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Alex pushed the wisps of hair that had fallen into her face and reached down to pull her key from underneath her front mat. She pushed open the door and reached for the water bottle that she had stashed on the bookcase nearest the front entrance. She unscrewed the cap, taking a long gulp. She pulled the earbuds from her ear and removed her phone from its encasement on her arm. She bent over, stretching out her tired muscles. She stood up, arching her back, almost hearing her muscles groan. She kicked off her shoes and padded down the hall towards her bathroom. She stripped out of her sweaty running clothes and flipped on the shower. The room started to steam up with the running hot water and she pushed the curtain back, climbing in under the hot stream. She allowed the heat to loosen up limbs and rolled her neck in circles, trying to ease the tension in her shoulders. She sighed as her body started to react and calm.
After washing up, she climbed out and pulled on her comfy pajamas. She moved back to the front of her apartment, into her kitchen. Opening the fridge, she grabbed the closest container of chocolate milk and twisted off the small cap. She crossed the small space and flopped down onto her cushy couch. She grabbed the remote and flipped the television on. She needed a distraction and she could run only so many miles. TV was a great second choice as long as she avoided certain shows. She stopped on an episode of Scorpion and stretched out, placing her head in the crook of her arm.
She glanced over at her phone. The screen was dark but she reached out and pushed the small home button, causing the screen to glow. No missed calls. No unread texts. She sighed and allowed the screen to darken again. It had been several days since she had heard from Matthew. He had texted her once, asking her again not to take off, that he just needed some more time. She had only replied with an okay and had let the communication stop. She wanted, badly, to talk to him but knew that if she pushed, or made a step in the wrong direction, she could possibly sabotage what little had been rebuilt. She wasn’t sure what he had to do, but she had a sinking suspicion that it had to do with a woman.
Her stomach twisted into a knot at the thought of Matthew and another. The tingle of the simple kiss before he left, still lingered. She wanted to feel his lips against hers again. She wanted to feel his arms around her again. She wanted to have him in her life again. She was trying very hard to be patient with him, she owed him that much, but she was not enjoying the glaring silence. Her eyelids were heavy and she closed them, listening to the murmurings that emanated from the speakers.
A pair of hands covered her eyes. She giggled and tried to turn around.
“No! I don’t want you to peak.” Matthew’s voice sounded from behind her.
“What are you doing?” She leaned back into him, feeling his strong body against her back.
“Hold on. Here, move forward.” He pushed her gently, forcing her feet to propel herself.
They walked together, him still behind, his hands still covering her eyes. She felt him nudge her on the right, causing her to turn towards her left. She knew that they had entered her bedroom. He pulled back on his hands, signaling her to stop. She stood erect, her body no longer touching his. He removed his hands and her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Her bedroom was covered in candles. The bed adorned with rose petals. In the center of her bed was a large wrapped package, complete with giant red bow.
She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, “So this is what you’ve been doing in here for the last hour. What is all of this?”
“Happy anniversary sweetheart,” He leaned down and gently kissed her. “Go and open your gift.”
“It isn’t our anniversary Matthew.” She placed her hand on his cheek before turning around and approaching the edge of the bed. She reached forward and grabbed the gift, pulling it towards her. She smiled as she pulled the bow off and shook her head slightly as she torn the paper from the box.
“It is our anniversary. It’s the anniversary of when we first met, the first time I laid eyes on you.” Matthew’s grin was cheesy, matching his sentiment.
“Wow, that wasn’t corny or anything. You actually remember the first time you met me?” Alex pulled the flaps of the box apart and stared at the contents. She laughed, pulling out a handmade stuffed monster. “I love it Matthew!” She squealed and jumped at him, her arms tightening around his waist, pulling him towards her and capturing his lips with hers.
He pulled away from her, “Is it just like you wanted?”
She looked over at the monster lying on the bed, “It’s perfect. You really do know how to woo a girl Gubler.” She giggled again as this time his mouth captured hers, his body moving them backwards. The back of her knees hit the bed and she fell, pulling him down with her.
A loud ringing pulled Alex from her dreamland state and it took her several moments to determine that the noise was coming from her phone. She reached over for it and glanced at the screen before swiping to answer.
“Hey mom,” Alex pressed the phone to her ear, rolling over onto her back and preparing for the long distraction she had in store. As she turned her head to stare at the ceiling, a stuffed monster, sitting in the corner of the room, caught her eye. She smiled, the dream and memory bringing a warm feeling flooding through her.
~~~
Two more days passed and still there was no word from Matthew. Alex was seriously starting to worry that he wasn’t going to get back to her. She had been plagued by memories every time she closed her eyes. She had flashbacks every time she had moments of peace. All of this waiting was harder than the original breakup. She lugged the last of the groceries bags into the trunk of her car and pushed the cart past several cars to the return spot. She pulled her phone from her purse and glanced at it quickly. A text from Paget asking her how she was holding up but no, she hadn’t heard from Matthew either. A second text from her simply stated that she could call if she needed someone to vent to. Alex shot off a quick text telling her thanks and that she would probably be taking her up on that offer.
Alex opened up her car door and climbed in behind the wheel. It was still early in the day and maybe, after dropping off her food, she’d head out to the beach. Soaking up some sun and a quick dip in the ocean might help clear her head. She drove home quickly and did just that. After putting her groceries away she grabbed her beach bag and donned her suit. She threw a beach chair, towel and a large hat into her car and drove across LA towards Newport Beach.
Leaning back and letting the sun hit her face as she dug her toes into the warm sand felt like heaven. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, letting the sounds of the waves and the shouts of people wash the stress of the situation away.
“Will you hurry up?” Alex tapped her foot against the sidewalk. “We’ll miss the sunset if you doddle any longer.”
“Doddle? Did you actually just use that word?” Matthew’s head popped out from around the trunk, pulling out two chairs and handing her a large basket. “How old are you again?”
“Oh ha ha ha, shut up and come on.” Alex grabbed the basket and the towels and started towards the stairs that lead down the pristine beach. “You make stuffed animals, so mocking my lack of maturity doesn’t bode well with you.” She grinned back at him, sticking her tongue out, before bounding down the concrete steps.
A few beach stragglers remained but for the most part, the beach was theirs. The found a small cove tucked away between some rocks, just a few paces down. Matthew spread out the towels and set up the chairs as Alex pulled the food and drinks from the basket. She placed sandwiches on plates, than handed the champagne bottle to him. The cork popped and Alex handed him two glasses. He poured the bubbling liquid, taking the sandwich she held out to him. They ate in comfortable silence, marveling at the array of colors that painted the sky. The sun slowly touched the ocean as it met the horizon and Alex scooted her chair closer to him. She reached over and took his hand, pulling it into her lap. Her head lolled to the side, finding a place to rest on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and rested his cheek against her hair.
“This is perfect.” Alex sighed in contentment. She loved the man sitting next to her. For over a year they had been together, a year full of surprises and happy memories, such as the one they were creating now.
The sun sank lower and the sky glowed with oranges and yellows and reds. She wanted to take a picture but knew that her camera wouldn’t capture the magnificent hues that stretched out across the atmosphere.
“I want you to move in with me.”
Alex lifted up her head, turning in her chair so she could face him, “Really?”
He nodded his head, “I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and I think that it’s the right move. I’d really like it if you said yes.” He pulled a small box from his pocket and placed it into her lap.
She looked down at the box. She picked it up and pulled the lid off. A shiny new key glimmered in the dimming light. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek. “Matthew, I’d love to move in with you.”
He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him. At this moment, she couldn’t be happier. The man of her dreams and the relationship moving in the right direction, she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.
~~
“Will you just come out with us tonight Alex, please?” Paget pleaded over the phone.
“I have an early morning meeting, I’m not sure that it’s such a great idea.” Alex glanced down at her pj clad legs. “Besides, I’m already dressed for bed.”
“Alexandria Norwood, get your ass dressed and be ready in 30 minutes or else I’m going to come over and dress you myself.” Paget’s voice grew stern.
Alex had to suppress the laugh that threatened to escape from her lip. “Fine, fine, I will be dressed and ready in half an hour.”
“Good and be prepared to drink, a lot, and you might want to think about cancelling that meeting of yours.” Paget giggled as laughter in the background could be heard.
Alex hung up the phone and proceeded down the hall to her bedroom. She popped into the bathroom and flipped on her flatiron before moving to her closest. She rummaged around, trying to find her skinny jeans and the blue tank top she had bought recently.
Alex had pulled out all of the stops for this party. She’d made sure that his friends from Vegas were present. She’d even talked Brandon Flowers into having The Killers supply the music. When she had found out he’d never had a surprise birthday party thrown for him, he knew that this is exactly what she needed to do. She had put Paget in charge of planning the whole thing and her one simple job was to keep him occupied while everything was set up for the day.
Tired, yet happy, they left the Magic Kingdom as the sun was beginning to set. Matthew kept glancing over at her and she finally stopped and turned to look at him. “What?”
“Why are we leaving so early? We’re going to be missing the fireworks and you know how much I love the fireworks.”
Alex rolled her eyes, “Because, we have dinner reservations at your favorite place and unfortunately that isn’t in the park. Now, are you going to argue with me, or are you going to just let me continue to spoil you for your birthday?”
“Oh fine,” He grabbed her hand and allowed her to lead him back to the car.
She drove them across LA, heading for downtown. Thankfully, his favorite eatery was near the space that Paget had procured for the party. Alex pulled into a spot down the street from both businesses and tried to keep her face straight.
Once in front of the building that housed the many party goers, Alex stopped and bent down, pretending to tie her shoe. As she did that, the door near her body, thrust open and Kirstin Vangsness came stumbling out.
“Matthew,” She slurred her words, her acting skills spot on. “What are you doing here? Come on, you’re missing out on this great party.” She grabbed his hand and yanked him through the door before he could protest.
Alex, smile plastered on her face, stood up and followed them into the darkened building.
As the three of them passed through the heavy curtains, the lights came on and the crowd shouted ‘surprises’ and ‘happy birthdays’ at him. Alex couldn’t help but notice the shock turned to sheer joy expressions that crossed his face. He turned to look at her and she did a little bow. He was swept up into the crowd and Alex stood at the top of the stairs, pride and pure love overwhelming her senses.
Paget slide up next to her, “You did a good thing.”
Alex slipped her arm around her friend’s waist. “We both did a good thing here. Did you see how happy he looked?”
Paget nodded and bounded down the stairs to join the throng.
Alex’s heart was about to burst but when Matthew turned to look for her, signaling to come down and join him, a wide smile donned her face.
Jumping up and down, pulling her jeans up past her hips, she pulled the edges together, zipped and buttoned them up. The tank top was pulled down over her head and she pulled the end down over her ass. She stepped backwards into her bathroom, turning sideways to examine her slight figure. She pulled a large chunk of her hair up, picking up the flatiron. She grabbed a section of hair and was about to clamp it with the hot tool with her doorbell echoed inside her apartment.
Alex set the hair appliance down and skipped towards the front door. Paget was early, but this wasn’t unusual for her.
“You know, when you say 30 minutes, I kind of expect you to take 30 minutes to get here.” Alex pulled open the door, her heart stopping immediately.
Matthew stood on the other side, his hair a mess, the purple under his eyes more prominent than normal and his clothes seemed to hang on him. But his eyes were bright and they shone in the light emanating from her living room lamp. “I’m sorry that I’m late. I should have been here several days ago.”