Sterling chuckled softly and shook his head. “Definitely not. But I think I might fall asleep if you don’t, so I think you probably should. Thank you, though. It was really nice.”
Eden laughed lightly before she stopped, leaning against his back.
“How are you today?” She murmured, her cheek pressed against his back.
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“I’m good, love… Excited to hear about the adventure you’re going to go on with Violeta tonight,” Sterling murmured, reaching back to take her hand. “What about you?”
Eden linked their fingers together, smiling softly.
"Grateful," she replied quietly. "Because of you."
A knock sounded at their front door—Violeta, rapping tentatively on the wood. She shifted, slightly nervous under the circumstances.
Eden perked up upon hearing the knock.
“Oh, she’s here,” Eden pulled herself off of Sterling. “I’ll go open the door.”
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“Actually, I can get it. Would you mind putting the food in the oven for me, please?” Sterling asked, standing and smiling down at her.
Eden nodded, climbing off of the bed.
“All right,” she said softly. “I’ll do that.”
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Sterling smiled and pulled her into a short kiss before letting her go. “Love you, E,” he said softly.
Eden’s cheeks turned pink before she cleared her throat. Why did he say that so suddenly?
“I—I love you, too,” she stammered, flustered.
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Sterling smiled at her a moment longer, then took her hand and led her out to the main area. He let her go so that he could head to the door and she could get the food started.
Once he had reached the door, he opened it and gave Violeta a somewhat nervous smile. “Hey, thanks for this. You ready?”
"Hey, Sterling," Violeta greeted, pushing a hand through her hair. "Totally, yeah! I'm more than happy to help out."
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“Awesome… I think she’ll like the surprise, don’t you? A spa day is always nice for a girl, right?” Sterling chuckled as he stepped to the side to let her in.
Eden put the food in the microwave to heat it up, tapping her fingers on the cold counter surface impatiently.
She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She was looking forward to spending the day with Violeta, but why did Sterling make such a decision without letting her know?
"Yeah," Violeta agreed, lowering her voice as she entered the apartment. "How're you, by the way? Haven't seen you two in a few days."
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“I’m good. Eden’s good, too. She’s actually in the kitchen heating up the food,” Sterling explained, closing the door behind her before starting toward the aforementioned room.
Following after, Violeta slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jean shorts. "Glad to hear that. The first bit, I mean. And you didn't have to cook anything for me—I could have just paid for pizza so as not to inconvenience you.
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Sterling shrugged and gave her a quick smile. “I’d already planned this, and I thought it might be nice to have a real meal.”
They entered the kitchen, and Violeta ran immediately over to her friend. "Eden!"
Eden jumped up lightly, having been lost in thought. Sighing in relief when she realized it was just Violeta, Eden walked over to her with a smile.
“V,” she greeted warmly. “How are you?”
"Hey!" she responded, enthusiasm seeping into her voice as she pulled Eden into a light hug. "I'm great, what about you?"
Eden hugged her back, sighing softly.
"I'm okay, too," she couldn't help but let out a bit of excitement, too, herself. "Sterling just told me right now, but I'm looking forward to spending the day with you."
Violeta pulled away, a false little frown tugging at her lips. "Must've slipped his mind," she laughed it off, trying to distract Eden. "But yeah, I'm excited too! I, uh, don't go to spas much."
Eden frowned, furrowing her eyebrows.
“Er, me, neither…” she said, trailing off a little. What exactly was going on? Why was her boyfriend and her friend both acting strange?
"D'you need any help with the food?" Violeta hastened to ask, indicating to the stovetop. "Or I can set the table?"
Eden merely shook her head.
“It’s okay, I can do this,” she said with a smile. “Do you want water? Sterling, can you get V some water?”
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"Of course. Unless you'd like something else, V? We've got juice, a few sparkling waters, tea…" Sterling listed off as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard.
“Oh, just water is fine,” Violeta shrugged, shaking a few strands of hair from her face. It felt so strange, to be here with the two of them, but without Gray…
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"All right, then," Sterling hummed as he filled the glass with water.
(Hey… Do you guys want to skip to after their spa?)
(wink wink definitely)
(COME ON, TELL ME ALREADY.
I’m not it by the way!)
