After Connor had walked me to my door, we said a quick goodbye (though it was more of a see you later) and I took a break until my brother and his friends got there. See Jake’s truck is a bit to lifted to get the furniture, so asked his friends if they would help/could he borrow their truck. Which they obliged and since they are also a mutual friend, it ended up turning into “how about we get takeout and a bottle of wine and chill together”. I wasn’t complaining about it, I just wasn’t expecting it (it was a last-minute thing, we were supposed to use my dad’s truck, but it broke down). Anyway, not long after my encounter with Connor, my brother and our friends showed up, Lorren and Harry.
“I can’t believe our little baby is growing up and flying the coop!” Lorren jokes as she comes in the house.
I should note, Lorren and Harry are the owners of the diner go to all the time that’s how I met them; they’re about ten years older than me. And six years older than my brother, they’ve kind of become a staple in mine and my brother’s life since I met them when I was 21. So going on five years of friendship this December. The thing that really brought our friendship together was when Jake and I both got hammered at a new year’s party and luckily Harry and Lorren were there and they helped us out, making sure we got home safely.
“Don’t you love it? And I met the neighbor, he seems chill.” I laugh as she pulls me in for a hug, followed by Harry doing the same.
“You met the neighbor already?” Lorren asks raising a suspicious eyebrow.
“I did.” I smile.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Theres something else lingering there but I’m going to cut you some slack seeing as these two won’t drop it. Plus, I kind of want the grand tour before Jake gets back.” Lorren laughs.
We did the grand tour, showing them around my home and talking about the plans as well as discussing what I wanted to change/update at some point. I love a lot of it but there were some things that were a bit dated like the paint in the dining room and the back deck needed a few repairs. It wasn’t too much longer before Jake got back with the second to the last load of my things and we started unloading everything.
Taking a quick break while the boys went to get the final load of things from the house Lorren, and I sat on some boxes on my front patio. Drinking some coffee and having a nice chat.
“So, how are you feeling about your first night alone in a new place?” She asks brushing her hair from her eyes.
“Um… I’m thinking that I might either stay up all night cleaning or watching TV because this is weird.”
“It’ll be less weird when you have Ghaston and the cats here. More like home.”
“I know, plus the longer I’m here the more I’ll adjust.”
“Harry and I are right down the road, Jake too.”
“Mom said I could come home if I wanted but I think I’d rather just stay here. I mean it is kinda like where we used to live.”
“Yeah, well, you can always call me, and I’ll stay on facetime with you.”
“I know, you did that when Mom and Dad were out of town.” I smirk.
“Oh, come on, I would have driven out there if you needed and if you want someone here for your first night I will stay.”
“I know. You’re the real one.”
We sunk into a comfortable silence for a moment sipping on our drinks and watching the surrounding area. My eyes fixated on nothing in particular as I thought about the ideas I had for a garden and a fire pit. Quite a few things. I was so excited but exhausted at the same time. Grateful though. This was finally real.
“Is that him?” She taps my shoulder a bit of a grin on her face.
“What?” I shake my head to regain my focus.
“Is that the neighbor you met?” She gestures to Connor who was climbing in the bed of his truck. “Ah, he is. Okay, I see you Huntleigh.”
“I mean I do only have two neighbors, directly. Him and whoever lives directly across the street from us.” I can feel her eyes scanning me, reading my face like a book. “What?” I ask with a bit of an awkward laugh.
“Nothing.”
“You’re so full of it!”
“What’d he say to you?”
“He just introduced himself.” Not a full truth but we’re going with it. Anyway, the boys were backing in as she was interrogating me.
“Ladies.” Harry smiles.
“Ladies? Those are the opposite of ladies at least that one is. That’s an Ellsworth.” Jake teases. “She’s the devil.”
“He’s not wrong.” I force a maniacal laugh. “But let’s get this done?”
We unloaded the last of the furniture and the last of the boxes putting them in the places they should be and then when we got to the last bookcase, our dolly broke. Its wheel fell off entirely. Connor was a brave man, walking up to my brother while he was upset and struggling. Much braver than I, as I was not about to say anything to Jacob Ellsworth when he’s stressing out, I’ll let Harry have it.
“You boys look like you could use some help.” He laughed as they were struggling to get good grips on the antique bookcase I’d bought on my twenty-third birthday.
“That tracks.” Lorren whispers to herself sipping her coffee.
The boys both take a minute and give each other a look before looking at me and Lorren. I briefly wished everyone would stop looking at me. I wasn’t a part of this. Well, technically I was. It’s my house and my things.
“Yeah, I mean this thing is solid oak. Huntleigh’s a bit of a collector.” Jake sighs. “As you can see our dolly gave up the ghost on us.” He laughs.
“I noticed. Let me go grab mine, help you guys out.”
What a man… prepared, kind, thoughtful, drives a good truck… beautiful inside and out? Oh my.
“I give it a month before y’all are best friends.” Lorren laughs as we set the last of my things down in my spare room.
“You’re mean you know that?”
“Now I know why you were all red faced and blushin when we got here! Right?”
“Shhh! Someone could hear you!”
“What’s his name, you never did tell me that earlier?”
“I’m not telling you this information!” I laugh awkwardly trying to avoid it. She knows me so well, she’s like a hound when it comes to these things. She’s like a mom, sister, aunt, and best friend tied into one person who isn’t blood related at all! I love it but she’s insane sometimes.
“Okay. You don’t have to tell me for now but one day you’re going to. Because I’m calling it. I would put my whole life savings on it, that’s how much I believe.”
“Believe in what?”
“You know exactly what Huntleigh.” She grins giving me a wink before leaving me to my own devices.
Lorren as per usual was right, I knew exactly what she was talking about. But that was a story yet to unfold.
If you’ve made it this far thank you so, so much for reading and sticking with the story! I hope you like this as much as I have and I hope to see you all soon in the next one!
Until next time – stay safe, love hard and protect your peace ❤
XOXO Hails
Stormy Ville 
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