e i g h t e e n
" i put a fiver on him trying to kiss you "
-

-

The vase of sweet peas on her window were delicate and yet packed with a wonderful punch of scent. They were sweet, just as their name promised, and yet they were brighter than any other flower in their little garden. Her mother prided in growing these, rarely cutting them. So, waking up to their smell set her day up to be simply beautiful.

And the bird were singing, they had no worried or troubles. They were free to sing and fly as they pleased. A simple life, a pleasant life. One many envied in the works of literature and song. One many wished for, although some did not mean it.

Adela didn't mean it.

As she lay there that morning, Alice lying next to her scrolling through her phone, sipping tea, the silence allowed her to think clearly.

Although she knew she wouldn't ever be completely over Simon, she was getting close to it. With the business of her life (new home, new job interview and a time and place for her and Lewis to finally meet up set), she hadn't properly thought about Simon in days.

She even felt giddy to be meeting Lewis later that day.

"Does it make me a bad person to be actually... excited to be meeting him today?" Adela asked, rolling onto her front to look at Alice as they spoke, feeling it only polite.

"Why would it make you a bad person? You're going to join him on one of his walks, not going to fuck in the local park, Ads," Alice replied without missing a beat, although the smirk did take a while to drift across her mouth as if it were being held back.

"But you know what I mean?" Adela bit her lip.

Alice sighed and locked her phone, dropping it onto her lap. "You're overthinking this. If you and Simon were going to get back together, it would've happened by now. Besides, he's probably done a lot worse than go on a dog walk."

"Thing is, I know you're right, but I can't help but wonder what if he's just waiting for me to call."

"Stop thinking about him. Think about the handsome dog walker waiting for you instead, ok? Just enjoy yourself and think about what it all means later." Alice lifted her phone up as it vibrated twice, smiling to herself.

"Let me guess, you've got a date tonight?" Adela said, rolling her eyes as she sat up.

"How did you guess?"

"Nothing else makes you smile like that."

And it was true. Of course, Adela made her friend smile, but not like he did. It was a different kind of smile. A smile of a girl in love. Content and brimming with excitement for their future together.

Adela used to smile like that.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" Alice said. Adela nodded, regretfully. "For goodness sake, Ads, you need to stop. Honestly and truthfully I can tell you that he never made you smile like a girl on top of the world in the last few months."

"Can we just not talk about this anymore? It's not good."

"Alright, fine." Alice turned her phone over in her hands, typing out a quick message before chucking her phone onto the bed beside her. "Right, let's get you ready for your date."

"It's not a date," She grumbled, but bit her lip to hide her smile, looking down at her fingers. She picked at the red varnish on them. "We're not even friends at this point. This is us getting to know each other."

"Whatever, but I put a fiver on him trying to kiss you."

-

-

Adela knew the park was only a ten minute walk from her house, but with every step she wished it were further away. The sun was blaring on her back, blessing her with a beautiful day for a not-date.

She didn't think she was late, but he was already standing there with the same old greyhound sat at his feet. Absentmindedly, he stroked the dog's head as he looked around the park, presumably for her.

When she'd finally pulled herself together and called him, she'd never felt so nervous. While there was no romantic feelings there, she couldn't help but compare the butterflies in her tummy to those that had flown the first time Simon Minter asked her out.

She cursed herself for thinking about him again. The hold he hand over her needed to be broken and, while it was beginning to wear thin, it just wouldn't snap, no matter how much pressure she put on the rope. Weathered and splitting, it wouldn't take long now.

Of course, he'd been lovely on the phone. As charming and as friendly as ever, but had she expected anything less from him?

She couldn't ignore the excitement in his voice when she'd finally agreed to meet him, immediately he asked if she wanted to come along on his walk with him, even though she couldn't get paid for it too. Adela laughed and told him she'd love to. Lewis said he would have loved to stay and chat but that he really had to go because he was running late. Instantly, she felt awful for taking up his time and told him to get going.

And there he stood.

Black jeans, grey shirt and a smile on his face as he saw her. He stood straighter as she approached him.

"Hi," She said, rather awkwardly, which she cursed herself for.

"Hey," He replied. "It's good to finally meet you without having to run into you on the street," He joked and Adela laughed.

"Yeah, it's good to have a smile on my face this time." She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her raincoat. "I'm sorry about unloading all my worries onto you that day, by the way."

"You don't need to be sorry about something you can't help," He told her, offering a comforting smile. "We should get walking, by the way, Herbert doesn't like standing around."

"Oh, sure." Adela thought it was sweet that he walked dogs for money, but couldn't imagine it was his only job. Partially for the fact he knew more about her than she did about him and also because she was curious, she asked, "Is this your only job?"

When he looked over to her, more down than across, she quickly added to her question. "Not that it's a bad job or anything, but I was just wondering because I've never heard you talk about anything different." She laughed nervously, hoping he didn't think she was snubbing his choices.

"No, to answer your question, this is more of a side job. Plus it's something that gets me out the house," Lewis replied, and then laughed, shaking his head. The brunette beside him frowned.

"Why're you laughing?" She dared to ask, trusting his friendliness wasn't an act.

"Because you're too worried about offending people. Relax. There's little you could ever say to offend me," Lewis said, nudging her. "Besides, isn't this walk us taking time to get to know each other?"

"I suppose," Adela admit, wishing she could dig her hands further into her pockets. "But you know a lot about me already." Telling herself to bite the bullet and to go all or nothing, she was determined to ask any question that came to mind. "So, what's your main job then?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, his dark eyes flickering around her face between her wonderful smile and glittering look, hidden behind her glasses. She begged herself not to blush under this analysis, but any other girl like her would've adored it.

"I actually co-own a clothing company," He said, not looking away from her. Maybe he wanted to gage her response, or maybe he was hoping for something else.

"Really?" The words tumbled out of her mouth in surprise before she could stuff them back down. "I never would've guessed."

"It was always something Josh and I used to talk about when we were kids, so we just thought 'fuck it' and went for it." He glanced down at the steady hound before looking back to her.

Adela had to admit he was interesting. Very interesting. God, she could probably sit and listen to him talk all day. Even the way he spoke she liked.

They did almost three laps of the park just talking to one another. She found out that he lived with Josh and that they went out a lot partying, but lately he'd tried not to go in an attempt to get healthier. She told him that she was working on finalising her move into the apartment she'd been to see a short while ago and had a job interview lined up for next week.

It felt like he was genuinely interested in what she had to say, not jut listening because he had to.

She would've done another round of the park with him if the heavens didn't open at that moment, throwing buckets of water down at them.

Adela held her hands out, letting the raindrops pound onto her palms. It hadn't rained like that in days. For a moment, they stood there in the downpour just sinking it in, letting it run down their faces.

"Let's get out of this," He finally said. Her heart leapt into her throat when Lewis grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her along, both of them running to his car. He let go of her to unlock it, telling her to get in while he helped Herbert into the back.

She settled into the passenger seat, listening to the rain pattering on the roof. It was a small car, but comfortable and had all the essentials.

When the door opened beside her and Lewis stepped in, his hair sticking to his forehead and his clothes soaked through, she was glad he had her coat and glad he didn't. Without even thinking, she looked him right over, taking full advantage of the clothes clinging and the beads of water on his sharp features.

"I don't know if you just want me to drop you home or if you want to go and get a drink or something because I feel like we weren't anywhere near done getting to know each other," Lewis wondered, dragging a hand through his hair, pushing it from his face.

Adela bit her lip and nodded. "I'd love to go for a drink."

"Great, yeah, ok," He stuttered out, a smile bursting across his face as if he didn't expect her to want to stay. "I actually know the perfect place. It's where Josh and I usually go to brainstorm ideas."

And they didn't stop talking until they got to the café, but she didn't mind that her throat was beginning to hurt and her tongue was dry because she was completely and utterly intrigued by Lewis Redman.

-

1847 words
was gonna include a simon part but i'll leave that for chapter 19