Chapter 7: Comfort Day and Creepy Messages

Chapter 7

I would say that dancing with Ford Mitchell was less than spectacular, but the truth? He was excellent at dancing, and moving to the beat, and the way he swung me around had my heart beating rapidly. We had found a spot near Kansas and Arlo, and they seemed to be having just as much fun as we were. I was happy for her, truly, and in that moment, I was happy myself. Would I blame the alcohol tomorrow morning? Of course, but I wasn’t going to dwell on that now.

Ford seemed to be watching me warily, as if I were a feral animal that may strike at any moment. When he brought me close again, he was hesitant to place his hands on my hips, and when he did, I smiled wider and moved my hips to the new beat that had started moments before. To say he was shocked was an understatement, but the shock was quickly replaced with a smirk, and he too, moved his hips to the beat. The alcohol had definitely taken its turn at the forefront of my mind, and for once I didn’t care. No other drunk men had come up to me or tried anything for the rest of the night, and by the end I was dragging a sloppy Kansas to our uber, stumbling a bit myself.

“Bye Arlo!” I shouted over my shoulder, slipping a near comatose Kans into the backseat.

“What? No goodbye for me?” His sultry voice spooked me, I’m not going to lie. I turned around suddenly and bumped into his muscular frame.

“Oop.” I mumbled rubbing my head. “Oh, sure, goodbye Mr. Mitchell, I had fun.” I smiled up at him, a bit lazily, and he returned it with a dazzling one of his own.

“Goodbye, Ms. Carroll, I had fun, too. Please, get home safe.” He told me as he ushered me into the front seat of the uber. I only nodded back as I shut the door. I looked at the driver and gave him a nod to start driving.

***

The next morning came with a hangover, and a grumpy Kansas. We were sitting at the kitchen table, with waters and Advil scattered amongst us. Kansas had an icepack to her head, and I had opted for sunglasses inside. It was silent, but no words needed to be spoken, we both knew the other wasn’t up for any sort of noise, and we just wallowed in our own drunken pity. It was honestly, kind of beautiful. It took far more time than I would like to admit before I got myself up and made breakfast, but I knew Kansas needed food, and she was in no condition to do any sort of cooking. As I pulled out the bacon and the eggwhite carton, I heard Kansas mumble something unintelligible. 

“What was that Kans?” I groaned, placing the pans onto the stove and heating them up.

“I said that was amazing, I’d never seen you so carefree.” She was gushing at me, and I only smiled at her. 

“You know, I think Ford Mitchell had his eye on you the entire night.” There it was, she wanted all the nitty gritty details about my nonexistent relationship with Ford. I looked back over at her to see her wiggling her eyebrows at me.

“That is far from the truth, nothing is going on with him, before you ask. I probably won’t ever have to see him again.” That kind of made my heart twinge a bit, but I truly didn’t think we would ever see each other again, and I was fine with that, or at least I was going to be fine with that.

The bacon was sizzling and popping in the pan, and I had to jerk my body away so that I wouldn’t get burned with the grease. I stirred the egg whites and told Kansas to drink more water. When the egg whites and the bacon were done I placed an equal amount on both plates and set them at the table. The cleanup could wait until I was done eating. Kansas was already digging in when I took my seat, grabbing my fork. I looked up at her amused to see that half the plate was already gone, and Kansas was already looking better. 

When I was done with my plate, I took them both to the sink and began cleaning up. I hear Kansas shuffle into the living room, and switch the TV on. I knew she was going to binge Grey’s Anatomy for the fifteenth time, and I would join her soon after. Once I had the stove scrubbed down and the dishes cleaned, I made my way over to my side of the couch, and grabbed the fuzzy pink blanket that sat on the end of the couch. 

“Arlo seemed really handsy last night..” I trailed off, hoping to get Kansas to perk up a bit. It worked, and she shuffled closer to me with the biggest smile.

“Oh, he was handsy, but he was so sweet, and he had the softest lips. Oh, Alice, I think I’m in love. I’ve never felt this way before, and this is only after one night!” Kansas had her hands in the air in frustration, and I took her hands in mine.

“Kans, if he makes you happy, pursue it. I just want you to be careful. He is Ford’s body guard, and his job may be a bit erratic at times, okay?” I gave her hands a bit of a squeeze, and let go. 

“I mean you’re right, but I don’t know if I want to be the one to pursue it, ya know? I like to be chased, and I’m afraid he doesn’t like to chase at all.” I knew Kansas had a bit of a habit to elude the men she wanted. She seemed really torn this time, and my heart ached a bit for her. 

“Kans, babe, I don’t know. All I know is that you really like him, I just want you to be careful.” WIth that I had nothing else to say, and she seemed to understand that. The next episode flashed onto the screens, and we turned our heads to soak in the comfort of Grey’s Anatomy.

The day went on with more episodes and a few bags of popcorn. It was a comfort and recovery day, and we basked in it, because tomorrow Kansas had to work, and I had a few calls to make regarding the shop’s maintenance, and a meeting with one of my designers. I was excited to see her new collection, and have it displayed in my store. It was about the time to start getting ready for bed, when my phone buzzed on the table. Kansas was already getting up, her own fuzzy blanket wrapped around her and dragging at her feet. I looked at the phone for a moment before picking it up. 

Unknown: I will destroy what you love. MIM XXO

Unknown: You aren't so special, you know MIM XXO

Having no clue who this was, I ignored the message and locked my phone. The message was weird, and left an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. I chalked it up to a wrong number situation to ease my mind, and left the comfort of the couch to get ready for bed.