ON THE WAY

The morning after. She hates morning afters, the awkwardness. And they had just gotten rid of their awkwardness. But nothing happened, right? She wasn't entirely sure. But what she was sure of was that Joel had a feast in his kitchen when she stepped out dressed. Which wasn't only to her surprise but Sarah's as well. In Rory's mind, she had pictures of Joel to burn everything or use sour milk in his cereal. Overall, in her head, he was not the chef he appeared to be this morning.

She was just planning to thank him again and then go back home. She didn't trust herself around him right now. She didn't know if she would melt into the floor in front of him or pounce on him. This all you can eat breakfast that was staring at her was telling her she couldn't go. Something in her was telling her this was for her. A gift? An apology? She wasn't sure. But if one thing, she knew , Joel Miller knew she was a sucker for a good food spread.

"Mornin. Sleep, alright?" He asks as he pours himself a coffee. Her eyes are trained on his hands, those veins as he grips the cup. She nods.

"Yeah, slept great, thanks." Lies. She spent the night with nothing but thoughts of him running through her head. She couldn't sleep. If her mind were to be personified, she'd describe it as an erotic hamster. She didn't even know what an erotic hamster would look like, but something about that combination of words summed up her mind last night.

"Help yourself. There's plenty to go around." He gestures to the sausages, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and multiple slices of toast.

"Yeah, thanks." She settles down onto a chair, grabbing a plate and putting some food on the plate. Sarah shortly appears downstairs. Her hair slightly tangled as she scratched her head a confused look on her face.

"We should have more guests over if you actually feed us." She jokes as she immediately digs into the bacon.

"Don't be acting like I don't feed ya." Joel scowls.

"Sure does feel like it sometimes." She laughs at her own little joke.

Rory is completely amused by the back and fourth going on between the father and daughter. Something very comforting about it all. She doesn't feel excluded. She doesn't feel like she's intruding. It feels like a second home. The three of them enjoy breakfast together. The back and fourth are still going on, and Rory joins in with the teasing. Relaying the information of the sad refrigerator she had found in this very kitchen. To which Joel is very defensive and quick to say he hadn't had a chance to go to the store until after July Fourth. It felt natural. Whatever this was, whatever was happening, felt right.

Over the next few days, she had been trying to figure out what that night meant. What was he trying to do? Was it just the drinks? Was it just an in the moment thing? She wasn't entirely sure if he was just doing this all to mess with her. Either way, she was infatuated with him. She wanted to play his own game back. See if he she can get in his head. Something seemed really fun about that. She was spending her free time figuring out his schedule. His routines, just so she can slowly weave her way into his head, his daily thoughts, if she wasn't in there already.

She knew he woke up around 7:30 a.m. when he'd be working because he'd be on his porch with a coffee staring out at the neighbourhood by 7:40 a.m. She also knew he'd leave the house by 8:15 a.m. for work. She hadn't figured out the timings when he'd be working away, but that was a good sign if he was staying home. It meant more time for her to get in his head. He'd sometimes return around 12:45 p.m. for his lunch, sometimes he'll eat at home with Sarah, or he'll pick her up, and they'll go out for food. And if they go out for food, she then knows that he doesn't return until he gets home from work anywhere between 6:20 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. On Tuesdays, he goes out for drinks with her dad, and they're both back by 9 p.m. at the latest, because they're old men who have a bedtime of 10 p.m.