ANSWER YOUR PHONE
MAKE ME
You’re so freakin stubborn – AND WE’RE STILL ENGAGED!
“You’ve lost your blithering mind,” she muttered in disbelief and then moved to the front window, carefully peering out of the corner of her blinds to see if she was about to have a visitor. Sure enough, Drake was walking down to the sidewalk, then up her driveway toward the front door. The big ol’ stooge wouldn’t even walk through his precious grass?
He knocked on the front door, and she waited – silent.
“I know you’re in there,” Drake hollered loudly, banging on the door again. “I came to apologize, and the least you could do would be…”
Steffi jerked the front door open. He started in surprise and then quickly frowned at her once more.
“I need three things from you,” he began, and she interrupted him immediately.
“I needonething from you.”
“I need your shoe, dress, and ring size.”
“And I need an apology,” she said loftily, looking down her nose at him as she lifted her chin defiantly – but in the corner of her mind, a little voice was asking why he needed her dress or shoe size. The ring was easy to figure out because he obviously thought that he was getting her an engagement ring.
“I’m sorry,” he gritted out and gestured wildly with a deliberate look as if to say, ‘And you can answer me now…’ as he stood there.
“Seven,” she said simply – and shut the door in his face.
“Sevenwhat?” he hollered angrily, knocking again. “A size seven shoe? A size seven dress? Is that your ring size?”
“Figure it out – now I’m busy.”
“DOING WHAT?”
A part of her couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that burst forth as he roared on the other side of the door, obviously infuriated. She wasn’t heartless, wasn’t mean, but she really wanted him to understand that she was a person who wasn’t about to fall in line with whatever he said. The plan was to answer his questions once he calmed down a bit or decided to make an apology for acting out… oh, he apologized a few moments ago but there was no way he meant it with that sort of tone.
Anyone could say the words – meaning them was another story.
Peering out the blinds, she saw him walking off down the sidewalk, flinging his hands up in the air once more. Drake looked furious, and she knew this wouldn’t be the last attempt at a discussion – but it would be the first lesson that he learned about her. She didn’t care how famous he was – to her, he was just her stuck-up neighbor.
Dropping the sheers over the blinds, whistling softly, she smoothed the robe, marveling at the plush cotton softness as she headed to the bathroom to soak in the tub for a little bit before she had to get ready for work.
Padding barefoot toward the bathroom, she turned on the water and began to apply the foaming facewash to her skin, humming softly to herself as she thought about the last twenty-four hours. She’d gone from persona-non-grata to suddenly ‘Drake Walker’s fiancée’ with all the hoopla that came with it.
She was still getting friend requests and messages from strangers – but there were also requests from other members of his team, leaving her messages with sincere congratulations, comments about what a good man she’d ‘locked down’, and comments asking if he was as goofy around her as he acted with them. She had no idea – and that was troubling. These peoplewere going out of their way to wish them both the best… and it was a lie.
Removing the robe, she sank down into the hot tub and sighed heavily. Some people were into showers – she was a ‘tubber’. To her, there was nothing better than soaking your body in a hot bath, and it became an everyday joy for her the moment it clicked in her head that she was an adult and could do whatever she wanted. It was both a liberating and humbling thought, because no one was there to tell her no… and she desperately wished that there was someone, anyone, who would do it.
Drake.
“Shoot,” she grumbled and sank down in the water, glaring at her phone where it sat on the counter nearby. “I wonder if he’s got a builder-grade bathroom like the rest of us or if he’s fixed it up too.”
Huffing loudly and dramatically for no one but herself, she sat up quickly, grabbed her phone, and ignored the water that splashed over the rim of the tub – muttering.
“I cannot believe I’m gonna be the adult in this mock relationship… he better know how much this sticks in my freakin craw right now,” she grumbled and opened her text messages – only to freeze.
She missed a notification – well, two of them.
From him.
I asked because some guys surprise their girlfriends to make an apology, and you are making it difficult when I’m trying to be nice. So, while I don’t make this a habit very often and I can be extremely stubborn about things… here we go.