Girl Talk

“Hello...”

Abbi stopped mid-step as she exited Eddus’s flat. She’d been as quiet as she could, so as not to wake him, and was surprised to see someone else present. Across from the door to the flat was a large kitchen area, which also surprised her. She’d not seen it the night before, as there had been no lights on when she and Eddus came in.

Stiles, the young woman whom Abbi had met at the pub with Eddus, closed the refrigerator door and started toward a large wooden table carrying a carton of milk, a box of chocolate powder, and a large glass with a spoon in it.

“I didn’t know anyone else was here.”

Abbi looked around, wondering just how big the place was. There was a lounge area opposite the hallway she’d entered through with Eddus the night before. It was part of quite a large open plan. There was a door at either end of the far wall.

Stiles set the items she carried onto the table, then waved Abbi over.

“Yeah, I think we’re all here, at least for a few more hours,” she said. “Would you like some chocolate milk?”

“May I please just have milk?” Abbi pulled out a chair and sat down. “Who is ‘all’?”

“What do you mean?” Stiles walked back to the sink, taking another glass from the cabinet above it, and then returning to the table. She filled the glass with milk and placed it in front of Abbi, then pried the top off the box of chocolate powder and began scooping it into her own glass.

“You said that you’re all here...”

“Oh, that,” Stiles poured milk over the powder in her glass and began stirring it with the spoon. “I’m assuming that since you’re here, Ed’s still here. Jay and Mo will probably sleep for a couple more hours before they’re late for their classes, as usual.”

“All of you have rooms here?” Abbi looked over her shoulder toward the door she’d come out of. “How big is Eddus’s place?”

“I think that it’s the same size as ours.”

Noting the look of confusion on Abbi’s face, Stiles laughed aloud.

“We don’t all live in there,” she said, nodding to the flat Abbi had stayed in the previous night. Stiles pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. The far wall spanned the entire width of the open lounge. “Our flats are back there.”

Abbi sipped her milk. She sighed, smiling.

“This is so good,” she said.

“Sure you won’t have any chocolate?” Stiles pushed the box of powder towards her.

Abbi shook her head. She then sipped the milk again, this time closing her eyes.

“This is perfect.”

“What, just milk?”

“I think the only thing better than milk is cream,” Abbi sighed happily. She sipped the milk again.

“Or maybe honey,” she added thoughtfully, and then nodded. “Yes. Honey is the best.”

“Milk and honey, huh? The guys must love you.” Stiles laughed. “Cheap date, aren’t you?”

Abbi shrugged, setting the glass down.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never been on a date before.”

“Right, sure you haven’t...” Stiles smirked at Abbi, who glanced down at the table, then looked away. “Shut the fuck up! Seriously?”

Abbi looked at Stiles sheepishly, her face warming.

“No, seriously?”

“Is that strange?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say strange, so much as uncommon, maybe.” Stiles tilted her head, still looking at Abbi in disbelief. She didn’t want to make the girl uncomfortable, but she wanted to know more. “How have you really never been on a date? In your entire life?”

Abbi shook her head.

“What about that night at the bar a few weeks back? When Ed found your shoes? You two looked pretty close when you walked in.”

Abbi shook her head.

“I think Eddus saw that as more of an inconvenience.” She smiled, remembering the night. “When I told you that he was with me, and not I with him, I meant it. After he’d given me my shoes, I seriously thought he was going to run away.”

“See now, that sounds more like Ed than does him bringing you back with him.” Stiles sipped her chocolate milk, then swirled it around in her glass.

“Well, to be fair, I did mess him around a little while we talked on the street,” Abbi laughed. “I just wanted to see how far he’d let me push him. I think I annoyed him. I was surprised he didn’t tell me to get lost. When he didn’t, I just came into the pub with him.”

“I think it’s more likely that he would have run away than tell you to get lost. Ed’s a bit shy, but he’s never rude. He’s a really nice guy.”

“He is. I don’t think every guy would chase down a complete stranger to give them a pair of shoes.”

Stiles chuckled and shook her head, carrying her glass to the sink.

“You know, I think he still has them,” she said over her shoulder, as she poured her glass into the sink and then rinsed it. “He went back to the pub and got them the next morning.”

“Yes, I saw them by the bed in his guest bedroom.”

The glass still in her hand, Stiles paused for a moment before setting it down next to the sink and turning to Abbi.

“You two didn’t sleep in the same room?”

Abbi said nothing. She wasn’t going to make the false claim that she and Eddus had slept in separate rooms, but she also wasn’t going to offer that they had actually slept in the same bed.

“Ok, never mind,” Stiles said slowly, shaking her head. “What time did you guys get here? I’m usually up pretty late, and I didn’t even hear you come in.”

Returning to the table, she pulled out the chair next to Abbi and turned it around, sitting on it with the chair back between her legs.

“I think it was around two thirty.”

Stiles’ brows rose. She laughed softly.

“Abbi, I’ve got to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

“I think you’re a bad influence on Ed.”

“I am?” Abbi blinked in surprise, wondering what she could have done to bring Stiles to this conclusion.

“Hell, yeah,” Stiles grinned, “out till two? I think the last time he was out past midnight was the night he met you. Before that, I don’t think he’d been out later than eleven the entire time I’ve known him.”

“Is that a good thing?” Abbi asked, still slightly unsure.

“Well, you have my stamp of approval,” Stiles laughed. “You can stay.”

• • •

“This place is really something.” Abbi looked around as she stirred honey into a cup of ginger tea.

She sat across from Stiles at the table, while Eddus made coffee at the counter. He’d emerged from his flat, wearing jeans and a collared t-shirt, greeting the two ladies with a smile as he made his way to the coffee maker.

“The outside of the building doesn’t do it justice,” Stiles commented. She’d put away the chocolate powder and was now sipping some kind of protein drink. “I think Ed did it that way on purpose.”

“What did he do?”

“Well, all of this. He renovated this entire floor.” Stiles looked around for a moment. “From the outside, you’d never guess anyone lived up here, but from in here, you can easily forget that we’re in the shipping district.”

Abbi looked around the kitchen area that opened into a large lounge with two sofas. There was a television mounted on the wall, facing the sofas. The walls were each painted a different color, yet they complemented one another. The kitchen floor was a wood laminate, while the rest of the flooring was a tight-weave carpeting. Nothing about the surroundings suggested that it was part of a warehouse.

“You each have rooms of your own?”

“Rooms, lounges, bathrooms, kitchens... There are three flats on this floor,” Stiles said, nodding. The two looked at Eddus, standing at the coffee machine on the counter. He picked up his cup and joined them at the table, pulling the chair next to Abbi out.

“That’s amazing.” Abbi put both hands around her cup of tea, gently blowing at the steam.

“It’s really not,” Eddus said with a shrug. “The whole floor used to be all offices and storage space. I just knocked out a couple of walls and closed in a few others.”

“He’s full of crap, Abbi.” Stiles snorted, rolling her eyes. “The apartments are very nice. The whole floor has been soundproofed so that you can’t hear the noises outside. I’ll show you mine sometime.”

“Do you own the entire floor?” Abbi asked Eddus.

“He owns the building,” Stiles told her, lifting her glass. She used a cloth to wipe the ring of liquid under it.

“The whole thing?”

“It was an investment. It pays the bills,” Eddus said, glancing at Abbi, “and it’s not as great as all that. It’s nothing compared to where you’re from.”

Abbi said nothing. She gave no reaction to his statement, only sipped her tea again. For a few moments, the three of them sat in a silence that lingered, almost to the point of being awkward.

“Am I missing something?” Stiles looked back and forth between the two of them. “What’s going on?”

“You’re not missing anything, Stiles.” Eddus shook his head, looking apologetically at Abbi.

“Have you been to her place?” Stiles’ gaze shifted to the girl across from her. Her eyes widened. “He’s been to your place!”

Remaining silent, Abbi’s hand remained clasped around the handle of her teacup. She dropped her gaze, looking at the steaming liquid it held, and lowered her head.

“Stiles,” Eddus tapped the table with his fingertips. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

He didn’t need to be able to read Abbi’s facial expressions to know that his remark had made her uncomfortable. Immediately, he knew he shouldn’t have said it.

“Then what’s going on?” Looking at him questioningly, Stiles’ brows knitted.

“Nothing. I’ve never been to Abbi’s house,” Eddus said. He met Stiles’ gaze. Abbi turned her head toward him and then looked across the table. “I just meant that she lives in a nicer area than this.”

Glancing at him, Abbi remained silent. It was true, Eddus had never been to her house. He barely had a glimpse into her world. And she had no real opinion as to whether the faerie realm was nicer than the human realm. She’d never thought to compare the two.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, Abbi,” Stiles said, pursing her lips.

“Please, don’t apologize!” Abbi’s expression changed quickly to alarm, as she quickly looked towards Eddus’s roommate.

“Are you alright?”

“Of course.” A quick smile, and Abbi glanced away. “I’m fine. And this place is lovely. I just don’t want you to have the wrong idea.”

“I was just happy for Ed.” Stiles gave her a sympathetic nod.

“Because you thought he’d been to my house...?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve known Ed for a long time, and he’s never had a girlfriend for as long as I’ve known him.”

“I’m sitting right here,” Eddus rolled his eyes, giving his housemate a look. He shifted his gaze to Abbi for a moment, then again to Stiles.

Abbi hadn’t seemed to react to the implication of the word girlfriend, which was a relief. In fact, she let go of the teacup and placed her hand on Eddus’s.

“Well, I like this human.” She smiled as he quickly looked at her in surprise. She narrowed her eyes at him. “In fact, he’s the sweetest one I know.”

“Well, as far as humans go, he is a good guy.” Stiles glanced at Abbi’s hand on Eddus’s with an amused expression, but did not say anything more.