"How come he gets a hug and I get called a loser?" I shouted over to her teasingly.
She put an L on forehead with her fingers and then pointed at me. I returned the large smile she gave me with one of my own.
"Who is that?" Liam asked as he sat on my left.
"Lilli," I took a sip of my drink. "She’s Dixon’s roommate."
Then I introduced Dixon to Liam. Liam was instantly amused by Dixon. I think it would be difficult for anyone to really not like him.
With a loud shout, James got the evening started. Celia poured shots of Patron and we toasted his engagement. We found a table and spent the night drinking and joking around. At the end of the night, around midnight, we said our goodbyes and headed home. Aside for Dixon, who waited on Lilli and Celia’s shift to end.
~
The weekend found me at Dixon’s on Friday night, hanging out watching sports and drinking beer. It was around one thirty when we heard the door. Without looking away from the TV, Dixon yelled out, "Hey, Lilli."
"Hey honey!" Dixon spun around at the sound of Celia’s voice. With a sly smile, tight fitting jeans and barely there halter top, Celia wiggled the fingers of her right hand at him. Looking at Dixon’s face, I knew it was time for me to go.
"Celia," Dixon smiled, but confusion soon replaced it. "Where’s Lilli?"
"Oh, she is on her way up. She had to fight off Tom in the entryway," Celia rolled her eyes sitting on the arm of Dixon’s chair. "Not to mention that she’s already in a shit mood."
"What happened? Bill giving her a hard time again?" Irritation poured from every pore of his body.
"Of course he is. This time it was because Lilli refused to serve a guy who was making lewd comments." She shrugged. "You would think Bill would support us instead of taking it out on us. Anyhow, if he has to talk with her again he says he’s going to fire her." Celia slid onto Dixon’s lap. "It’s ridiculous." She grumbled.
"Well, I think I should get—"
"Stupid fucking asshole! Stupid pathetic…" Lilli stopped ranting when she saw us looking at her. "Sorry," She stated, forcing a smile before storming towards the kitchen. Her face flushed with anger.
"Told you," Celia whispered to Dixon.
"Want me to kick his ass, Lilli?" Dixon turned his head toward the kitchen.
"I just don’t understand why he doesn’t get the hint." She yelled before gulping down a beer she pulled from the refrigerator. "Seriously, how many times would I have to tell you no before you would get the hint I wasn’t interested?" She looked directly at me.
"Ummm…" Straightening my back, I searched my head for the right response.
"Don’t answer," Dixon whispered harshly. Celia giggled.
"Oh, never mind!"
Dixon gave me thumbs up. Lilli fumed down the hallway until her door slammed.
"Okay, well I think I should go."
"Dude, you don’t have to go. Stay and hang longer. We can shove a movie in." He stood up, placing Celia in the chair by herself, and walked over to some shelves of DVDs.
"No really, I have plans tomorrow so I—"
Lilli entered the room wearing cotton shorts, a tank top and those damn knee socks with the stripes. If someone were to describe this outfit to me I would laugh but it was hot on her.
"Lilli, you’re scaring Aidan," Dixon chuckled.
"No she’s not," I protested.
"Are you scared Aid-man?" Lilli grinned, sitting down just one cushion away from me on the couch.
I grimaced. "You know, I’m not a fan of the nickname."
"So you prefer Aidan-O?" She looked at Celia. "That’s Phoebe’s lover boy name for him.”
Without even thinking, I launched the jacket I held in my lap at her. I inhaled quickly, ready to apologize but she was cracking up. Laughter burst from my mouth.
About 3 beers and half a movie later, Celia fell asleep on Dixon’s chest. I’m not sure when sleep found me but waking to the smell of cherries and flowers was nice. Groggily, I opened my eyes and started to stretch. A warm body shifted next to me. Still exhausted, I forced myself to look at the source of the warmth. Lilli lay against my chest and legs, both of us stretched out on the couch. Lying side by side sent a comfortable ease I hadn’t experienced with a woman before. Savoring the comfort and warmth, I cuddled in closer to her.
Next time I woke to the smells bacon and syrup. Stretching, I found myself alone. Sitting up, I shoved off a blanket that hadn’t been there before.
Did I dream it? Maybe Lilli hadn’t been cuddling on the couch with me.
Noise in the kitchen drew my attention. Lilli and Celia stood in the kitchen cooking and attempting to be quiet. They were failing. As I headed toward them Celia turned around with a plate full of bacon.
"Good morning," she smiled. Smiling, I rubbed the back of my head. She was definitely in Dixon’s shirt, it was huge.
"Coffee?" She placed a cup in front of me.
"Oh God, please, yes!" I rubbed my eyes.
"Another caffeine addict in the house I see," Celia smiled.
I smiled and picked up the full mug.