After meeting Trevor, Darby had begun seeing him everywhere. She marveled over how often they bumped into each other, even laughing about it with him once or twice. It didn’t catch her as strange, considering the size of the town. She ran into people a lot - and they weren’t always as friendly as Trevor.
They’d been spending time together a few times a week and Trevor even volunteered to help Darby pack for her upcoming move. “Where is it you’ll be moving?” He asked, facing one of her many potted plants and gazing down at it. Darby was sitting on her couch, looking at the Tv. “It’s this beautiful place Adrian found. You should see it. It has a garden on the roof - just for me.” She shrugged her shoulders bashfully. Trevor rolled his eyes, but she couldn’t see that. “So, what, he’s choosing where you live?” He chuckled so that it didn’t sound like he was jealous. Darby furrowed her brows then smiled, shaking her head. “It’s not like that. This place I’m moving to has better security and is just a nicer area, in general. He knows what I go through with people pranking me. ” Trevor turned around and nodded quickly. “Oh - yeah, I know how hard it is on you, too.” He sat down next to her now, but didn’t dare sit close enough to touch.
Darby picked up her phone every once in awhile to text Adrian and this garnered unnoticed glances from Trevor. He cracked his neck and sighed. “Kink in your neck?” Darby asked quietly. Trevor raised his eyebrows in feigned surprise, like he was lost in his own thoughts rather than analyzing everything Darby did from his peripheral vision. “Yeah, must’a slept wrong’s all...” He glanced at her, wondering if she’d offer to rub it.
They flipped channels and chattered about what they saw. Eventually they settled on the Food Network because it was a guilty pleasure to watch food competitions and judge the food like they knew what they were talking about. Mostly this was Trevor talking and Darby nodding and laughing. She wasn’t big on mocking people, but food was okay, she settled with. Trevor stayed where he belonged the whole night, something he patted himself on the back about later. He could have easily made a move, and in his head Darby would have hesitated but for a moment before falling into his arms. That would never be the case, but he didn’t understand that.
Eventually, it got late. Trevor lingered at the door when Darby walked him to it. He stood around quietly, and Darby didn’t recognize that social queue - the one where the person hovers, debating inwardly about their next actions. “Drive safely.” She said, lifting a hand in a wave goodbye. Trevor backed up to the door, a sigh and a smile simultaneously expressing for him. “Yeah... sleep well, Darby.”
He heard the click of the locks behind him when she’d closed the door. He turned and looked at the key slots, only for a moment, but went down the stairs soon after. One day he’d have a key, he thought as he got into his car.