Page 43 of The One Where They Fall in Love

By the time most of the water has been excavated, it’s almost 9 p.m., and I’m exhausted. All I want to do is cry, but I refuse to do that in front of Oliver, who’s hovering outside the door to my very soggy apartment.

“Why don’t you grab some stuff and meet me upstairs?” Oliver finally says, the towel he originally came down here with slung over his shoulder. I lean against the wall and stare at him in confusion.

“For what?”

“So you can stay at my place tonight,” he says, like that is not a totally absurd suggestion.

“Don’t joke with me right now,” I say, defeated.

“It’s not a joke. You can’t sleep in here. You know the amount of mold that is currently growing on your baseboards? Not to mention the—othergrossnessthat is here already,” he says, cringing. I’m honestly not sure if he’s telling me I can’t sleep here because of my safety or because it simply grosses him out too much. The germs finally caught up to him now that the water is gone and he can see all the dirt lining my floors.

I look around my apartment. There is a layer of blackmuck on every inch of the floor. Even though Mikey got the water out, the remnants of the city sidewalk are strewn everywhere. Leaves, cigarette butts, and justgunk. Black gunk. Onmyfloors.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Oliver says, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I’m not actively crying, but I must look like I’m on the verge of tears. I slump against the wall even more. “This will get cleaned up and everything will be fine, right Mikey?” he calls out into the hallway, where Mikey is still fiddling with his tools.

“Give me a few days to answer that,” Mikey says back.

“A fewdays?” I snap, my mouth agape.

“I have to check the appliances, check for mold, make sure the floors will survive—”

“Stop, I can’t hear anymore,” I say, holding my hand up. I let my head fall into my hands and fold over against the wall. I feel Oliver wrap his arms around me and pull me into his chest. I’m so caught off guard, I let him do it. And then I melt into him.

We’re both still in our wet clothes from our respective outings in the rain. Our skin is sticky, but Oliver smells like oregano and minty cologne andhim. I let him hold me, because it’s been so long since anyone has, and I don’t care how much I enjoy it. I don’t remember the reasons why I shouldn’t be getting so close to him, and I just let myselfbe.

“It’s just some walls and floors,” he says, rubbing his hands on my back. “Those things can be fixed.”

“But they’remine,” I say, pulling away from him to look at the destruction again. “Mine,” I whisper. Oliver nods.

I only take a few minutes to gather some clothes for work, my toiletries, and my electronics. Oliver says I should comeback for some more clothes tomorrow, so they don’t get musty. I ignore him, pretending like I’m not going to stay at his place for more than one night. Because this isnothappening.

“I’m sleeping on the couch. I don’t want to hear anything else out of your mouth about it,” I say sternly when I wobble into his apartment with my bags. I look like a college student on move-in day. I only have one small overnight suitcase, so I stuffed everything else into my reusable grocery bags. I throw them all on the couch and see Oliver open his mouth to speak.

“No! I don’t want to hear a peep!” I say, pointing at him. His eyes widen and he raises his hands, like he’s really not sure what he’s done wrong. But I’m not in the mood to explain.

“Okay, I’m going to take a shower then,” he says, backing away from me slowly. He pulls his shirt off as he walks towards the bathroom and I’m sure my mouth drops. I can only see the back of him, butGood Lord, it’s a nice back. His shoulders are defined by taut muscles, two of which line his spine and travel downwards. I have to shake myself to stop staring, and I’m grateful that Oliver didn’t catch me openly ogling him. I plop down on the couch and Thor hops up beside me, putting his two front paws on my lap, so half of his body is curled on top of me. I don’t see how that’s comfortable, but I let him do it. He must be able to tell I need comforting right now. I pull out my phone and text Lucy.

Elle

BURT

BURT!!

BURT!!!!

Lucy

Are you okay? This is Lucy. An almost asleep Lucy, I might add

Lucy

Since when do you know someone named Burt? Like and Ernie?

Lucy

OH! Our code word for danger!

Elle