Chapter Three

Chapter Three

I walked in and instantly felt that familiar feeling of loneliness. I lived by myself and my parents and well... My whole family were back in the midlands. I had moved down to the South-East for a job last year. I did enjoy what I do and how I lived, but at the same time... It WAS lonely. Being so far away from everyone who loved you...

I locked my door behind me, it was just an automatic reaction and threw my keys into the bowl by the door. I put my bag of shopping next to it and walked through my flat to my front room. Sitting down on the sofa, I pulled my new unicorn out of the little build a bear box and looked at it. The fake smell of sweet bubblegum wafted up and I smiled again.

This really was a cute gift.

I pulled my phone out and took a picture of me cuddling it. I sent it to Andy and thanked him again. I knew he would still be driving home, He had a point, the rush hour traffic back into the city would be a nightmare and he most likely wouldn't be back for a while.

I wasn't worried though. He seemed to enjoy my company and the date as much as I did, and the fact we have a second date planned for tomorrow also speaks volumes... doesn't it?

Put my new favourite teddy down safely on the sofa, I got up and headed into the kitchen, flipping the kettle on. I wasn't hungry, I was still semi-full from my Wetherspoons burger, but I was craving a cup of coffee.

I leaned against the counter and found myself logging back onto my OkCupid account to have another look at Andy's profile. Admittedly, he did only have three photos up, but in all of them, he was a lot younger looking, and a lot skinnier.

I should have known really... He was in his mid 40's but looked no older than about 42 in his pictures... not that it bothered me. He seemed like a really nice, interesting guy.

When the kettle clicked, telling me that it had boiled, I put my phone down and made myself a drink before taking it into the front room. I turned the tv on, but only to listen to music and just settled down, relaxing. I was pretty tired, I had been up early this morning to make myself look ''first date'' presentable

**

I stirred awake and rubbed my eyes. I had fallen asleep, but the fact my coffee was still full and now stone cold told me that I had clearly been asleep for a little while. Weird I didn't even remember drifting off.

I sat up and stretched out, letting out a long yawn before grabbing my mug and taking it back to the kitchen to make a fresh one. I noticed when I put my mug on the side that my phone was flashing, telling me that I had a new message. I checked and saw it was off Andy.

Excitement filled me as I opened it, but as soon as I read what he said, my excitement disappeared;

Andy: Hey, I had a nice time today, but I'm going to have to cancel tomorrow, something's come up, Sorry.

How good of a time did he have if he's suddenly cancelling? There was no explanation, just that... ''Something came up''. Sure it did. I sighed and sent a quick, blunt reply.

Me: Ok.

Not even a minute passed and he replied;

Andy: I really am sorry. I've been asked to cover a shift at work, We're really swamped and there are a few guys off sick.

I just rolled my eyes, debating whether I should even reply or not. I wasn't being childish, yes, I was gutted, but cancelling so soon after just sort of... knocked my confidence with if there was a future or if it was just... Talk...

Me: Ok.

Again, almost instantly, i got a reply;

Andy: Is something wrong??

I wanted to say ''yes!'' or at least have the courage to say what was on my mind but... I couldn't bring myself to. I wasn't good with confrontation... but I wanted him to know how I felt! I decided to not reply...

The heat had gotten to me a little while I was asleep, so I felt gross and sticky. Not bothering to make myself another drink just yet, I headed to the bathroom to have a nice, cold, quick shower.

My ''quick'' shower turned into a 30 minute long one and when I got out, I was pretty much ready for bed. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around myself as I headed into my room. My flat was up on a high floor and no buildings around the block came this high up, which was good because it meant I had privacy.

I went and opened my bedroom windows to let in the cool night breeze before dumping my towel on the floor and walking nude over to my draws to find some thin shorts and a top for bed. It was hot and even with the windows open, it was probably going to be an awful night.

Before I got into bed, I headed back into the front room to grab my new build a bear unicorn and my phone off the kitchen counter, which was once again flashing, letting me know I had an unread text. I didn't bother to view it, Instead, I placed my phone screen-side down on the bedside table, climbed into bed and snuggled down.

I was back to sleep in seconds, letting my dreams take over...