Alex

I woke up Saturday morning feeling refreshed. To be quite honest, I couldn't remember the last time I stayed in on a Friday night. When my alarm went off, I almost didn't recognize my cognitive being.

Usually my alarm and I had to square up on Saturday mornings. This time, I managed to turn it off without hitting that snooze button, or completely knocking it off the side table.

A goddamn miracle if I do say so myself.

Christian hadn't responded to the text I sent him, and in comparison to how promptly he usually responded to me, I was a little worried. With everything going on, I understood that he was most likely busy... but that didn't make me miss him any less. With the Gala being tomorrow, I did my best not to bother him too much.

That didn't stop my heart from fluttering when my phone vibrated with a new message.

When I glanced down at the screen, I noticed it wasn't from Christian, but rather Derek. He had sent me a meme. If I wasn't waiting for Christian to return my text, I probably would have enjoyed the meme. Instead, I was more annoyed at the fact that it wasn't from Christian. I'm whipped, I know.

Before I could reply to Derek's text, my phone started ringing. This time, it was Joan.

"Hey beautiful." I chirped into the line.

"Well hey there handsome. Why do you sound so alive right now?" Joan asked.

"Let me tell you about this sleep I got last night." I replied. Joan chuckled through the line.

"No late night escapades?"

"I'm getting old, sweetie. Damn near threw my back out early last week. I think I'm done with the bars and the heavy drinking." I explained.

"You aren't even close to thirty, Alex, but okay. Regardless, I'm glad to hear you're working towards taking better care of yourself. I was just calling to see if you were still going to help me with baking some pies? I was going to donate them to a few shelters in the area."

I glanced over to check the date on my alarm. Sure enough, Joan was right. She had asked me to help about a month back, and I had told her I'd lend a hand today.

"Absolutely. Let me get this apartment cleaned up and situated, then I'll take a quick shower and be on my way. Do you need me to bring anything?" I asked her.

"Nahh, I got everything yesterday. Just bring your fine ass self on over, sugar." Joan replied. That brought a smile to my lips.

"You never fail to raise my self esteem." I replied gingerly.

"I try my best, love. Now go do what you need to do, and come keep me company while I do practically all the cooking myself."

"I'll help a little." I butted in.

"Absolutely not. Do you recall the fire of '14? It's a miracle I'm even letting you step foot in my kitchen."

Joan was referring to the fire I accidentally started  in my old apartment, back in 2014. Thank god Richard Tilley from Allstate had talked me into renters insurance a few months before. At the time, it felt like the most adult thing I ever did. I didn't understand what exactly renters insurance was, but that fire put everything into perspective.

"Well jeez Joan, okay. Come for my life why don't you. I'll be over there shortly."

"See you soon, my guy." She replied into the line, before she hung up.

-

It took me a few hours to clean up. I forgot about the wild ass mountain of laundry I had neglected to take care of for the past few months. My dilemma was that the location of my apartment was the farthest from the laundry room, and I didn't have a hamper with wheels. Of course, if I hadn't let it get this bad, it would have been easier to do. My bitch ass self wasn't thinking about that when I let the laundry accumulate.

By the time I managed to get back and shower, it was already well into the afternoon.

"Joan is going to beat my ass." I whispered to myself as I glanced at the time. "But at least I'm going to look presentable." I added.

And I wasn't wrong. The laundry situation was getting so bad, I was down to one pair of pants and 3 shirts. Now that I had managed to take care of that problem, all my beloved khakis were freshly washed and ready to be worn. I paired that with a nice sweater and some casual shoes. I even went so far as to lightly gel my hair back.

Why was I doing all this just to bake pies with Joan?

Well upon catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror after cleaning, and scaring myself shitless, I decided to put in a little work on my appearance.

Now we were here, running slightly late as I tried to pour tea into one of my thermos's while brushing my teeth.

When I did finally get the tea together, and finished brushing my teeth, the time was going on to three thirty. "Alrighty." I sighed to myself, before slipping on those casual shoes and making my way out the door. As soon as I did open the door, I was met with a pair of familiar striking blue eyes.

"Christian." I spoke, surprised.

"Hey." He gave me a small smile. "I was going to call but I thought I might just stop by instead. I wanted to see if you wanted to go catch a bite to eat."

"Oh." I replied. The word yes almost left my lips, but I stopped myself short. "I'm actually on my way to Joan's place. We're making pies."

"Oh perfect. I'll drive."

-

Christian zipped through Saturday traffic like I was his pregnant wife about to give birth.

"Christian, a yellow light means to slow down."

"Mmm, I think it's one of those things that has many different interpretations." He replied.

"No, Christian. A yellow light is not a religion. It has one interpretation: slow down." I shot back at him. He just gave me one of his signature smirks and a wink. Before I could press the importance of safe driving, Christians phone started ringing. He ended up picking it up with his car Bluetooth.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Hey, it's Brad." Brad replied through the car speakers.

"What's up?" Christian asked.

"Just calling to see what you were doing. With the Gala tomorrow, I'm thinking we should run over all the last minute things."

"Oh. I'm heading over to Joan's with Alex. We're going to make pies." Christian explained.

"You're seriously going to make pies at a time like this? With the Gala literally tomorrow? Wait- did you say you're going to Joan's?"

"Uh yeah, she lives pretty close. I'm almost there."

Joan didn't live pretty close, Christian was just driving like a maniac.

"Send me the address."

"You want to make pies too? That doesn't seem like you. Plus, you weren't invited."

"Christian, you weren't invited either." I reminded this piece of work. He shushed me.

"No, we need to discuss last minute things. I'm coming over for work." Brad replied.

"If that's what you want to tell yourself, okay buddy." Christian said with a grin.

"Shut it. Just send me the address." Brad replied, before he hung up.

Great, I thought to myself. I guess the whole gang was pulling up to Joan's. I pulled out my phone and shot Joan a quick text.

Hey so I guess Christian will be tagging along. Is that okay?

A text came through not even a minute later.

Yeah, sure. The more help, the better... especially considering you'll be useless in that kitchen. Derek just got here.

I sent her a text back.

Well damn okay, rude. We'll be there in a few minutes. Oh, and Brad is on his way too.

She replied seconds later.

You should have lead with that, you twat. Now I gotta take this bonnet off my damn head, and put on make up. You bitch. See you soon. Doors unlocked.

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