The Morning After
Tobin and Alex’s situation was quite comical, looking past the serious implications of marriage. So it was no surprise really, when Tobin unashamedly busted out in laughter, right in front of a peeved and slightly horrified Alex.
“Do you think this is funny? Does this …” Alex paused, waving the marriage certificate in front of Tobin’s face, “look like a joke to you?” Alex says raising her voice.
“You’re cute when you yell.” Tobin says, leaving Alex lost for words. In all honesty, she should be taking this a bit more seriously, but getting to annoy Alex really is more fun that it should be. There was something oddly enchanting about the way her blue eyes lit up when she was enraged. Tobin wanted to learn more.
Alex’s face turned red and Tobin could practically see the steam radiating from the other woman’s ears, she was going to explode at any minute.
“What is that on your finger?” Tobin questioned, trying to distract Alex from her eventual eruption.
“I don’t know.” Alex said eyeing the apparently tattooed on band.
“It looks like a –“
“Let me see your finger.”
“Fuck.”
“What happened last night?” Tobin groaned, taking a seat Indian style in the bed so that she was facing Alex.
“Well for starters, we got fucking married.”
“We can always get an annulment.”
“Trust me, I’m way ahead of you, no way I’m gonna be married to that.” Alex said motioning in Tobin’s direction.
“What do you have against me huh? You’ve hated me since I walked into the zoo.” Tobin asked.
Alex was about to respond when a knock on the door disrupted their conversation.
It was Kelley.
“Hey newlyweds, I had to come to make sure you two weren’t murdering each other yet.” Kelley joked, eating a banana.
“You guys even look like a married couple now.”
Which was true by observation. Alex was wearing Tobin’s clothes and had bed hair from the night before, which gave the illusion of both being comfortable with each other and all of their many faces.
“What do you want Kel?” Alex asked, suddenly feeling very stressed. She sat next to Tobin to face Kelley who was standing at the foot of the bed.
“Well .. I was doing some thinking, about you two. I saw you last night, drunken, newly wed and happy off your rockers and I thought wouldn’t it be nice to see this everyday. You two could make a great pair you know, I think you just have to give it a chance.”
Alex snorted. There was no possible way Kelley would convince her that starting a relationship with Tobin was a good idea, she was Tobin for crying out loud. Always calm, and unbothered, a relationship with her would send Alex crazy, heck, they weren’t even in a relationship and Tobin had already caused Alex a bunch of un wanted stress.
She looked at Tobin then, curious as to what her mind was considering at the ridiculousness of Kelley’s suggestions. She appeared to be actually calculating and digesting what Kelley at said.
“You can’t be seriously considering what she’s saying.” Alex said voicing her thoughts.
“Alex, I have absolutely no qualm with you. Maybe a friendship would be nice.” Tobin said.
“Bullshit.” Alex rolled her eyes and turned to face Kelley again.
“Okay, since I’m your boss. I’m gonna give you an offer you can’t refuse. If you two can hash it out for 3 months, I’ll give both of you a promotion. I’d have some rules though, you know, to keep it interesting. You’d both have to live together for the three months, you have to do actual couple things, sleeping in the same bed, long romantic dates on the beach, long romantic fu-“
“OKAY! We get it” Alex interrupted, her friend had a habit for being inappropriate
“And, whatever else I come up with.” Kelley finished, scanning her friend’s faces for any signs of distaste.
“I’m in.” Tobin said almost instantly. She would do it for free, Alex was beautiful, smart and she hated Tobin, this gave Tobin a chance repair the seemingly broken relationship that Tobin didn’t even know existed.
“Okay …” Alex said after a solid few minutes of thinking, “3 months, nothing more.”
Three months with Tobin Heath couldn’t be all that bad. “You can’t fall in love with someone in three months, I’ll be fine.”
“Why do you want us together so bad?” Alex asked curiously.
“Because, you two are the perfect ones to be in charge of the zoo’s next big project and it can’t happen if you two hate each other.”
**
It’s for your job. Alex reminded herself as she stood in front of Tobin’s house, suitcases in hand.
The thought of spending three months with someone who she absolutely loathed (while sober at least) was far from thrilling; the thought of getting a promotion however thoroughly excited Alex, enough apparently to persuade her to spend more than a few seconds with someone who she didn’t really get along with.
She probably wouldn’t even have to see Tobin, maybe just in the mornings and nights, she would make it an objective of hers to make herself scarce around the dwelling whenever she knew Tobin was there.
Shaking herself out of her musings, she knocked on Tobin’s door.
Tobin opened the door after a few seconds, looking slightly disheveled, it was how she always looked though Alex noted.
It was almost endearing, but Alex’s strong willed mind wouldn’t let those thoughts prove to be true as she still had a strong seethed dislike for the adorable woman standing in front of her.
“Hey Alex, you’re early, I was just uh … trying to clean up.” Tobin said, offering a half smile.
“Let me help you with those.”
Let the games begin.