Spaces in between (Stockholm Syndrome: Extended chapters)

July 2020

~Archer~

"I've always wanted a beach house".

"I'll ignore that".

"What? I didn't say..."

"You were hinting at it"

"Well it's...not a bad idea"

"It's a terrible idea. It's a least an hour to your workplace with no traffic, and that's only if we get that one you are looking at".

"You are a killjoy"

"Pancakes if you really want a beach house we'll get a holiday house...preferably not in Malibu".

I rolled my eyes, something Felix was probably immune to by then. I added a pout for good measure.

He took a sip of his iced-tea.

I batted my eyelashes.

"God no! Not the eyelashes", he said with a chuckle. "Seriously Pancakes, living here is out of the question".

I groaned.

Felix was sitting across from me in a little beach restaurant in Malibu. Earlier we'd taken a walk hand in hand by the beach and had chosen to get some refreshments before retreating to our hotel room to hopefully catch up on missed sleep. It was the Fourth of July weekend. We'd planned a weekend getaway that consisted of walks in the sand, sunbathing and him watching me play in the water. We'd spent the previous night enjoying the Fourth of July festivities, only returning to the hotel room at 4 in the morning.

"I hate you...and hate that you are right", I said.

"We can come here often. Right now though, you need to pick something else".

I twisted my face in disappointment and annoyance.

"Scroll", he said playing with his straw.

I glared at him before I scrolled through the tablet in my hands. I was on a property website that listed houses on sale. Felix and I had decided to look for a house just the day before. My job offer had forced us to relocate quickly so we'd settled for his LA apartment as temporary accommodation. We were supposed to look for another apartment but decided a house would be better. I continued paying my share of the rent at the apartment I shared with Alex until Alex could get a roommate. I couldn't leave him with that much responsibility, especially since I hadn't given him notice.

"Here's an idea, there are filters for a reason", he said.

"Leave me alone".

"Fine", he said and called the waiter so he can have another iced-tea.

I scrolled through the website, finding nothing that I liked.

"One iced-tea for me and one giant ultimate frappe with extra chocolate bits and sauce for my husband..."

I raised my head.

Felix shrugged. "You look like you need it".

The waiter looked between us.