Dream // Van McCann

11. It's Nice to Finally Meet You

Saturday

Florence's alarm which was set for the both of us went off but she must've not heard it because she didn't move at all. I waited a second to see if she'd eventually hear it but she didn't and the tone was starting to get on my nerves. After some back and forth, I reached over her to turn it off. She could feel my body on hers and woke up.

"Is it already 9 AM?" She yawned and I pulled back to my side of the bed.

"You didn't hear the alarm?" I asked her and she shook her head which made me laugh. It's funny because I've been with her long enough to know that she'll wake up for work but on weekends, it's like a switch goes off in her brain and she won't wake up. I leant in to kiss her temple. "Wake up, babe."

I put on a pair of jeans and grabbed my cigarette and lighter, heading out on the balcony for a smoke. The past couple days, I've been meaning to tell Florence that Clara called and to tell her about my conversation with Matilde, but the right time never came. It's not that I didn't have any intention of telling her. I'd already made the mistake of booking our Saturday and didn't want to stress her further.

She wasn't happy that everything was happening today. She'd prefer for things to be spread out but then I told her Sunday was free to do whatever and she felt a little better. When I finished smoking, I stepped back in and got ready. Florence still hadn't moved from her spot but I left her as the appointments weren't until the afternoon anyway. In the meantime, I worked on gathering our clothes to wash.

"I'm gonna wash our clothes. Is there anything you wanna add?" I asked.

Florence opened her eyes. "Yes, my jacket hanging on the chair." I saw it and added it to the bag. "Remember to not dry my bras."

"How could I forget?"

I remember when we first decided to do our laundry together. We were a bit nervous as we didn't want the other to see our undergarments but we decided to try it out. It was much easier to do rather than have each of us do our own. I made the mistake of drying everything and she got her knickers in a twist. She didn't find that saying funny and I got an earful but her bras turned out just fine.

I went down to the communal laundry room and started the wash, hoping the clothes would be dried and put away before we left for our apartment viewings. And since I was already out and about, I took it upon myself to go to the supermarket to stock up the fridge. Florence stayed behind to do some cleaning. When I came back, she was busy cleaning the bathroom. We were overdoing it with the chores but the thought of doing absolutely nothing tomorrow kept us moving forward.

It wasn't until 3 PM that we were ready to head out. Florence's attire was much too fancy for an apartment viewing but the burgundy dress she wore and the makeup she wore to match made her absolutely stunning. I suddenly felt severely underdressed standing next to her but that was Florence. She effortlessly becomes the center of attention. She caught me staring and walked over to me. Her hands went up to fix my collar even though it was fine and she stood on her tip toes to kiss me on the lips. She pulled away and we stared at each other for a moment.

"How'd I get so lucky?" I murmured. I never thought I'd feel this way about someone yet here I am. Never did I think posting that flyer would change my life for the better.

"I'm asking the same thing," she replied, smirking. "We better get going or we'll be late."

Florence grabbed Madelyn's birthday gift and walked past me towards the door. Her heels clicked against the hardwood and my eyes took in her figure from behind. It wasn't until she put her coat on that I followed her to the door to put on my boots.

Florence opened Google Maps on my phone and typed in the name of the first apartment complex we were seeing. Once she started navigation, she turned the volume up so I could hear.