Mrs. Write (Gxg)

Chapter 17 - One Too Many

Alina pov

"Down there is my bedroom followed by Julia's then two guest rooms" Looking back at the woman a step behind me she only nods looking down the empty halls where a few paintings hang.

I motioned for her to go back down the stairs thinking she wasn't interested in actually seeing the rooms, instead leading her to my office that's taking a pit stop at the kitchen. Like a regular , I head to my pantry where my best collection of red white, and rose , you name it and I most likely will have that type. But for non occasions I stick with the cheap red wine that me and Sophia stock up on when we visit a few of the farmers markets.

"Do you want a glass?" I get the corkscrew out of a drawer before turning to the bottle and starting to open it looking towards the woman still situated at the doorway to the kitchen.

"Sure but only one. I still have to drive" I grow frustrated soon struggling to lift the cork from the bottle letting out a sigh.

"Let me try" I shrug as she walks towards me and I take this opportunity to grab two cordial glasses from the cabinet and turn around to a 'pop'.

She smiles triumphantly only looking at the bottle for a moment then turning to me. I pass by her, feeling goosebumps as our hands touch for a split second. But I steady myself filling both of our glasses and placing it back down glad to have something familiar in my hands. Though i'm surprised she takes it upon herself to close the bottle back up with the same cork and relieving it of the corkscrew.

"Why'd you do that"

"If you drink too much you're going to feel terrible tomorrow." I watch her lips as they connect to her cup, drinking a small portion of what I poured dumbfounded as to why I'm fixated on them.

"My office is this way" I don't bother waiting, hearing her heels follow after me as soon as I leave going towards the glass door of it's entrance. I push my way into the room instantly feeling calm having deemed this room the only one of my essence.

"You said you bought the house but you weren't the one to decorate it?" I place my glass down stalking behind my desk pondering on her question.

"I wasn't home much back then but Levi was and he ventured into the task of designing what used to be 'our' home. I only requested that he leave this room and Julia's to be undesigned. Are you guessing that I didn't help construct this place?"

"It doesn't seem like you did. I barely know you but I know you wouldn't put that abstract painting I first saw up in. Back at your office and even in this one it's aligned with pictures of people you know or of places you went. And you had a few potted plants that you seemed to try to hide from the view back in the building but there's more in here. What kind is this one?" She touches the petals of the plants i strategically placed in front of the window, wanting to let them get their required amount of sunlight.

"The purple one is an oxalis, the pink and green one is polka dot plants, the red are anthurium and the last one is a peace lily."

"Have you thought of a greenhouse or simply dedicating a room to plants"

She stops caressing the red petals, taking another sip seeing the fill of it almost down to nothing when she does. I can't lie and say I haven't even thought of doing it but I never have the time nor do I feel comfortable doing it here. Maybe with a bit of encouragement while Julia was here but now this house doesn't even seem worthy of those types of ideas having looked more like Levi's ideal home than mine.

Letting go of my thoughts, I look up from the ground to the woman who's now a lot closer than she previously was, setting down her now empty glass with a small fade of red across her cheeks.

"My mom says a house without your touch isn't a home. And this small haven in here isn't enough to be counted as one"

"I might have to meet your mother one day"

"She would be delighted to meet such a beautiful woman" She smiles at me but my heart internally stops largely on the fact that those eyes travel down my face stopping at where my lips are. Though she frowns to herself, stepping backwards looking down to her feet.

"I think I need to go. The um- I'm a lightweight and the glass i had earlier was already my limit"

"Well you shouldn't drive though, take one of my guestrooms."

She only nods and I bite my lip trying to settle myself before leading her up the stairs and to the room. And just like that the night was over except I was questioning myself even more than I usually did.