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 Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2023 7:51 pm
The reassurance let a bit of the stress lighten from his shoulders. He managed another small smile and nodded. “Well, you and Harrison are very hospitable. Your apartment feels warmer than mine.”
It wasn’t just the temperature, it was something about how much Casey had already put into it. Or maybe it was just how much he and Harrison seemed to be alike–both friendly and eager to make him feel comfortable and welcome.
“But, I mean. If you’re offering,” Ariel shrugged. “...This was the best mistake I’ve made in a long time. Next time, I’ll try to…”
Well, he didn’t have his phone number. He could ask but…
He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a few seconds. “Maybe I could text or something, we could plan things out a little better.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2023 8:36 pm
Casey stared at Ariel for a few moments, before smiling and nodded.
“I would like that. Although you’re welcome over any time,” he promised with a laugh.
It had been a while since he gave his phone number out to anyone not related to work, but he wasn’t going to say no to getting a text every so often from Ariel.
“Oh, and if I’m too loud, you can text me too. Sometimes I play music on my phone and I’m always worried that it’s too loud. Or my singing… or Harrison barking,” he added, but dug his phone out of his pocket so he could open up his contacts and pass it to Ariel to enter his information.
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2023 9:43 pm
Ariel let out something that almost sounded like an exasperated huff–not because he thought he wasn’t welcome or that Caesy was teasing, but just because he had to remind himself that he wasn’t supposed to be making friends–especially not someone so close to him. Despite his best efforts, it only sounded like he was trying not to laugh.
He accepted the phone with both hands–after instinctively wiping them off on his pants to make sure they were clean–and began to type in his information. Just his first name, just his phone number. His fingers hesitated as he wrestled with the idea that he was doing this, that he’d offered.
Realistically, he should have been mindful enough to keep his distance. Was it worth it to stop being so careful–for spaghetti?
His eyes raised to Casey’s face for a split second.
No, it was more than that. Maybe that made it worse.
“Text me so I have your number,” he said as he passed the phone back.
“I don’t mind your music.” He’d heard it, sometimes. Not loud enough to be distracting–not even loud enough to make out the words. Harrison’s barking seemed like it was scarce and infrequent–or maybe he just spent most of his time away when she was being rowdy. He wasn’t sure if he’d heard Casey singing before, but he was thinking now he might like to listen for it. “I like knowing I’m not the only one around.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 6:23 am
This was fine. This was the normal thing neighbors did. He just hadn’t had any neighbors before that were willing to share numbers. But this was good! Casey was going to try very hard not to text Ariel too often. He didn’t want to get his number blocked. That would be super awkward since they live right next to each other.
“You don’t?” he couldn’t help but grin this time when Ariel said he didn’t mind his music. Well, that didn’t mean he liked his music, just that he didn’t mind it. But knowing he wasn’t the only one around was understandable. He would just have to play his music more often but also not obnoxiously.
“Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Here, I’m texting now. Thank you, Ariel,” he smiled.
He would definitely have to figure out what to make for dinner tomorrow night so he could accidentally make too much again.
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