from me.
“Sorry,” I breathed.
She put her hand on my cheek, shaking her head, “Tell me something before this goes any further.”
I nodded, “Anything.”
“You feel like frolicking through a field full of daisies?”
I threw my head back laughing, leave it to Maggie to make an awkward situation funny. I set my forehead against hers after I calmed down, “Pink and purple ones.”
I had poured my heart out to Maggie and she had already sent me a response that was just as long, if not longer. She was turning me down, making me feel worse about myself, through a god
damned text message.
I forced myself out of bed and into the shower to wash away the shame and desperation of the past couple days. When I went out into the kitchen Taylor looked up at me from his phone, “You look like hell,” he muttered.
“You do too,” I drank the orange juice straight from the carton.
“And that’s why you’re going grocery shopping today,” he pointed at me and tossed a notebook at me with a grocery list.
“Fuck you,” I spat.
“Look, we need food and we need it now. I’m a growing boy,” he grabbed his phone and went deep into the apartment.
I scanned his list and realized there was a lot more than the usual cereal, juice, water, and beer.
This list involved actual food.
I managed to get the groceries into the apartment in two trips, only to find Taylor grabbing his shit and b-lining it for the door, “Gotta go,” he stated.
“Where? Dude, help me put this shit away,” I was mad and hung over.
“I’m going out,” he tried to brush past me.
“Hallsy, what’s going on? Did I piss you off last night?” I felt like we were arguing like an old married
couple and if this got out, we would never hear the end of it.
“Ebs, I’ll be back in like an hour and I’ll tell you what’s going on. Put the groceries away, clean up the place, and then we’ll talk.”
“I’m not your housewife!”
“Nope, mine would have bigger tits,” he shoved my shoulder, “Later, man.”
I finally got the million bags of groceries away and started cleaning up our bachelor pad. It wasn’t too messy, but it wasn’t guest appropriate with our game consoles, beer cases and cans, and random shit everywhere.
I heard my phone buzz on the table and glanced down to see a text from Hallsy:
On my way home, better look nice Princess ;)
I rolled my eyes as I just sat down and turned on the TV. After a couple more minutes I remembered that Maggie had texted me. I decided it was time to take a look at what awful thing
she had to say to me or about me:
That’s actually a definition of both in my book. Only thinking about them after drinking=booty call, trying to forget them because you can’t stop thinking about them=could be LOVE. I wish you had said something sooner Jordie, I really do! I feel like I was obvious last night when we were talking about stuff, when I was telling you that I felt all those feelings for someone. I guess not, maybe I’ll just have to show you
I was interrupted by Taylor, “Ebs, where the hell are you?”
“Living room,” I set my phone down and wiped my hand over my face, trying to hide the frustration and embarrassment.
“Sitting down?” he appeared around the corner with a smile, “I’ve got a surprise you might want to be sitting down for.”
“I’m not in the fucking mood…”
Taylor pulled something from behind the wall, “Maggie?”
She bit her lip and nodded slowly, “I see you didn’t finish reading my text.”
I looked at her, back down at my phone, and back at her. Taylor was leaning against a wall with a smug look on his face when I looked at him. He nodded at her and I glanced back at my phone before tossing it to the side.
“What are you doing here?” I finally got out.
Maggie blushed and looked at her feet. Taylor spoke up, “Why do you think she’s here genius?”
I nodded, “Okay, so you were in on this?” I asked him.
He nodded, “I took your phone to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid, but it was too late; you’d texted her. I got her number and texted her to make sure she wasn’t just some stupid girl,” he smiled at Maggie, “Turns out, she’s pretty great Eberle. Good job.”
I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck, “Yeah, yeah she is pretty great.”
“Okay,” he drawled out the word, “I’m going to head out, go harass someone else. You two have…fun.”
We both waited until the door latched closed after Taylor before either of us spoke.
“Taylor seems…unique,” Maggie let out an awkward laugh.
“Yeah, Hallsy is definitely…different.”
“Nice though, making sure this girl wasn’t just some dumb bit…”
“I never said you were,” I figured Taylor had made up some story about me saying that.
She shook her head, “I never said you did, Jordan. What I meant was that he wanted to make sure I wasn’t just fucking with your head.”
“But you are,” I started, “You are fucking with my head Mags.”
“I…it wasn’t intentional,” she looked mortified.
“No,” I crossed the room so I was in front of her, “I didn’t mean it like that Maggie, I swear.”
“That guy I was talking about,” she slowly looked up at me, “He was you. You’re the guy who has me feeling all that cockamamie bullshit.”
I let that sink in for a millisecond before I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her lips to mine.
It was our first kiss, aside from the little pecks on the cheek she had given me a couple times. I wanted to make this perfect, memorable, but I had a feeling it was sloppy and uncontrolled when Maggie pulled her face away from me.
“Sorry,” I breathed.
She put her hand on my cheek, shaking her head, “Tell me something before this goes any further.”
I nodded, “Anything.”
“You feel like frolicking through a field full of daisies?”
I threw my head back laughing, leave it to Maggie to make an awkward situation funny. I set my forehead against hers after I calmed down, “Pink and purple ones.”