“So, back to my question, Grey Davis. How are you feeling?”
I walk over to my refrigerator, opening it. “Sick, but better.” At least I can walk around and not just spend my days in bed anymore. It’s day six of being sick, so it was about time I got to feel a little better, right?
After taking out not one, but two bottles of water, I close the refrigerator door and slide one of the bottles over the island counter to Luan. “Sorry I don’t have apple juice here.”
“It’s alright, you didn’t know I was coming anyway.”
That I did not. I’m just glad Miles tidied up my apartment a day before. He was bored while looking out for me, and since I was sleeping he thought why not clean up a little bit? I never really learned how to clean up after myself thanks to the housekeepers I grew up with, but I’d like to think that I’m doing an okay job now. Tidying up annoys me, but at least I clean up anything I might spill immediately. Like drinks or food.
Either way, I go back to my refrigerator and take out a bottle of some drink Sofia brought with her when she came back from Germany the other day. Turning toward Luan again, I hold up the drink. “I may not have apple juice, but I have some German version of it.”
His eyes light up, which makes me believe he didn’t exactly look around my entire apartment yet, otherwise he would already know this.
“Is it not the same?”
I shake my head. My biggest mistake in life was to believe Sofia when she said that stuff was good. Perhaps not my biggest mistake, but it’s a close third. “It’s carbonated apple juice. She told me the actual name of it, but it slipped my mind.” I don’t have the heart to tell Sofia that it tastes like ass, so I kept it here in my fridge to rot, occasionally slipping one or two bottles into Miles’s fridge.
Luan gasps. “Apfelschorle?!” Sounds about right. “I’ve always wanted to try it.”
I hand the bottle over to Luan. “If you like it, you can have it. I’ll pay you to keep it.”
He laughs and immediately opens the bottle to try it. From the looks of it, he likes it. Don’t ask me how or why. But I guess I’m getting rid of that shit after all.
“See, this drink alone makes coming here worth it.” He takes another huge sip. “And seeing you, of course.” His voice gets quieter with every word, and I’m unsure why.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I say in all honesty. I hate that we barely see each other.
Luan nods a little absently. Something’s on his mind and it’s only a matter of time before he tells me exactly what it is.
Shit, did I say something weird?Please don’t tell me I professed my undying love for him.
“Did you expect me to show up eventually?” he asks, fidgeting with his fingers.
I was hoping he would, but I did think he’d ask me for my address fir— “You didn’t even know my address, Luan. How did you find me?”
He chuckles, once again grinning at me. “I wanted to see you, so I found you.”
I walk over to the island, standing on the opposite side of him and lean forward, resting my arms on the countertop. The closer I get to him, the more nervous Luan gets. It’s kind of adorable, but I don’t think he’s nervous about being so close to me. “You’re freaking out because of the key, aren’t you?”
“No,” he lies, his nervous and awkward chuckle being the only giveaway that he, in fact, is freaking out because of it. “Yes. Kind of.”
“It’s just a key.” It was just in case anyway. I didn’t think he’d ever show up here for the first time unannounced, especially without knowing my direct address. I did, however, know if he ever showed up after knowing where I lived, he wouldn’t tell me beforehand, and since the odds are higher for menotbeing at home, he would’ve had to wait for god knows how long before he was granted access to my apartment. The only logical thing to do was ask the front desk to give him a key should he show up. “I do want you to keep it though.”
Luan shakes his head immediately. “Why? I live across the country, Grey Davis. It’s not like I ever think ‘Oh, might just give my dear old friend a visit’ all of a sudden. Well, I do think that a lot, but I can’t so…”
“Dear old friend?” I repeat, a slight tremor in my voice.
“Am I supposed to think I’m more than that to you?”
That little shit. I walk around the island, and he turns on his chair to follow my every move, which is good because as soon as I round the island, I stand myself right between his knees and lift his face up for his eyes to lock with mine. “You know you’re more than that.”
Luan lays his hands on my hips, pulling me that tiny bit closer. “Like a really good friend, huh?” He smirks, fisting my, or rather his, shirt in his hands.
“Or like a—”
“UNCLE GREY!”
My head snaps toward my front door, waiting for Brooke to manage sticking the key into the keyhole. Ever since she learned how to do it, she insists on opening doors by herself, so even when I hear her already, I’m not opening the door for her like I usually would.