at your most beautiful

chapter 1

Stevie unlocks the apartment door, opening it slowly and becoming confused when she isn't instantly hit by a cloud of smoke and the sounds of stoned laughter and Led Zep. It was slightly concerning- what the hell had happened?

"Uh, hello? Anyone here?" she calls out as she steps into the empty living room. Someone had stacked all the magazines on top of the coffee table and even cleaned out all the ashtrays...was she even in the right apartment?

"I know, I know, but I gotta go," she finally hears Lindsey say as he takes a step out from behind the kitchen wall, pointing to the phone and mouthing 'my mom'. "I will...I promise. Tell everyone hi for me, okay? Love you too, Mom. Bye."

"Everything alright?" she asks after he hangs up, snaking one arm around his waist and kissing him on the cheek.

"Yeah, just the usual," he says. "When are you going to get a real job, when are you going to get married, maybe you'd be more successful if you cut your hair...you know. Mom stuff."

Stevie knew it well. Her folks called once a week, every Sunday morning, and it was the same conversation each time. She and Lindsey suspected that both sets of parents got together to compare notes and discuss how they could talk their wayward children into a more suitable living situation. "Is that why you cleaned up and kicked everyone out? Was she threatening to come down here?"

"Thank God, no. She says she's too afraid to see how we live."

"As she should be. But seriously, did you hit your head or something?" she jokes. "I mean, not that I'm complaining..."

"Nah. Just turns out that when there's no one else around, there's a lot less shit to pick up."

"Imagine that!"

He elbows her in the side, nuzzling the top of her head. "I knew you had tonight off, and since Richard's gone for the weekend...I figured you could use a break from the guys."

"Oh, is that all?" It was a rare occasion when she had the evening off and didn't have to be back to work until the dinner shift the next day, so she had been hoping that she wouldn't have to spend the whole night surrounded by Lindsey's crew of overgrown frat boys. He was making connections, he said- but sometimes she just wished they'd connect at somebody else's place.

"I dunno- you got any plans?" Before she can say anything, she lets out a giant yawn, and he chuckles softly. "C'mon, let's go lie down. I'll come with you."

He guides her into the bedroom and kicks off his shoes before lying down on the queen-sized mattress in the corner, watching as she changes out of her work clothes and into one of his old raggedy shirts. "You don't have to stay with me if you don't want to...I know you're probably not tired and it gets so stuffy back here in the daytime..."

"Sssh. Just c'mere." Their bedroom only had one tiny window that did nothing to cool the room when the late afternoon sun was at its peak, and they hadn't had the funds to replace the fan after it had met an untimely demise during the last heatwave. But he knew that she wouldn't let herself sleep if she thought he was awake, no matter how exhausted she was, so he feigned tiredness and patted the spot on the bed next to him. "I'm fuckin' beat. Cleaning is hard work."

"You don't say." The corner of her mouth turns up in a smile as she lies down beside him, head resting in the crook of his arm. "Sorry...maybe I should've showered first. I know my hair smells like french fries, but I'm so..."

"S'okay. Just sleep," he tells her, and she's out before he can even finish his sentence.

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The sun has started to sink toward the horizon when she wakes up, the searing rays that were streaming through the window now replaced with a light breeze.