Finally Free!
Aurora Liliana Alexandria Potter sighed in her warm cup of tea. The movers had finally delivered all her boxes to her new flat. Though she had to pay them a hefty bribe because they refused to bring up her stuff without a lift. Honestly, the fact that the elevator was out of service should really have been mentioned on the listing.
Aurora heaved herself up to rummage for a hair tie in the box labelled accessories. Tying her long red hair up in a twisty-bun, she picked up the list of various colours that could go with both her rooms. The paint done in the living room and kitchen was a light cream with a hint of pale blue, pretty enough for her taste, so she left it as it is.
She wanted to get the painting job out of the way before she set-up her stuff and had her furniture delivered. She had to purchase a new mattress as well, because she absolutely refused to sleep on a bed that someone else once potentially fucked on. This was perhaps, her OCD and mysophobia talking but lying on a possible...sex bed grossed her out deeply.
The pretty red-head shook herself out of her thoughts and stretched languidly. She re-checked her baby-pink clutch for her credit card and spare change before looking down at her clothes. She was clad in low-slung, faded back jeans, with slim chains hanging down the right side. Her hot-red leather jacket was left open over her short, off-white tank top. Her feet were clad in comfortable, 2 inch heels, to provide her 4'10 body some height.
She ultimately decided that her outfit was appropriate for going out and picked up her keys. A little meow caught her attention and Aurora cooed softly at the adorable black and white feline calling her. She bended forward to take her beloved little kitten in her thin arms. "Hey Oreo", the woman cooed yet again as her cat licked her pale cheek. The cat, a black and white munchkin, was gifted to the nineteen year old by her former mentor on her eighteenth birthday.
"You think you can take care of yourself for a few hours?", Aurora gently scratched the happily purring kitty behind his fuzzy white ears. She the took the cute meow she received in response as an affirmative and kissed Oreo on his little pink nose. Jumping out of his owner's thin arms, Oreo strutted languidly towards his fluffy blue bed sitting in the corner.
The weary red-head gave small chuckle and made a grab for her keys. It was already 4 in the evening and she really needed to get the shopping done before it got dark. This was after all her first time in America let alone Pasadena and she didn't want to get lost. She was already depending on her uber driver to get her to a good hardware and paint store. With these thoughts she started the descend down the two flights of stairs. God, she hoped the furniture movers wouldn't give her too much grief about the lack of a lift. The only good thing was that she had already pre-ordered all her furniture through catalogues and it would arrive the next day.
Today, all she had to do was buy paint and call for take-out pizza. Though she was dreading tomorrow; painting the rooms, unpacking all the stuff she could without the new furniture, buying the groceries. She could feel the fatigue crawling through her limbs.
Getting in her uber she just asked the driver to take her to any hardware which sold good paint and sat back with a bone weary sigh.
Aurora was finally ready to leave the small store after an hour of browsing through paint samples before just settling on a cute periwinkle blue for her bedroom and an array of purple for her work room. Bribing her driver with a good tip, she was able to convince him to help her get the paint cans up to her flat.
She kept her keys on the high table in the kitchen and plopped down the lone stood she had found in the bathroom. Without wasting any time, the previously slumbering cat pounced on her owner's warm lap. The nineteen year old shook her head fondly at the affectionate feline's behaviour. Her stomach rumbling reminded her that she had yet to call take-out. She fished out her phone from her leather jacket. Warm, cheesy pizza and a frosty diet coke seemed good for tonight.
Her brain was currently filled with images of a comfortable, fluffy bed, as she leaned against the kitchen table. She closed her eyes, drifting off for a few minutes wouldn't hurt.
After what seemed like 2 seconds, the sharp sound of knocks pierced the drifting girl's ears. She groaned in frustration. "Who the fuck-", she cursed lightly under her breath. Blinking rapidly, she stumbled up and blindly reached for her glasses and purse. She hastily made way towards her front door and opened it clumsily.
The delivery man was leaning against the wall, scratching his head lazily. "How much?", the red-head questioned and smiled politely at the dark-haired man.
"24 dollars and 50 cents", the man answered boredom and waited as the tiny woman in front of him fished for the money in her purse. "Keep the change", the nineteen year old said with a kind smile, as she handed him the two 20 dollar notes. The man managed to pass a small, grateful smile back before the girl shut the door with soft thud.
Aurora eagerly bounced to the kitchen and sat back on the rather uncomfortable stool. Looking at the yummy, saucy, vegetable pizza she was reminded that her cat was probably hungry by now as well. Keeping the pizza box and soda can back on the kitchen table with reluctance she stood back up with a groan.
She gave Oreo's pretty sea green ceramic bowl which had cute cat ears protruding from the top, a light wash and filled it with Oreo's vegetable based food. The water bowl was already full. A few months ago she had bought a dual water and food dispenser for her cat but it was still packed in the boxes and she didn't have the strength to unpack it today.
The little munchkin woke up from his nap as soon as he smelled the wafting scent of his favourite food, intermixed with the smell of pizza. He tumbled to his bowl, his little paws slipping in his haste. The cat was a little foodie through and through. Aurora giggled at her pet's adorable behaviour and started devouring her own treat, after scrubbing her hand properly.
Both owner and pet took time in savouring their dinner after a long day of travelling and moving. The short female sighed in content at her full belly and tossed the garbage in the paper bag she had put out for the said purpose until she got a dustbin. She petted Oreo behind his furry ears one last time and wished him a good night. He was a smart cat, he would do his business in his pretty, purple litter box and go to bed.
Even though the thought of sleeping on the current mattress was not exactly pleasant for the petite red-head, she resigned herself to spend one miserable night on it. She had already spread her own clean, peach-coloured sheets, so there was one small saving grace. Laying down on the bed after a quick change of clothes to a silk nightie she had designed herself, she grinned.
Despite having been away from her horrible relatives for a few years now, she always had this irrevocable free that she would have to go back to them, even when she was in France. Fear that she would have to go back to living in a cupboard. Back to getting meals only twice a week. Back to being relentlessly beaten by her cousin and his band of hooligans. Back to being belittled and degraded. And these thoughts scared her more than anything. But now she was officially free. There was nothing holding her back. She had left the continent altogether. There were thousands of miles between her and her relatives. And this made her grin widely. A grin so wide that her poor cheeks starting throbbing.
With these thoughts she fell in a dreamless sleep.
****************
Next morning brought blinding sunlight filtering through the small window and Aurora moaned piteously in the pillow. She didn't want to get up from the warm, fluffy goodness that was this bed. She sighed. Now that she was awake there was no going back to sleep for her. Besides, she had a lot to do today. Like paint the rooms before her brand new furniture got here. A handyman she had hired to assemble her cabinets, bookshelf, desks and stuff was also going to come today.
Getting up, she stretched her arms languidly. Before she did anything she had to take a shower. Then she had to visit the nearest cafe to purchase a to-go cup of tea. Slipping her feet in her fluffy, bunny slippers she walked out to the boxes labelled clothes. She couldn't go fancy obviously, because she had to unpack and paint in those same clothes.
After some rummaging and thinking, a worn-out pair of comfortable denim shorts and a scruffy crop top was chosen. The old clothes she always saved were for these occasions specifically. Showering was a glorious affair. The hot water wiped the kinks in her back right out. She slowly rubbed her apple-cinnamon scented shampoo through her long mane and thoroughly massaged her scalp. Stepping out of the tub, she wrapped a fluffy towel around her chest.
Carefully entering her bedroom, she plopped down on the bed and slowly dried her body. Rubbing her thin body with her favourite hazelnut moisturiser, she slipped into her clothes and colourful canvas sneakers. Before leaving her flat, she checked up on Oreo, just to find him still slumbering, cocooned in his fuzzy little blanket.
She mentally calculated the odds of her quickly going to the cafe and buying a cup of tea before her kitten woke. She shrugged. They looked pretty good. It was only 8 in the morning and Oreo tended to sleep in late. She threw on a jacket and ambled out.
One hour found Aurora back in her apartment, drinking her usual cup of warm honey-lemon tea, as a small feline purred in her lap. Exhaling softly, Aurora smiled to herself. She stood up and briefly watched Oreo straighten himself and flounce towards her bedroom, looking forward to cuddling her pillow.
'Well, if you're gonna make it in time then you better start painting', she thought to herself.
Three hours later, the woman was panting in exhaustion as she dropped the extra-extendable roller. She was sweating lightly and her tied hair had clumps of blue paint stuck in them. The first coating for her bedroom was done. She would start with the other room and hopefully by the time she was done, the first coat on her room's walls would be at least semi-dried. If it looked good with just a single coat then she would leave it as it is.
But first, she had to feed her cat.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
It was 3 in the afternoon by the time Aurora was done painting the rooms. The single coat looked good as it was, so she didn't bother with the second coat. If the paint peeled she had plenty of extra left and she could always repaint in a year.
Her furniture would be here in about 2-3 hours and by that time she wanted to unpack the little stuff she could. Like her clothes and makeup and accessories. She was keeping the cupboard that came with the flat plus she had those plastic, retractable drawer organisers for her makeup, accessories and work supplies. Not to mention the small clothing rack for her dresses. The cupboard in her work room would be used as a cleaning closet, so she could settle all the cleaning supplies.
So with that line of thought she set out to unpack. She was sweaty, covered in paint and hungry but she really wanted to finish totally unpacking, so she wouldn't constantly overthink it.
She threw herself on the bed with a satisfied groan. Almost all the unpacking was done and she was exhausted. Her stuff would be here in 10-15 minutes and she couldn't wait for it to be over so she could sleep for atleast a little bit.
20 minutes later the sound of her phone ringing shook her out of her thoughts. It was the moving company. She had to go open the building door and let them in. Jumping up, she stumbled around on one leg as she attempted to put her trainers on.
Opening the door, she rushed down the stairs. 5 men were crowded outside the glass door, a huge moving van parked behind them. She hastily opened the door. She signed the papers, handed to her by one of the delivery guys, as she waited for them to remove her new furniture from the van.
She gave them the address and sauntered up the stairs to open the door for the movers. First came her cream-coloured sofa, followed by her two turquoise armchairs. Soon her flat was filled with her new sofa, armchairs, 3 high-chairs for her kitchen table, a mini coffee-table. Her mattress had been finally replaced too. Different boxes pottered her newly carpeted floor. One had the 4 large clothing racks she had ordered for her work room. Some had her cabinets, her work desk, her t.v. media centre.
She had contacted the handyman, Samuel, and he told her he would arrive after his last appointment of the day. Which was in about one hour. Till then she would take a shower and change her clothes. Which took about 45 to 50 minutes.
She had dressed in her more fancier clothes, after all her more taxing work was over. All that was left of her work was; setting up her laptop and coloured printer in her work room, unpacking her work supplies, filling out the extra cabinet in her room with extra sheets and blankets, buying groceries and setting up her beloved kitchen.
A couple of minutes later, Aurora's very handsome handyman entered her flat with his tool kit, a utility belt hanging from his trim waist. As they made small talk, Aurora washed her new utensils and put them in their place and Samuel worked on assembling the media centre first.
An hour later, the pretty girl was done with cleaning and setting the dishes, while Samuel had just started on the bookshelf. He swallowed deeply as he tried not to stare at the hot girl. He tried to distract himself with work but every once in while his eyes would involuntarily stray back to the red-head and particularly her plump behind.
Aurora, bless her soul, didn't notice the ogling. She was extremely naive and oblivious when it came to the matters of the heart. Due to her less than stellar upbringing she just didn't believe anyone would be interested in her romantically. Sure her mentor would sometimes flirt with her but she knew it didn't mean anything.
Right now, she was busy stocking her cabinet with sheets and blankets. After she was done, she promptly filled Oreo's empty dispenser with creamy milk and food. She couldn't very well leave a strange man in her apartment alone, so she had to busy herself with a book, 'Both Of Them Die At The End', she was an entry away from finishing it and it was currently climbing its way towards the top of her favourite books list. She was thankful she hadn't applied any makeup because little pearly tears were cascading down her cheeks. She knew both the boys were going to die by the end, but it still hit her hard when Mateo died in that kitchen fire.
Her stomach growling in demand for food distracted Aurora away from her book. It was almost 7:30 and she was hungry. All she had all day long was a cup of tea. She went to see how much progress the sandy-haired man had made with her stuff.
Going out in the kitchen, she could see that her media centre had been placed properly and her flat screen had been placed on top of it. The small dining table had been set up in the black left corner of the living room, right beside the window. The small shoe cabinet had been assembled facing the right side of her sofa, along the wall. Samuel must be in her work room.
"Hey Sam, how much work is left?", she asked softly as she entered the purple themed room. "Oh, almost done. Just have adjust this here", the handyman grunted, his hands working on the front right leg of the desk. A few minutes later, he was picking up the table to set it upright. "Done."
Aurora grinned. Sam had done a perfect job. All her cabinets had been placed just where she had wanted them, all her clothing racks were stacked side up side in the far left corner. Her four cupboards were positioned two on each side. Her extra large bookshelf was placed behind her desk. All in all it looked amazing.
"Oh! Thank you so much, this is perfect", she smiled gratefully at a beaming Sam.
"Don't worry about it", the man said kindly.
"How much do I owe you?"
"100 dollars."
Aurora rummaged in her purse and pulled out a 100 dollar note along with a 20. Handing the money to the handsome man, she led him out. She thanked him once again, softly shutting the door right after.
Finally all done. Except groceries. And stocking her books. But that could be done tomorrow. All she could think about was food. She didn't want to order take-out, she was getting sick of staying in her flat. She was dressed nice enough so it wouldn't hurt to go out for the night. She applied some light makeup and slipped her feet in her lovely black Mary Jane's for final touches.
Filling Oreo's bowls with food and milk, she was ready to go out. Her small smile, however tired, was radiant as she stepped out after a work-weary day.
****************
Penny had a remarkably easy day. They had almost no customers. Except a few girls and her friends. It was a Tuesday, which meant that Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj had come to and eat at the Cheesecake Factory. The only trouble she had was with Sheldon. He had thrown a huge fit when he had found out that Miss Gunderson was moving out and a new tenant was replacing her. She was ambling up the stairs and she had just reached the third floor when she got her first glimpse of the new tenant. It was a woman. No, not a woman, a girl. A relatively young girl. Certainly a lot younger than Penny had been when she first moved here.
The girl was searching for something in her stark white purse. The first thing the waitress noticed was the long, gorgeous red locks. Boy, were they long. Her hair was pulled in a stylish, messy plait, but if the blonde had to guess the hair would reach the tops of the girls knees if they were open. The loose strands were pushed back with a plain white head band. The young girl had a small petite build with curves in all the right places. Slim, dainty legs and from what it looked like an extremely perky chest.
The next thing that held Penny's attention were her clothes. She was dressed in a victorian white, off-shouldered, corset-blouse that flared gently at her waist. Her bottom half was covered with a pair of stylishly ripped, faded blue jean shorts, that reached the middle of her thighs. She was wearing black stockings underneath shorts. Her small feet were clad in jet black Mary Jane's.
Now, Penny wasn't a 'lesbian', hell she wasn't even bisexual but she could most definitely agree that, while she hadn't seen the girls's face, what was visible was extremely pleasing to the eye.
But when the red-head did look up, Penny was struck speechless. She had small, pixie-like features, with soft gentle slopes, a pert nose and a wine red lips. Her eyes, though were mind blowing. Almond shaped and adorably wide, they were a beautiful shade of emerald, surrounded by a forest of thick, long lashes. But they were also obscured with golden-rimmed, slim hexagon shaped glasses. Her eyebrows were finely arched and plucked to perfection. The girl's small, pointy ears were adorned with two gleaming diamonds in both ears.
She was like those pretty elves in that movie The Lord Of The Rings, the guys liked to see so much. Penny could, without an ounce of shame, could admit that she was jealous. Extremely so. But she was also curious. And even a little excited.
Between Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj she was the only girl and she desperately wanted some good girly company. And maybe if the girl was as sweet as she looked, she would be able to provide that company.
The sound of coughing shook the part-time waitress out of her trance. She flushed deeply. But the red-head actually just looked curious instead of irritated.
"Hi! I-I'm Aurora. Aurora Potter. I just moved in here yesterday".
Penny now had another thing to appreciate. The girl's- Aurora's voice was riddled with a soft french accent. Not so much that it effected her speech but enough that it was very pleasing to hear.
"Oh, that's a very pretty name", Penny said hastily and watched as soft red enveloped Aurora's face, "By the way, I'm Penny Teller. I live in 4B".
"Aww thank you, your name's very pretty too".
In addition to being extremely pretty, the girl was apparently super sweet too. And genuinely sweet, not that, tittering fake kind of sweet.
"Were you going somewhere?", the blonde asked curiously.
"Hmmm, I was busy unpacking the entire day, so I didn't get a chance to eat. I was going out for dinner", Aurora answered shyly, while eyeing Penny's waitressing outfit curiously. The blonde knew what the latter wanted to ask but was likely to polite to do so.
"Ah, well I was just coming from my shift. I'm a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory."
Aurora hummed thoughtfully. After that both the girls didn't know what to say. They stood there for a few moments in perfect silence until Penny spoke up. "Well, I'm gonna go. It was nice meeting you Aurora."
Aurora returned her neighbour's smile and watched as the pretty blonde waitress passed her. Then she did something she had never done before. "Hey, Penny. I hope it isn't too weird but would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow. I just moved from Paris and I don't exactly have any friends here." She really hoped she didn't sound too desperate.
When Penny turned towards her with an astonished look on her face, the nineteen year old almost burst into flames from embarrassment, "Y-you know what, I-I was kidd-"
A small smile bloomed on the struggling actress's face, the other girl was adorable with a red face. "I'd love to have dinner with you tomorrow."
Aurora smiled gratefully as the pink on her cheeks receded back. "I-Is 6:30 okay with you?"
"Yeah! My shift gets over early on Wednesdays", Penny excitedly said. She was actually looking forward to tomorrow. It would be nice to talk to a girl. A girl who was sweet and had great fashion sense. And maybe she could even introduce her to the guys. It would be pretty amusing seeing Howard fall on his ass trying to impress this girl.
They quickly parted ways after that, Penny leaving for her apartment and Aurora starting her descend down the stairs. She really hoped the blonde wouldn't ditch and actually show. She wouldn't be able to live with the embarrassment of that happening. Despite her insecurities, her lips stretched up in a big grin. If all went good tomorrow she would finally have a friend! She couldn't wait!