Erin's New Living Arrangements Pt. 01

I

'So, that's it, isn't it?'

'I think so, dad.' Aron said. 'All my stuff's over there already; only I'm left.'

'Only you're left...so, how about a job?' Bill asked.

'Oh, I'll get by. David said he'd be willing to support me a little, and I'll pay him back in no time. I thought of waiting tables; Roy's got a bar there, doesn't he?' Aron grabbed a glass from the cupboard and a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge. 'I'll hit him up and see if he needs any help.'

Bill nodded absentmindedly, 'Sounds like a plan. Want me to call him for you?'

Aron sipped a gulp, leaning over the kitchen counter and looking at his dad whilst tapping his chest. 'No, thanks. I want to try and be a bit more independent. You know, being a grown-up and all.' A glance at his phone revealed the time to be 2 p.m., and he asked, 'Are we--'

'Leaving? Yepp, you can get in the car already; I'll be right there.'

Aron finished his glass and stretched his feet. He always considered it a little embarrassing, requiring a chauffeur, but he'd never gotten his driver's license. And another half an hour with his dad was welcomed; he'd never been one for goodbyes and drastic changes--and still, Aron was looking forward to the latter.

Quipped in baggy jeans with rolled-up legs, a white long-sleeved tee, and another muted yellow short-sleeved one above it, he stopped at the door, fastened the shoelaces of his checkerboard sneakers and walked out the door. A bright summer's day, with not a cloud in the sky, and a sun bright enough to blind him for more than a mere moment, greeted him, and relaxed steps carried him towards the car parked in the driveway. He put his dainty hand on the car's roof, withdrew it within the second, exhaling a sizzling noise, and said, 'Guess this is it. One major chapter of my life dealt with and done for. Anyway....' He got in the passenger seat and put on the seatbelt, waiting patiently for his father.

II

Aron squinted his eyes, pushed up against the passenger side window. 'Hey, that's him! Look over there,' he exclaimed. 'That's David.'

'Over there, that guy?' Bill asked.

'Yeah,' Aron moved his finger, 'park right over that side.' Aron returned David's cordial waving as his father manoeuvred the car to a halt and switched off the engine. 'Till a week, then?'

His father leaned over and went for a hug, which Aron returned only too gladly. 'Stay out of trouble, you hear me?' Bill said.

Aron chuckled, 'Sure, I swear I won't go and rob a petrol station.'

'But seriously, call if you need anything and maybe more.'

'Don't worry,' Aron said, leaving the hug, 'I'll call when I'm properly moved in. But I've got to go now, David's waiting. See you in a week!' And with those words, he grabbed his bag and hopped out the door. 'Bye.'

'See you,' his dad said, looking after his son as he crossed the street and marched off with his new housemate. Lingering for a few more moments, he left his wish for Aron to grow up unspoken; he hoped his son would turn manlier, though he would never say it to Aron himself. 'David's a proper guy; maybe it'll rub off.'

III

'Kind of exciting, right?' David looked at Aron expectantly.

'Sure is, living alone--well, more or less--for the first time.' Aron watched his steps as they walked towards the front door, along a cobblestone path on the house's right-side wall leading down from the street. 'Thanks, by the way. You know, for agreeing to give me some time to settle and find a job, supporting me in the meantime.'

'My pleasure if it wins me your company; I'm not one for living entirely on my own. And I didn't want to wait any longer, either...with moving and all.' David's brow furrowed, and he searched his trousers' pockets for something. Pulling out a key, he said, 'Before I forget again: this belongs to you.'

'Right, thanks.' Having reached the door, Aron did the honours and unlocked it. A left-bound hallway stretched out before them, and David took the lead. As he walked, with Aron to his back, he pointed out the bathroom shortly to their left and then the living room at the halfway mark to the right. At the same spot, a staircase led up the left side, 'The bedrooms and the main bathroom's up there,' David said, entering the living room. 'Oh, and the kitchen's like...part of the living room, like--they're intertwined.' He gestured towards the counter, the only dividing line between both spaces, a singular island with a dining table and a U-shaped extension harbouring the couch and a coffee table to its left and a proper kitchen with every utensil one could think of to its right.

Aron had been here a couple of times, and still, it struck him as way above what he could've anticipated when David invited him to live together in David's family's vacant and available house. 'Everything's so put-together,' he said.

'Yeah, and I hope it stays that way,' David grinned, raising his eyebrows.

Aron reciprocated, 'Of course, of course! I'm practically a household fairy; don't you worry.'

'Just making sure,' he said in a comically high-pitched voice. 'I don't think a whole lot changed down here since we checked the place out a few weeks back; let's head upstairs.' David left the room and climbed the stairs, reaching another hallway with one room to the left, one to the right and another opposite the right one. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and opened it, saying, 'I think you actually already know where everything is; this tour doesn't really make sense. But yeah, how about you bring your stuff to your room, and then we do some planning?'

'Sounds like a plan.'

'Ha-ha. I'll be in my room for a sec, too.' He strolled off.

Aron followed suit, vanishing behind a door behind which his room, fully decorated and ready to be lived in, waited. He quickly flung his bag onto his centre-placed bed, mouthing a silent thanks to David's dad for arranging almost the entire move and whatnot, and went through his mental checklist--when his face contorted. 'Oh, oh-please,' he said, searching for a suitcase. He found it safely stored at the bottom of his wardrobe and pulled it out, examining the zipper. 'It's closed. That's good, now how about--'

His fingers clutched the zipper and drew a circle, revealing two piles of neatly folded women's clothes. 'Thank God; all are in order.' His hand caressed the topmost articles, a chequered skirt next to a white blouse. 'Doesn't mean he didn't take a sneak peek inside, but I'd say it greatly lowers the possibility...right? He'd have taken some out, and I recognise my immaculate fold--'

'Hey, uh--' David stood in the doorframe, perplexed. 'What are those? Isn't that the suitcase you had me take along a few days ago?'

Aron closed it shut in the blink of an eye, half his body resting on top of it, trying to look inconspicuous. 'Sure is, yeah. Uh--it's, you know, carnival...costumes.'

'Carnival?'

'Exactly.'

'You cross-dressed for carnival?'

'Uh-huh. As my costume, that is.' Aron's face grew red and hot.

'All right, buddy.' David lingered, 'Can I see it?'

Aron peered at the floor and then back at his friend, 'Pardon?'

'Your costume; can I see it? I'm up for a good laugh.'

'Screw you,' Aron hissed with a shy smile on his lips. 'What was it you wanted?'

'Oh, right. I'm out tonight; I just wanted to let you know. I'm going to see Sarah; we're going out to eat.' He glanced at the suitcase again, 'Sure I can't see it? I swear I won't make fun of you.'

'Have fun on your date.' Aron said it in a way that proclaimed the end of the conversation and redirected his focus toward the source of his utter shame while he waited for David to leave. He checked the receding figure in the corner of his eye, and, once sure David had retreated to his room and closed the door--listening for the typical clack of the lock--he shoved the case underneath his bed and sighed. 'Well done, Aron...really, well done.'

Sitting silently for several more minutes, with his face buried in his hands and the heat emanating enough to give him reason to open the window for some nice, fresh air, he settled on his bed and pulled out his phone. 'Nah,' he said, 'I'll wait a little longer before I call Roy. Still, plenty of time and nothing to do for the day....' Without another thought, his finger swiped up and browsed the app drawer for his favourite shopping app; it opened up to the women's tab, and the embarrassing memory from just now seemed to fade as the minutes and hours passed.

IV

'Huh?' Aron sat up, a slight drone seeping through his head. 'Ugh, I must've dosed off.' Half-lidded eyes search for his phone to check the time: 10 p.m. 'Could be worse, I guess.' Hearing every word as a croak, he cleared his throat and sat up. The sleep had amplified his thirst by a thousand, and he felt a tinge of hunger; his newly established needs motivated him to rise from the bed--however cushiony and warm it was--and stalk out the door with a swaying gait and dried-up tongue. As he aimed for the bathroom, he passed by David's room and couldn't help but overhear a muffled groan. Three soft knocks and a 'Yeah?' later, he opened the door to find his mate spread out on the bed, face against a pillow.

'Hey...everything okay?'

'No.'

'Why not? What's up?' Aron let himself in and claimed the side of the bed for his own. 'Did something happen with Sarah?'

After a short pause, David murmured, 'Yeah. She broke up with me.'

'Oh, that's terrible.' Aron dabbed his hand against David's shoulder, 'Think food will do you any good? I'm about to cook.'

'Yeah, no, I don't think so. I'm just going to settle for the night.'

The sight of his friend's misery got to him, and Aron silently cursed his overly-developed empathy. He thought for a second and finally had an idea when he said, 'Come on, it's too soon to go to bed on our first day here; how about you come down to the kitchen in about fifteen minutes, and I'm going to surprise you?'

'Surprise me? With what?' David inquired.

'You'll see,' Aron teased, hoping to pique his interest. 'I'm only going to say this: it will be worth staying up for.'

'...if you say so, all right. I'll be down in fifteen minutes.'

'Perfect!' Jumping up from the bed, Aron hushed out the door and hurried back to his room. With a slightly conflicted mind, he pushed through on impulse and instinct as his hands slipped under his bed and unearthed the suitcase. Before he had grasped the zipper, dozens of possible clothing combinations had already sped through his mind, and he'd settled on something he'd consider low-risqué. Ultimately, this wasn't for his own enjoyment nor spicier purposes; it was solely to put a grin on David's face.

Rummaging through various outfits of polarly opposite styles and for equally different occasions, Aron's pace slowed when the tender fabric of his dark blue, knife-pleated skirt and the accompanying peach-coloured, long-sleeved t-shirt charmed his fingers. 'Perfect.'

He retrieved both pieces and threw them onto the bed, untying his belt and standing still as gravity did its work, dragging down his jeans until he could simply step out of them. Left in white briefs and two t-shirts, he got rid of the latter and judged his socks in the mirror vis-à-vis his bed: black anklets, fitting.

Regarding his slender figure in the mirror for one more second, he got back to work at the thought of his heartbroken friend reaching the kitchen before he would, leaving Aron with no opportunity to steer the surprise. He slipped into the peach t-shirt with the skirt following soon after, tugged the t-shirt in, and took one last glance at his reflection--brushing a hand through his short, blond hair and adjusting the strands hanging just shy of his pale blue eyes whilst whispering, 'Hello, Erin'--and marched on down the hallway and stairs.

A quick peek past the doorframe calmed his nerves; David was still upstairs. Aron dashed over towards the sole counter, hiding his lower body along with half his stomach (whilst standing upright, thanks to his often-times mocked quite small body stature) and awaited his friend's arrival.

David made his entrance a few moments later, walking nonchalantly into the room and searching for Aron with tired eyes. Aron thought he noticed a slight twinkle of amazement in his friend's gaze as he was spotted leaning against the counter with his thin-collared t-shirt. This attribute alone managed to give David the right idea, and he asked, 'Did--did you dress up?'

'Sure did.' He walked around the aisle, revealing his entire get-up. 'I had the feeling it would...turn that frown upside-down.' He giggled.

David stared silently as Aron did a playful pirouette, holding onto the sides of his skirt and feeling its ends flowing up his legs a little. 'You like it?'

'Honestly, I can't even put into words how much I love you for this, bud,' he muttered. 'Just to cheer me up; you're a great friend, Aron.'

'And it doesn't end there. Take a seat; I'll make us something to eat while you can lean back, get comfortable, and get more amusement out of my outfit.'

'Amusement? You're kinda pulling it off. I can't lie.' David's eyes lingered around Aron's skirt, watching him twirl it around.

'Uh, thanks!' Aron gleamed, 'I appreciate it.' He performed a curtsy and got to work, searching for the right pan and several ingredients in the fridge. As his cooking cranked up steam, a strange feeling to his back wouldn't budge--David's gaze was still firmly attached to him. His friend would let it pan away every so often, but it returned every single time, and, more often than not, Aron felt it homed in on a pretty specific part of him. This feeling grew stronger each time he bent to reach the lower drawers or stretched to reach the upper cupboards, thrusting out his butt and revealing a tad more of his thighs, respectively.

When he finally finished cooking, putting away the last few bits and pieces before serving, David appeared to have brought his wandering eyes under control. 'Thanks,' he said as Aron put his plate down. 'And thanks again for your efforts to cheer me up.'

'You got it,' Aron said with delight. 'I'm glad you're feeling better. Now, enjoy your meal, and then you can go off to bed.'

'Thanks, mum,' David joked.

Both of them ate rather quietly, with dozens of compliments for Aron's excellent cooking skills sprinkled in. Aron felt pretty accomplished, faltering only when David said, 'You know, if I'm going to find a pretty girl taking care of the household chores and cooking for me every time I come home, I won't even urge you to get a job.'

Aron couldn't think of a sovereign way of answering what appeared to be a jested request with somewhat truthful undertones and resorted to his go-to answer for such cases: 'Pardon?'

'I'm just kidding...though you seem awfully confident in those clothes for having only worn them for carnival.'

'Well, what can I say? It's innate confidence, entirely unrelated to my costume.' He felt his face growing hot again and gulped down ice-cooled water in an attempt to counteract his body's signals.

'And you have that boyish femininity down to a T...but I'm just messing with you.' David took his last bite and got up, carrying his dishes to the sink. 'With your permission, I'll go and get some shuteye now. Thanks again, and good night, Aron.'

'Uh, yeah--good night to you, too.'