I Hate You, I Love You

Chapter 1: Housewarming

It had been a few weeks since she moved into her amazing new apartment overlooking Newport Beach and she was excited to have all her friends over. Ally grabbed a cube of cheese, tossing it into her mouth as the doorbell rang. Running to the door, she pulled it open with a smile.

"Lauren!" Ally screamed with excitement, pulling the taller girl into a hug. "Come in!"

Lauren handed a bag to Ally as she stepped through the doorway. "It's just a card game and a bottle of wine."

Lauren's POV

I walked into Ally's place and was impressed with what she had done with the place. There was a sectional sofa in the middle of the living room with too many pillows to count and numerous throw blankets. Plants decorated the space and tall, floor to ceiling windows let in plenty of light.

"Can I get you something to drink? I have wine," Ally laughed holding up the bag I had handed her, "beer, water, juice..."

"Beer is fine." I followed Ally into the kitchen and hopped onto the counter. "This place is amazing, Als. I love the view."

After twisting the cap off the beer and handing it to me, Ally poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle of the wine I had brought for her. "Thanks. It's beautiful, right? I love being able to watch the sunset."

We moved into the living room. Ally sat on the couch, tucking her legs under herself. I walked along the wall of built-in shelves that was home to various books, plants, and random decorations. A particular photo caught my attention. "Where was this taken?"

"Oh that? That was taken in front of the cannon at the Santa Monica Pier." Ally walked over and picked up the photo. She pointed to a tall brunette standing next to herself and Normani. "That's Dinah, you'll meet her this evening and you know Mani."

I looked at the photo again. Dinah, as Ally had pointed out, was tall and had long blonde hair. The three of them had huge smiles on their faces and looked like the were having a good time in the photo. "Why haven't I met her yet?" Ally started laughing. I stared at her. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry," Ally calmed herself. "You sounded a little jealous," she giggled.

I continued to stare.

"Well I've known her for a few years now. She came into the hospital once to visit a patient of mine, but she's out of town a lot for work so I've never had the opportunity to bring her around."

I sipped my beer and nodded. Ally hugged me and pulled me over to the couch.

"Let me tell you about that day." She picked up her wine and took a sip before proceeding to tell me. "Mani and I were in Santa Monica for lunch. You were in Florida visiting your family. So after lunch Mani and I went down to the pier to watch the sunset and we ran into Dinah as we were headed back to the car."

"So Mani's only met her once?"

Ally tilted her head as she thought about her answer. "Yeah," she finally answered. Ally tapped me on the leg. "You're going to love her. She's so funny and crazy. You'll see."

It was half an hour later when Ally's guests started arriving. I grabbed another beer from the fridge and walked out onto the balcony. It was just after seven now and the sun was setting in the distance. I heard the door open behind be and turned around to see Ally.

"Hey, what are you doing out here? Come meet everyone." Before I could tell her I was enjoying the piece and quiet she had pulled me inside. "Everyone," Ally shouted, "meet Lauren."