Tis the Season || Seasons of Love

1

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Laundry day. My least favorite part of every week. Don't get me wrong, I love having clean clothes to wear, but loading up all my dirty clothes, hauling it over to the laundromat down the street, shoving as much of it into the washing machine, waiting while it washes, switching those wet clothes into the dryer, waiting awkwardly again, all so I can load up my now clean clothes and make the trek back to my apartment? Yeah, not my favorite.

I heave a sigh, tugging my warm clean clothes out of the dryer. They get tossed into an open suitcase – don't judge, it makes it so much easier to lug back to my apartment, especially in the rain or snow. People give me weird looks as they pass by to an open dryer, but I ignore them. I have a system and it works. Don't fix what ain't broken. At least that's what my Grams always says.

My clothes are finally loaded up into my suitcase, and I zip it up before walking out the door. At least I don't have to do Faye's clothes too. I shudder at the thought. She goes through at least three outfits a day: school, study, and night out. Sometimes more if she works. Luckily, my roommate had enough mercy to do her own laundry.

Yelling and cursing catches my attention the second I step out of the elevator. I stand, frozen with my keys in my hand. All I can do is watch as an angry woman throws things at an outrageously attractive man while also screaming.

"I should've known you'd be a cheating lying–" the woman screeches.

"Megan," the man cuts off, and I nod. She totally looks like a Megan. "Can we please go inside and talk about this? You're starting to draw attention." His eyes flick to me, and my cheeks heat. I look at my keys and shuffle forward.

"I don't care who knows that you're a cheater! The whole world can know for all I care," Megan spits. Oh that's a low blow. Am I dreaming? This seems more like something I'd watch on TV than real life.

"I told you, nothing happened. You honestly believe Antonia more than me? When have you ever known me to lie?" The man, who I'm assuming is her boyfriend – or ex boyfriend if I understand the argument – sounds tired.

I realize I've stopped moving again, and quickly stroll to my door. Inserting my key, I try to ignore the shouts and insults being thrown around me. Well, being thrown from Megan. With a twist, I'm in my apartment, and I slam the door shut behind me. At least now I can eavesdrop without them knowing.

No, Kodi. We're not eavesdropping. It's rude.

Right, thanks conscience. Guess, I'm folding laundry with my breakup playlist. There's no way I'm listening to anything else. I'm halfway to my bedroom when a knock on the door stops me. I stifle a groan. It's not that I hate socialization, I just prefer for it to be on my terms.

I trudge towards the door, leaving my suitcase behind. Who could it possibly be? I don't notice the shouting is gone until I pull the door open and come face to face with the man from the soap opera argument.

He meets my eyes, and his hand lifts to rub the back of his neck. I feel my cheeks heat again, and I lean against the door frame. "Can I help you?"

His head snaps up again, and I notice that his eyes are almost an aqua color. It's slightly mesmerizing. "I just wanted to apologize for Megan's behavior. She can be a little dramatic sometimes, and doesn't realize she's drawing attention. That was a conversation we should've had in private, but she made it public. Sorry, you had to get caught in it."

That- that was not what I was expecting. I don't know what I expected but it sure wasn't an apology. "I- uh, thank you? And I'm sorry? I'm guessing she dumped you from what I caught."

He winces. "Ah, yeah she dumped me."

"Can I ask why?" He jerks to look at me. "It's none of my business, I know, but I'm just oddly curious. She was really upset."

He chuckles. "Yeah, no she was. Is. I don't know, she just suddenly claimed that she saw a picture on one of our mutual friends, Antonia's phone that made it appear that I was cheating.
He sighs, and the tiredness I heard in his voice earlier creeps into his face. "She just thrives on drama. Creating something out of nothing."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry she dumped you."

"Don't be. I was going to break things off with her soon anyway."

My eyes widen. That took a turn I again did not expect. "Lucky you, not having to be the bad guy."

He throws his head back and laughs. "I didn't think of it that way, but it works."

"There's a good side to everything." I smile up at him. He's almost a whole head taller. It doesn't seem that much, but it's probably nearly a foot in length. "Well, I should probably get back to my laundry."

"Is that what you were doing? The suitcase seemed odd."

I blush for the third time in this man's presence. Hold up, I don't know his name. "Wait, what's your name? Oh shoot you asked a question... my suitcase. Yes, yes I use it for laundry. Makes it easier to transport."

I make eye contact with my neighbor that I just happened to meet and find that he's silently laughing at me. Well that's just great. Now he thinks I'm a total weirdo.

"Henry," he says, breaking into my thoughts. Once again, I'm lost. He must see it on my very expressive face and takes mercy on me. "My name's Henry. And you are?"

"Oh, Kodi. Short for Dakota."

He nods. "Dakota." My innards melt at the sound of my name in his voice. I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something embarrassing. "I can't believe we've been neighbors for probably a long time and never thought to get to know each other."

"Yeah," I murmured. "It's crazy." We look at each other for several beats until I start to feel awkward. I'm sure Henry could've lasted longer, but I've never done well with long silences. "Well, I'd better go, I've got..." I pause, my mind racing for an excuse. "Stuff."

Henry's eyes twinkle with amusement, but he nods, stepping back. "Of course. It's nice to meet you Dakota."

My mom is the only person on this whole Earth to ever call me by my full name before, but goodness gracious it's never sounded as beautiful to my ears as when Henry says it. I give him a slight smile and start to shut the door. Before it can close, he sticks his hand out to catch it and says "Also, I was wondering, if you don't have any plans would you want to come to dinner with me and my family tomorrow night?" He lowers his head enough to make eye contact with me.

"I- uh I don't think I have any plans..."

"Great," he interjected, with a smirky grin that has my stomach doing flips.

Stop that Kodi! He's practically a taken man.

After he leaves, I try to focus on my laundry, but I just want to watch a cheesy romance movie like Pride and Prejudice. Finally, I give in and pull the movie up on my phone. I can watch and fold at the same time, right? False. The clothes end up ignored in a pile at the end of my bed while I curl up around my phone. I'll have time to do it later.

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A/N: So there you have it! First chapter down, let me tell you, I have been SO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS STORY WITH YOU ALL! It has been in the making for several years now, but that's a story for another time ;)
Any thoughts on Kodi, Henry, and Megan? Thoughts on Kodi's way of doing  laundry? xD
Leave all your lovely thoughts, predictions, etc here!
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