cozy cup

VII.

(chapter 7)

Vinny had just gotten home from viewing the available apartments at Chestnut Avenue Apartments, and he was excited to say that he had officially finished an application for an apartment and just needed to wait for them to finish cleaning the space up, to pack his stuff, and finally move!

He couldn't contain his excitement, playing music as he showered, singing and dancing along, not caring at all how badly he followed along to the songs. He just needed to work through all the positive feelings rushing through him. His celebration, however, was interrupted when his music dimmed down to allow a notification to ding on his phone.

Eyebrows furrowing, he grabbed a random shirt from his closet and walked across the room to his bed, where he had put his phone to charge after his shower. He didn't know who could have been messaging him. The only people who have his number are his mother, Roe, and Dee, and all of them are too busy with work and other life issues to be texting him. A preview was on his lock screen, the message under an unknown number.

unknown:

is this Vinny?

vinny:

maybe. who is this?

unknown:

oh, sorry!!

it's Owen.

i let you borrow my shirt the other day

vinny:

oh!

hi

Vinny's cheeks were burning when he lifted his head, looking around his room to distract himself from the thrumming in his chest and the embarrassment that was welling up in his chest. Hi? That was so lame. A lame greeting. Stupid, stupid. But what else was he supposed to say back? He didn't know.

Shaking his head hard enough to send his hair flying in all directions, he focused back onto his phone and typed in another message.

vinny:

how did you get my number?

A good question, but one he was certain he knew the answer to already. His fingers tapped the edges of his phone as he waited for his reply, and he used those jitters to save the number to his contacts.

owen:

I came into the coffee shop yesterday to apologize for my friend

but you weren't there

so, your friend (?) Dee wrote it on my order telling me to apologize to you directly

so, uh, yeah.

sorry.

Vinny's cheeks darkened further at the reminder of what had happened yesterday, and he glanced over to where he had placed Owen's shirt. It was folded neatly, freshly washed, and draped across the back of his desk chair, waiting for him to do something with it. He had to return it to the other boy sometime soon.

vinny:

of course she did

she never really did know how to stay out of my business 😑

thanks for the apology, but it wasn't necessary

you did nothing wrong