Ch. 1: The Upstairs
The air was unusually tepid the last night that Aubrey and Gavin were together, and although Aubrey no longer felt shy or nervous in his presence, the sweat on her palms would suggest otherwise. Uncomfortably aware of the moisture, she tried to remedy by rubbing her hands on her shorts and then wrapping her hair into a lazy bun.
Her hair had always been her security blanket when it came to her appearance, which meant putting it up was a last resort for beating the heat. So, instead of focusing on Gavin or the movie playing in his parent’s living room, her mind could only wonder if she missed a piece or if her boyfriend thought the style made her less attractive.
“If you don’t stop picking at the seams on the couch, my mom is going to notice someone has been coming over” Gavin says quietly, jolting Aubrey out her own thoughts. She stops and reaches out to hold his hand, but doesn’t respond, embarrassed at her picking habit.
It is too far into the plot to understand what’s been going on, so Aubrey started doing what she always does: hyper-focusing on the details of her surroundings almost as if to memorize it for a pop quiz.
Her eyes began tracing the shapes of the emerald green, floral print couch they sat on, moving from item to item: the family photos collecting dust on his mother’s gallery wall, framed photos of family vacations and school portraits, the yellowed shadows in the walls stained by the sun over the years, and the just-new-enough-to-play-a-DVD tv that sat in the center of their built-in shelves. She sat counting the knickknacks cluttered on every shelf and surface: ten precious moments figurines, a full miniature manger scene somehow missing baby Jesus, a matching set of “Best Mom” and “Best Dad” trophies, and a collection of Disney toys that came with every Happy Meal. Gavin’s mom often spoke of her knickknacks as her pride and joy now that her children were off in college for the majority of the year and there was always something new to notice.
Aubrey took her time examining every inch - until her eyes inevitably landed on the stairs. A few months ago, she had no idea what Gavin’s living room looked like or even where he lived. But now she knew the exact pattern to take up the stairs to avoid awaking his parents. Walk on the far right for the first two, skip the next, the middle on the fourth one, skip the next two and then far right again when she reached the landing.
Despite this elaborate memorization, her heart still quickened with adrenaline and anticipation every time they decided to make their way up to the second or third floor. Depending on how quiet they could be, the two would either go to his room on the second or to the guest room in the finished attic.
Gavin must’ve noticed her staring because he quickly shut the tv off, taking her hand and leading her to where she desperately wanted to be - his room where the windowed AC had duo functions - creating white noise and maintaining the sweet, sweet ideal temperature of 70 degrees. As she followed him, Aubrey couldn’t help but to inhale the intoxicating scent of his cologne wafting behind him. She had no idea what is was called, but it smelled sophisticated and warm like amber, cedar, and a hint of something fruity.
The faint hallway light casted a shadow on Gavin, that only seemed to emphasize the muscle in his arms. His skin darkened from the days spent in the sun, except for the small line across the back of his neck from where he usually wore a long, brown leather necklace and of course, the parts of his body typically covered by his swim suit.
He almost never kept his hair down anymore after growing out his wavy curls. Being close enough to see these tan lines and details made Aubrey feel special, but to be fair, Gavin naturally had that affect on people.
