Depend On Me

Moving In Together (2)

Chapter 4: Moving In Together (2)

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“You’ve been acting a bit off since before… Is something the matter?” Elizabeth asked as she put various products into the shopping cart, among which were necessities like tooth brushes, shampoo and other products the man might not have with him since the moving happened so suddenly.

“I was just lost in thought, sorry…” Gabriel headed to the cashier and started putting everything on the counter.

“Would you like a bag?” The cashier asked with a rather tired voice.

“Yes, thank you.” Gabriel said as he took out his wallet.

“Wait, I can pay for that-” Elizabeth suggested but the other rejected the offer as quickly as it was made.

“It just wouldn’t feel right to be freeloading at your place and not at least buy groceries.” Gabriel said with a deep voice that was characteristic of him. After he paid, they went back to the apartment with him carrying the grocery bags.

“You won’t even let me carry some of them? At least the lighter ones…” Elizabeth suggested, since they’d bought a lot of things and filled out four grocery bags, she felt a bit awkward making him carry all of it.

“It’s the least I can do.” Gabriel said as they walked casually, he didn’t seem to be having any trouble with carrying them either. ‘It also helps me get my mind off of how pretty you are…’ He thought to himself as he did his best to focus on walking and looking at the ground…

They went back to the apartment and it wasn’t even another thirty minutes before Gabriel cooked up the dinner. It was already morning so many might say it was breakfast but to them it was dinner…

“Thanks for everything… It was really good.” Elizabeth said as she put the plates away in the sink. Now that she had finished eating she finally felt how tired she was, not sleeping and working the entire night at the bar certainly took a tool on her body.

“I should be the one thanking you…” Gabriel said as he headed to his room. “Good night Miss Raymore…”

“Haha… please call me Lizzy… Raymore sounds like I’m your nasty math teacher or something…” Elizabeth laughed as she headed towards her own bedroom.

“Then… good night, Lizzy…” Gabriel corrected himself but didn’t make eye contact with the woman a second time. He closed the door to the bedroom and headed under the shower.

‘I feel like… this was a really, really bad idea… staying in the same place as her is no good…’ Gabriel thought to himself as he headed out the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. ‘She was good enough to invite me here… yet I can’t stop thinking about her…’ He felt a certain heat well up in his face, as if the very thought of Elizabeth made him lose his focus. “Sleep, sleep.” He repeated to himself as he put on his boxers and went to bed. He felt hot, far too hot for comfort so he didn’t bother to cover himself with the blanket that the woman had left for him…

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The next morning, or rather afternoon since it was already past 14:00, Elizabeth was the first one to wake up. “Good morning, I bought breakfast.” She said with a cheerful voice, the male had gotten up just barely from his bed that day.

“M-morning…” Gabriel felt like his entire back was about to give out. “How are you?” He asked as he sat at the table.

“Huh?” Elizabeth looked surprised for a moment as she looked at him. “Hah… it’s a bit odd to have someone ask me that… I’m good, a bit tired but nothing too bad. How about you? You look like you have some back pain.” She remarked.

‘Has none of her boyfriends asked her how she was?’ Gabriel wondered to himself but then focused on the woman’s words. “Yeah, staying at the bar and working till late is never a good thing.”

“How often do you go to the bar for your shift?” Elizabeth asked as she put out the plates, she had bought a salad for herself and Bulgarian style pancakes for the man.

“As often as I can… Probably about four to six times a week if possible but these days I’ve been aiming for everyday…” Gabriel said as he began eating. “These are really delicious… Where did you buy them from?”

“There’s a small food stand that sells all kinds of Bulgarian food just down the road.” Elizabeth said. “I bought them while I was out jogging.”

“You run in the mornings?” Gabriel asked in surprise. ‘That would explain why she has such a nice body…’ He thought to himself.

“Yeah… It helps me clear my head and get ready for the day… Also to keep in shape since I gain weight really easily.” Elizabeth remarked.

‘Ah… I guess it is difficult to keep it off…’ Gabriel thought to himself, he also had issues with keeping in shape before but ever since he started working as a handy man and lifting heavy things every day, he no longer had such issues. Well, the fact he could barely afford food was also something that helped keep him in good shape but for all the wrong reasons. It’s not like he ate that healthy anyways, he just worked out a lot.

“Do you think you can come in the café today? We’ll be having a bit order of sugar and flour arriving today and the others said they can’t make it.” Elizabeth asked as she turned to look at the man.

“Sure, I don’t have anything else planned for today…” Gabriel instantly agreed.

“Thank you so much, I’ll pay you double for today.” Elizabeth said with a smile on her face then focused on eating her salad.

“Is it any good?” Gabriel asked as he watched the woman eat, she looked like she was really enjoying the salad even though to Gabriel it didn’t look much more than several green leafs in there…