Nothing much had happened that night nor the follow days it wasn’t till that Saturday when I was actually out of school and didn’t have to go to work for a change that I woke up at six am to hear music blasting from upstairs, I was not a happy camper since I had to close at work last night and had stayed up till two doing a project for one class and studying for another.

Groaning I tried to pull my pillows over my head but nope that didn’t work, “Justin you aren’t be very neighborly,” I said out loud to myself as I hoped out of bed, I pulled a t-shirt on over my tank top and pushed my feet into my slippers and headed towards the door I grabbed my keys and petted my dog telling  him to stay as I opened and shut the door locking it I stomped up the stairs we had met on earlier that week and got to his door I started to pound on it full fist.

About two seconds of pounding is when I heard a very quiet, I’m coming I’m coming chill from inside the apartment.

When the door opened he smiled at me and I just glared, “First don’t tell me to chill, second turn the fucking music down its six in morning on a Saturday for Christ sake,” I yelled.

“Hold on,” he and waved me inside as he went and turned the music off.

“Now what did you say,” he asked me and it was then I noticed he had been working out because he didn’t have a t-shirt on and he was all sweating, Jesus help me, I said to myself.

Looking up I saw him smile at me, damn he had noticed me check him out, “I said its six in the morning and I’m trying to sleep, what’s with the loud music,” I said in a normal voice this time.

He looked me up and down for a quick second and I finally found myself sort of self conscious. Standing there in a baggy t-shirt that covered my cami style tank top and pair of baggy men boxers that I had bought and my slippers that were made to look sock monkeys I felt my cheeks flush as Justin smiled at me.

“I noticed that, cute outfit by the way,” he said but when I just glared he started to laugh.

“Come on Christine, look I’m sorry for the loud music, I’m use to my own place were the nearest neighbor is like a hundred yards away.” He explained taking my hand and pulling me to sit on the couch.

“Well I guess that will be my first question for the day, why did you move here in the first place,” I asked.

“Second question actually,” he said with a smile as he got up from the couch and pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet and pulled something from the fridge into it and then handed it to me.

“Orange juice here,” he said as I took the cup.

“Thank you, but you still didn’t answer my question,” I told him and he just laughed.

“Ok, well I just got off tour and well I wanted a place to chill and be you know, nowhere close to what I’ve known for the last almost year,” he told me.

“And you picked here why,” I asked taking a drink of the orange juice.

“What’s with the third degree, can’t I just have picked here because I did and we leave it at that,” he asked as he grabbed a towel and ran it over his face and hung it from his neck. What I wouldn’t give to be that towel, I said to myself than mentally scolded myself for it.

“Sorry, but you woke me up at six am it’s what you get,” I told him with a slight grin.

“Well than I won’t do that anymore,” he laughed as he came and sat down beside me.

There was a moment of silence when I decide I had overcome my stay and well I hadn’t showered yet since I took showers in the mornings and yea, I was talking to myself.

“I’m gonna go now, go back to bed and yeah,” before I left I went to the stereo and turned it on and then turned it down to a half of what it was and smiled before I placed my half drank glass of juice on his counter, but the moment I let it go I felt his hand on mine placing it back around the mug.

“Keep it,” he said softly than opened the door for me and let me out.

I turned to look over my shoulder and saw him smile at me and I gave him a grin back as I went down to the steps and headed back to my apartment.

--

The moment I got my apartment is when I noticed my keys were not in my hand, “hit,” I cursed and went back to the stairs but Justin peeked out from the balcony above before I got that far, “Christine, here you might need these,” he laughed and threw them down.

When I went to grab them I forgot the mug of orange juice in my hand and as I caught the keys I dropped the mug and orange juice went all over me and the mug came down and broke all over my left foot sending a piece of ceramic into it.

“Fuck,” I jumped at the coldness of the orange juice and than a second later as the mug landed on my foot.

“Christine don’t move,” Justin said in a panic as he rushed down the steps and came down to me.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled as he went down to check my foot he picked up the pieces of ceramic that were laying on the ground than noticed the piece in my foot, it wasn’t big but it hurt like a fucking paper cut.

“Come here,” he said pulling me to sit on the step he had been sitting on when I ran into him for the first time.

“I got it,” I told him and pulled the piece out of my foot and as I did so I bit my lip and shut my eyes.

When I opened my eyes I saw and felt Justin pull my foot into his lap and take of my slipper and hand it to me.

“Can you flex your foot,” he asked.

“Umm,” I said at the touch that was running from my foot up to my heart, what the fuck was this feeling I had.

“Christine come on can you move your foot,” he asked me placing his hand on my chin to make me look at him.

“Yea,” I said and moved it all directions but when I moved it up I bit my lip in pain as I squeezed that entire cut with that motion alone.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious, just a cut let me help you in and clean it up,” he said placing my foot down.

“That’s ok I was gonna take a shower when I got in you don’t have to help me,” I said.

“But it’s my mug that attacked you,” he told me making me laugh.

“True, but it was you throwing the keys that made it do it,” I said and he looked down.

“You're making me feel bad about this,” he said but when I looked at him closer I saw the hint of a smile.

“No you’re not you lair,” I said and pushed him and went to walk to my door but the moment I made a step away from him I noticed I forgot my other slipper on the step as I went to go for it he quickly picked it up and stood on a step above me, holding it out of my reach.

“Justin,” I said in whine as I stepped up slowly to the same step and using my good foot I stood on my tippy toe, I almost had it when I lost my balance but Justin caught me before I went over.

“You’re a klutz you know that,” he said.

“Only around you,” I told him but he raised an eyebrow, “Fine its one of the oh so wonderful personality traits that I was born with,” I said and hopped down and got to my door.

He stood at the steps looking at me, “Come on heroic slipper stealer,” I said with a wave as opened the door and held Bryan away as Justin entered and shut the door behind him.

“Heroic slipper stealer isn’t that an oxymoron,” he asked as he placed my slipper on the floor where I left the other and went to go pet Bryan.

“I guess, look I’m gonna go take a shower, than you can help bandage me up, “I said and headed towards my room.

“K,” was all he said as he sat himself on the couch and was about to tell Bryan to get off when I told him that I allowed it so than he let Bryan lean against him as he turned the TV on.

“GO AHEAD AND MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME,” I said over the TV and the shower I turned on with a roll of my eyes from the other room.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he laughed catching what I was saying and I just rolled my eyes with a grin and as I stepped into the shower I pulled my foot up and cursed.

“You ok,” I heard him ask at the door.

“Yeah you heard me in the living room,” I asked him with a blush to my cheeks.

“Yea, and please don’t fall I don’t need that added to my self esteem today,” he said.

“I won’t, I’m almost done,” I said as I washed my hair out and rinsed my body off than shut the shower down.

Pulling my towel around my body I opened the door and jumped, “Jesus Fucking Christ Justin,” I said holding my towel higher.

“Sorry,” he said and covered his eyes but not before he took one more look.

“Justin,” I said and pushed him out into the hall and shut the room to my door which I should have done instead of just the bathroom door.

Looking the mirror at myself as I got dressed I shook my head I really didn’t know what he was looking at or maybe it was his way of trying to make me feel better.

I was a plain Jane, I had chestnut brown hair that when to my neck and brown eyes and while I was 5’10 I was also as I liked to call pear shaped, as America called it I was fat, that and my pale skin that had more likening to break out on my face than look flawless or the rest of it that would rather burn the tan, oh yes, he was totally trying to make me feel better I said as I pulled my Capri jeans on and watched my thick thigh jiggle.

Pulling a white tank top on over my black bra, I opened up the door after I had placed my towels in the bathroom and brushed my wet hair back on my head and headed out to the living room where I saw Justin watching vh1 and they happened to show his face and were taking about him.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit conceit to watch yourself,” I asked making him jump.

“It was what channel was on when I turned it on and I couldn’t figure out how to change the channel,” he said as he pressed numbers in and nothing showed up and the channel didn’t change.

“Cause you have the remote on TV and not Cable,” I said with a giggle and he looked at me funny.

“How as I suppose to know that,” he asked and I shook my head.
“You weren’t but your no fun if you’re not gonna let me pick on you,” I said as I told Bryan to get off and sat down on the couch next to him and placed my injured foot in his lap and taking the remote I replaced it with my first aid kit and finally landed on a Toon Disney which was playing House of Mouse.

“How old are you,” he asked.

“Twenty one,” I said looking at him with a smile.

“And you watch cartoons,” he asked as he pulled one of the anti-bacterial pads out of its foil rapping and went to put it on my foot but I started to pull away till he grabbed it.

“I thought you wanted me to fix this,” he asked looking at me.

“I do but that shit stings,” I said and he started laughing at me, “What,” I asked relaxing my foot in his grasp.

“A girl who still watches cartoons but still manages to cuss like a sailor, now I’ve seen everything,” he said.

“Good you can go ahead and die now,” I said and he just shook his head at me and went to put the pad on my foot but I pulled away again.

“Christine, quit being a baby and let me do this,” he said as he took hold of my foot and whipped at the cut that was near my ankle.

“Justin, that stings,” I whined but stopped when he started to blow on it and I lost focus of what I was complaining about.

“There all better,” he said slapping a band-aid on my cut and dropping my foot into his lap.

“Thanks,” I said still not sure where my mind went when he started to blow on my foot, how creepy did that sound.

--

I don’t know how it happened but I ended up spending the rest of the day with him either watching TV or talking about stuff during a commercial break, right now we were about to do something I can’t believe I agreed to, go swimming in the complex pool. It was about five in the afternoon and that sun was starting to set.

Looking at myself one more time as I pulled the shorts on over my swim suit and the tank I had on earlier over it and grabbed my bag with keys and sun screen I shook my head as I heard a knock on the door.

Opening it he smiled at me, “You ready,” he said pulling me out of the apartment only standing still long enough to let me lock the door and pull me towards the pool which was locked only being able to be open by apartment people only.

Using his key he pulled me in and threw his stuff on the nearest chair he could find and pulled his shirt off and placed his flip flops under the chair.

“I took off my tank top slowly and then watched Justin test the water before he came back over to me and gave me the sun block he had brought.

“Lather me up baby,” he said turning his back to me.

Opening the bottle I placed a fair amount in my hands and ran it over his shoulders and down his back and laughed at him when he shivered when I went down the base of his spine.

“What is it too cold for you,” I asked him.

“Nope,” I heard him choke out and wonder what was really going through his mind.

“Ok, all done,” I said patting his back as I dropped the sun block in his chair and turned away from him to pull my shorts that where over my suit off.

I jumped when he grabbed my shoulder and pulled it up towards him and jumped again when he placed the cold liquid of the sun block on my bare back and went down towards where the suit started but went under it a little, “Justin,” I asked quietly.

“Just making sure you’re all covered,” he explained.

“I like your tattoos,” he mentioned as we headed towards the pool, I had a double half note on my right shoulder and a line of music with curious George directing it from a music stand in what people would call a tramp stamp style.

“Ditto,” I said making him laugh, “What,” I asked.

“Does anyone say that anymore,” he asked me as he got fully into the water and swam a little towards the deep end.

“I do,” I said proudly as I got into the water and shivered a little.

“Are you cold,” he asked and I shook my head and then breathing for a second I held my nose and pushed myself under the water totally and came out so I was totally wet.

“Why you do that for,” he asked when I came up and pulled the hair out of my face and back on my head.

“To get use to water,” I said and he shrugged his shoulder, “Got a point,” he muttered and no sooner had we reached the deep end which wasn’t really deep for us only being about five and half feet, he did the same.

We swam till it got dark and before I was able to leave him he told me to take a fast warm shower and meet him back up at his place and bring Bryan, which I did and he treated us to a pizza he had made which I had to admit was pretty good for someone who’s said he could only make a mean bowl of cereal.