moments ; k.powers

06

Jess was pouting in her apartment when Keith knocked on her door with flowers and food. She was about to scroll through instagram and find some pretty picture of herself to post but was interrupted by knocking. She groaned and got up to check the door. When Jess looked through the peephole to see Keith, she rolled her eyes and opened the door.

"Hi."

"Hey." She was keeping her responses short.

"Can I come in?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Are you going to disappear in a couple days?"

Keith shuffled his feet and looked down at his toes. He knew he was wrong, and Jess wasn't going to let him in that easily. As she should.

"I'm here for you, Jess. I'm here for us. I'm here because I care about our relationship, and I messed up. You don't deserve to be ghosted, but if you let me in, I can explain myself." He could see the wheels turn in her mind. Jess chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought. It wouldn't be fair of her to completely give up on their relationship without hearing his side of the story first.

"Come in." She stepped to the side to make room as he entered.

She and Keith sat on the couch with an awkward distance between them. Just weeks ago they were giggling, dancing, and drinking wine. Now, she was embarrassed to see his face. Keith was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry, Jess. I really am. I just had a lot going on with me these past couple weeks. I was past due on rent, my mom was causing trouble, I was looking for a new job. I'm thinking about having a friend move in so we can split the rent. Life is just- I'm sorry. But there was a lot on my plate. I promise I wasn't ignoring you or your texts. My head was just all over the place." He let the words fall out of him, bubbling out.

Jess sat and listened. As she heard him, she felt bad for her pettiness. She reached out to hold his hand in hers. He accepted. "I guess I have to apologize too, Keith. I didn't give your space to figure out what was going on in your life. I was insecure, and I thought that you had disappeared because you were sick of me. We've been doing this a while now, and most guys I date leave by now. I was feeling clingy and- I don't know, just insignificant." As she spoke, Keith drew circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I could have communicated better."

"Me too."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

Jess couldn't stop herself from closing the gap between them with a kiss. Keith leaned in closer and rested his hand on her waist. He bit her lip and lifted her gently until she was straddling him. The kiss became more feverish, and Jess started unzipping Keith's jacket.

"Wait, wait, wait." Keith pulled away first, breathless.

Jess stopped. "Are we moving too fast? Am I rushing? Do we-"

Keith shook his head and chuckled. "I- This sounds dumb, but I brought food. And I want our first time together to be more magical and special. Not done on your couch because we just forgave each other."

Jess nodded. "You're right. I'm just- yeah, you're right. Please tell me you brought wine too."

Keith laughed this time. "Of course I did. How could I not?"

Jess smiled and still on his lap, kissed his forehead. "Thank you."

Keith hummed and kissed her cheek in response.