dopamine | courtney miller

Chapter Four

(the outfit above is what she's wearing during on the date!)

"So, can't you tell Shayne we both want to be together?" Courtney asked me and I shook my head. "I know he'd be pissed. Plus Defy already has an eye on me because I specifically asked about the no dating rule." I told her, and she sighed. "What if we just, don't tell anyone?" She suggested. "I dunno, Court," I said.

"Just try it. We don't have to keep it up if you don't want to. Let me take you on a few dates, at least." She offered. I thought about it for a minute before nodding. "Alright," I told her and she smiled. "I'm gonna take you out tonight if that's okay?" Courtney asked and I nodded. "That'd be awesome." I smiled at her. "Good morning, ladies," Mari said, walking into the kitchen.

That evening, I was back at my place, getting ready for my date with Courtney when my phone rang. Assuming it was her telling me she was here I answered it with a,  "What's up, babe?" "I don't think I'm who you think." I heard Shayne say. "Fuck, Shay, what's up?" I asked. "So, who's babe?" He responded. "Cora's back. So, why'd you call?"

"I wanted to apologize for the shit about you and Damien the other day. I was an ass for saying that, and I'm sorry." He told me. "Shay, it's okay. You're my brother, I'm not gonna hold a grudge against you for it." I replied. "So, you and Cora are getting back together, huh? You goin' out tonight or something?" Shayne said and I chuckled. 

"Maybe, I don't know yet. We're taking it slow this time. And, yeah, we are." I told him. "So, slow as in not moving in with her two months into the relationship?" He joked. "We're woman, we bring the u-haul on the second date!" I said, laughing. "Hey, I gotta go. Call me later!" Shayne said. "Alright. See ya, Shay, love you." I said and once I heard an I love you too, I hung up.

I finished straightening the last part of my hair when I heard a knock at the front door. "In a second!" I said, turning the iron off and setting it down. "Hey, Court," I said, smiling when I saw her at my door. She went to kiss my cheek before I heard Shayne's laugh coming down the hall, probably heading to Damien's.

I pulled her into my apartment and closed the door. "So, I can kiss you now?" She asked. "I don't kiss one the first date for just anyone, Court," I told her and she giggled. "I must be special then?" She said, questioningly. "That you are." I smiled at her,  kissing her cheek. "You look amazing," I said, looking at what she was wearing. "And you look beautiful," Courtney told me.

"So, I'm your ex-girlfriend now. We're only on our first date!" Courtney laughed, we were at a dinner at some fancy-ass hipster restaurant. (It was hipster-y so I could  actually eat there with my annoying vegan self.) "She's the first person to come to mind! Boze was asking me about her earlier and I-" I started rambling, nervous that she'd be upset. My exes were usually the type of girls who flipped her shit if I even looked at another girl.

 "Hey, hey. You're okay, Stella, baby." Courtney told me, placing a hand on my arm that was on the table. "You sure?" I asked, not believing it. I mean, it sucks we can't tell people and you have to lie to your own brother about us but, I know why you did it. I'm not upset, Stella. Really, I'm not." She gave me a soft and reassuring smile.

"God, you're awesome." I smiled at her and took her hand off my arm and held it in my own. She blushed slightly, and I smiled brighter at that. "Do you wanna spend the night at mine?" She asked me and I nodded. "I'd love to." I told her and after we were done eating, we drove to her apartment.

Courtney sat down on her couch and held her arms out. I smiled and sat down next to her as she wrapped an arm around me. She turned on the TV and we ended up watching a few episodes of New Girl, and then Shayne called Courtney. "I'm gonna use the bathroom," I whispered to her as she answered. She nodded and I went to her bathroom and locked the door behind me.

I stared in the mirror at myself for a few minutes, thinking. I was waiting for Courtney to get off the phone before going out so I decided to check my work email. Apparently, we were going on a week-long trip that the person writing the email seemed excited for. Well, as excited for a Smosh thing as a Defy employee outside of Smosh could be.

It was an annual "Smosh Summer Games" which sounds familiar, I think Shayne might've mentioned it before. I was a fan favorite, I guess, so I was going to be a ref along with Matt, Joe and Sunny. The theme was Wild West, which sounded cool. There were more logistics but I won't bore you with those. After I heard Courtney end the call, I left the bathroom. "Hey, you." She smiled. "Hey," I said, sitting back down next to her wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"Have you checked your work email since Friday?" I asked her as she cuddled up next to me. "I don't think so. Why?" She looked up at me. "We're having Summer Games or something in two weeks," I told and she smiled. "Those are always fun, yay!" I smiled back at her. "I'm a ref this year," I told her. "Ooh, fun." She said. 

"Mhm." I agreed, laying my head on top of hers. "Tired, Stel?" Courtney asked. "Little bit," I answered, followed by a yawn. "C'mon, babe. Let's get you to bed, then." She said and I lazily nodded as she got out from under my arm and took my hand. She took me into her room and sat me down on her bed. 

"You wanna borrow something to sleep in?" She asked. "Yeah." She nodded and went to her dresser. She got out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and gave them to me. She turned around and I quickly put them on, discarding my current clothes on her floor. "You can turn around. Remind me to get those sometime," I  told her as she turned around. "Stay?" I asked her as I laid down. Courtney nodded with a wide smile and laid down next to me. "Do you need to change too?" I asked her and she just shrugged.  I snuggled into her and quickly drifting off to sleep. 

Cliche, I know, but I felt safe for the first in a long time when I was in her arms.