Behind Closed Doors ; Timothée Chalamet

Chapter 3

"So what you're saying is the guy from the other weekend is... Christians, brother?" Ellie clears her throat.

"The guy hitting on you from the other weekend." Molly chimes in.

"Molly, stop." I roll my eyes.

"What?! It's the truth!" Molly throws her hands up as if I accused her of the first degree.

"Did you tell Christian?" Ellie pryies.

"No, absolutely not. They don't seem to have the best relationship for starters."

Ellie and Molly came over for a wine night to celebrate my recent move into a new place. I loved my last spot, but once my lease was up, the landlord kindly decided to raise my rent to the legal amount without renovating the desperately needed place. I moved to Nob Hill to a shockingly beautiful and affordable apartment with high ceilings, a rustic kitchen, heated flooring, and a lovely brick fireplace.

"Why do you get the vibe they don't have the best relationship?" Molly drops her tone to a serious note.

"They seem to have a lot of tension." I run my hand through my hair as I finish unboxing the last box labeled "kitchen."

Ellie strolls down from the step ladder she used to hang my living room curtains. "Beautiful." She moves backward and takes in the long ivory lace glowing with the sunset. "How so?" She closes the step ladder and leans it against the wall for later use.

"Just a lot of bickering. It's more sisterly in a sense." I walk over to Ellie and admire the curtains with her.

"You did tell us how completely different they are." Molly appears next to us. "Christian is working in finance, and Timothee is a mechanic. Those two professions have nothing in common."

"Hmm," Hums Ellie. "I'd take a guy who gets his hands dirty any day." Ellie sits on the floor next to the two huge boxes of my brand-new couch. "Is Christian coming to help put together the couch?"

"Um, I believe so?" I say unconvincingly.

"Or would we be better off doing it?" Molly chuckles.

"No, no," I whined. "I moved, hauled, and unboxed way too much stuff today. I plop on the floor next to the girls and rest my head on Molly's lap. The least he can do is help." I unlocked my phone and began texting Christian about his ETA.

Molly and Ellie snuck each other a look.

"Hey, hey!" I sit up. "What was that look for?"

Molly and Ellie look at each other again.

"Well?" I raise my brows.

"Go ahead, Molly." Ellie nudges her.

"Why me?!"

"Guys!"

"Well!" Molly begins. "We just won't be surprised if he doesn't show." Molly brings her nails to her mouth.

I push her arm out of the way. "Why?"

"He is not the type of guy- no offense, to put together a coffee table."

"Let alone a couch," Ellie whispers.

"Are you saying he's unreliable?" I look at both of them.

"Sorta." Molly makes a scrunched face. "When it comes to heavy lifting, yeah."

"I mean Cas, he didn't even help you pack or unpack." Ellie leans over and rubs my arm slightly.

"So, he was busy! And I got movers."

"Right, yeah," Molly says.

"Oh, quit it." I nudge her arm.

"Sorry! It's not like we're saying we hate his guts. It's just he should've helped. You know, be a man? Take some initiative." Ellie shrugged.