“I see. I guess I need pants.”
“I mean, I love the dress but yes, jeans would be best,” he said with a smirk.
“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll change and then you can introduce me to Louise.”
Sofia watched as Ozzie took a seat on her couch. Then she cringed at the thought of him sitting on a couch she found on the side of the road. She had cleaned it, of course, but still the idea of it all seemed strange now that there was actually a man sitting on it. Once he seemed comfortable, she made it back to her room, which was a disaster. It looked like her closet had exploded and she had no idea where her favorite jeans were. As she dug through the piles of clothes, she realized what a disaster her life had become. Here she was throwing clothes all over the place while trying to appear as normal as possible for a man who made her heart race. The fact that this whole thing started because she didn’t want to look like a fool to her brothers was just nuts. Never in her life had she cared about what people thought of her, but the fear of being rejected by them, her only family, was too much to bear.
“Hey if it’s too much to change, I can always call us a car. I should have thought the bike through better.”
Sofia yelped at the sound of Ozzie’s voice from calling out to her from the living room.
“No, it’s fine. Really, I’m just trying to find my... oh shit!” In that exact moment, her fancy closet system collapsed under the weight of her clothes. She was fighting off piles of old work clothes when Ozzie burst through her bedroom door.
“Sofia, are you...” He stopped mid-sentence, trying his hardest not to laugh as she lay on the floor of her bedroom, covered by her entire wardrobe. She watched his face turn red until he just couldn’t take it anymore and he burst out laughing.
“Not funny!” she yelled, trying to appear angry but unable to hold in her own laughter.
Ozzie walked over and reached for her. He pulled her out of the rubble and to her feet as if she weighed no more than a feather.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he brushed a loose hair from her face.
“Physically yes. Mentally, not so much.”
Ozzie chuckled. “How about a change in plans?”
“What kind of change?”
She watched as he bent down and picked up a random pair of sweatpants and a tank top. “Put this on. I’ll be right back.”
“I can’t go out wearing pajamas!”
“We aren’t going out,” he called out over his shoulder as he walked out her front door.
Sofia did as he asked and changed into her sweats, hoping he planned to come back and not just abandon her and her piles of clothes. When she heard the door to her apartment open again, she climbed over the clothes she was picking up and stuck her head out of her bedroom. Ozzie was standing in her kitchen unpacking a grocery bag. As she approached, she couldn’t help but laugh. In the bag he had 2 loaves of bread, one white and one wheat, both crunchy and creamy peanut butter and strawberry jelly.
“What is all this?”
“Dinner. I figured if ever want to save myself from a woman breaking up with me over a peanut butter sandwich, then I should ask an expert to teach me. However, when I stopped at the store, I realized we didn’t get into details, so I brought options.”
“Ozzie Ashford, how the heck are you single?”
“Where should I start?”
“Ha. Ha.”
“Are you hungry now?”
“Not really. You?”
“No. Where’s your toolbox? Let’s get started on your closet first, then we can handle the PB&J lesson.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. Now please tell me you at least own a drill.”
“Of course I own a drill. What kind of woman doesn’t?”
“You’d be surprised,” he said as he followed her to the closet where she stored all the random odds and ends that didn’t seem to have a place to be.