Looking Up

-----Elle's POV

Ugh my head- what time is it? I close my eyes tight while I stretch and I let out a loud yawn. My eyes flicker open- shit! These aren't my blankets- this isn't my pillow- where the hell am I?!

An unfamiliar red and tan comforter hugs my body as I try to sit up. The reddish maroon curtains are open, allowing the sunlight flood the tan bedroom. An end table next to me displays a couple of family photos and a vase of fake red flowers. The alarm clock tells me it's only 9:53am. The light walls of the bedroom are bare, except for a small mirror and a few pictures. My eyes travel around the room until they fixate on the door across from the bed leading into what looks like a kitchen.

I untangle myself from the sheets and manage to get out of the comfiest bed I've ever slept in. My head starts to throb a little so I massage my temples a couple of times- I shouldn't have stood up so fast. The clothes I have on drape over me- these look four sizes too big! The shirt could be easily worn as a dress, one leg of the sweatpants is scrunched up to my knee, and I only have one sock on- what the hell happened last night? My stomach starts to turn and it becomes harder to breath- the last thing I remember was dancing with Steve and then getting into a car a while later.

I shuffle my way slowly across the cold wooden floors and towards the bedroom door. I start to hear noises from the TV and the smell of coffee fills my nostrils. I peak my head out of the door and into a huge open light turquoise room, which holds the kitchen and entrance to the apartment. The kitchen looks new with its marble countertops and black fridge and stove. Next to this room, is an archway that is the entrance to a small dining room with a medium sized table with 5 chairs around it.

I peak more out of the bedroom door to my right to see where the noise is coming from. A huge rock is lifted off my shoulders when I see a sleepy Steve lounging on a brown leather couch watching TV with his feet on the coffee table and a black coffee cup in his hands. I start to lean out of the doorway more to see more of the room when the wooden floor underneath me creeks, and Steve looks over to me with a big smile on his face.

"Good morning Miss Sunshine!" he says cheerily; I smile back at him and wave as he gets up from the couch and heads to the kitchen. "What kind of coffee do you like?"

"Uhm-" my voice cracks and I cough to try and clear my throat. Jeez, I just sounded like a chain smoker. "Well- uh- anything is good."

"Want a pack of cigarettes too?" he says teasing me about my scratchy morning voice.

"Ha-Ha very funny Steve." We both laugh and I shake my head in embarrassment.

"Just sit at the table- I'll be right over with your coffee Bambi."

I nod and start my way over to the dining room. His apartment is big, but still a nice size, not too luxurious- well, sure it has a beautiful kitchen, and a plasma screen TV, but it's not over done. Surprisingly, it looks like a guy lives here, despite the decorations and all- his Xbox is sprawled across the TV cabinet with a few games and some blankets and throw pillows are spread out messily on the floor and couches.

I pull out a large chair from under the table and attempt to make myself comfortable. Not too long after, Steve arrives to the table with a cup of coffee and two slices of toast with butter on top.

"I hope this is good-"

"Yes! Yes! It's perfect, thank you so much!" I say, cutting him off.

I eat both pieces of toast in a matter of minutes- I didn't realize how hungry I was before. After I finish eating, there is some awkward silence- there's been a question I've been dying to ask him since I woke up. I look up from my plate and directly into his eyes, "We didn't- uhm- do anything? Right?" I ask him, trailing off towards the end of the sentence.

"Oh! No, no, no! I carried you up here and changed you out of your dress," when he says this my eyes widen in panic, "well I mean- I didn't- uhm- actually see anything don't worry! I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to be stuck in that dress," he tells me trying to comfort me.

"Thank you! It's fine, really- I trust you," I look up at him again and smile. "By the way I'm sorry if I did anything last night to upset you, I - uhm- well I can't really remember a lot of what happened last night... and I just hope you don't look at me any differently..." I say ashamed of myself looking down again at my plate.

Steve scoots his chair closer to mine and holds on to my right hand, "don't worry; I don't look at you any differently. Well, except now I know you can dance like that," he laughs, "but uh- it isn't your fault. I'm just a little shy and the guys were giving you shots every time I didn't cut in before any of them did. It was their twisted way of trying to get me to dance with you."

I lean my head against my left hand, "I'm so embarrassed! They probably think I'm a drunk or something," I let out in a whine.

"Trust me, they don't! They actually feel bad for doing it, but they just wanted me to grow a pair. But they did tell me you were a ton of fun, so don't worry- they like you," Steve says trying to cheer me up.

"Well, thank you so much for taking care of me. I'm so so sooo sorry though about it!" I admit to him. He reassures me that it's okay once again, stroking my hand with his thumb.

After a moment of silence, we start to talk about game 5 and his preparations. He tells me he has to leave today around noon to head over to G's and then they're leaving from there to drive to New York.

"Why don't you take a shower? I bet you're dying for one," he says to me while helping me up from my chair. He leads me into the bathroom, grabs me a towel, and shows me how to work the shower. "Here's a new tooth brush and you can use my tooth paste, okay?"

"You really don't have to do this for me Steve, I've been too much of a bur-"

"Stop- don't finish that sentence. You're not even close to being a burden Elle - I'm just trying to be a good host," he tells me interrupting me. He then leans down, kisses my forehead, which sends shocks down my entire body, and exits the bathroom; the small kiss leaves me stunned for a few moments.

I calm myself down and step into his enormous, beautifully tiled shower- okay maybe this is luxurious. I only take several minutes to shower and brush my teeth- I didn't want to inconvenience him anymore by staying longer than I had to.

"Hey! Uhm- you can drop me off- you remember where my apartment is right?" I yell from the bathroom while drying my hair more with the red fluffy towel.

"You're not getting away that easily," he says, walking up to the door of the bathroom. "Let's watch a movie until I have to go." I smile and nod. Steve takes me over to his collection of DVD's and we pick out 'Anchorman' to watch. Not even halfway through the movie, Steve goes from holding my hand to wrapping his arm around my body, pulling me closer to his torso. I wish this moment could last forever- I've never been so warm and comfortable in my life.

At the end of the movie, I admit to him that I'd never seen it before, but I've always wanted to see it. After a couple more laughs, we find ourselves looking into each other's eyes. His arm is wrapped around my right side, my head is resting on his right shoulder, and our free hands are intertwined with each other. Steve gives me a small smile and moves his head closer to mine and rests it on the back seat cushion. Our lips are only several inches apart and I hear my mind telling me to make a move. I give in and start to lean in closer and he does the same.

All of the sudden, Steve's jarring ring tone breaks the silence. He lets out a loud discontent groan, moves away from me, and struggles to get his phone out of his pocket. "It's G, I'm sorry, hold on."

After a short conversation with G, Steve turns to me, "I'm sorry but I have to get to G's house- we really lost track of time," he chuckles, "You can borrow my clothes - I'll drop you off at your place, is that okay?" I nod and head into the bedroom to grab my clothes from last night and we head to my apartment in his truck after he gets what he needs for the trip up to New York.

"Oh boy, people are going to think you're taking in a hobo Steve," I say laughing, commenting on how his clothes look on me. I didn't even have any shoes or socks on, just his huge t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Yes, but a cute hobo!" he turns and says to me with a smile on his face. I blush and try to hide my goofy smile by looking out the window.

We talk about some random topics here and there until we get to my apartment. I thank him for everything he did for me once again before I get out of the truck. We say goodbye to each other and I start to walk towards my building.

"Elle!" I hear him yell, and I turn around. " I'm sorry we haven't had much time to actually talk. I promise we'll see each other more after this first round is finished, okay? "

"Alrighty," I nod and smile. I stand still on the sidewalk as I watch him drive away. "Good luck Steve," I murmur under my breath.

As I head into my apartment, I take my phone out of my purse and see 8 missed calls and 15 unread text messages from Jaime. 'Call me ASAP- I need to know what happened! Are you and Steve a thing yet?!'

A sigh of discontent leaves my lips, if only I actually knew.

Notes

Hey everyone! I'm finally back from my trip and I was able to write today! I plan on updating tomorrow or Saturday. Sorry this chapter doesn't have a whole lot going on in it, but hope you guys like it anyway! Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe.