Grace stepped closer to me, touching her hand to my shoulder. She lowered her voice to a sympathetic whisper. "Do you want Bradley and I to drive you home, Ann?"
"No, I can drive her," Stuart interrupted. "Ann, let's just go home and forget about this. We're both tired and need to rest. Come on."
"Stu, no," I protested, shaking my head. "I'm mad at you, okay? I'm not even completely sure why yet. I just need to think. Can I just be alone for a little while?"
He sighed heavily, giving in to my request. "Fine, whatever. Clay can you give me a lift back to your house?"
Grace bent down to pick up my luggage for me and tried to usher me away from him before I said something that I didn't mean while I was caught up in the heat of the moment.
"Annabel," Stuart called out from the spot he was frozen in while I was still in hearing distance. Ii turned my head to catch a glance of him while we continued to walk towards the crowded exit. "I'm sorry."
Chapter 31
Stuart
Annabel had come home only a little bit after me, but she refused to say anything. She just went right into our bedroom without muttering a sound. Granted, I didn't say anything to her either. But in my defense, there was a good movie playing on the TV.
Annabel was stubborn. She always has been. It's just a part of her personality. In some instances it is wonderful because she always will stand up for what she will believes in. It portrays how strong she is as a person. However, in most cases, it just means that Annabel will have to be by herself for a little while and figure things out before she says anything. And I had to respect that.
I mean, I knew she wasn't completely mad at me otherwise she would have just stayed at Grace's house for the night. Of course I messed up, but I'm hoping she will come to her senses and realize how insignificant this entire situation is.
A loud shriek suddenly pierced through my eardrums. It was high-pitched, and it definitely was coming from the bedroom. I leaped to my feet instantly.
"Stuart!" Annabel shouted, and I sprinted towards the room as soon as I heard her lovely voice was laced with sheer panic.
I opened the door, slightly breathless with a concerned look on my face. Annabel was standing up on the bed, her hands covering her mouth. "Ann, what's wrong?"
"There's a spider," She yelled, pointing in the general direction of it. I nearly rolled my eyes at her for being such a wimp, until I caught a glimpse of it and jumped backwards in fear.
This spider was freakin' massive.
"Oh my God," I said while in the midst of practically trembling. I grabbed the closest thing to me, which was a bottle of my cologne, and slowly approached the giant arachnid. I rapidly started spraying the spider with the cologne in hopes that the fumes would make it die, but instead it just got even angrier and crawled around even faster.
I screamed, jumping up on the bed where Annabel was, as if this was some sort of protected spot. At least when I'm up here it can't creep over my feet.
"Stuart! Go kill it! Or like throw it outside! I don't know, do something before it lays eggs!" Annabel yelped irrationally, even though I'm pretty sure this spider wasn't pregnant. It looked like a dude. But I was no spider expert. All I knew was that this little bug was coming even closer to us.
"Okay, okay!" I yelled, bouncing on my feet since I was so jittery and panicked. "Turn your flashlight from your phone on it! Maybe it will freeze!"
"Stuart, this isn't a helicopter chase!"
"Well it could have stage fright!" I tried, keeping an eye on the creepy crawler as it started to ascend up the wall.
She shrieked again, clutching onto my arm in fear as it got close to us. "Stuart, please just get it out of our room!"
I scrambled around to find something useful. We obviously weren't going to have any nets laying around, and it wasn't like I was an avid reader with lots of books. I dived into the closet, my hands shaking, as I grasped the first shoe I could find.
I hesitantly walked closer to the wall where the spider was latched onto. The closer I got to it the more I could see how big this thing was, and how it looked like it had the potential to sacrifice me to the Devil with its eight giant legs. "Shit, Ann, it's huge. This could be the spider who bite Peter Parker!"
I carefully wound up my arm, lining up the shoe with its body, and stomped the spider with the bottom of the shoe. The smack caused an echo to rumble through our walls. I inspected the shoe after, and sure enough the bodily remains of the spider were stuck to the bottom of it. So I threw the shoe in the trash can.
Annabel let out a sigh of relief and flopped down onto the mattress. "Thank you."
"That was terrifying," I stated, panting for breath. I finally let out a small little chuckle at how funny we must have looked, screaming and running around frantically all because some innocent arachnid got into our house. "But it's gone now."
"Hopefully," She mumbled, running her hands through her hair to release some stress.
I strolled over to the bed, perching myself on the end of it. I glanced up at Annabel with hopeful eyes. "Are you still mad at me?"
Annabel smiled sheepishly. "I want to be," She told me. "But I can never stay mad at you, Stu."
I involuntarily let out a large grin, laying my back down against the mattress so I was directly next to her. "You stayed mad at me for like four years one time."
She chuckled, pushing me gently. "Okay, that was completely different," Annabel protested, making me continue to smile at her. "This time you apologized right away. And I have you as my boyfriend now, so that's really all that matters; not how we ended up together."
"Good," I responded, leaning in closer to her to press our lips together. Our kisses always filled me with insane amount of butterflies and I don't even care how lame that sounds. "I'm sorry for breaking you and Benjamin up, though. But I just wanted you so bad I needed to intervene."
"It's okay. In a weird way that is kind of flattering," Ann admitted, placing her palm on arm and running her hand over my bicep and triceps, tracing every detail of my tattoos with her finger. "Sorry for leaving you at the airport. I just didn't want to say something I would regret."
"I know, baby," I assured her, making her know that I was totally okay with giving her some space when she needed it. "Although, we did miss out on some serious post-vacation make-out session time," I added cheekily.
Annabel smirked at me, inching closer to my body. "Well, we could always make up for lost time right now?"
"I like that idea," I agreed, gently rolling on top of her, which made her giggle in the most adorable manner, and I immediately began to kiss her.
Annabel's legs wrapped around my waist as her hands roamed all over my body. Our lips were moving together as if they were both a part of a synchronized dance team that was fully aware of all of the right choreography. I wasted no time in slipping my tongue inside of her mouth, just to deepen the kiss even further.
Although her hands were now combing through my hair, I let my hands slowly move over her stomach until it reached her chest. My palm felt the curve of her large boobs and I gave it a squeeze. She moaned against my lips, which was one of the hottest things ever, as I continued to massage her breasts that I always find myself staring at.
I had made it to second base, but I wasn't going to try for anything else tonight. We haven't been together as an actual couple for very long, and I knew how iffy Annabel was when it came to sex. I wasn't going to pressure her. She had to be the one to initiate it or tell me she was ready, unlike last time where I kind of just sprung the idea upon her.
Annabel detached our lips so she could press kisses down my jawline and in a sloppy line down my neck. Now it was my turn moan. "Baby," I whispered, letting my eyelids fall closed to soak up the wonderful feeling.
"Stu," She mocked, teasing me for my strained tone of voice. I couldn't help but chuckle.
I turned onto my side, gripping her body so she would fall with me. I pressed my lips onto her forehead gingerly, just to
convey how much I adored her. "Congrats on making it to second base," Annabel joked, poking me in the chest as she cuddled into my side.
"Shut up," I replied with a laugh. God, I loved our relationship and our ability to joke around with each other but yet be serious at the same time. I stroked through her soft hair, playing with the ends of it while still keeping eye contact. "You let me know when you want to go any further, okay? There's no rush. Just wait until you're ready."
She grinned at me. "Thanks for being so understanding about this, Stu."
"Of course, Ann," I responded, kissing her forehead again just to get the point across that I would wait for her as long as she needed me to. "Hey, now that we're home can I take you out on an actual date?"
"I would love that," Annabel mumbled, tangling her legs in between my own.
"Okay, good. If you said no this would have gotten really awkward."
Chapter 32
Annabel
"It's hot as balls outside today," Stuart complains, wiping his lingering sweat off of the top of his forehead with the back of his hand.
We were both sitting outside on our back porch, which we rarely ever used, overlooking the serene ocean that was continuously crashing against the grainy sand. I made Stuart and I some grilled cheese sandwiches, or cheese toasties, or whatever name they had been given, and we were both nibbling away at them underneath the sweltering sun's rays.
"Well it's almost the end of July in Los Angeles. What did you expect?" I asked, kind of teasing him and kind of curious as to why this hot weather was coming as such a surprise.
"I don't know," Stuart answered nonchalantly, swallowing a large bite of his sandwich. "But I do know that I have a large urge to go hide in the freezer right now."
I smiled as a gust of wind tickled the tops of our bare legs, just gently cooling us down for a brief second. I stretched my legs out wide, removing them from their previous crossed position, and pointed and flexed my foot to provide some movement to my muscles before they fell asleep.
"Do you want to go swimming?" I suggested, nodding towards the empty private beach that had no one occupying the waters.
"No," Stuart responded firmly and quickly, as if he dreaded the thought of his body being surrounded by salt water. "Why don't we go to the ice rink today?"
"Why would we do that?" I questioned, looking at him in complete shock. He used to always hate ice-skating.
"Because it's cold as hell in there and that's a cliché first date, right?" Stuart tried, standing up from his seat next to me and gripping onto my hand. "Come on, Ann. I'm trying to be romantic here."
Ice skates that were a bit too snug constricted around my feet. I could feel the formation of blisters on the back of my heels as the leather and my thick socks rubbed against my skin. I laced the skates up tightly before wobbling over towards the edge of the rink where Stuart was leaning against.
"My feet hurt," He whined, linking his arm with mine as we stepped out onto the slippery ice.
I clutched onto him to help keep my balance. I used to love ice skating when I was little, but I haven't done this at all since I moved out to LA. Usually I would spend my days swimming or visiting the beach instead.
"Mine too," I agreed, as we began to trail along the tops of the ice. The cold air whipped against my face, making my nose turn pink and making me wish I had worn a heavier coat.
Stuart was struggling to stay up straight, meaning that I had to be the one to tug him along. "Wow I found something that Stuart is actually not good at!" I exclaimed, giggling softly.
He bumped me with his hip, causing me to stumble a bit, but I latched onto him rapidly before I could actually fall. "Shut up. I'll be a pro in no time."
"Whatever you say," I sang sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.
While we were in the midst of trying to get us both to skate in sync without nearly tripping every few seconds, a group of girls strolled up to us. I had a feeling this was going to happen, especially since this was a public place that was crawling with tweens, but it still caused my chest to thump with nerves.
"Stuart!" One of the girls, clad in a red pea-coat with light brown hair that sported the side-swept bangs hair-do, called out. She looked about fourteen, maybe a little younger or a little older, and she had that look of pure excitement covering her freckled face. "Can I get a picture with you?"
"Yeah, sure," Stuart obliged, letting go of me for a second to bend down to get in her selfie. Her face lit up with joy as her two other friends waited to get a picture of their own, without even murmuring a sound.
"Hi Annabel," The brunette greeted, finally acknowledging my presence after she had gotten her sacred picture.
"Hi! Are you girls having fun ice skating?" I asked politely, trying to formulate some kind of conversation to get rid of the awkwardness.
She nodded. "We are now! I just met Stuart Robinson!"
Stuart laughed after he finished the last picture, and returned to his spot next to me. I wasn't offended or bothered by the fact that they didn't want a picture with me. And I was also used to the way girls have always drooled over Stuart. So this exchange really wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"So are you his girlfriend now?" The same girl asked me, while the other two friends stood there in awe and tried to sneak some more candid pictures of us.
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tell people or not. The whole publicity thing always confused me. I guess honesty was the best policy, but at the same time I didn't want to start a new controversy in the media. Obviously people already had speculations since we have been photographed together a lot recently, but confirming it just felt odd.
"Uh, yeah," I replied shyly, glimpsing at Stuart to make sure it was okay. He nodded.
The girl seemed absolutely appalled. She snapped her head towards Stuart instantly. "Ew, why would you want to date that slut?"
I choked.
"Excuse me?" Stuart yelled aggressively, his temper getting the best of him again. I dug my nails into his bicep to try and get him to stop, before he lunged at the prepubescent girl. "Are you fuc-"
"Stuart," I scolded, stopping him from lashing out cuss words at his fan.
"No, this is ridiculous. You don't say things like this to people! Especially when they are standing right here! Jesus. How would you feel if someone you didn't know called you a slut to your face?" Stuart practically growled.
The girl, and her friends, were dumbfounded. "Well, I'm sorry but if she didn't want to be hated then she wouldn't have dated you."
"Do you honestly think I care about hate? Why would I not date the guy I like, the guy I've known my entire life, just because some people I don't even know don't approve of it?" I questioned, making her lips begin to quiver in fear. "Stuart is happy. That should be your main concern. Remember that."
I wheeled him away from those teens. Stuart was still fuming. He was muttering profanities under his breath, shaking his head back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Ann! Jesus, that should have never happened," Stuart shouted angrily, his nostrils flaring with rage. "Don't listen to what they said. You're not a slut."
I couldn't help but laugh. I had never been the type to get personally upset over false accusations I see everyday on the media. It was more concerning that those girls had the audacity to call me that right in front of me, instead of at least waiting until I skated away to talk about me behind my back.
I leaned my head against his shoulder as we skimmed across the ice with a bit more speed and ease this time. "It's okay, Stu. I'm fine. I obviously know I'm not a slut. I've only had sex once so their definition is a little off."
Stuart's head whipped around quickly, staring at me with wide eyes. "Wait, you never- you didn't do it with anyone else?"
I raised my eyebrows at him in confusion. "Well, no. I was too scared. And I was so busy with my career I never really had time to date anyone."
Stuart exhaled heavily, licking his lips. "Oh my God. I messed you up so bad," Stuart declared,
as he gulped at loud enough volume that I could hear it. "I feel so guilty now."
I frowned instantly, picking up his arm and wrapping it around my shoulder as we completed another loop around the rink. "Hey, don't feel guilty. I let go of the past. I've forgiven you. Now it's time for you to forgive yourself."
"I don't know if I can, Ann. I can't believe I spent all those years chasing girls and partying and you were still so affected by what happened. I should have made a better effort to fix things. I can't believe I hurt you. I'm such an idiot."
"Stuart," I spoke quietly, bringing our skating to a halt and turning to face him. "Stop beating yourself up over this. The past is the past and we can't change that. We can only change our future. So let's move on and just focus on being together."
"Okay." Stuart pressed his lips onto my forehead like he always did, igniting those butterflies like it always does. "I've never been in love, Ann. But I really hope it's you who I fall for."
I smiled, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness creep into my chest. I grasped both of his hands and pulled him back into motion, but apparently I must have pulled too hard.
Stuart lost his balance and tripped over the blade, making him land flat on his face in the middle of the rink. I cupped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing at his clumsiness, and all of the other people on the rink turned to glare at us.
He dusted himself off with a huff, shooting me daggers with his eyes as I continued to giggle. Stuart wrapped his arms around me, smothering my body against his chest, as he skated off to the side, eager to get the attention off of the two of us.
"Looks like you're falling over me already!" I teased, causing him to groan underneath his breath at my attempt at being funny. "Maybe our vacation to Australia wasn't your only trip-"
"Shut the hell up," Stuart grumbled, rapidly cupping his hands around my cold face and colliding his lips against mine to get me to stop talking.
It worked.
Raunchy Roommate Page 18
