Sitting up from the couch, I grab my suitcase and look around the room. I lived in a small apartment and despite being here for almost two years now, it still doesn’t feel like home. The walls are still the original white that was here when I moved in and lack any sort of art or pictures. I have very little furniture, my sofa with its throw pillows and blankets are the only part of the room that betrays that someone lives here. The open concept reveals the tiny kitchen as well and it is no better. In fact, I could count on my hands the number of times that I’ve even cooked there. 

As I walk into my hallway, I pass my tiny bathroom and cringe at how cold and lifeless my apartment looks. Considering how often I travel, my apartment has become a stopping point before going to my next destination rather than a home. Reaching my small washer and dryer, I sort through my suitcase, grabbing all of my dirty clothes and placing them into the washing machine. After getting it started, I head into my bedroom to begin repacking my suitcase with fresh clothes. 

Entering the bedroom, I immediately go directly to the closet. Knowing that I needed to bring warmer clothes, I made sure to grab a coat and gloves and pack them so that I didn’t forget them. I take my time sorting through my clothes and grab some of my staple items as well as a few fun outfits. Within an hour, I had finished packing once again and the clothes in the washer were ready to be put into the dryer. 

Walking back into my room, I lay down on my bed to rest for a bit. This last month has been especially busy and I deserved a bit of a break. The last trip I had taken had been for work and I spent the entire two weeks in meetings or doing research for new products. Although a good portion of my job can be done online, my job as a research and development head means that I am required to be at a lot of meetings. The new product launch we have been working on means that I have had to work overtime to look over and refine our presentations as well as conduct research on our new products and similar ones offered by other companies. Fortunately, I was able to use my vacation days and I planned to take this week off so that I could enjoy Christmas and hopefully get to know Cade better. 

Knock, Knock, Knock… The sound of knocking interrupts my thoughts as I get up from bed to see who is at the door. I hadn’t been expecting anyone so I walked to the door cautiously. To my surprise, I can see my neighbor Kai standing outside. We hadn’t interacted much since I was rarely home and worked long hours, but he was pleasant when we talked. 

Our first meeting was quite awkward as I had embarrassed myself by literally running into him as I turned a corner. I had been making my way to my apartment and was looking at my phone and the next thing I knew, I had walked into a literal wall of muscle. Despite the fact that I ran into him, he made sure that I didn’t fall and reassured me that it wasn’t a big deal. I’d avoided him for a while after that, but seeing as how he didn’t mention it after that, I decided to at least greet him when I see him. Now, several months later, we say hello  and chat for a few minutes when we see each other. Despite the fact that we get along, I had never seen him at my door before. 

Opening the door, I look up at him and say, “Hello, did you need anything?”

He looks nervous as he answers, “Hi, I just wanted to check on you. I hadn’t seen you around recently. I thought you’d moved away.” Scratching the back of his neck, he continues, “I guess you still live here after all.

“Yes, I do,” I say, hiding a laugh at his awkwardness. 

“I’m glad to see you again, I was wondering if you’d like to hang out sometime.”

“That sounds fun, but I am heading out for a flight tomorrow. If you’re free tonight, I haven’t had dinner yet, maybe we can grab something.” 

As a hopeful look crosses his face, he says, “That sounds great, do you have anything in mind?”

“Nope, anything is good. Just let me grab my purse and I’ll be right out.” I say as I turn back inside to grab my things. 

Heading back outside, I could see that he had also grabbed a jacket and he was leaning against the wall next to his apartment door. “Are you ready?” he asks as I lock my door and turn to look at him.

“Yes, let’s go. I’m hungry.”

Walking down the street, we look at various restaurants and decide on one of my favorite local family restaurants. Going in, the servers immediately recognize me and greet me warmly before leading the two of us to a table.

“I take it that you want your usual,” Maisie says as she looks at me. At my nod, she scribbles down my order on her notepad before turning to Kai and asking, “What can I get for you today?”

“I’ll try whatever she’s having,” he says.

“Okay, I'll be out with your drinks soon.” With a smile and a mischievous look in her eye Maisie heads to the kitchen with our orders.

As I look over at Kai, I find him to already be staring at me. Pulling out my phone to look at my face in the camera, I ask, “Do I have something on my face?”

Chuckling and shaking his head, he answers, “No, I was just looking at the way that the light shines on your face through the window. You look-”

Before he could finish his sentence, my phone began to ring and looking at the Caller Id, I could see that it was Cade. Despite my frustration at him earlier, I couldn’t help but say, “I’ve got to take this.” As I walk outside, I answer the call and hear Cade’s voice immediately. 

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I just wanted to check that you are eating dinner today.” Cade says with concern in his voice. 

I had forgotten that I told him about not having time to even eat during my business trips. The fact that he cared enough to call even though we hadn’t ended our call on the best terms earlier was endearing to me. Answering him honestly, I reply, “I’m actually out with my neighbor Kai now. He came to check on me since I hadn’t been home recently and the two of us decided to visit a local restaurant.”

“I’m sorry I interrupted your dinner, I’ll let you get back to it then. Could you just send me a text later letting me know that you got home safe?”

I couldn’t help the smile that filled my face as I said, “Of course, I might call you if you’re still awake.”

“That sounds even better, I’ll be sure to stay up then. Enjoy your dinner, I’ll talk to you later”

“I’ll talk to you later,” I reply as I hang up.

Returning back to the table, I can see that our food and drinks had been brought out while I was outside and I was surprised to see that he had been waiting for me before he touched his food. Laughing, I say, “You could’ve started eating without me.”

“No, I couldn’t. That’s just rude.” Kai responds. 

Pulling out my phone once again, I snap a quick picture to send to Kade before I begin to dig in. As we eat, we talk about light topics such as how good the food tastes and talk about the weather. Before long, we had finished eating and walked back to our apartment.

As we neared our floor, I could see that he wanted to say something but was hesitating. “What is it?” I decided to ask him point blank. 

“I was wondering if you’d consider going out on an actual date with me.” As I looked at him, I could see that he was nervously tapping his fingers and his posture looked uncomfortable. 

Realizing that he was interested in me, I immediately realized that I needed to make things clear to him. “Although you are a great guy, I already have someone that I am interested in. In fact, he was the one who called during dinner.”

Staring down at the floor, he says, “I’m so sorry. I just hadn’t seen your boyfriend around recently so I thought.” As his sentence trails off, he seems to withdraw into himself even more.

“I did break up with my last boyfriend, but I have already moved on and I like someone else. I’m sorry.” I answer feeling a bit uncomfortable. Trying to rationalize that he might have just happened to see my boyfriend and I around and maybe he had guessed that we had broken up, I tried to mask my increasing anxiety. As the elevator doors open, I beeline to my apartment and mumble a quick, “Goodnight.” 

As I shut and lock the door behind me, I quickly pull out my phone and call Cade. As he answers, I could hear the happiness in his voice as he says, “Hello, I didn’t expect you to call me so soon.”

“Hey,” I responded, waiting to hear more of his voice to soothe my nerves. 

“Is everything alright? You don’t sound okay. Did something happen with that guy from earlier?”

“Yes, everythings fine. He confessed his feelings and I told him that I had someone else I liked.” My voice lowers to a whisper as I quietly add, “you.” Quickly continuing, I say, “He took it pretty well, but he mentioned that he hadn’t seen my boyfriend around recently and something felt kind of off to me. It made me feel nervous and unsettled. But, I’m home now and my door is locked.”

Waiting for me to finish talking he takes a breath before saying, “First of all, I like you too. Second, do not ignore the feelings you have, I’d rather you be overly cautious than wait until something happens to you. I know I can’t be there for you physically, but does it help if I stay on the phone with you.’

“I’d like that.” I answer as I head into my room. Placing my phone on the bed, I turn it on speakerphone before grabbing some pajamas. “I’m going to get changed into pajamas and then I’ll turn the video back on.”

“Okay, take your time.” he says with a chuckle.

“I’m done.” I say as I turn the video back on. Looking at him, I can see that he is already in bed as well. “Can you just talk to me for a bit? Your voice is calming.”

“What about reading? I do have a new book.” he says as he holds a book up to the screen.

“That sounds fantastic.” I say as I settle into my bed and listen to him read to me. Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.